Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, it inspired me to get this done a bit quicker than anticipated. You guys are awesome!

Please, as always, let me know what you think. gasp No cliffhanger this time. No beta either, so all mistakes are my own.

Jenny

Chapter Four:

Sara's heart plummeted into her stomach and she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady her trembling nerves. She allowed her head to be jerked back by a handful of hair, wincing slightly as her assailant hissed, "I don't want any funny business, do you understand me?"

Sara nodded slightly in response, letting her gear fall to the ground as he roughly pulled her to her feet, his sour breath warm on her cheek. The flashlight she had been holding in her mouth fell noiselessly to the floor, sending the room from dimly lit to pitch black in just seconds. Whimpering slightly, Sara allowed the man to slowly push her closer to the doorway. She had to think of something, figure out some way to get this guy apprehended without anyone being hurt.

She briefly shut her eyes once more, taking another steadying breath. She was trained, she was smart, she could get out of this mess. It wasn't the first time she had a gun pointed at her, she could get through this alive and uninjured if she could keep her wits about her.

She needed something to distract him.

She could hear Greg's voice nearing the house, and through teary eyes she began to pray that he wouldn't enter the house, that he wouldn't come into harm's way. If she tried to escape and got herself injured, she could live with that. If her fight with her attacker got Greg injured, there was no way she'd ever forgive herself.

She had never been lucky.

The door opened and Greg walked in, immediately feeling the tension in the air. Through the darkness, he could see the shiny metal of the suspect's gun, and within seconds, his own weapon was drawn, "Freeze! Put your weapon down, sir, and no one will be hurt."

Sara felt her breath catch in her throat as her captor's grip slacked slightly, surprised by the other man's entrance. Seizing the opportunity, Sara elbowed the man in the ribs, swooping to the floor as he released her to grab her abandoned flashlight. Kneeing the doubled-over man, she brought the heavy Mag-lite down on his head, panting heavily as she tried to back away.

From the floor, he grabbed her ankle, pulling her back to his reach as he heavily breathed, "That was a stupid, stupid mistake."

"Let her go!" Greg said firmly, taking a step closer to the pair, his gun still trained at the suspect, "I won't shoot you if you let her go."

"Well, I won't shoot herif you turn around and leave right now." The other man replied, tightly pressing the gun to Sara's head, "Didn't I tell you 'no funny business', little girl?"

Sara tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he only held on to her tighter, "Let me go, you crazy punk!"

"Now is that any way to talk to the person who has your life in his hands?" Her assailant chastised, "Or would you like it if I shot your friend first, then came back for you?"

"Leave him alone!" Sara screamed, clawing and pushing at the man's hands, "Greg, please, go outside. I'll be okay."

"I'm not going to leave you here with this guy!" Greg retorted incredulously, "Are you insane?"

"Think about Angelle, the baby," Sara pleaded tearfully, "Save yourself, don't worry about me."

Greg remained silent for a moment, his hands trembling as he tried to keep his focus in the darkness, "Sara, I told you, there is no baby. I'm not going to sacrifice you just to save my own skin."

"This really isn't the time to argue with me." Sara cried out, "He's letting you go, just go!" The gun dug into her clammy skin and she found herself unable to stop her tears from spilling onto her cheeks, "Greg, please, I won't let you die."

"Like I will?" Greg snapped, taking a step closer to the pair, "Sir, drop your weapon right now, or I will shoot."

The room was perfectly still and silent for just a moment until Sara tilted her head forward, then rapidly brought it back, head-butting her captor. As his grip on her lessened, she brought her foot back as well, desperately trying any move she could think of to bring this guy down.

In the dark chaos, two gunshots rang through the small room, followed by a chilling silence.

--

"I know! I know!" Angelle snapped into the phone, "I'm working on it, okay?"

"Girl, all I'm sayin' is that you not movin' as fast as you should be." Alcide's thick voice drawled, "Time's a-wastin' Angie-baby, you've been with the kid fo' months now and not so much as a checking account number. Make your move, child, or get out."

"I told you I'm working on it!" Angelle snapped, slamming the cell phone shut with an angry sigh. Working on it. Right. She hadn't even figured out a good way to convince Greg she was pregnant yet. She knew she was running out of valuable time, with each day that passed, the less likely he was to believe that she was carrying his child. Face it, he probably wouldn't believe her anyway, it had been months since that fiery night in Texas, he'd see right through this flimsy plan.

She had never come across a man she couldn't fool. Of course, she had also never come across a man such as Greg. He was kind, caring, considerate, passionate, funny, charming...she could list his qualities for days and never run out of positive words to use. It was so rare to find a man like that, and the idea of using him as a pawn in her uncle's twisted money scheme sent pangs of remorse through her normally cold heart.

Of course, she couldn't admit that to Alcide, or he'd turn on her. No man was worth the wrath of Alcide scorned. He not only knew the old adage about concealing bodies in the swamps until the alligators are them, he practiced it...although he did believe that crabs in Lake Pontchartrain did a much better job of destroying bodies than swamp gators did.

Running her hands through her dark hair, she closed her eyes, stifling a yawn. She had to do something...either she had to continue poisoning Greg or she had to move back home and find a new target. She picked up the coaster her drink had been resting on and tossed it across the room, scowling when it didn't even make it to the wall she had intended to hit. She wasn't supposed to have feelings for him, she wasn't supposed to fall in love with him. How come things never seemed to go according to plan around this man?

She jumped off the couch, retrieving the coaster and setting it back on the table. She had to focus. She could do this, it wasn't the first time she had developed feelings for her target...it was just the first time her feelings enabled her to overthrow the whole plan.

Angelle couldn't let her family down, she couldn't let Alcide down. If she didn't come back with the money, it was likely Alcide would not only go after her, but Greg as well. She couldn't let thathappen. There had to be a way to save both of their skin.

She looked down at her bare, empty abdomen...she had to try to convince him. The worst he could do would be to not believe her, and then she could always go back to Alcide and say she tried...she had a high track record to prove her capability, he couldn't fault her for one that would get away. If at first you don't succeed...find a new target. If he didn't believe her, if he left her, she'd just have to find some other, more gullible, man.

She laid down on the couch, pulling out her cell phone and flipping it open. In order to pull this off, she'd have to call in a few old favors. She just hoped it would be worth it.

"Stacey? This is Angelle...are you still working at the Women's Hospital?"

--

"Sara? Can you hear me? Sara?"

Sara's eyes blinked open briefly, but snapped back closed once assaulted by the bright lights overhead. She moaned softly, trying to turn but finding herself immobilized. Slowly opening her eyes once more, she tried to focus on the blurry objects around her.

"Sara? That's my girl, stay awake."

The world moved beneath her, shadows overhead, but over the beeping and the talking, all she could make out was Greg's clear, concerned voice. This couldn't be right, she had to be dreaming. Greg hadn't used that tone of voice on her since...well...since before he moved to Texas. She made an attempt to lift her throbbing head, but instead a warm hand brushed over her forehead, Greg's soft voice meeting her ears once more.

"No, no. Stay still for now. Do you remember what happened?"

How could she forget it? Some psychopath had her at gunpoint and they were fighting for the gun when it went off. As the memory flooded back to her, her eyes widened and she started to struggle against the restraints holding her down. Was she shot? Was Greg shot? Where was their attacker? What was going on? This definitely wasn't the crime scene. What was going on?

"Shh, calm down Sara, calm down. You're going to be okay. We're bringing you to the hospital right now, but you should be fine...you did great, just hurt your arm a bit. Just try to lay back and relax, I'm right here with you."

Sara wanted to ask questions, she wanted to know more, but her eyes felt too heavy to keep them open any longer. With Greg's warm hand touching her colder one, she let her eyes close. There would be plenty of time for questions later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy his warmth, his closeness.TBC