Sorry this chapter took so long, guys. Life got really busy with school and the muse nearly died on this. Special thanks to Addie who gave me a review per chapter and breathed life into this story once more. And THANK YOU to all the others who have reviewed, who I hope to hear more from. Anyways, on with the show...

When Eric pulled up to the house, Jade was waiting for him. He climbed out and was headed across the lawn when she smirked playfully at him and darted around back.

Eric cursed himself. This nightmare wasn't going to end because he had to keep coming back to her. How in the hell had he been so stupid last night? Had he been drunk? He knew that wasn't true, but still was wishing it had been.

He pursued Jade to the back of the building but she wasn't there. He rounded the corner, stood still and put his hands on his hips wondering where she'd gone. He found out in less then five seconds.

By the time he felt her sneak up on him, it was too late. She had his gun in her hands. He spun around and tried to grab it, but she danced out of his reach.

"Ah, ah, Eric," she purred in a teasing voice. She threw the gun as far as she could and it landed somewhere in the bushes that lined the short cut emerald lawn.

"Jade, stop playing these games!" he growled at her as she advanced on him. "Just give me what I want and then leave me alone!"

"You mean this?" her tone was wicked. With a surge, she seized his shirt and with her forward moment was able to shove him to the ground. Her thighs squeezed his hips hard as she leaned over him and seized his lips in a kiss.

For a brief span of time, sensations Eric couldn't control took over his muscles. His arms encircled her, his mouth reached for her, his hands ran through her flaming red hair, but then he remembered himself. He shoved her away and tried to wriggle out from underneath her, but she wouldn't let him go.

"Jade, get off me!" Eric cried, struggling to get her to let go. His arms bent inwards and he tried to push them up to get her off his chest, but to no avail. She had him pinned down, her weight keeping him there.

"Let me go!" he snarled, anger thickening his tone. He hadn't wanted to do this. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her body a slight twist and a hard shove. She was sent spinning off him and onto the green lawn where she leapt up to her feet just as he did.

"Scared of me, are you?" she asked, her voice heaving, but her eyes glittering with wild, untamed passion.

"No. Severely pissed off and angry, yeah, I'll go there," he spat. He wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist and glared at her.

"Give me my damn phone," he growled.

Her eyes flashed. "Work for it," she purred tossing her mane of hair.

"Jade, what the hell do you want from me?" he asked, throwing his hands up and glaring at her. "I'm out of ideas. You're ruining my life at this point in time. My job as a CSI is on the line, and if they think I had involvement in your husband's death, I could be arrested!"

"Awe, too bad, Eric, you should have thought about that before you decided to screw around with people you don't know. The sayings 'don't talk to strangers' holds true, even after you're not a kid anymore." Her tone was cold.

"What the hell do you have against me, Jade?" he asked, lowering his voice. "What did I ever do to you?"

Jade's eyes were hard as her name. She didn't answer, but walked up onto the back porch, went inside the house for a moment, and brought his phone back out. She held it in her hands, letting the sunlight gleam off it brightly.

"It's not what you did to me," she purred softly. "It's what you do for me."

She tossed him the phone, which he gratefully slipped back into his pocket. Jade watched him with piercing eyes as he searched in the shrubs where she'd thrown his gun, and when he found it, he holstered it, but loosely.

"I'll see you around, Eric," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear as he walked away.

"No, no you won't," he snarled to himself as he drove off.

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Ryan and Horatio stood in the parking lot where Mitch had been killed. The body was long gone by now, but the pool of blood remained. And the heat from the Miami sun made it give off a very sickly smell. Ryan had to wrench his gag under control.

"Remember, Mr. Wolfe, we're here looking for the murder weapon," Horatio said quietly.

"Right," Ryan replied shortly.

They both fanned out over the parking lot, looking for any signs of the gun that had shot and killed Mr. Riers. Any spent casings to see if the killer had fired from close or long range, seeing as Alexx wasn't done with the post yet.

A fifteen minute canvass turned up nothing, and both CSI's met up near the blood pool.

"No gun," Ryan commented as he wiped sweat from his face. "Do you think the killer still has it on them?"

"It's possible, but then again, we're dealing with someone who very much didn't want to be attached to this crime. Shot Mr. Riers from the back, and didn't even take the car, leaving no trace evidence for us."

"What about the club?" Ryan asked, tilting his head towards the building. "Think it might have been a killing of opportunity?"

"Again, a possibility, we found no wallet or valuables on him, but it also didn't look like they'd been taken. The pockets weren't inverted, and there were no signs of a struggle."

Ryan frowned and took a glance up at the sun. When he lowered his gaze, Horatio spoke again.

"Find Eric, get him to talk to the club manager, or anybody who would know who was there last night. That's our best option with no weapon, and no trace."

Ryan nodded and picked up his phone to dial. He remembered Eric's cold eyes towards him when they'd met earlier at the crime scene. Ignoring his feelings, he waited for Eric to pick up while Horatio headed back for the Hummer.

"Delko."

"Hey, Eric. Search of the parking lot turned up no gun, but Horatio wants you to find the manager of the club you were at, or anybody who would know who'd been there last night."

The silence over the phone didn't reassure Ryan. "Eric?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm on it," was the snappish reply before a soft click, and Eric hung up.

Ryan closed his phone and headed back towards the Hummer. He found Horatio waiting for him, and the expectant gaze plainly asked what had transpired.

"He's on it, but I'll tell you, Horatio, he didn't sound happy."

Horatio gunned the engine and the headed back for the lab. As they drove, Ryan took a glance at his boss's sunglass hidden eyes.

"Why does Eric tooth, Horatio? It got him into a mess of trouble before. I thought he was supposed to see a shrink about this?" Ryan knew he was being blunt, and he didn't care. He was tired of the one being snapped at. All he wanted was answers. Maybe it wouldn't make it stop, but answers would help, a little.

"Eric was very, very close to Speedle, the man you replaced, Mr. Wolfe. And when I did not consult him on the replacement it made him bitter. Its not his biased feelings towards you that makes him do what he does, it's his lack of the ability to vent them. Emotions, of any kind, can make us doing strange, sometimes unthinkable things."

"You don't think he does it just because he's impulsive?"

"Oh that has plenty to do with it, but it's not the true reason behind it. If it was, he would have gotten it under control by now. Despite how Eric acts and what he does or says, he loves his job, and you'd have to kill him to make him give it up."

"Do you think he had something to do with this?" Ryan questioned, forcing Horatio to look into his eyes.

The stare that was returned to Ryan gave him a shiver. He couldn't make up his mind on if the stare was angry, or if Horatio was wondering how far Ryan would push him for answers.

"If he has, the evidence will tell us."

Damnit Ryan cursed in his mind, resigning himself to the fact that he'd never get a straight answer out of Horatio, who was just too defensive of his longtime friend.

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Eric decided to go alone on the favor Ryan had asked of him. Or what Horatio had asked through Ryan. It disturbed the CSI that his boss was giving him orders through the rookie of the team. The distancing didn't make Eric feel comfortable at all.

He checked his watch. It was 2 PM. That meant the club's owners and workers were getting ready for tonight. It didn't open until six, so that meant civilians wouldn't be around, probably. Of course, the party might not even show up, on account of what had happened last night.

Eric parked his Hummer, a slightly satisfied look on his face. There were cars here, lined up neatly behind the building. Making sure he had his badge, phone, and gun on him, he headed into the club building.

It was a starkly different scene than the one the night before. Cleaning crews were scuttling around, white lights were illuminating the dance floor, but the only thing Eric was interested in was the man behind the bar who was counting last night's cash.

The man eyed him warily as he approached. He looked more like a bouncer, in Eric's opinion. Tattooed, scarred, and plenty enough mean look in his eye to tell Eric he wasn't afraid to fight.

"What is it you want?" he growled roughly.

"I'm with Miami Dade PD," Eric stated calmly. "I'd like to know who you are and what you're doing with the cash."

The man rolled his eyes. "This is about that shooting this morning isn't it?" he asked in a bored voice.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it is, now, answer the question." Eric's patience, well, he didn't have any left after Jade's antics all day.

"Wait one second," the man muttered, setting the cash he was counting down. He disappeared into a back room behind the bar, but came out within a minute. In tow was someone who appeared similar in build, stature, and class, as their victim.

"My name is Mr. Corman; I'm the owner and manager of the club. Is there something I can do for you?" He introduced himself and held out his hand for Eric to shake, which the CSI declined.

"How much do you know about the shooting that took place this morning?" Eric asked as the bouncer left.

"Yes, I heard about that. Mr. Riers was a former customer of mine. We weren't exactly friends, but I was sorry to hear he'd been killed. Apparently his wife is at the center of the investigation."

Eric tilted his head, feeling very much like Horatio at this point. How would he know that? Did it mean anything? He filed it away and continued with his questioning.

"Would anybody have wished Mr. Riers harm? Anybody at the club? I'm assuming since you manage it, you would know who came here."

"I knew Mr. Riers and his wife through other business transactions, and as I said, I wasn't really friends with him, but I wouldn't want him dead. I had nothing to do with his murder."

Eric was only half listening to him. He was noticing Mr. Corman rubbing his hands vigorously on a towel, wiping off a black substance. Eric had no kit with him, so he couldn't test to see what it was, but something in his gut told him it was gunshot residue.

"Would you mind coming with me, Mr. Corman?" he asked, motioning towards the door.

"Why, what's the problem?" the man asked, his tone indignant rather than nervous. The bouncer had also come creeping back, who Eric noticed was guarding the door.

"The substance on your hands, what is it?"

"Graphite." The man answered smoothly. "I recently had the locks on my second business changed."

"And you did them yourself, did you, come on, we're going for a ride."

Eric seized the man by his upper arm and started to lead him out, but he didn't expect the man to wrench out of his grip.

"I'll go nowhere. I've done nothing wrong!" the man insisted.

Eric's eyes bore into his with a steely glare. "Then you won't mind coming with me so we can for sure rule you out." he growled. He re-tightened his grip onto the man's arm.

Corman, for the second time, wriggled out of his grip. His eyes darted to the bouncer, who Eric noticed had shifted. The CSI drew his weapon which made the entire room freeze.

"You will go with me, and you'll call him off before he attempts to assault an officer, which I can have you also arrested for, as you gave the order," Eric snarled.

"It wouldn't be an attempt," the bouncer growled. "I'm not afraid of your shiny black gun."

Eric leveled it at him. "Brawn meets bullet, don't try it," he hissed. "Now, Mr. Corman, if you will," Eric jerked his head to the door. "Let's go," he growled, shoving his way past the bouncer and dragging Mr. Corman along for the ride.