A/N: See intro for the standard stuff. There's a lot going on here. I hope not too much. Please R&R. I'm needy.

Ryan felt someone staring at him through the glass of the lab and looked up from what he was working on. Annabel waved at him. He motioned for her to come into the room.

"Hey, Ryan. What's up?"

"I thought you were supposed to be off with your sister today. Not poking around here."

"I'm not poking. Okay. I am. Elie wanted a little time alone and was then coming by with Roger's wife to help..." Annabel stopped at the look Ryan gave her. Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied. He looked back down at his notes. "You know, H said to call him if you stopped by." Ryan looked back up at Annabel.

Annabel shrugged. "I'm not surprised. You can go ahead and call him. But you're changing the subject, Ryan."

"You really shouldn't be here, Annie. Elie's a suspect," he said seriously.

"What? That's nuts. There are several witnesses to the fact that she wasn't the one who shot Roger."

Ryan looked at Annabel with pity. "There was only one room booked at the hotel, Annie. With one bed."

Annabel furrowed her brow taking a minute to understand what Ryan was dancing around. Her eyes narrowed. "Elie and Roger?" Ryan just shrugged. "I didn't know. She's never said anything." Annabel furrowed her brows and bit her lip. "Thinking along those lines would make his wife a suspect too. Has anyone been checked what Roger's wife's been up to?" Annabel started to reach for her phone.

"Detective McGinty." Annabel's head dropped when she heard Horatio's voice. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

Busted, Ryan mouthed at her. Annabel resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Ryan. She turned slowly around and looked up at Horatio. She thought she saw a brief flicker of relief in his eyes and was confused. It was quickly gone and Horatio focused a very annoyed look on her.

"Horatio." Annabel gave him a small smile.

"I believe you were told to stay out of this and here I find you exactly where you're not supposed to be."

Annabel shrugged, not apologetic in the least. "Guilty as charged, I afraid. Although, I missed when I got the tether." She lifted her leg and patted her ankle. "Hmm. Don't feel it either." She flashed Horatio an insolent look.

"My office. Now."

"Can I just make sure that..." Annabel caught the icy look Horatio was giving her. She clenched her jaw, anger began a slow burn in her stomach.

She followed Horatio down the hall, her head tilted and her chin held defiantly up. She shut the door behind them and turned.

"How soundproof is you office, Horatio? I'll warn you this is not going to be pretty." Horatio frowned at Annabel. She planted her fists on her hips. "Elie is my sister. You really aren't expecting me to stay completely out of this are you?"

"Annabel, that is one reason why you have to stay out of this."

Annabel looked at the ground, bit her lip and then looked back up at Horatio. Her eyes were dark, "Like you stayed out of Ray's case," she said in a quiet, steely voice. "And he was already dead."

Horatio looked away. "That was..."

Annabel threw up her hands. Her voice rose in both pitch and volume. "Different? Why? Because that was you and this isn't? Way to be impartial." Annabel shot him a venomous look and started to pace.

"Annabel. It isn't just that."

She stopped and looked at Horatio. "Yes. I'm well aware of the whole mole thing and how your lab is under scrutiny. But it's not working this time. You aren't going to sidetrack me. You kept picking at your brother's case even when he was dead and you expect me to keep out of something involving my very much alive sister? Someone I'd very much like to keep that way. Great double standard. I'm not going the 'do as I say not as I do' route."

Horatio stepped in front of her, ending her angry striding. "So, tell me about your book. The one Elie was promoting now. What's it about?" he asked calmly.

Annabel stopped and tilted her head, her furious mind shifting suddenly. "It isn't really my book. Elie does all the work. I just help a little." Annabel frowned. "You want to know about the book?"

"Yes. What is it about?"

Annabel ran her fingers through her hair. "It's very West Side Story-ish. Guy and girl from rival gangs. He's street level, but the brother of someone high up the ladder. She ends up dead. The boyfriend is of course blamed."

"Was it based on a case you worked on in Chicago?"

Annabel's head shot up. There was a panicked look in them. She looked back down at the floor. "The other one's weren't. Elie always came up with the stories. I just read them over and helped with the procedural end of them. Made sure it was accurate, believable," she said quietly.

"But this one was different."

Annabel looked up at Horatio. "I'm guessing you've already figured that out."

"The bullet that killed Hernandez came back as matching a case out of Chicago."

Annabel went pale. She closed her eyes. "Luna Juarez." Suddenly she felt very shaky and her anger turned to sickness.

"Yes. You don't seem entirely surprised." Horatio took Annabel's elbow and steered her toward a chair.

"I think, Annabel, that you had better sit down and tell me the whole story. Both of them."

"This isn't about Roger. This is about the book. It is about me. I need to get Elie from the hotel." Annabel started to stand up. Horatio kept her from going far.

"There's someone doing that. Someone went out as soon as I saw the Juarez case had been yours and the tape of your sister's interview. They'll bring her back."

"How did they figure out? I mean gangbangers aren't really the audience for the books. I didn't even know she was doing interviews in Miami. A couple of book signings, yes, but..."

"Has she done any television interviews in Chicago?"

Annabel ran her fingers through her hair. "She made the rounds. It is where she's from. Her books have gotten pretty popular. Elie also did some of the nationals. The Early Show and GMA, maybe Regis and Kelly. I'm not entirely sure. If I wanted to know, all of her appearances go up on her website. Or anyone could have called up Roger's office and asked. I wasn't really paying attention. I was busy. I knew she was coming to Miami. We were getting together, but I didn't really know her schedule." Annabel took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts in order. She sighed. "We haven't no clue who did this. Luna's case is listed as unsolved. Paulie. Paulie Cabral, the guy who was originally convicted of Luna's murder. He was Luna's boyfriend. He's dead too. Murdered too." Annabel looked down and shook her head.

"You don't think he killed Luna."

Annabel looked up at Horatio, her eyes steady. "No, I don't. The evidence was completely circumstantial. There was nothing hard. I interrogated him. Things didn't fit. There was a lot of pressure to wrap the case up. Luna's dad is very prominent in the community. Had connections to all the way to the mayor's office." Annabel sighed. "I helped get the conviction, but I couldn't let it drop. Things didn't feel right. Before Luna was killed, Paulie had dropped his gang. He was trying to get into college. Trying to get off the streets. With some help, Paulie got a decent lawyer and conviction was overturned. Paulie got out. But he was dead within the week. We never caught whoever killed him. Couldn't put the pieces together." Annabel looked down. "That's why I left Chicago in the end. I was pretty sure Paulie's brother was involved." Annabel looked at Horatio, her eyes brimming with disgust. "But Rafe Cabral was a well protected informant. For the Feds. For the task force I was with. And suddenly I just couldn't do it any more. Let killers and dealers go so they could get bigger fish. I couldn't play that game. Watch their smug faces as they waltzed right out. Back to killing." Annabel laced her hands behind her head looked down at the floor and massaged the back of her neck with her thumbs.

"So, you had your sister write the ending you wanted," prompted Horatio.

"Stupid, huh? God, was it stupid." Annabel looked at Horatio hot tears filling her eyes.

"Not really."

"Yes, really. It looks pretty stupid right now. I got Roger killed, Elie's in danger and it's all because I couldn't let a case go."

"None of it is your fault, Annabel." Horatio squatted down in front of Annabel. He took her hand and held it loosely. "You can't save them all, Annabel."

Annabel gave him a sad smile. "And yet we still keep trying." Horatio pulled Annabel to him so her head rested on his shoulder. He held her gently, wishing he could ease what she was feeling. He squeezed her tightly and stood up. Annabel stood up with him.

"Bella, I have some things to take care of. I'm going to leave you here. Please just stay here."

"I'm not some child, Horatio."

Horatio shook his head. "No, Bella. You aren't. But you are very upset right now and you think everything is yours to fix." He reached over, squeezed her hand and let it go. "I don't want something to happen to you, Annabel."

Annabel reached out and touched Horatio's cheek. She ran her fingers along his jaw and then dropped her hand to her side. "Can I at least go to my desk? I have other cases I can work on. I just can't sit around here."

"I would prefer you to stay right where you are."

She narrowed her eyes at Horatio. "You don't trust me to stay out of this."

"With good reason. But Annabel that isn't the reason."

"Then what is it?"

"If the person who shot Roger is smart enough to figure out the book was connected to the case..."

"They might figure I'm here too." Annabel searched his face. "You don't think Roger being killed in Miami is coincidence."

"I don't think you do either. Annabel, I mean it. I don't want you going out there. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Annabel's shoulders slumped. She looked out into the room and took a deep breath. "Do you know how hard this is for me? This just sitting. This hiding."

"I do."

"Just so you understand. You know, I won't sit idle forever."

"I don't expect you to. Do you understand why I'm asking this of you?" Horatio turned Annabel's face so she looked into his eyes. She smiled slightly and ran her fingers over his jaw.

"I do."

Horatio took Annabel's hand and held it. He ran his thumb over her fingers and looked at their hands.

"I am sorry you are getting so frustrated by all of this. I know I'm asking a lot of you. Asking you to do something I couldn't, I wouldn't be able to do."

Annabel reached up and brushed her fingers along his cheek. "I'll keep out of trouble. You just be careful too, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you either."

"I'll be fine, Annabel."

"You'd better be. If you get hurt, I'll have to kill you."

Horatio chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better. I don't make idle threats, Horatio."

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