Hi all hope you enjoy this next chapter I am trying to post every couple of days (fingers crossed) like before I stated before all mistakes are mine I have no beta and I'm just borrowing my fav 80's tv show's characters and peppering them with some of mine. Thanks for reading

Chapter 61

I had to be calm.

I knew this day would come but why today? I'm comforting the woman I love more than life itself crying in my arms after a memory decided to rear its ugly head. A memory of the worst week of my life.

I thought when we were knocked unconscious on the plane and taken to Duval's island it was the worst, she was gone for two weeks but I knew where she was and as long as I followed his rules and did as he asked I knew he would not hurt her. As long as I cooperated he would keep her alive. I was wrong, something happened on that island and she to this day had not told me the whole story. Never the time or place but she would tell me now I needed to know it might be one of his men that was hunting her now.

But then CJ decided to give me more gray hair.

She decided she needed to travel by car alone with desert as her landscape. I had begged and pleaded with her but she decided she was going to do what she wanted. I had tried to bribe Carol, Chris, even Maureen to go with her but they all said no.

I said I would stay behind if she promised to call whenever she needed gas or she stopped to eat and definitely when she would stop for the night. I tracked her route on a map for her and made Chris book her hotels and gave me the bill and the number to the managers at each of them. I was being over cautious I knew but I had almost lost her to the preacher.

That whole incident had been my doing convincing her to come with me to the Preacher's compound to get a sample from our client's sister to prove that she was being drugged and her insulin being withheld. We had almost made it out but she was shot. Seeing her on the ground not moving with blood seeping out of the wound hurt as much at it did her. I wanted to kill the shooter with my bare hands for harming her. Holding her in my arms and telling her to hold on, watching her and thinking she wasn't breathing almost undid me. But someone up in Heaven must have heard my prayers, I got us out of there and her to a doctor just in time. She recovered afterwards she said she wanted to travel to see the scenery and I couldn't deny her.

I should have.

She had an accident where her car was totaled, she still doesn't remember the accident but she had walked miles to the nearest town and had gotten involved in a mess with the local sheriff and officials.

She had lost her memory and had been arrested for soliciting. She had gone by the name Bunny, she explained that when she woke up that was the first thing she saw and the name stuck.

When I found her she didn't recognize me and I had been captured and was going to be put out in the desert with all those women that did not cooperate with the sheriff. I got away and went to rescue my girl.

The next time I came to rescue her she recognized me and I was so happy she was safe that I threw her a party to show her how much everyone loved her.

She wasn't the same after that. She was more cautious, not going out on her own like she used to. She had asked Too Mean to teach her how to defend herself. I was a little upset that she had not come to me but it had been around the first time I had fallen for Elizabeth, I had used her house to hide us from her family knowing we would be safe there and we both had started to develop feelings and one thing lead to another.

She had been upset with me but I never found out why. We had used each other's places all the time so I knew it couldn't be that. When I asked her sisters, both had hung up on me after saying was I serious? Didn't I know what I had done? I wasn't going to ask my best friend. Some things were better left unsaid.

After Elizabeth left me the first time, I had been devastated, asking my best friend to listen to me wallow in my misery wasn't in the cards. She avoided me and had asked Will to help her improve her skills in using a gun. This time I did interfere. I had tagged along and had shown her how to use a shotgun and different caliber guns. We got back to our rhythm as friends but then Elizabeth came back and I proposed and everything unraveled again.

I knew now that me telling her I was getting married had devastated her to the point of her wanting to leave California and go back to Texas. I was glad that hadn't happened. I wouldn't know how I would handle not being able to see her everyday, knowing what I know now I was thanking my lucky stars that I didn't marry Elizabeth, that would have been a mistake.

Now I was on the floor of my guest bathroom holding on to her and not knowing what to say so I stayed quiet and held her tight whispering that I was here. I would not let anyone ever hurt her again. But does she believe me?

I had put her in danger countless times, but she never complained. I was selfish. I see it now. I see why everyone thinks I take her for granted. She is the best thing that's ever happened to me and I only seem to fail her and use her. But still she loves me.

Why?

I hold her tighter. I am never letting her go again. I will find the animal that now haunts her. I will put him down, no one will stand in my way or stop me. He is mine and I will end him.

I had to ask the question but I knew it would hurt her. Just seeing her like this I knew I had to ask.

"CJ, honey are you sure?"

She nodded "Houston, that's why I didn't escape. He was the one that had pulled me from behind and slammed me into the wall. He was the one that kept me drugged, he was the one that tormented me the most. He had to be the ringleader. "

And he was a dead man.

She kept whispering that there were 4 men and I was silently berating at myself for missing this. I needed to see those tapes again. How had I missed this?

Because you were relieved that she had been found and were given a second chance to tell her what was in your heart. You were to focus on yourself and your misery. All of your PI experience and skills went out the door.

I had to put that aside for now. She needed me and I would be here for her. I held back the tears that threatened to fall down my face. She needed me to be strong and I would be. I would be her rock as she had been to me all these years.

"CJ Honey we need to get up off this floor okay? We need to sit down and you are going to tell me your dream and how you are sure there were 4 voices. We need to get as much information as we can to find this Mother…."

"No! I don't want to remember anymore. It's like I was in a fog and now everything is coming at me and I want it to stop. Please don't make me remember."

My heart broke. How could I ask her to relive the most painful time of her life? Because if you don't they win she will always be looking behind her waiting for that bastard to finish the job.

I knew what I had to do and God help me I might lose her.

"I know this is going to be hard but…."

"No! Houston No! I don't want to remember every time I close my eyes I hear his voice. It's a trigger. It takes me back there feeling helpless not knowing what was to come next, I was blindfolded, drugged and it's just too hard. Please don't make me do this. I don't want to live that nightmare all over again."

I just held her tighter, not answering her. She was holding onto me like her life depended on it. Her tears continued and nothing I could say or do would stop them. I needed a new tactic, maybe Will or Uncle Roy could help me.

I whispered, "Okay. We will call Hoyt later and get their files and find all their relatives, friends, and acquaintances. He won't ever get the chance to get close to you ever again. I will kill him. We will find him and once we have his name it will be the end for him. I swear to you CJ he will have to go through me to get to you."

She nodded, "Houston, how long has he been following me? Was he at the hospital while I was unconscious? Did he come and go since no one knew what he looked like? Did he ever walk by me and I never knew?"

She was asking questions I had no answers to and she started to struggle out of my arms.

"CJ wait!"

I knew what she was doing. Fight or Flight this had happened when we got her home from the hospital. Dr. Ryan said most victims did this and she had pushed me with strength I didn't know she had and ran.

I scrambled up from the floor, following her. She was running to where I didn't know. The times it happened here at the house she ran to the beach. It was scary, she ran into the ocean and I followed her worried that she wouldn't stop. The lifeguard saw her and had helped me get her back to shore. The tide was high and the sound of the ocean crashing was loud and clear, I needed to get to her before she decided to repeat what had happened before this time there was no lifeguard to help me. Once we were back at the house I asked her why she ran to the beach. She said it was a wide open space and she didn't want to feel confined and that it had made sense to her at the time the waves and the water calmed her.

She's fast, she makes it out the door and keeps running. Beast sees this and I try to keep him in the house but he is not having it so he lunges at the door and gets out. I yell out both their names and run after them.

The sun was starting to peak out and I am yelling at her to stop but she's not listening. I hear someone running behind me and look over to see Luca not asking questions but keeping up with me, his eyes widened and I hear her scream.

My heart is in my throat. I looked up to see someone in a hoodie grabbing her and her struggling and yelling she wasn't going back.

Beast is in attack mode when I see who has her I yell out.

"Beast stop!"

It was Popeye and CJ was limp in his arms. Luca and I finally make it to them and Popeye is carrying her in his arms looking at me for an explanation.

I try to take her from his arms but he turns.

"Give her to me."

He stares at me with anger, "What did she mean she wasn't going back? What did you do to her?"

I didn't need this right now.

Luca gets between us he knows I am at the end of my rope.

"Give her to me, I will explain once we are back at the house, if I didn't have to involve you I wouldn't but I am a bigger man and I need both of your help to keep her safe. So I am asking you to please give CJ back to me."

I could see him not wanting to comply but he nodded and handed her to me. She started to wake up and pulled away. I almost dropped her not expecting her to wake so soon.

"Whoa, Cowboy what the Hell? Can't you hang on to her?"

We had her between us and her looking up at us and trying to figure out what was going on.

"CJ, come on wake up honey you are scaring us."

"Did he hurt you beautiful? I will end him right now just say the word."

"You better speak CJ I believe he will try to end me but him actually doing it is highly unlikely."

She looks confused, "why am I in both of your arms? What happened? Why are we outside? Last thing I remember is talking to you two and you going to bed. What did I miss?"

Popeye's eyes widened and looked at me.

"We are going to put you down okay and we are walking back to the house and we are going to talk about what you remembered. We can call Dr. Ryan or we can wait for her to see you but I really want you to tell me what you want to do. No pressure okay?"

She looked at me confused. She grabbed my hand and ran her other hand through her hair. She started to walk towards the house without speaking and I didn't move, it would catch up to her any minute, it always started and ended like this.

Beast nudged her and she bent down to give him a scratch and started to whisper to him.

Luca and Popeye looked at me wanting an answer. I said, "Let's go home. I think we are going to need some strong coffee." Then whispered to myself or something stronger. Popeye stopped and looked at me.

"What the hell is going on?"

She was still on the ground with Beast.

She looked up, "Houston it's okay. I am sorry I scared you guys, Devin I remembered part of my abduction. I freaked out and ran. It's called fight or flight and poor Houston's been here for the worst of it. All that's happened these last couple of days must have triggered me. I'm sorry to drag you all into this mess, I was told I would remember eventually not given any timeline it could be a year, a month a day. It just happened to be now. I don't want to cause any more problems than I already have so let's get back to the house and I will tell you what I remembered."

She got up and started to walk to the house with Beast right beside her.

"Sorry for jumping to conclusions, I swear she wasn't listening to me and kept saying she would die before she'd go back there. Back there is where she was abducted right?"

I just look at her walking back and nod. I start to follow, not wanting her to go too far ahead. That bastard might be around and I didn't want him to think she was alone. Beast would maul him but that was too good for him. The man that did this to her would suffer. I wouldn't rest till he did.

Popeye came close and whispered for only me to hear. "You need to be brutally honest with us. I need to know what those animals did to her."

She turned and waited for us to catch up.

"I don't want you two fighting, please Devin don't start anything you don't know all the facts. Houston's been here for me always. He's done a hell of a job above and beyond the duty of a best friend."

I grabbed her, "Not true! I haven't done enough. I haven't protected you how you should have been protected and I am more than your best friend now remember that."

I kissed her to show her what she meant to me. I didn't care if we had an audience he needed to see she was mine.

"Hey Cowboy, are you giving kisses to all the ladies?" Carol's voice broke us apart.

"Ah excuse me why are you asking Cowboy about kisses? You have your own guy to give you kisses or do you need a reminder?" Luca huffed.

CJ put her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. She was smiling listening to the banter between Carol and Luca. We started to walk towards the house where Maureen and Will were outside as well.

I whispered in her ear if she was okay. She nodded. "We need to tell them we should wait for Uncle Roy and Too Mean."

I said we would catch them up when they got to the house.

"Sunshine what's wrong?"

He looks at Devin and me ready to take both of us down.

She blurts out, "there was a fourth voice. Four men abducted me, not three. He's still out there. He's the one that's been following me, it just came to me in my sleep."

"Oh Sis."

Voices were raised and Carol and Maureen come towards CJ she grabs onto me and I wave them off.

"Give her a minute she's still processing. Let's all go into the house, have a cup of tea or coffee and hear what she has to say."

Luca pulls Carol away as does Will with Maureen. Popeye looks like he wants to go to the gym to punch the hell out of the bag but just calls Beast to follow him.

"I want everything to go back to the way it was before I was abducted. I want my life back." She whispers.

"CJ, I wish for that every day. I don't like you going through this but I will be there to help, protect and love you, you are not alone."

She took a deep breath and looked at me. "Come let's find out who this animal is so we can catch him and we can resume our lives in peace. I'm tired of running, it's time to fight back."

I smiled at her, "That's my girl".