Sorry, that this chapter has taken so long, I had to change the storyline a bit because while writing what I had planned for Hyde, I kept thinking that it sounded familiar, until I realized that I've read a similar plot on this site before, so I changed it... I know you all want to know if Christian is dead, but you won't get an answer before the next chapter, which will be up faster than this one...


Seeing Red

Chapter 11

Christian - 12 hours before the shooting

"Well, well Miss Grey, I hope you are not going to make a habit out of being up all night once you are out of your diapers. Because if you do, we'll get into trouble with each other once you are teenager Aria Grey." I tell my baby girl as I am rocking her in my arms in her nursery.

All the traveling and inconsistence of people around her has given her a hard time. Add being in different time zones twice at such a young age and I guess my little darling has every right to be grumpy and fussy most of the time.

Last night both Ana and I stayed up with her, but this time Ana was sleeping so deeply she didn't even wake up and I decided to let her sleep. Even though she is trying to convince me that she is fine, I know she still is in pain when she moves to quickly and in addition her hormone levels still need to balance them self out with the help of the pills she is now taking and she gets upset really fast.

Yesterday, she spilled some yogurt on her shirt and burst out in tears, other days she gets mad for no obvious reasons, but I'm trying to be as understanding as I can, because I know she isn't acting that way on purpose and my mother explained to me that it could take up to six months for her to adjust completely after the major surgery she had. Add all the fucking drama that has become our life recently and I believe I really have to cut her some major slack.

Thank fuck my tolerance level for being irritated or annoyed with certain behavior has increased times ten over the last eleven years. Because my old self would have had a hard time dealing with her mood swing or even felt the need to beat it out of her.

Christ, I was truly fucked up back then. Now even the thought of spanking her or using an implement on her to bring her to heal sounds ludicrous to me. Sure, I still like to put her across my knee or work her over with a riding crop, but that's strictly in a sexual context and most importantly for both our pleasure.

I'm brought back from my thoughts when I hear little footsteps hurrying towards the kitchen. I know it is Emily, sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night to have a midnight snack. She does it every night, getting up to eat, most likely afraid that there won't be any food in the morning. I remember doing the same thing when I first came to live with Carrick and Grace. I would get up in the middle of the night hungry or maybe just thinking I'm hungry because I dreamt of being back in Ella's shady apartment.

It took my parents only a night or two to figure out that it was me who made a mess in the kitchen each night, so every evening before she went to bed, Grace would make a sandwich with some crackers or veggie sticks and have it waiting for me in the fridge. Now, I have asked Gail to do the same thing for Emily. Sure enough when I peek into the kitchen I see Emily at the table munching her sandwich and drinking some milk.

I hope she can overcome the horrors she had to live through with her mother somehow. She deserves to be a happy, carefree child.

As for my sperm donor, he has disappeared after Susannah's death. One would think this is a good thing, but I know better. He is planning his next move and no matter what it is, I know I won't like it. He is such a sneaky bastard that no one knows where he is, it's like the fucker is invisible. I just want my kids back home and go back to Seattle, but for now I know it won't happen.

Once Aria is asleep I decide to stay up and work out a little to get rid of some of the tension I'm feeling. It won't be more that a short relief, but at least it will help me to not think of the bastard for a short amount of time.

Two hours later I am dripping sweat and take a shower. I've just changed into a suit when my phone rings with an incoming text. I pick it up and grin when I see a picture of Carla and the kids at the beach. My smile dies however when I see the text that came with it and my heart starts racing. He found them!

I'm just about to run downstairs to inform Taylor and make sure Carla and the kids are on a jet within the hour when my phone rings.

"Grey!" I hiss.

"Hello son." I unfamiliar voice says and I stop in tracks.

"What the fuck do you want?" I sneer.

"Is that a way to speak to one's father, son?"

"Fuck you! You are not my father, Carrick Grey is!"

"And you will be a father to four dead children if you don't listen to me now!" He says and I see red, I'm going to kill the fucker. No one threatens my children and lives to see another day.

"Got your attention now? Good! It's time for us to meet, if you listen to me and do what as I say no one gets hurt. You have four hours to get rid of your security; if they follow you your kids are dead. I'll be in touch."

And with that the call is ended. I check the screen, shit no number and less than two minutes, no way this call can be tracked. Running both hands through my hair I start to come up with a plan. He wants me alone... he will get me alone and that old fucker will wish he turned himself in.

Another hour later I have Ana's gun and 10k cash in hidden in my briefcase. I can't take one of my cars, because they have trackers and I know Taylor will track me as soon as they realize I am not in that meeting.

I can't let him find me, in fact no one will ever know if things go as planned. If my plan works, than I will get rid of security buy a car find the fucker, kill him, get rid of his body and be back at the NY offices of GEH before anyone knows I'm missing. I have never believed in self-justice, but at this point I just want him dead, so he can't be a thread to my family anymore.

I wanted to handle this the right way, let police find him and deal with him, but by sending me a picture of my children with the intend of killing them he has crossed the line to far. Will I lose sleep over this? At this point, I know I won't.

When it's time to leave I go upstairs where I find Ana sitting in the bed with Aria feeding her a bottle of formula.

"I have to leave now, baby. I will be back in the afternoon, anything you would like from the city?" I ask trying successfully to hide what I am up to.

"No, just be safe." She says and I lean down to kiss her.

"Always." and when I'm back this nightmare will be over.

Two hours later we are in the city and I have ditched my security, cancelled the meeting and hailed a cab to a nearby car dealership. Once I have bought some piece of shit car I drive around until finally my phone rings again.

"I'll sent you an address, you have one hour to get there." Is all he says and a minute later the text arrives, I memorize the address enter it into the GPS of the car and switch my phone off.

Exactly 45 minutes later I pull up in front of an old warehouse in a deserted, rundown industrial area. Quickly, I hide the gun in the back of my pants and leave the car. Game on!

I step into the building and see him, but before I can even reach for the gun I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything goes black.

When I open my eyes I find myself tied to a chair in the middle of the warehouse, with the fucker giving me a nasty fuck you smile. Fuck, I should have thought about him not working alone...

"Finally, I thought you would be sleeping forever and we have so much to talk about now that I have you where I want you." He snarls and I glare at him.

"You know son, you remind me of myself a lot. Who would have thought that the filthy little whore that was your mother could actually bring such a good looking guy into this world... your luck my genes have been dominant." He laughs and I want to throw myself at him.

"It's your fault she ended up the way she did... you left her, she was just a kid!" I hiss, finding myself actually defending my birth mother.

"You want to know about your mother? She was desperate... neglected by her parents and abused by them on the rare occasions they did notice her... it was a bet you know. She was awkward, a bookworm and shy beyond anything. I was in my senior year my scholarship to Yale already in place and she was a sophomore. The stupid bitch couldn't even look at a boy without stuttering like an idiot. My friends and I made a bet that whoever managed to fuck her first would get 200 bucks. I won of course, she couldn't spread her legs fast enough for what little attention I showed her... looks like we are much the same, I've heard your wife was the same type, only you were stupid enough to marry her." He laughs and I want to kill him.

"You bastard, it's your fault she is dead, you could have helped her!" I yell at him and he laughs.

"And have my parents force me to marry a girl like that? She would have been nothing but a burden especially with a baby in tow. Did you think I wanted a child with Ella McNamara of all people?"

"It was your fucking responsibility for knocking up an innocent girl!"

"So moral... tell me where have those morals been when you killed my wife?" He hisses.

"I didn't kill your fucking wife. I made her a generous offer, then I offered her to become part of GEH and she declined. I made three more offers and when she wouldn't budge it became a hostile takeover, but she still made a lot out of it, I made sure of that and even offered her a good job, which she declined. It's not my fault that she took her own life... maybe she just didn't have anything that was worse living for." I provoke him despite of the position I am currently in and he punches.

"That's all you got, you old fuck don't even have the strength to punch like a man anymore!" I continue.

"Well, maybe I should just kill you then." He says deathly calm and I blench when I see him pointing Ana's gun at me. Suddenly, I realize my mistake... I'm here alone, not tractable, tied to a chair and he has my gun... I'm so fucking screwed.

"Scared?" He laughs arrogance personified and in this moment I know that he is not going to kill and I dread to think what his actual plan is.

"Don't worry son, I don't want to kill you, I want you to suffer and we both know soon your family will start to worry where you are, especially your pretty wife."

"Leave her out of this; she has nothing to with this mess! You already killed Susannah, now is your last chance to run... you won't get away with another murder."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill her. You see, you are right, I have nothing against her, she just so happens to be my only way to make you feel the same pain I felt when I lost my wife."

"It must have been some pain when it took you nearly thirteen years to get your revenge." I mutter under breath.

"I was waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I ask and he smiles in a way that makes my skin crawl.

"Waiting for you to find your true love, be happy with her, life in pure bliss until I knew taking her from you would break you. At first I wanted immediate revenge, but I realized Susannah was just a nice fuck for you, that messed up bitch..."

"Not messed up enough for you to fuck her father a child." I reply getting angry again just thinking of what they have put my sister through.

"A moment of weakness and the child... fuck, she had no right to get pregnant with my child... just like your whore of a mother... they had no right to carry my children when my wife couldn't... her company was her baby because she couldn't carry children and you took it away from her!" He hisses getting angry again.

"I took jack shit away from her; she was too stupid to see what I was offering her!" I hiss back, I need him angry. I know Ana will come to my rescue if she finds out that he has me. She won't even think twice and I have no way of protecting her... she is still weak from the surgery, no way will she be able to defend herself. I can't let that happen, so if I don't manage to someone untie myself, I have to make him angry enough to kill me to prevent him from murdering my wife.

"I think you've said enough... god how I wish I had just beaten you out of that little slut." He hisses and puts duct tape over my mouth.

I watch him as he checks something on his phone and then disappears out of my view. I try to loosen the rope I am tied up with, but it doesn't fucking work and after what feels like an eternity he return.

"Time to get this show on the road." He says and takes his phone out. Immediately I know he is calling Ana. Fuck, I need to do something, anything to safe my wife from this deranged old fucker, but to my utter desperation there is nothing I can do.

"She is on her way, son. While we are waiting, I want you to think about the fact that if it wasn't for you being the hothead that you are, your wife would be safe at home and not coming closer to her end with every passing minute." He says and I want to throw myself at him, but I can't fucking move. This is it, Ana is on her way and I can do nothing to protect her...

While I am waiting for my worst nightmare to become reality I have all kinds of horrible scenarios running through my mind and each of it boils down to the fact that my wife is dead because I wanted to play the fucking hero.

And then it is too late, I see the door of the warehouse open and in steps my beautiful wife. No police, no security, just Ana and in this moment I'm furious with her for showing up here alone. She hurries towards me and rips the duct tape off.

"Leave now!" I hiss, she needs to get out of here before she comes out of the corner he is lurking in.

"How about thanks for saving my stupid ass!" She snaps back and starts to untie me. In any other circumstances I would have found her smart mouth reply amusing, but right now all I want is for her to leave. She has just untied my hands and continues at my feet when Marshall steps out of his corner.

"Well, now that's what I call a family reunion. I knew you wouldn't leave your husband in his hour of need. You're a good wife, Anastasia, my son has chosen well." He says with a smirk.

"He is not your son, Carrick Grey is his father. You are merely a sperm donor." Ana hisses back at him and I use their little banter to quickly untie my feet, I'm going to kill the fucker with my bare hands!

"Feisty, I like that. In a different world we would have been close, sweetheart." He says and jump to my feet and shove Ana behind me.

"I won't allow you to hurt her. This is between you and me, she has nothing to do with it." He hiss, if he wants to hurt my wife, he has to kill me first.

"Oh son, don't worry. I'm not going to kill your wife. I'm not a killer... Susannah... well she was crazy and a loose end, but the truth is, I have no reason to harm you wife, all I want is to hurt you. So, I have found someone who will hurt her for me." He says and before I can comprehend his words Ana screams and I twist around only to find some fucker pulling her backwards by hair.

"Remember me, Ana?" The guy says and I can't place his face. Shit, whom am I going to take down first now?

"Jack, I thought you are still in jail." Ana gasps and I know who he is, it's Jack fucking Hyde.

"I made parole five weeks ago, that's when Marshall found me... helped me out and showed me a way to get my revenge." He tells her and Ana stares at me while I stand horrified in the middle of the warehouse while Hyde drags her into a corner, where he pushes her to the ground.

"I fucking kill you if you hurt her!" I scream.

"Shut up!" Marshall screams and points the gun I was carrying at me.

"Jack, why don't you fuck her first, I mean a girl deserves to have a good time before she breathes her last." He then says and for the first time in a long while I have no idea what to do. Ana's gaze is fixed on me and I know she is silently begging me not to anything stupid, but I have made up my mind, I need to get that gun and then I'm going to take Hyde down.

"Christian don't!" Ana screams but I've already pounced and the fucker and I hit the floor with thud struggling for the gun. I'm stronger than the old bastard, but he is holding on to the gun for dear life, aware that he is done if he lets go.

Through our struggle I think I hear Hyde yell something and suddenly the gun goes off and a searing pain lances through my chest. I'm momentarily disoriented, struggling to breathe as Marshall pushes me off of him and when I look down at myself all I see is my white shirt slowly turning red...

Taylor

This is it, as soon as I have both the boss and Ana in safety I am going to quit. I have always taken great pride in the fact that I'm doing a damn good job, but how the fuck am I supposed to keep them safe if no one is fucking listening to me and my boss willingly goes to meet with a psychopath?

Now, I'm outside a warehouse with Sawyer, Elliot, Cross and Grey senior and again I can do jack shit, because Cross called the cops and they are now getting a swat team ready. Fuck, this is taking too fucking long, I should have gone in the right after we arrived only two minutes after Ana, but the police wants to follow protocol. Fuck that, this is how good people get killed!

"Fuck Cross, we could have gotten them out by now, this is why I told you not to get the cops involved right away." I hiss at him, but he ignores me, staring straight ahead at the warehouse and the tick in his jaw clearly shows how tense he is.

Suddenly we all hear the gun shot, for a moment there is complete silence and then I hear a scream I know I won't forget for as long as I shall live. Ana Grey's scream lances through all of us and I watch in horror as both Cross and Elliot run towards the building shoving the policemen who are trying to hold them back out of their way and I am right behind them, pulling my gun out of it's holster and storm into the building where I see Grey on the floor, a hysterical Ana screaming for her husband to open his eyes and that old fucker pointing a gun at her head.

I don't think twice I shoot him, my bullet hitting him right between eyes just as Ana passes out and he drops to the floor beside them.

Cross and Elliot reach them first and drop down next to them. Grey's shirt is soaked with blood and he appears dead. Gideon is trying to wake Ana up, while Elliot Grey is screaming for the paramedics to get in here and help his brother, but I'm not sure there is anything left they can do for him.

"Taylor, help him... do something... fuck ... why is no one fucking helping." Elliot screams while pressing both hands on his brother's chest and I snap out of it and trying to find a pulse or any sign that there is still some life to be saved left in my boss. I'm still trying to do something when both Elliot and I are being pushed aside by the paramedics who split up to attend to Grey, Ana and the bastard.

"Mr. Taylor, we need you outside we have caught a man who was about to leave the building." A cop says and I don't want to leave, but he is guiding me out and I still have no clue if Grey is alive or not... fuck if he is dead, I have no idea how Ana and the kids are going to survive it.