Bobby POV


We got in the car and left Sheepshead Bay, heading for Yonkers.

"Go back to sleep," Alex told me. "It'll take us a little while."

"I'm okay," I said. "I'm actually feeling a lot better."

She glanced at me skeptically, but she must have liked what she saw.

"You do look better," she agreed.

"Do you trust him?" I asked her. I didn't have to explain who I meant.

"Not really, but we can't exactly tie him up and lock him in a closet while we drive to Yonkers, can we?"

"Oh, I don't know," I countered. "Take me back. I'll have him bound and gagged in just a minute."

"I bet you will," she said with a smile.

"But seriously, what's to keep him from contacting her and telling her to run before we get there?"

"I don't know. There's got to be something we can do," she mumbled.

I could feel her frustration because I was right there with her on it. I mean, we'd love to have him arrested, but for what?

If we mentioned Cathy, then we'd end up getting her in trouble with the law and we were trying really hard to avoid that.

We'd already skirted the rules by using the APB to track down the Mazda. Sean hadn't mentioned that the car was wanted in connection with a kidnapping.

He'd simply stated that the driver was wanted for questioning.

His captain had given him some leeway, which was a testament to the respect that Sean had earned from his boss.

"Call Sean," Alex said, her mind having likely wandered in the same direction as mine, although I wasn't sure of the purpose for the call.

We certainly didn't want to get Sean into any trouble.

"And have him do what?"

"He can go question Ted."

"For what?"

I'll blame it on the medication, because most of the time we're on the same page, but this morning, I was clueless.

"That Mazda was his car, right? It belonged on his lot?"

And then I had it. So yeah, I was about a half a step behind due to this damn sinus infection.

"So he talks to him about the car and then Sean happens to discover that the VIN doesn't match up like it should, and ultimately Ted gets arrested for being in possession of stolen property," I concluded.

It was an excellent idea because Ted had all but admitted to us that some of the cars on his lot were there illegally.

"At the very least, Sean will keep him busy," she said. "And it's a legitimate reason for him to be there. The abandoned car had tags that belong to Ted's business."

I pulled out my phone to call her brother, who was hopefully still over in Red Hook as opposed to being on his way back to Brooklyn.

"Tell him to hurry," Alex said. "I figure Ted will find his nerve again pretty soon, and once he does, all bets are off."

"So does Sean know?" I asked her as the phone was ringing.

"About what?"

"About Ted?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he know? About Ted," I said pointedly. "Mr. Nine Seconds?"

"Oh my God, Bobby," she said in exasperation. "I…well, yeah. He knows. Or I mean, he knew at the time. I didn't mention that he was involved in this thing."

"Eames," Sean answered.

"Hey, we need a favor," I said. "We just left the guy at the used car lot in Sheepshead Bay. We need you to sit on him and make sure that he doesn't make any phone calls. We think we know where Cathy is, but we don't want him to tip her off."

"Yeah, I can do that. I'm getting in my car now. I can be there in ten minutes."

"Check his phone. If he's made any calls, let us know."

"Okay."

"And while you're there, check his books, too. That stripped Mazda came from his lot, and we're pretty sure that it was stolen."

"Are handing me an auto theft ring?" he asked excitedly.

And I could appreciate that. He was still walking a beat, but busting open something big like that might earn him a shield.

"Maybe," I said. "Once you verify that the Mazda was there without proper paperwork, you can probably walk the lot and find half a dozen others."

And I felt a little bit bad about giving Ted up to Sean, but only in the sense that we'd be damaging a link in the chain.

Although Alex had already said that she was going to let Helen know about Ted, so hopefully PTI would be able to find a more suitable replacement.

"Find what you can in a hurry," I added. "Because after we get Cathy, we'll be calling the feds on him."

"Got it. I'll take care of him."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Do you remember Ted Conyers?"

I waited a beat while he gave the name some thought.

"Not really. Is that this guy?"

"Yeah. He dated Alex for a few months back in high school."

"That Ted? That's this guy?" he asked.

"Uh huh."

Sean barked out a laugh and said, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

"You know you just made his day, right?" Alex asked me after I hung up with Sean. "You told him that we know where Cathy is, you handed him a potentially career-making bust, and the guy whose head you put on a platter for him is someone that he wanted to beat up twenty-five years ago but I wouldn't let him."

"It's a good day to be Sean," I replied with a grin.


Cathy POV

The past twenty-four hours had been completely surreal.

The thing with Travis, and then with Steve…that had nearly broken my heart.

Who was I kidding? It had broken my heart.

Because I'd been so sure that Steve and I would be able to work through our problems, and I'd really been sure that was what I wanted to do.

I wanted him back.

And then Travis had to threaten me.

And make it seem like I'd done something that I hadn't.

Why had Steve believed him?

Because he didn't trust me anymore.

And how could I blame him for that?

I'd had his trust and I'd abused it.

When I realized that I had no legs to stand on, no proof to back up my assertion of innocence, hopelessness had flooded through me.

I'd watched Steve pull out of the parking lot and then I'd sat down on the ground and cried.

Steve would get sole custody of Nate. I had abandoned him and I was a bad mother.

And I'd been so close to getting what I wanted.

I'd sat outside for nearly an hour, completely blowing off my shift at work.

I felt like I just wanted to run away.

I mean seriously.

Who would miss me?

Steve?

He'd made it pretty clear that he didn't want to have anything to do with me.

Nate?

Probably not, and that was my fault. I'd barely made a footprint in his life over the past month.

So I'd sat there, debating on where to go and how to fund my escape when another thought hit me.

If I didn't show up at Travis' place, what would he do?

Would he go after Alex, as he'd mentioned?

Or would he go after Nate?

That thought terrified me.

I had no doubt that Alex could take care of herself, and even if she couldn't, Bobby would squash Travis like a bug.

But Nate…what if Travis went after him?

So then I'd adjusted my plan.

I'd run away and take Nate with me.

It was the only way that I could be sure he'd be safe.

And maybe after some time passed, I could talk to Steve and straighten things out.

I mean, I didn't want to keep him from Nate forever, but maybe at least until I knew for sure that Travis was locked up in jail.

With my mind made up, I'd left the hospital without another word.

I decided to get in touch with Protecting the Innocent.

I'd heard Bobby and Alex talking about it throughout the weekend, how the woman named Helen was helping abused women and their children escape.

They liked her, I could tell, so I didn't need to worry about trusting my own judgment.

I trusted theirs.

And with the amount of bruises on my ribs, I was pretty sure that I could get Helen to help me.

I didn't like misleading her about where the bruises had come from, but I wasn't lying about the fact that we needed to escape.

I was afraid of Travis, and he had openly stated that if I didn't comply with his orders then he would come after Alex or Nate.

I didn't like leaving Alex susceptible, but like I said, I knew that she could handle herself.

She was…amazing.

I wished that I was more like her.

If I was, then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to run.

Maybe I could stand up to Travis.

Maybe I could force Steve to listen to me.

But I wasn't like her.

So I'd picked Nate up from school and I told him that we were going on a secret adventure.

And then we went to Helen's.

She had been cautious and thorough, but in the end, my story held up under her scrutiny. Mostly because it was largely true.

So she'd given me cash and a cell phone and sent me on my way.

The next stop had been less comforting.

I knew the guy, although I was pretty sure that he didn't remember me. He was a jerk who had pressured Alex into sleeping with him and then he'd dumped her.

And the flashback to high school also served to weaken my resolve.

Was I doing the right thing?

Or would Alex help me if I asked?

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Ted had barked at me when I didn't respond to a question.

"Yeah," I'd replied numbly.

But in my mind, I was thinking about quitting.

Because of course Alex would help me.

Hadn't she already been doing everything she could? Even though I'd been arguing with her, insulting her at every turn?

And how badly was I hurting Steve by doing this? He wouldn't understand that I was trying to protect Nate. He'd be going out of his mind with worry.

My eyes filled with tears at the realization that I had possibly made yet another colossal mistake.

When was it ever going to end?

"Don't go soft on me now," Ted had said. "Get in the car and follow the instructions. And you answer that phone when I call, do you hear me?"

"Uh huh."

So Nate and I had gotten in the car. I was halfway to my destination when he called me and told me to come back.

"Why?"

"You don't want to be found, do you?" he'd asked sharply. "Aren't you doing this to protect your kid?"

Yes. Yes, that was why I was doing this. I had to keep Nate safe until I was sure that Travis was behind bars.

The statement was my mantra now, and I repeated it over and over in my head as I turned the car around and reversed my route back to Sheepshead Bay.

Ted had been waiting for us, and wanted us to get into the car with him. I wasn't crazy about that idea even though I sort of knew him. Although I really didn't. All I knew was that he'd been an asshole in high school, a guy who was probably lucky that he still had functioning genitalia considering how he'd treated Alex.

But Helen trusted him, so…I'd gotten into the car.

He drove us to a tiny apartment in Yonkers and told me to stay put until I heard from him, but that it would probably be Tuesday night.

And then he'd left quickly, stating he had something to take care of.

So I'd put Nate to bed and then I'd sat up all night.

And by the time the sun came up, I'd made up my mind.

I had to go back.

I couldn't do this to Nate and I couldn't do it to Steve.

I needed to stand up to Travis, work with that ADA friend of Alex's to make sure that the charges stuck, and see to it that he spent some serious time in jail.

I wasn't going to walk around afraid.

And I wasn't going to give up on my marriage.

Not yet.

Steve needed to hear the truth before he made up his mind about me, and whether he chose to believe it or not would be up to him, but at the very least, I needed to say it.

TBC...