Chapter Twenty-Five

Javi couldn't get Alexis on the phone. He'd been discharged from the hospital just in time to get a very angry call from Captain Beckett concerning Alexis' involvement in an ongoing murder investigation and undercover narcotics operation. After getting reamed by his boss, Javi had tried to call Alexis. No answer. Hours had passed, and when she hadn't checked in with Captain Beckett at her safehouse like she'd promised to, Javi began to allow himself to worry. Her phone was turned off; there would be no tracking her that way. It was nearing thirty-six hours since she'd left Kevin's apartment, and nobody had any idea where she was.

Reaching out to Kevin was necessary, given that he knew more about Moreno than the police did. He'd had one-on-one conversations with the guy, so having Kevin involved helped immensely, but Javi couldn't lie when he said that he had a hard time looking at Kevin they way that he used to.

After Alexis' purging session, where Javi learned more than he wanted about Kevin and Alexis' personal interactions, he found it hard to look him in the eye. He had to remind himself he was doing it for Alexis. Plus, it wasn't like Javi's opinion on the matter would matter much anyway.

It was too hard to believe that Moreno had nothing to do with it. He was the only one out there who had a real and clear motive to go after her. And it seemed to lazy to assume that Alexis was at home asleep and had her phone turned off. But that hadn't stopped him from making a trip to her place. He'd knocked until his knuckles hurt and then he'd asked fellow tenants if they had seen her, but nobody had anything to say.

They'd even contacted her father, but he didn't have any light to shed on her sudden disappearance. With each dead end, Javi grew more and more edgy.

Kevin seemed cool on the outside, like he had everything under control and knew what the hell was going on, but Javi knew Kevin more than most did, so he knew that if Kevin was trying so hard to look that good on the outside that he was just as nervous as everyone else was on the inside.

They had yet to talk, but that was mostly because Captain Beckett was running the show for the moment and when she was talking, people listened carefully. They were working the case as they worked every other case they had, which meant that Javi and a few other detectives had been the phones calling everyone they knew Alexis had been in contact with.

Javi didn't understand just how much of a workaholic Alexis had turned into until he'd heard more than a couple of her friends say that they hadn't heard from Alexis in months. He knew that she'd been working hard and respected that, but knowing that she was blocking people out of her life, it made Javi feel like he should have known that Alexis was shutting herself in. He knew she'd taken her break up with Kevin pretty hard, but he always suspected that she had a few close friends to talk to about it. Apparently he had been wrong.

He knew that certain cases were more intense and physically demanding than others, but he didn't know that Alexis would bury herself so deep that she would lose herself. He felt like he should have done something with him being her partner. Maybe if he had, she wouldn't be in whatever position she was currently in.

While Beckett updated everybody in on all the information they had so far, Javi kept his eyes on Kevin, who was standing on the opposite side of the room, staring at board as Beckett pointed.

Kevin wasn't exactly the same Kevin everyone was used to seeing. A lot about his appearance had changed, which made sense, but it still left Javi feeling a little uneasy. He was dressed nicely as Kevin was known to do, but that was just one piece of the man standing there. He was wearing glasses, his hair was styled in a sloppier fashion than what Kevin liked and his eyes were different too. Brown eyes had made contact with Javi's only a couple of times. Kevin was wearing contacts.

He clearly wasn't half-assing anything. Then again, Javi wasn't truly looking at Kevin, the man that he had been friends with for years, no, this man was Fenton O'Connell and he and Kevin were almost nothing alike.

Whether he understood it or not, Javi had to respect Kevin's determination and dedication to his job. Not even Javi knew he could be as versatile as his former partner. No wonder Alexis didn't notice him at first. He looked like Kevin, but at the same time he was nothing like the man who had been his best friend.

Beckett and Kevin's boss wanted to stay in character, just in case things went sideways. He had to look and act the part.

Captain Beckett directed attention to Kevin and everyone turned to look at him. As he began to talk, Javi noticed a change in his voice. He probably knew that he didn't have to keep his accent in front of them. While he talked to everyone about the man in question, Javi listened carefully, but in the back on his mind all he could think was had Kevin really been working undercover in a BDSM club? Of course, it was true, but it was still a lot to take in.

Javi was no prude, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. Not only did Kevin do it for a case, but he also used as way to protect Alexis. Javi had his own thoughts about that though. Maybe Kevin did it as a way to get close to Alexis again. He was broken when their relationship ended; maybe Fenton helped more than Kevin though he would.

Once Kevin was done filling in the room on everything that he knew, Beckett released everyone for the time being, but that didn't mean that their job was done.

Kevin's boss and Beckett entered her office and while everyone else scrambled back to their desks, Javi noticed that he and Kevin were left alone, standing a mere three feet away from each other.

He didn't want to force a conversation that might get a little too awkward, but how could he not something to the man he hadn't seen in almost a year?

"Hey, man. Long time no see."

"Yeah, well, I've been busy," he said, gesturing to his new look.

"I can tell." Javi nodded, before continuing. "You're not wearing as much product in your hair as when I last saw you."

"Well, some of us don't need it."

Javi shook his laugh with a chuckle. "So, you think this is tied to your case?"

"I do and you do too, don't you?"

"I do. I can't think of any other reason for her to just be out there and not communicating to anyone."

"She check in a lot?"

"Usually. I didn't want to jump the shark, but after I couldn't get ahold of her, my mind just went to Moreno."

"She tell you a lot about him?"

"No more than you have."

"What else did she tell you? I mean about how she met him and everything?"

"You mean about her time at the club?"

Kevin nodded.

"It's where our vic frequented and she had a hunch her murder was tied to someone there. Guess she was right."

Kevin nodded again. "Anything else?"

Javi looked at him and sighed, knowing that they were about to breach awkward territory.

"Yeah, she told me quite a bit," he said, not really looking in Kevin's direction.

Kevin dropped his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, listen, about that. I just want you to know that I don't go to those places for fun, man. I was there because of a case—"

"I know. You don't need to explain that to me. I get it."

"Good."

Biting his tongue may have been a good choice, but he knew Kevin, and felt like they could talk freely with one another. They always had before. "What I don't entirely get is why you weren't upfront with Alexis from the drop. Would it have been so hard to tell her the truth about who you really were?"

"After what we went through, I knew that telling her the truth would have pushed her away. Hell, I may have pushed her towards Moreno towards the beginning, so . . ."

"So, what? You get a free pass for lying to her?"

"She knows now, Javi."

"I know that she knows, but that doesn't make up for all the times that she didn't know and you were able to . . . do whatever it was that you guys did."

"I get that."

"And what, it doesn't matter? She should just forgive you and move on?"

"You sound like her father, Javi."

"I'm her partner and friend. I care about her."

"Why didn't you know about her coming to the club for so long, if you're such a great friend?"

Javi blinked, a little taken aback. "Seriously? You're going there?"

"No, I'm just saying that if you're going to put me under the spotlight, maybe you should be put there, too."

Javi took a step back for a moment, trying to not to let his emotions drive the conversation, because that might just lead to a real argument and that wasn't what was needed at that particular moment.

"I'm not her babysitter."

"No, you're not. You are supposed to have her back though. You never found anything weird about her behavior over the past months?"

"I chalked it up to her being so broken up about what happened between the two of you."

"All I'm saying is that someone had to be there to watch her back and that responsibility landed on my shoulders, and I think I did a decent job of that."

"You call this a decent job? Really? She's missing, Kevin. Where were you? Because you didn't have her back when she really needed it." Javi was no longer worried about who may or may not be able to hear them. He needed to get it off of his chest. "Where were you, Kevin? Or am I talking to someone else right now? Let me know."

The other man didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes let Javi know that he wasn't impressed with the conversation so far.

Javi decided to up the stakes. "Does Fenton O'Connell's version of having someone's back mean that it's okay to take advantage? Was the decent thing to do? Because to me, it seems like all you cared about was getting you wanted out of it. If you truly cared, why weren't you there when she actually needed you?"

All throughout the bullpen, there were multiple eyes looking in the direction of Javi and Kevin, who were standing face to face. It was deadly silent as Javi's words lingered in the air.

As Javi's words settled, Kevin's head tilted to the side. "Well to answer your question in regards to who you are speaking to, it's Kevin. You wouldn't want to talk to the other guy. He's not as restrained as I am." Kevin straightened his back and held his head up high. "What happened between Alexis and I is between us. I don't owe you an explanation. I don't owe anyone in here an explanation. I did what I did because it was what was best for Alexis."

"You mean it was what was best for you, right?"

"Again, I don't have to answer to you, but you on the other hand, have a lot to answer for. I'm not her partner, you are, yet you didn't know what she had been doing for the last couple of months and even after everything was out in the open, you still managed to not protect her from the one man who was gunning for her, so I suggest that you take your attitude with me elsewhere, because it isn't relevant to the case. What is relevant is that Alexis is gone and her partner wasn't there for her." Kevin backed away and snickered. "I mean, seriously, you knew that Moreno was after her, so why didn't she have a security detail on her? You just let her walk out of here and thought that she'd be okay? I may have lied to Alexis, but I've been protecting her more than anyone else has."

Before Javi could process what had happened, he found himself in Kevin's face with his finger against the man's chest.

"If that were true, we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?"

"Wow, you really can't take responsibility, can you?"

"I take responsibility for not being more involved, but you need to take your share of responsibility, too. The facts are that she ended up in Moreno's sights because of her work at the club. Why didn't you just confess from the beginning who you really were? Why didn't you out her so that she wouldn't be able to show her face in that club? Was that ever an option that entered your brain?" Javi heard a door opened from behind him and in the back of his mind he knew who it was, but he didn't let himself stop. "Preach all you want, but her safety wasn't your top priority. The only thing that you cared about was yourself! Sure, you saved her from some guys who could have been the killer, but you didn't do it because you're a stand up guy, because if that were the case you never would have touched her!"

With all the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Javi didn't feel the full impact of Kevin's fist connecting with his nose.

Not even a second later, before Javi had time to reciprocate, they were being separated.

"Alright, guys! That's enough." Beckett voice rang out throughout the bullpen. She was stand between them, one hand on each of their chests. "Don't you think that we have more pressing issues to be dealing with right now? Don't forget what is most important at this moment. This is about finding Alexis and bringing in Moreno, not whatever this thing is between you two."

Blood appeared on Javi's hand as he held it up to his right nostril. He looked over at his attacker to see him with his glasses in hand as the other moved through his stupidly styled hair.

Javi wanted to respond, but he didn't know what to say. Beckett was right.

"Figure out what it is that you need to figure out or I'll be forced to pull you off the case." The last part of her statement was meant for Javi. "And if I see one more outburst from you, you'll only be consulting on this case, got it?" Both men stood there, not saying a word. "Do you understand what I'm saying or not?" Beckett repeated her voice loud and firm.

"Yes, Captain," Javi replied.

"Yes, Captain Beckett," Kevin confirmed with his head down.

"Good! Now deal with your problems after we have Alexis in custody and Moreno in handcuffs!"

Waking up and not remembering where you were or how you got there had never been part of Alexis' plans, but that hadn't stopped it from happening. She was blindfolded. That wasn't a good sign. She tried to move her arms and legs and found them bound. Another bad sign.

"Struggle all you want, Detective. I quite enjoy a show." The voice sent chills down her spine. She would have recognized it anywhere.

"Well congratulations, for you," she said, sitting up straighter in the chair. This was the man who had upended her life. The man she'd been trying to pin for months. And not only had she failed spectacularly, it looked like she would be his next victim. She was done. With all of it. Either way, Moreno was going to kill her, so why even try to plead with him? Why give him the satisfaction?

"Are you feeling feisty?"

"I just want you to get to the point." Alexis shrugged. "I mean, clearly you want me dead, so I don't know why you're going through the trouble of tying me up."

"I like to play with my food first."

"You know that's going to be your undoing one of these days, don't you?"

"It's served me well so far."

She lifted her chin, trying desperately to feel strong. "Well, now you're dealing with me."

Moreno let out a laugh, showing how comical he found Alexis' behavior. She knew that in some sick and twisted way he was getting a kick out of it.

"And you, what are you going to do?"

"Me? Nothing. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to have to do anything at all. Your other victims were nothing like me. They were people that you tricked and then controlled through intimidation, but that's not going to happen with me."

Her voice exuded confidence, but deep down, Alexis had no way of knowing whether she would make it out alive or not, but sitting there she thought about Amelia and how scared Amelia had to have felt when Moreno came after her, so she Alexis wasn't being brave for herself, she was being brave for every single person Moreno tired to intimidate. Whether he killed her or not, Alexis vowed to never show an ounce of fear.

Moreno suddenly moved forward and yanked off her blindfold. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. As it all became clearer, giving Alexis a view of her surroundings.

She knew immediately where she was. She'd been here before. She looked down at the chair that belonged to Fenton O'Connell. He'd taken her to Fenton's office. She almost laughed as she remembered some special about where she was. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"It hasn't escaped my notice how much time you've been spending here. It makes poetic sort of sense for your last moments to be spent here."

She shook her head. "You're framing Fenton."

He shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

A weight had been lifted from her. Moreno wouldn't make it out of this, even if he did kill her, because this specific office was bugged. She'd placed the device there herself. She wasn't going to die without getting justice for Amelia.

"What are you smiling about?" he frowned.

She shook her head. "If you're trying to scare me, you're doing a piss poor job of it."

Moreno looked at her, all traces of amusement erased from his face. "Let's see if I can change that."

Alexis continued to stare him down, not wavering as Moreno pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket. Her stomach dropped.

He placed one hand on the back of her head, digging his fingers into her hair to get a good handful and then held the steel to Alexis' face. He stared down at her, his expression stoic.

"You do have a pretty face, Detective, so please don't make me do too much damage." He dragged the blade down her face, not cutting her, but it was still feeling her with dread. He brought the blade down toward her neck, pulling her head back with a harsh yank. "Is there anything that you want to tell me?"

"Just that you desperately need to get better at your interrogation skills."

Somewhere Javi, Beckett, and possibly even Kevin himself was looking for her and when they didn't get there in time, they would still find her recording and they'd know that she didn't get this piece of shit anything that he wanted.

She felt a sense of pride that she was the one sitting in the chair with this mad man holding a knife on her, and yet she held all the power. No matter what, he wouldn't walk away with any information.

He pressed the cold steel against her throat, making her jerk slightly. "You might want to watch your mouth." He threatened and then stared her down. "What does the NYPD have on me?"

Alexis looked back at him, not saying a word. His grip tightened and Alexis let out a bitter growl. "Tell me about Amelia and maybe I'll talk."

"You're not in the position to negotiate."

"Then you'll just have to find yourself another detective to threaten, because I'm not telling you anything until you answer my questions."

Moreno pursed his lips and Alexis gave breathy laugh. "What? If you're such a badass why don't you just kill me and find someone else?"

"You are going to tell me everything that I want to know. Drop this silly act, because it isn't fooling me."

"You really picked the wrong person to grab. I've been burned before, and nothing you can do can even come close to that pain, so what exactly do I have to be afraid of?" Alexis asked, just before Moreno nicked her neck a little with the knife. She let out a tiny gasp, but pressed on. "Amelia. Tell me why you did it?"

"Did what?"

"Why did you kill her?"

"Why do you care?"

"Answer my question."

"She got what was coming to her."

Alexis closed her eyes, and fighting a grimace. She needed a confession and that wasn't even close to what she wanted to hear come out of his mouth.

"You'll be answering my questions now," he said.

"What was it? Did she tease you about your abnormally small dick?"

The steel was gone from her throat, but not even a second later, she felt the brute force of his fist slamming into the side of her face. Her head snapped back, and she let out a groan of pain, surprised that she hadn't been knocked out. Her cheekbone was on fire, her eyelid was rapidly swelling shut, and she thought he might have broken something. She hissed out a breath, then shouted as her head was yanked back again.

"Keep using that mouth and I'll find another purpose for it," Moreno promised.

"Is that . . . Is that what you did to Amelia?"

"Part of it, yes."

"What did you do to her?"

"The same thing I'm going to do to you."

"Then why am I not afraid?"

"Because you're too stupid to know any better," he spat before wrapping his hand around her neck and squeezing. His fingers pressed into the bruises Seth had left not three days earlier. Alexis couldn't help it as she jerked and thrashed around, trying to him off of her. She needed a confession and that wasn't going to happen if she got herself killed before he spilled his guts.

"Tell me what I want to know!" he shouted and then let go of her roughly, causing her whole body to jerk backwards.

She coughed and coughed until air started returning back to her lungs. She took deep breaths as Moreno stared at her.

"I will not hesitate in making you feel real pain." Suddenly the blade was on her was being dragged down the front of her shirt. "Do I have to do that?" he asked. "Or will you tell me what I need to know?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to know what they know about me. What do they have on me? What have you told them? Tell me. I can either make this as painless as possible for you or I can make you beg for death." He fisted the sliced material near the neckline of her sweater and ripped it open. The tip of his knife traced the edge of her bra, every so often scratching the surface of her skin. Alexis felt goosebumps rise on her skin, and without warning the knife skipped upward and sliced through the flesh just underneath her collarbone.

"They don't know anything!" The cut was shallow; it hurt like hell, but it wouldn't bleed too much. Moreno probably didn't want her to bleed out before he got his information.

"I don't believe that." He cut another line across her chest and she bit her lip to hold back a scream.

"They know that I was looking at you as a suspect, but that I had to let you go because I didn't have evidence. You're off their radar," she lied, gasping against the pain.

"Really?"

"I mean, I did try to tell them about you, but they wouldn't believe me. I was like the girl who had cried wolf too many times." Another thought rushed to the forefront of her mind. "They're after Fenton. They think he's the one who killed Amelia."

Moreno let the bloodied knife traced up the bruised column of her neck. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because if they knew about you, then you would have never had the chance to grab me. They would have gotten to you first."

Moreno smiled and Alexis knew that he was actually buying the bullshit she was selling him. He got close to Alexis' face. "Since you were so nice, how about I have some fun with you, hm?"

"Did you do that to Amelia, too?" She kept saying her name, because Moreno needed to hear it. Alexis couldn't let him forget her name. Amelia deserved more than that.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Alexis bit her bottom lip as she watched Moreno roam his eyes over her body. "I was a little jealous that Fenton got to keep you to himself. You would have made the perfect little sub for me, wouldn't you?" he cooed at her and Alexis tried not to vomit in her mouth.

She met his eyes, taking in the grin on his face. The look of a man who expected to get everything he wanted."I know you did it," she snarled. "I read her journal. I know you lured her in. I know you raped her. And I know you slapped that collar on her throat and watched her suffocate. It wasn't Fenton. It was you. You murdered Amelia Parry."

Moreno narrowed his gaze at her. The blade dragged against her skin again, looking for a new home within her flesh, and Alexis fidgeted and tried to get her hands free from their confines.

"Smart detective," he murmured. "I took what I wanted, and when I was done, I cut her loose. I watched the life leave her sweet little body."

Tears sprang to her eyes, and relief washed over her. Her body was coiled, tight and shaking with fear, but it didn't matter because she'd just gotten Moreno's confession on record.

He gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him as he pressed the blade against her pulse point. "And I'm going to do the same to you."

Author's Note: Things are getting pretty tense here for our favorite characters... Please review!