Here's a long chapter for y'all! Thank you guys for still continuing with the story and for still leaving reviews! I truly appreciate it. It's nearly 3:30 in the morning where I am, so there are probably typos throughout that I didn't get a chance to fix, so I apologize for that. I was hoping to get this chapter up sooner but I had to tweak a few things, which made it come later than planned! Anyways, I hope you enjoy and leave a review!

It was unbearably hot when I woke up. Dimitri was wrapped around me, and I relaxed into his warmth, despite it burning me up. I flipped part of the covers off me, and Dimitri stirred as cold air washed over us.

"Rose?"

"Expecting someone else?" I teased.

I could tell that he rolled his eyes, and he flipped the covers back over us. "Cold."

"I took them off cause you're so fucking hot."

"Am I now?" There was a smirk on his face when I turned to face him.

"You know what I mean, asshole."

He laughed and shifted closer to me. It was still too hot under the covers, but I let it be for the moment. I glanced at the clock over his shoulder and saw that we still had a couple of hours before we had to be up and at school. Not wanting to get up yet, I rolled back over to fall back asleep until Dimitri forced me out of bed and into the shower an hour later.

"Rose?" Dimitri was sitting at the table eating breakfast when I walked out of the bedroom dressed. "Can I talk to you?"

I nodded and poured myself a bowl of cereal.

He set his spoon down and took a deep breath. "Roza, I know this isn't the best way to say this, especially after everything that has happened recently, but I need to get this off of my chest. I don't know the best way of saying this, but I've loved you for a while. When we were younger, it was brotherly love. I cared for you as I cared for my own siblings, but as I watched you grow older, as I watched over you from afar, and watched you come out on the other side of your battles stronger, that love morphed. And I don't know if you feel the same but—"

"I'm not girlfriend material, Dimitri," I said, cutting him off. I swirled my spoon around my cereal bowl, not daring to look at him. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend right now," Dimitri said softly. "But can you give us a chance? I know you feel the draw between us, the chemistry."

I risked looking up at him. His face was earnest, and he wasn't wrong; I could feel something between us.

"No more lies," I said, staring Dimitri down.

"No more lies," he promised. "I'll tell you everything that I can."

I glanced at him again, a smile tugging at my lips. "Nothing concrete and no promises," I said. "But yes, I will give us a chance."

I leaned forward to kiss him, and he kissed me back without hesitation.

I had the white box on my lap as Dimitri drove me back to the house. He kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye but kept looking at the road.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if I drove you to school instead of driving all of the way out here only for you to turn around and drive back?" he said.

"Isn't it suspicious if I'm seen in a car with you? Most teachers aren't always giving their students rides, you know."

He sighed. "It just seems like a waste."

"Don't miss me too much," I teased.

When he looked at me, I quickly looked away, unsettled by the look in his eyes. As we approached the house, I noticed that the gate was open, even though it was definitely closed when I left last night.

"Stop."

"The gate," Dimitri said.

I nodded, my phone already in my hand. It took McKenna three rings to pick up.

"Is there somebody there?"

"Yeah. Lissa and another blonde girl are here. Lissa said she was looking for you and figured you might be here."

"Fuck," I said. Lissa knowing where I was staying put her at risk, and I didn't want that. "Thanks, McKenna."

I hung up and looked at Dimitri. "It's Lissa. McKenna said there was another blonde girl with her, so that's probably Sydney," I said. "How tinted are your windows?"

"Tinted enough that they wouldn't be able to see into the car," he said.

"So, if you drove me up there, they wouldn't be able to tell it was you." I studied him for a moment before realizing that they would probably recognize Dimitri's car from school. "Fuck it. I'll just walk down the driveway."

"Rose, it's nearly two miles."

"I used to walk back to the apartment from school, remember?"

"I'm not just leaving you out here."

I sighed and called McKenna again. "Will you drive down here and go a mile left down the road once you come out of the driveway to pick me up? I don't want them to see Dimitri."

She complied, and I directed Dimitri to a clearing a mile further down the road and waited for McKenna to show up. She appeared five minutes later, and Dimitri got out of his car when she arrived. I followed Dimitri out, taking the white box with me. McKenna got out of her car, a white box in her hand in her hands too, albeit a smaller one.

She noticed the box in my hands first and gestured to it. "Is that the stuff Dimitri gave you about your family?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll probably spend part of today going through a lot of it. There's so much in here, so much to go through. It's a lot to take in."

"If you need anything, Roza," Dimitri said, "just let me know. Please."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead and McKenna arched an eyebrow.

"I will. Thank you," I said.

His smile was blinding, and he turned back to McKenna, gesturing to her.

She handed me her box while Dimitri took the box he had given me from my hands. "I know I'm a week or so late, but happy birthday, Rose."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know I didn't have to. But I wanted to, and it's a joint gift from me and Dimitri, technically. It's not every day that you turn 18, and you deserve something nice."

When I opened the box, I saw the Apple logo first. "This is too much."

It was one of the newer Apple Watches, which I knew sold for hundreds of dollars. The watch itself was black, and the strap that came with it was also black, but there was a black leather band in the box as well.

"Nonsense," Dimitri interjected. "You deserve something nice in your life after everything you've been through. Not to mention, it's technically also from your parents. Your father left me some money to make sure you had a nice 18th birthday. I'm sorry that things were postponed a bit, and we weren't able to celebrate properly."

"Not for nothing, but I did try," I said with a smirk, and Dimitri rolled his eyes.

I took the watch out of the box and pulled out the instructions next. The black band was already attached to the watch, and Dimitri helped me strap it on.

"It's already set up for you and customized," Dimitri said. "You need to get back to the house so that you're not late for school, and I need to go."

He handed McKenna the shoebox, and when she turned away to put it in her car, Dimitri pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, a sense of comfort filling me that I knew would disappear once he left. He brushed my short hair back before leaning down and kissing me. I don't know how long we stood there kissing, but when McKenna cleared her throat loudly, I knew a few minutes had passed. He pressed another kiss to my lips, before getting back in his car.

I followed McKenna to hers, and she trailed behind Dimitri until we got to the driveway.

"What's going on with you and Dimitri?"

I blushed. "I don't know. He confessed some feelings this morning, and I agreed to give us a chance, but I don't know."

McKenna smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're smiling.

We didn't speak much, and when McKenna parked her car next to mine, the front door was open, and Lissa was running out before I could shut the car door.

"Rose!"

"Lissa, I'm fine," I said, hugging her. I hugged Sydney too as she came up behind Lissa.

"Where have you been? Here?" Lissa demanded. Her eyes scanned over the house, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she examined it critically. Sydney was looking over the house too, and they almost had matching expressions on their faces.

"For the most part," I said. "It's secluded, and McKenna's been staying here too, so I haven't been alone."

"Why is McKenna allowed to be here, be with you, and I'm not?" Lissa was angry.

"I wasn't expecting her to be here, Liss. She showed up a couple of days after I got here, and I wasn't just going to send her away," I explained.

Lissa crossed her arms. "The apartment is fixed, and you can come back now, Rose. Whoever did this is gone."

"What are you talking about, gone?"

Sydney spoke up. "The police said that they've tracked him into another state and that you're going to be okay. They don't think it was related to your k-kidnapping after all." She struggled over the word, not wanting to mention it more than she needed to.

"They think it was just some random person?" I said, incredulous. "Guys, they targeted my apartment, my room, and targeted me through Facebook! How is that not related?"

"There were other reported cases from the time frame. Two other girls had their apartments broken into, both of them lived with roommates, but only their rooms were trashed, and they were both targeted on Facebook beforehand," Lissa said. "Insurance fixed everything in the apartment and gave a cash settlement to replace things that couldn't be fixed, such as the television and furniture."

"Liss, I don't know if I can go back there. The pictures and writing on the walls, it was just all too much."

"Christian can stay with us for a bit if that'll make you feel safer," Lissa offered.

"And you know that Adrian would do anything for you," Sydney said. There was something in her voice that I didn't catch.

Before I could say anything, my Apple Watch chimed, and my phone echoed it. Lissa's eyes dropped to it.

"When did you get an Apple Watch?"

"It was a late birthday present from McKenna and—" I cut off, but Lissa noticed and looked at me expectantly. "And my parents. McKenna found a whole box of stuff they left me that I never knew about, and she found out that they had left some money to make my 18th extra special."

"While don't you tell us all about the box on the way to school?"

"I need my car, Liss. You and Sydney have practice today, and I need to come back here to get some stuff. I'll come back to the apartment if Christian and Adrian will hang around for a bit."

Lissa beamed. "Practice was canceled today, actually. So, I can just drive you back here afterward, and we can gather up some of your stuff."

She looked eager to spend time with me, and I couldn't say no. McKenna still had the box in her car, and as I got in the backseat of Lissa's car, I texted her and asked her to keep it safe somewhere for now. I checked my notifications from when my phone went off and saw a message from Dimitri.

Dimitri (7:12): Call me.

"Who texted you?" She glanced at me in the rearview mirror and then answered her own question. "Another one-night stand?"

"Kinda?"

"Rose!"

"He might be something more, so shush," I teased. "You've been begging me to get a boyfriend and stop fooling around for how long now?"

Lissa laughed. "Touché. Is he hot?"

"Extremely."

The rest of the ride was spent talking about the box and how it was mostly filled with pictures. I didn't mention the letter or the fact that they were both a part of the FBI, but Lissa's pensive mood meant that I didn't have to, as she focused on the photographs part.

First period was about to start when we arrived, but instead of going to class, I slipped into Dimitri's classroom. The room was empty, and his office door was open.

"Rose," he said. "Come in."

"Sorry I didn't call. Lissa's been stuck by my side."

He put a newspaper in front of me. One of the articles described exactly what Lissa told me about the apartment. "This was brought to my attention shortly after I left you at the house. Gallagher brought it up during a conference call, and I managed to find the paper."

"Do you believe it?" I asked.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. The signs all pointed to this being personal against you, but the other victims on the same night point to a different conclusion."

"Lissa said the apartment was fixed, and she convinced me to move back in. I agreed on the condition that Adrian and Christian stay with us for a while, although I'm not exactly sure where they'll be staying," I said.

"Be safe, Roza," Dimitri said. I promised I would, and he kissed me softly before kicking me out to get to class.

After school, my conversation with Sydney and Lissa picked back up. Lissa had brought Christian along to help box up some of the clothes that I had there that still fit. I left most of the clothes there since they didn't quite fit anymore. McKenna was in the kitchen when we left, a look in her eye, but she didn't have time to do much except hug me before Lissa was pulling me out of the house.

Everything was smooth sailing when we got back to the apartment, but I knew that I would have a few nightmares regardless. Adrian and Christian did their best to help me when they could and moved back out a month later.

Lissa started prepping for Halloween the second October first rolled around, and I couldn't not indulge her. She planned our group costumes and decorated our apartment from bottom to top.

The decorations stayed up for a few days after Halloween passed, but as the weather started to get chilly, Thanksgiving decorations started popping up.

"I can't believe that the semester is almost over," Lissa said. We were lounging on our new couch, watching television on a newer and bigger model.

"Only a few more weeks left until Christmas break and then a few months before we graduate," I said, sighing.

There was still so much to do. Tomorrow was the last day of classes before our five-day Thanksgiving break, but I wasn't going to be there. Dimitri wanted me to come over tonight, and our nights together always ran late, even though we still hadn't had sex since the first time months ago. We stayed up talking about everything and anything.

"Are you visiting your lover tonight?" Lissa teased.

I nodded. "But I'm still spending Thanksgiving with you! Promise."

"You should bring him to Thanksgiving," she said, nonchalantly.

I shot her a look. "Not happening, Lissa. We aren't even dating!"

Which was true. We hadn't technically "defined the relationship".

"Rose."

"Maybe for Christmas, okay?" I said. "I'll talk to him tonight."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. Be safe!"

"Always am," I called back, walking out the door.

The drive to Dimitri's apartment was always short, and I readied myself. I wanted to have sex tonight and had come prepared, including wearing lingerie under my clothes. Dimitri was dressed nicer than usual when he opened the door and smiled brightly when he saw me.

"You look beautiful," he said. "As always."

There were lit candles on the table, and food was already laid out for us. We were halfway through our meal when he paused.

"I know this is difficult, Rose. Not being able to actually go out like a real couple because of our status," he said. "But I'm glad we can have it anyways."

"Me too," I said, truthfully. Coyly, I added, "But what exactly is our status as a "real couple"?"

"How do you make doing air quotations look hot and not geeky?" Dimitri said, and I laughed, throwing my napkin at him.

"Just answer the damn question."

"Roza, I've wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend for the past month and a half, but I didn't want to push it."

"You're not pushing anything."

"Then would you do me the honor of officially being my girlfriend?"

I nodded, and he broke out into a full smile again before getting up from the table to sweep me into a hug. He murmured something in Russian, and I smiled against his chest.

"We need to discuss who we can tell," I said. "Lissa has been bugging me to tell her something about you and is mad I won't even tell her your name. I had to change your contact in my phone, in case she saw something."

"If you want to tell Lissa, if you trust her, that's fine with me. But you can't tell her about how I'm not technically your teacher."

I promised I wouldn't and tugged Dimitri towards the bedroom. I stripped off my dress in front of him, revealing the lacy lingerie. His eyes roamed over me, hungry, but yet he still turned away. I reached out to stop him, and as he turned back towards me, I leaned forward, kissing him. My brain shut off as I pulled him back to me and started working my hands under his shirt.

"Rose."

"Shush." I pulled back briefly. "Unless you don't want to do this."

He shifted against me, and his breath hitched. "I think you can feel how much I want this," he said, rolling his hips. "But is it the best idea?"

"You're not technically my teacher," I pointed out. "Plus, you like me, and I like you. So why the fuck shouldn't we?"

Dimitri laughed and surged up to kiss me again. I got my hands underneath his shirt again, so I could pull it over his head. He slid his hands down to cup my ass in return and took me to his bed.

It didn't take as much persuading as I thought it would have.

I woke in the morning to stifling warmth, just like I always did when I stayed over. I snuggled further under the covers, secretly enjoying the warmth.

"Stop moving," Dimitri grumbled, shifting.

"Sorry."

As I went to turn over to fall back asleep, I brushed up against Dimitri, and felt his very eager morning wood. He couldn't stifle his groan, and I couldn't help but chase it. It didn't take long before we were both naked, and his eyes roamed my body, dark and hungry in the light of day, but filled with another emotion that I didn't want to name. I looked away and started trailing kisses down his body. His hands tangled in my hair briefly before guiding me back up to his lips.

"Do you have more condoms?"

Dimitri froze before swearing in Russian. "No, I don't. We used them last night. Did you bring any?"

"They're in my car. I wasn't thinking last night." I studied him for a second, seeing the longing in his face. "I'm clean," I said. "And on birth control."

"Rose. That's not safe."

"Are you saying you're not clean?" I challenged.

"Of course I'm clean. But are you sure this is the best idea?"

"Shut up and fuck me."

He flipped us over quickly. "You shouldn't have unprotected sex with people.

"I don't make a habit of it," I said, squirming. "Please, Dimitri."

"You're on birth control?"

I nodded. "Depo shot every three months. I'm good for another month and a half."

Dimitri kissed me then and hitched my leg up around his waist to give him a better angle. It didn't take long to set the right pattern, and I could feel my fingernails leaving scratches on his back. At one point, we flipped over again so that I was riding him, and his hands gripped my hips tight enough for bruises. One of his hands slid between us to play with my clit, while the other wandered up to tug me down closer to him.

"Roza, Я люблю тебя," he whispered. "Roza!"

He came before me, but barely a moment had passed before I was on my back again, and his face was between my thighs. My fingers were wound so tight in his hair, I was surprised it wasn't hurting him. After I came, he continued to lay between my legs, his head resting on my chest. The room smelled of sex, but we were both completely sated.

"God, I fucking love you."

I slid away from him, just as the alarm for school went off. "I need to shower."

Dimitri didn't follow me into the shower like I was expecting, and I relaxed under the hot water for as long as I could before washing my hair and getting out. Dimitri hopped in after me, and when he got out, I was already dressed.

The silence was almost stifling as we ate breakfast. It didn't help that I was skipping school today to visit McKenna since she was back in town and I had promised to come to see her. She was staying at my parents' old house again.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Dimitri asked for the umpteenth time since I had told him of the plans two weeks ago.

"That's the second time you've said that this morning. And the first time worked out great, didn't it?"

"Rose."

I sighed. "I promised McKenna that I would come over today, and I still don't feel completely comfortable at school. I don't want to spend every single day looking over my shoulder."

Even though the last couple of months had been quiet, neither of us were content believing that my apartment getting destroyed and me being terrorized was a random act.

"And if they go back to the house?"

"They would have to know that I'm there to come, and I haven't been there in months."

He stood and put his cereal bowl in the sink, sighing. "There's still a risk, being so far away from help."

"The first thing I did when I came home after being kidnapped was enrolling in self-defense courses. I can hold my own in a fight now."

He shot me a teasing look. "Maybe we'll have to test it out one day."

I grinned. "I'm sure that you could give me some pointers."

Dimitri smiled before turning serious once more. "Call me if you need anything. I'll try to keep an eye on my phone."

I nodded. "I will."

I started towards the apartment door; every time I spent the night, I would always leave first, a few minutes before Dimitri to avoid suspicions.

"Rose," he reached out and grabbed my hand before I could reach the door, "I'm sorry. For earlier."

"Don't be. It happens, Dimitri," I said. "You aren't the first to blurt out a love confession during sex, and you won't be the last."

"Rose—"

"I'm not finished," I said, cutting him off. "To be honest, right now, I don't love you. But I can see myself loving you. I can see myself falling for you."

His smile was blinding. "Roza," he whispered.

I leaned forward to kiss him briefly before pulling back. "Go teach your class. I'll see you later."

He stole another kiss, and I laughed. I left the apartment before we spent the next hour kissing and tried not to look back as I walked down to my car. The drive to my parents' house passed in no time, and I pulled up outside of it forty minutes later.

McKenna was leaning against the kitchen counter when I walked in, a cup in her hand. She took a sip with a mischievous smile.

"Fun night?"

"And fun morning," I corrected, and she laughed.

"It's good to see you happy," she said. "It's been a while, both in seeing you and in seeing you happy."

My smile faded slightly. "Yeah, it has been. But it's been a long time coming. I think I deserve a bit of happiness."

"I'll toast to that," she said, raising her mug. We moved to the living room to catch up, and her phone going off stopped us.

"Shit, I have an appointment that I need to get to that I forgot about," she said, rolling her eyes. "But I'll be back in a couple of hours."

I gave her a quick hug and returned to sitting on the couch, scrolling through my phone. I was texting Dimitri funny memes I found and hoping that he would pick up his phone at some point during the day to check them and have a small laugh. The house was quiet, the way I liked it, and I leaned back against the armrest, relaxing. I was more tired than I expected.

I was startled out of the bubble of silence by my car alarm blaring.

"Fucking squirrels," I muttered. It wasn't the first time that a squirrel had set off the alarm by jumping onto my car or by dropping their acorns, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

I grabbed my keys off the counter and walked out the front door to shut it off. I froze as soon as the car came into view. The driver-side window was completely busted, and I could see the jagged glass reflecting in the sun even from a distance. Instinct was telling me to run back inside, to lock the doors and hide, but a white piece of paper was stuck under my wiper and I couldn't resist walking out to see what it said. Upon closer inspection of the car, I could see that at least two of my tires were slashed, rendering the car practically useless. My gas flap was open, and the wet ground around the car clued me enough to know that even if I wanted to risk driving the car, it wouldn't be able to get very far. I numbly hit the button on the key fob to stop the shrilling noise, barely realizing that it had been going off for so long. The white paper held my attention, and I glanced around before taking it off the car.

Not very smart in coming back, Rosemarie. Didn't you realize that not only would we expect you to be here, but that we have eyes watching everywhere you? You can run, Rosemarie. But you can't hide. Sooner or later, we will get you. And your FBI boyfriend can't do anything about it.

Sooner was written harder, emphasizing it, as if I wouldn't realize that sooner meant now if it hadn't been forcibly bolded. At the bottom of the paper was a faded stamp, and I could barely make out the body of a dragon. I glanced around unsteadily, expecting to see someone watching me from the woods. There was not a single noise that I could hone in on, and the silence of the world around me was deafening, no longer relaxing.

I hurried back into the house, locking the door behind me, and running upstairs. I shut and locked my bedroom door, and then shut the closet door behind me. I sat against the back wall, facing the door, half-hidden by clothes. I was alone. I didn't know how long McKenna would be gone for or even how far away she was. Dimitri was at least 30 minutes away if he didn't break any traffic laws.

I snapped a quick picture of the letter and texted it to Dimitri before calling him. He was in class right now, and while he said that he was going to try to keep an eye on his phone, I wasn't holding out hope that he would answer right away. When it went to voicemail, I hung up and called once more, thinking that maybe his phone was on Do Not Disturb and it would be answered this time around. When he didn't answer a second time, I dialed the school's number.

The automated voice went through the whole spiel about knowing the extension to dial at any time and then through all the options to reach certain people, and I cursed myself for not knowing Dimitri's extension. I hit 0 to get to the operator, and finally, someone picked up.

"Vladimir High School."

"Can you transfer me to Mr. Belikov?"

"He's in a class right now. May I ask who's calling and take a message?"

"I don't have time to wait for him to call me back. I need to talk to him right now."

"Ma'am, I can't just transfer you for no reason."

I nearly shouted. "It's an emergency! I need to talk to him, right now! Please."

The woman sighed, and then I heard the hold music come on. Less than a minute later, the phone was picked up again.

"Mr. Belikov." His voice was warm, even over the phone, and I managed to relax slightly. "Hello?"

"D-Dimitri!" I said. "I need you to get here as soon as you can. They're here, they never left."

I heard him shift the phone, and his voice lowered. "Rose, you need to get out of there."

"I can't," I said, feeling the panic attack start to take hold as the numbness wore out. "They slashed my tires and drained my gas tank. I went outside because my car alarm was going off, my window was smashed, and the tires slashed. There was a note on the windshield."

"How long have they been there?"

"I don't know. The car alarm went off roughly five minutes ago, I think, but I don't know how long they've been hanging around."

"Is McKenna there?"

I shook my head. "She left to go to an appointment. Dimitri, I'm so fucking scared."

"Rose, listen to me. I need you to hide and don't come out until I get there, no matter who shows up at the house. Do you understand?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "I understand."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he said. "Stay safe. I love you."

The line went dead, and I tried not to count the minutes until Dimitri would be able to get here. I was shaking as I opened my messages to Dimitri to share my location with him. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen before he got here. They set off the car alarm on purpose, and it wouldn't be long until they got into the house.

My hands were shaking as I pulled out the note again and flipped it over to write on the back. The writing was nearly illegible without a hard surface to write on, but I wasn't going to risk coming out of the closet to use my desk. I folded the piece of paper up, hoping that Dimitri would find it if I was gone by the time he got here. That Dimitri would find it when he got here, and I was gone.

I don't know how long I was sitting against the wall, but I was startled out of my trance when I heard the front door creak. The thing was so old that the sound reverberated through the house, even upstairs and through closed doors. I contemplated calling Dimitri again but decided against it in case it was McKenna, and if it wasn't her, I didn't want to give away my location. I put my phone on silent, not wanting to make a sound, and opened my messages to McKenna.

To McKenna (12:13): Where are you? Are you downstairs?

I strained my ears to try to hear who was in the house, if it was McKenna or if it was someone with sinister intentions. My gut told me that it wasn't McKenna, and my Apple Watch vibrating only confirmed it.

From McKenna (12:14): No. Someone else is there?

To McKenna (12:14): Yes. They're back. Dimitri's on his way.

From McKenna (12:15): Stay safe. Please. Hide.

To McKenna (12:15): I am. I'm scared.

As my watch lit up again, I took it off my wrist and took off the straps. I tucked the body of the watch into the band of my bra and prayed that it wouldn't be discovered. I stuck the bands into the pocket of an old jacket, alongside the note, hoping that Dimitri would see them when he saw the note. I could hear footsteps tracking closer to my door and could hear other bedroom doors slamming open. I pushed myself back into the corner of the closet are far as I could, letting some of the clothes hang over me.

My hands were still shaking as I texted Dimitri.

To Dimitri (12:22): They're here. In the house. I can hear them getting closer.

I heard the bedroom door handle jiggle, and I cursed myself for locking it. They might have continued walking past if that hadn't given away the room that I was in. I heard the door burst open and bang against the wall. My chest was tight, and I was struggling to breathe properly as panic swept through me.

"Rose?"

I recognized the voice. And I almost came out of the closet until she spoke again.

"Rose, please come out. I don't want to hurt you."

The pieces started to fall into place and I bereted myself for not putting it together sooner. There were so many signs, but the one thing I couldn't figure out is why. Before I could finish typing my message to Dimitri, the closet door opened.

"There you are." She stalked across the closet and snatched the phone from my hand. "Should have known that you would cozy up with Belikov. Have you fucked him yet?" Her voice was mocking, and I glared at her.

I started gearing up for a fight, my fists balling up, when she spoke. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I didn't come here alone."

I continued to glare at her. "Why? How could you do this?"

Her face softened, and remorse showed through her eyes for a second. "I had to, Rose. I'm sorry. But I had to."

"You don't have to do this. You can leave, and I won't say anything."

She laughed, her voice cold, and the remorse gone. "It's too late for that. I don't have a choice anymore."

"You always have a choice," I said. "Please. I trusted you. You don't have to do this."

Her face softened, again, but only fractionally. "I know. And I'm sorry it's lasted this long. It should have been over the first time."

The first time. She's not sorry for hurting me. She's sorry for not finishing it off months ago.

"Just come quietly, and it'll all be over soon," she said. "You've given everybody enough trouble already."

I started weighing my options again, knowing that I was probably stronger than her, but also considering the validity of someone else actually being here. Before I could do anything, a taller man stepped into the room. I recognized him too and pushed myself further back into the closet. She stepped back to let him into the closet, and the last thing I remembered seeing was a white cloth coming towards my face.

Dimitri POV

As soon as I hung up the phone, I was striding out of the classroom and into the main office. I didn't even care if the students heard me call Rose by her name or if they heard me tell her I love her. I wouldn't be teaching anymore once this was over.

"I have an emergency, and I need to go. Please send a sub to my classroom," I said on the way through the office.

I didn't wait for Renee's response and walked out of the office. At this point, I didn't care about blowing my cover, not when Rose was in danger. A nagging feeling in the back of my mind told me that I wouldn't be too late to get to her in time, but I pushed it down and kept moving.

As soon as my car was clear from the parking lot, I turned on my car's siren and hit the highway at nearly 100 miles per hour. I used the radio to call for backup to Rose's address, as cars pulled over left and right and I kept getting closer to the house. At one point, two police cars pulled out beside me, their sirens on as well. I kept up my speed as I got off the highway, and only slowed down slightly when I hit the dirt road.

The gate to Rose's driveway was open, and I swore. I saw tire tracks in the gravel, definitely fresh, and I slammed on the brakes as I reached the house and left my siren on as I ran towards the house.

"Rose!"

"What's going on?" One of the police officers followed me into the house, and I pulled out my badge with one hand.

"Dimitri Belikov, FBI," I said. "Search this house for a girl with short dark hair. Her name is Rose Hathaway. We need to hurry, especially if she's not here."

The officer turned to the other two that followed him in and repeated what I said as I ran up the stairs. As soon as I saw her bedroom door, I knew for a fact that we were too late. The door was hanging open, the door frame was busted, and pieces were hanging off. I pulled my gun out of my holster, just in case, and pushed the door the rest of the way open.

The closet door was hanging open, and I could see Rose's phone sitting on the ground. One of her jackets was half off the hanger, and I could see something white inside. It was the same note that Rose texted to me, but seeing the dragon stamp better on the paper made my blood run cold as I realized everything I was missing and everything that was dismissed as irrelevant. Everything that was dismissed by a certain agent. My blood boiled as I continued to think about it, and I pulled out my phone to call the director of the FBI when something on the back of the note caught my eye.

The handwriting was scratchy and nearly made holes in the paper at one point, but the email address and password that was written there were clear. Rose's phone was laying on the ground, but upon closer inspection, I realized that her watch bands were also left inside of the pocket with the note. The watch itself was missing, and I didn't hesitate in pulling out my phone to track her Apple Watch.

Two dots appeared on the map when I logged in with Rose's credentials. One of the dots wasn't moving, her phone, but the other was steadily getting further and further from the house, and further from the city.

I walked back downstairs, where more officers had arrived, my eyes on my phone watching the dot go further and further. There were a couple of FBI agents in the foyer of the house, too, including Winchester. My eyes narrowed, and he looked away as soon as my eyes landed on him.

"We couldn't find her."

"I know. We need to move now. I have a lead, so call as much backup as you can. We're going to need it."