Troy sat in his parent's guest bedroom watching as Gabriella lay silently in bed. His phone chirped for a third time since he sat down and he got up and walked away from the bed, not to far but far enough not to disturb her. "Yes?"

"He left the gun, and we ran the registration, it was sold to a Gabriella Montez about two month ago a little bit outside of New York." Danforth said quietly.

"Son of bitch,"

"What do we do?"

"He wants us to expose her," Troy said turning around to face her. "Who else know about the gun?"

"At the moment. Just you, me and Martha," Danforth said into the phone.

Troy nodded as he quickly formulated a plan. "Don't release it to the press, in fact bury it. Let's smoke him out. Tell the press the gun wasn't found that the killer is loose and dangerous."

"Are you sure about that?" Danforth paused. "People are gonna be terrified."

"Chad," Troy heard himself say, "People need to be terrified, I don't want anyone letting this bastard inside their house."

"Right, consider it done. Is there anything else you need?"

There was stirring from the bed behind him and he turned to see Gabriella tossing and turning a little. Her face contorted in a fear and panic.

"Not at the moment but keep me posted and send a squat car in front of the property I want a police presents in front at all times."

"No problem Sheriff."

Troy hung up his phone and slowly made his way over to bed, he hovered for a moment watching as she gripped at her neck struggling with her imaginary attacker. Gasping for breath and fighting with her nightmares. Then suddenly before he could wake her, her eyes flew open and she pushing herself upright into a sitting position.

"How long have you been having nightmares?"

"Where am I?" her hands came up to her neck as she drew in big deep breaths her eyes wide and red as took her surroundings. "What happened? Are they dead?"

Troy hands firmly gripped her shoulders and he bent so they were eye to eye. "Hey, look at me. Focus on me. Right here."

Gabriella wild eyes darted around the room until she crashed into blue. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares?" he frowned. "Have you been sleeping at all?"

"It's not important," she said annoyed with him, "I told you to stay away from me."

"Like hell I will." Troy took out his phone again and dialed another number after a few rings he spoke. "Sharpay? Are you on shift tonight? … I need a favor."

Gabriella pushed away from him a little and Troy let her go as he spoke into the phone. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked around the room, how did she get in here? What was going on outside? It had happened again. This wasn't a nightmare. It was real. Another body. No bodies had been found and it was her fault. He was sending a message to her. Another gift? More victims? She knew with chilling and absolute certainty she was next.

"Hey?" Troy said shoving his phone back in his pocket. "We need to talk."

"Who were they?"

Troy winced, "Sorry, I can't share information about an active investigation."

"What?" Gabriella lips tighten, whoever it was it was her fault they were dead. The sick bastard was leaving bodies for her as a reminder that her turn was soon to come.

"Relax."

"I won't," she said louder than she intended, "I told you to stay away from me. We're not supposed to be seen together."

Troy looked around the empty room, "Who can see us?"

"But they know!"

"Seriously?" Troy's frowned deepened. "This guy has been trying to kill you. I don't give a damn what the town thinks. He just shot a family of three right across the street. Right about now I think his rage is more important to him than getting caught. That makes him very dangerous. His sense of anger is overriding his need for personal safety and freedom. His need to communicate his anger to you is overwhelming."

"If you're trying to scare me, you're succeeding."

"Good." Troy shot out, "I want you to pay more attention you your safety, Ella. This isn't a game."

"These are my problems not yours," she shot him a fierce glare.

"You did not just say that," he got up from the bed and glared at her.

"I mean it Troy. You can't keep taking on my problems." Especially when taking on her problems put his life at risk.

"And you can't keep making decisions for me. Like the one you made about me staying away from you. I had no vote or even a discussion on that one." His face was a mask of rage.

"Good now you know how I felt 15 years ago," she snapped back and instantly brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that.

Silence echoed between them as Troy watched her carefully, "You didn't ask why?"

"What?" Gabriella narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.

"When I told you, you didn't ask me why I left all those years ago."

"Fine." She thought the answer was obvious, but since it seemed important to him, she asked. "Why? Why did you leave Troy?"

"Because I wanted to stay," he said, his voice a low rumble. "And that scared the hell out of me. For most of my life, I'd wanted to go to West Point, join the Marines. It was all right there, ready for me to just take it and then I met you." Troy paused as he watched her from where he stood, as if memorizing her all over again. "I'd just got in, I was on my way to the life my father and I had always dreamed about, to a career, a future, something that would one day give me something more to offer you. For the first time ever I thought of that moment after graduating, about maybe delaying a year or two, the possibility of getting out in four years, of coming back to get you. I was standing at the doorway to my future and it scared the hell out of me because I wanted you in it." He laugh without humor. "I couldn't ask you wait for me Ella. And you're so stubborn that you would have waited for me if you had just one glimpse at the look on my face. I couldn't do that to you. I mean who finds the love of their life at the age of 18?"

"Troy?"

"Who falls in love with a girl he's never spoken too until that summer before the rest of his life?"

Tears stung the back of her eyes as her heart totally melted. Getting up from where she was she came towards him and wrapped her arms around him so she could buried her face in his chest. His uniform was so stiff and tough against her skin, she'd give anything to peel it away and feel the man underneath.

"I love you Ella." He buried his face in the top of her hair. "I'm sorry I was a coward all those years ago. If you give me the chance, I'll show you that I'm not the man I was back then. Hell, I'm not even the man I was a week ago." He pulled back and cupped her face. "I look at you and I see something I haven't seen in a very long time. I see a woman I love. I look at you and I see a future. When I look at you, I see something I've never seen before. I see forever. So damn right I want to be right here by your side to protect you. My job be damn, I chose my career once Ella. I'm not gonna let you or anyone else make me choose it twice."

"Okay," she said quietly.

Troy's face softened and he brought a hand up take his hat off. "Now Sharpay's coming over to access you for PTSD. We can't give you an instant cure but there is medication out there that can ease the anxiety and help you sleep better."

"Troy I-"

"And we're going to sit down and have conversation about that gun you brought. You shouldn't have lied to me about that. I'm assuming it was stolen when you got carjacked and you didn't want to tell me."

Gabriella's face fell. "Was that what he used to…"

"Yeah." Troy responded back grimly. "You should have reported it stolen Ella."

"Oh god," she said placing a hand over her stomach as she came back to the bed to sit down. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Troy placed his hands on his hips as he watched Gabriella, "Is there anything else at all that you want to tell me now. If I find out anything else, that's it. I can't protect you anymore."

"There's nothing else," she said quietly.

"Sharpay will be here soon, I'm going to go get you something to eat from the kitchen."

"I don't need you to take care of me."

"Yeah well," Troy lips flatten as he thought about what to say, "Get use to it."

Gabriella watched as he made his way out of the room, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion as she brought herself up so she could lean back against the head board.

Troy walked out into the kitchen where his father was talking to Taylor and an angry looking Chad. "What are you doing here?" he pointed towards Taylor angrily. Then towards his father, "Where is Eliot?"

"Upstairs, your mother's watching cartoons with him," Jack responded as he crossed his arms. "We have bigger problems."

"FBI is in town," Taylor said holding up a piece of paper.

Troy stilled, "What do they want?"

"There taking over the case."

"On what grounds?" Troy frowned. "The FBI can't move in on a case until they have three bodies."

"Your body count just went up to five Sheriff, what did you expect?" Taylor voice rose as she took a step forward till they were chest to chest.

"We still have to follow procedure, there are autopsies to be done."

"They want to talk to Gabriella, strike a deal and bring in Michael Catania."

Troy's shoulders relaxed, "Fine, they can talk to her. That's it for now. "

"I have to bring her in. Is she decent?"

Troy arched his brow, "Now?"

"Sheriff," Chad said eagerly.

Troy turned his attention towards his partner, "What's wrong?"

"We were able to get a partial fingerprint from the neck of his last victim, tech is running it through IAFIS, the national fingerprint and criminal history system."

"Tell me we got this son of a bitch."

"Well, they just found the Dodge Charger up the block parked in the Montez's driveway. The front door to the house is wide open."

"Shit," Troy turned and started heading towards the front door. "I want that place surrounded. Let's go."

"What about Gabriella?" Taylor called out from behind him, "The FBI agent said it was urgent."

"No."

"No?"

Troy turned around facing her as he held up his hand, "She's under my protection and she doesn't leave this house. Dr. Evans is on her way to see her until then Mrs. Cantina stays put."

"What am I supposed to tell the FBI."

"Not my problem Mckessie," Troy countered as he turned to start his way down the stairs.

At all the commotion in the hallway Gabriella appeared just as Taylor was walking back inside from porch were she saw Troy's retreating back leaving in a rush.

"Where are they going?"

"They got a lead," Taylor grunted as she pulled out her cellphone from her back pocket. She pushed some numbers into her phone and held it to her ear. Glancing back at Gabriella she let out a sigh "Yeah, I'm with her now. The sheriff is investigating a lead right now we'll be in a little later. Tell Agent Vanduerm we'll be there as soon as we can. "

Two hours later she was traveling with a frustrated Troy down to the station.

"I don't understand what they need with me?"

"They just want to strike a deal with you," he said pulling into the station's parking lot. "They want you trade information about Michael for your freedom."

"My freedom?" Gabriella couldn't hide the panic from her voice. "But I haven't done anything wrong?"

"I know that," Troy said between gritted teeth, "I'm trying Ella, I don't understand what this guy is doing here or how they got here so quick. Taylor must have called them the second those bodies were reported."

"What's going to happen to me?"

Troy parked his car and let out a sigh, "Nothing is going to happen to you. You're going to be fine. I'm right here and there nothing he knows that I don't. "

Gabriella took a deep breath as she swallowed back gasps that threaten to turn into sobs. Fear rattled around inside her from the moment Troy had walked out that door and the sight of him returning hadn't eased it one bit. Something didn't feel right, something was wrong. The team outside her father's house had come up empty. There had been no mention of the gun by anyone but Troy. No one was talking to her. No one was looking her in the face.

Chad pulled up with Taylor in the car besides them and everyone got out and they began making their way into the station. Inside a man Martha greeted them quickly with a notepad listed with questions she was firing off in Troy direction.

Gabriella gripped her purse tighter as she made her way around the desk and back to a small hallway Troy was leading her towards. Troy was speaking to Martha telling her something, asking for information, listing calls for her to make. Before she knew it Troy ushered her and Taylor into a room and shut the door behind them. The next thing she notice was a man in a navy suit and white shirt standing by the table.

"You must be Agent Vanduerm, we're so sorry for the long wait," Taylor greeted as she held out her hand for him to take.

Agent Vanduerm shook her hand and gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the group than sat down at the conference table. He looked at Gabriella hard.

"The Bureau is now involved in the case, and I've been given the assignment. We believe we have a serial killer at work. It's my job to catch him."

"Really?" Troy said leaning back in his seat, "I thought I let him play in the sandbox a little longer."

Taylor narrowed her eyes at Troy. "Are you saying that the Sheriff's department is no longer involved in the case?"

"That's correct. The Bureau has more resources and manpower to deal with serial killers than the local police. We'll take it from here."

"Like hell you will," Troy growled.

"Sheriff," Taylor's eyes widen.

"Gabriella, I understand that you have a theory that your husband sent someone out here to kill you."

Gabriella looked around the room not quite sure she understood what was happening. Troy nodded for her to answer and Gabriella's shoulders fell a little as she tried to relax. "My husband is a very violent man, he's tried to kill me and he is trying to kill me so that he can get his hand on my son's inheritance." Gabriella swallowed hard and tried to force back the tears that formed at the thought of Betty and Philips. "I think he's trying to kill anyone who gets close to me in hopes that I'll have nowhere to go and be alone."

The Agent nodded, "I'll consider your theory as well as the others. I'm having a profile created by our Behavioral Analysis Unit. I should receive that by tomorrow."

"I like my office to have a copy of that as well," Troy said as he looked over at Taylor, "Anything you need?"

"No that should be fine for now."

"Alright, well Mrs. Catania if you're ready. I'd like this get out interview started." He reached into his breast pocket and took out an envelope handing it to Troy.

"What's this?"

"You'll find my cell phone number and other contact information on that paper. You will also find the address of the office we've rented for this project. That where the interview will take place."

"Wait a minute. Why can't you interview her here?" Troy demanded. Narrowing his eyes he glared at the agent. There was no way he wanted Ella out of his sight for even a moment.

"It's a Bureau policy. We've also been informed about your relationship with Mrs. Catania and we do not want it interfering with our investigation."

Troy eyes narrowed.

"There are two other agents who will participate in the interview. They're waiting for us back at the office." Vandurem stood up and motioned for Gabriella to follow. "I'll drive her back in a couple of hours. We should be finished by six o'clock."

Troy stepped aside as he watched the agent lead Gabriella out of the room and then through the station. After a moment of silence he turned towards Taylor. "If he doesn't have her back here by six o'clock. I'm going to kick his FBI ass."

"Give it a break," Taylor rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, "You should be grateful the FBI came in."

"Oh yeah," Troy said walking out onto the floor, "and why is that?"

"Because now no one cares if you sleep with her."

Troy turned around and then stopped himself when he seen Chad coming out of the office with some paper work. "Not worth it," he muttered before making his way over to Chad. "Was he on file?"

Chad smiled proudly as he held up the paperwork, "We got him."

A burst of relief flooded through Troy's system, "Let's get his picture out there, every pole, every gas station and even at the Paxton. I want everyone to know what he looks like. That's going to be our best way to find this guy."

"His name is Ted Herman, he has a few charges of assault, some run-ins with Catania on his record that we also couldn't make stick. Looks like he served sometime in the armed forces. Thirty-six years old, divorced, both parents are diseased."

"Great," Troy said taking the folder from Chad, and looking back at Taylor. "The FBI can suck it." Troy looked down at the picture and his smile fell. His heart stopped. He was looking at picture of Ted Herman that looked identical to that of FBI Agent Vanduerm.

"So you got Lucky."

"Did you check out this FBI agent?" Troy said holding up the file and glaring at Taylor so hard he could barely see her at all.

"No. Why would I? He's FBI."

Troy slammed the folder against her chest. "He's not FBI! We just handed her over to the killer," he barked as she began charging for the door. "We have no idea where he's taking her." As soon as he stepped outside he was met with his worst fear. They were gone.