Ch. 25

She woke up that morning to find Killian's side of the bed made as usual. She wouldn't be able to get the Navy out of him if she tried. She stretched out to find that she was achy in a good way. That man certainly knew how to relax her in ways she never thought possible. She climbed out of bed, pulled her fuzzy little robe from the chair in the corner and wrapped it around herself. She loved to sleep naked with him. Her body craved his warmth and she loved touching the fuzzy hair on his chest. She laughed at the thought of how she sometimes brushed her fingers across his chest until she fell asleep.

She tied the knot on her robe and walked out to see if Killian was in the kitchen. She was sad to see the apartment was empty. He'd left a note on her favorite mug.

Love,

Fresh coffee in the pot. I had to run to the firehouse. Be back soon.

K

She tucked the note into her pocket and picked up the mug. She quickly moved to the pot. "Mmmm coffee, you smell so good." She said as she poured the liquid of the gods into her cup.

She took a quick sip to test temperature, it was perfect. She took a swig and moved to sit on their comfy couch. She sat back remembering the night before. They'd brought home the girls safe. That was most important but whoever took them was still out there. She needed to get to the bottom of it.

She took another sip of her coffee and looked towards the windows. The sunlight was coming through and it looked like a beautiful day. She couldn't remember a day when she'd felt so content. She knew she had things to do but, in that moment, she just wanted to enjoy the cup.

Killian entered the station after his run. He wanted to check on his team and find out the results of the competition. The squad was his family, they were more than just co-workers to him. He was about to go to David's office when he heard his name being called. He turned to see Anna running towards him. He smiled. "Anna, good morning."

"Jones, did you hear? We won! We Won!" she said enthusiastically.

He looked at the young red head bobbing up and down happily. "That's great! I knew you could do it!" he said grinning at the thought of Wil Scarlet losing. He'd have to remember to rub that in a little. Makes sense that the guys didn't mention it last night since they had lost.

"Is David in yet?" he asked.

She nodded quickly. "Yes, he's in his office. Are you going to be around today? Is Emma going to come in? It's so amazing that you found the missing girls. I wish I could have come last night but someone had to hang out in case, you know we had a fire." She said feeling dejected.

He shook his head. "Anna, thank you for being here to let the others help. Your role in finding them was just as important as actually being there, maybe even more so. You have become quite an important member of our squad. I am so proud of you."

Anna shyly looked down and nodded. "Thank you."

It might have been the first time he'd seen her speak so little. "To answer your other questions, Emma still has investigating to do. We may have gotten the girls but we haven't gotten the kidnappers yet. I'm just checking in with David and I wanted to see if we won. I wish I could have been here with you."

She nodded. "We missed you too. Well, I'm going to get back out there. We are setting up for today's training." She said.

"Great. Make sure you rub in the win on Scarlett as much as possible." He said grinning as he continued towards David's office.

He knocked lightly before entering just in case David was napping. It was still very early in the morning and not much was going on yet. He was pleasantly surprised to see Robin and David both sitting there having a cup of coffee.

"Ah, Jones. We didn't expect to see you around here for a few more days." Said Robin.

He smiled. "I wanted to check in and see how the competition went. You know me, I'm an early riser." He said.

"How's Emma?" asked David.

He took a seat in the grey office chairs next to Robin and relaxed against the back. "Good, sleeping peacefully when I left her this morning." He said grinning.

David smiled. "Did she find any information from the girl on the way to the hospital?"

Killian sighed. "Yes, Jazzy told Emma that it was the scots that were behind the kidnapping. Well, she also had involvement. She mentioned that she was working with Seamus, the man that Emma busted the other day."

David pursed his lips as he thought for a moment. "So, the guy Emma busted was part of it? Maybe that is why the family didn't hear anything from the kidnapper." Said Emma.

"That girl was probably so shaken when she heard he'd been picked up by the police." Chimed in Robin.

Killian nodded. "That's what Emma thought too. She thinks that after Seamus was busted that Jazzy had to go to the Scots for help. It's just not clear who from the Scots she was working with." He said.

David shook his head. "We still don't know who left the knife in the door to your apartment." Said David.

Killian let out a breath. "Yes, that is troubling. If the Scots are connected to the kidnapping, that would be just another reason for them to come after Emma."

Killian felt the phone buzz in his pocket. He picked it up and saw it was a call from Emma and smiled. "Speaking of Emma." He said. "Good Morning Love. Did you find the coffee?" he asked.

Emma: Yes, thank you. Are you out for a run?

"Yes, I was running and now I'm over at the station. I had to check on how badly my team crushed Robin's" he said grinning.

"Hey, watch it!" said Robin.

Emma: That's great! Your team won. I know you've been training them hard for this.

Killian beamed with pride. "Aye, Anna came to let me know as soon as I got here."

Emma: I'm so happy for them. So, I was calling to let you know that I'm going to drive over to Bo Peep's Tavern and pick up a check to cover the bug so we can pick it up today.

Killian raised his brow. "Ok, do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

Emma: No, I'll come back after I get the check and we can go talk to Naveen again. See if we can get some information about the guys. I'm also going to ask Bo if she might be able to help me with information about the guys. I suspect that Jazzy met whoever was helping her while she was working there.

Killian let out a soft breath. "Please be careful Emma. We don't know who was behind this. It could be anyone. "he said.

Emma: I promise. I'm wearing my Kevlar; I've got my gun and a spare in my boot just in case.

Killian nodded as he looked at the concerned faces in the room. "That's my girl. Call me when you are on your way. I love you." He said.

Emma: I love you too!

"Let me guess, Emma is going to follow up on a lead?" said David.

"And which lead would that be Nolan?" said the ominous voice belonging to Regina Mills that was currently standing in his door.

Killian turned around to see the agent standing with a scowl on her face. He knew this wouldn't be good based on Emma's description of her.

"Agent Mills, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this morning?" said David diplomatically.

He watched as the agent looked around with the office. "I see you've put together a band of merry men here David. Let me guess, Emma is your ring leader?" she said condescendingly.

David shook his head. "No, its not like that. As you can see, this is the fire station, not a police station." He said smiling.

Agent Mills looked in his direction and then towards Robin, back to David. "Then can you explain to me why all three of you were present at a crime scene last night that I explicitly asked Swan to stay out of?" she asked.

Killian gripped his fist as he watched the interaction between the two. David stood. "Last time I checked, I don't work for you anymore and neither does Emma. What can I do for you this morning?" he asked.

Agent Mills put her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "If you know anything else, I need to have that information. This case is not closed. A man lost a million dollars to an unnamed kidnapper last night and I have 3 girls in the hospital." She said frankly.

Robin stood. "I believe we told you everything we knew last evening." He said kindly.

She looked at him and her face seemed to soften. "And yet, I walk in on the three of you this morning talking about leads." She said.

"We don't know anything else Mills. If we have something that might be of significance to you, we will inform you or call the police." Said Killian.

Agent Mills rolled her eyes again. "Those local yocals don't know their head from a hole in the ground. For some reason Officer Humbert seems to think No, is a suggestion. I'd appreciate if you would contact me directly." She said taking her business card from her wallet and offering to David.

David shook his head. "I've got your number." He said.

She went to pull it back and directed it to Robin instead. "Call me if you hear or need anything." She said raising her brow.

Robin raised his eyebrows and tilted his head as if thinking about it before accepting the card. "Thanks." He said.

"If I find out you are withholding information in an investigation, I will come after you." She warned before leaving the office.

David and Robin both sat back in their seats. "She's just a lovely woman." Said Killian.

David laughed. "You have no idea."

Robin looked at her card. "I don't know, she didn't seem so bad to me." He said grinning.

David shook his head. "Ok, ok. So, what did Emma say?" asked David.

Killian sat up. "She's going to pick up a check from Bo at the tavern so she can get the bug back. Then we are going back to talk to Naveen to find out if he can tell us anything about the Scots that interrupted his card game the other day." Said Killian.

"I thought she liked the new undercover car?" asked Robin.

"Aye, she does but you know the bug is more than just a car to Emma." Said Killian.

"Yeah, she does. It's a part of her." Said David.

"I'm going to run home and get ready." Said Killian.

Robin shook his head. "Yeah, Mate you stink." He said.

Killian stood and laughed. "You're just salty that my team won." He said.

"Go on get out of here!" said Robin.

"Killian, call if you need me." Said David.

He nodded and quickly got out of there before he could be stopped again. Emma would be back soon since it was just a small errand. He wanted to be ready to go.

Emma looked for parking near the tavern but all of the spots seemed to be taken by construction trucks. She finally found a spot big enough for her undercover car. She liked driving it but she missed her bug. It was a part of her and she never had a problem finding a parking spot for it. She parked and locked the car. She checked her pocket for her phone and made sure her gear was in place. As she walked down the street towards her destination, she noticed that the construction activity was happening around Bo's.

She walked up to see a closed sign on the door. She peered in the window and saw Bo walking in the back. She pulled on the handle and it was unlocked so she went inside. The place that was usually very busy at this time was empty. All of the chairs were turned upside down on the tables. She heard some voices talking in the kitchen. She walked back to knock on the metal door to see if she could get Bo's attention. She approached the door and peered in the circular window. She saw Bo inside talking to the man who she remembered from the poker game.

She quickly ducked back. Her heart started racing wildly. She needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. She peered back in the window to see where they were. Both were still tangled in a heated discussion. There were architecture plans laid out on the table in front of them. She couldn't really hear what they were saying but Bo was pointing to the poking hard at the plans on the table. She was about to sneak away when she noticed something strange. On the floor behind the table that they were arguing against were a pair of legs, with girls' sneakers peeking out from behind. She looked closer and it appeared as if someone was laying there.

She needed to get help. She turned to leave but was surprised to bump into another familiar angry face from the poker game. She widened her eyes in surprise as she was hit with the butte of a gun on the top of her head. She felt herself going down as she blinked hard fighting the darkness; his grinning face looking up at her as she fell. She felt the cold floor against her face as she faded out of consciousness.