A/N - Hey folks...it's slowly starting to come together slowly.

Thanks for sticking around guys - three more chapters and the sotry is done. So thank you for all the reviews. The fact that people have been messaging me telling me that I'm dealing with a horrible issue correctly, means heaps to me. Not everyone gets a happy ending and it's nice to play in a world where I can give them the happy after it all.

So, as always...

Read, enjoy and review

Chapter Thirty-One – Violent Love

Not for the first time, Peter wasn't happy with her. With the flurry of activity, he stood off to the side, his face a mask of annoyance. Broyles had backed up her plan, which just pissed Peter off more. But when Olivia had said she had come too far, she had meant it. It wasn't just about A.J anymore. It was about Rayne, Melanie, Fiona and A.J. She wanted to end all of this. And there wasn't much she wouldn't do to ensure that this case was securely closed. She was in the bathroom, giving herself a minute to get herself ready for what was to come when Peter popped his head around the door.

"Is it safe?"

"Depends. Will there be yelling involved in this conversation?"

Peter shook his head as he moved deeper into the bathroom.

"No."

"Good. Because you can be as pissed off as you like. I'm doing this."

"I know."

Olivia sighed.

"I'll be safe. Nina's little microphone/camera spy technology will make sure of that."

"It malfunctioned on the stake out."

"And if it does, I will have other agents ready to back me up."

"I'm still not completely comfortable with letting you go into a home alone with a mad man."

Olivia offered him a small smile.

"I'm far madder than he is."

Peter pulled her arm, looking at her with worried eyes.

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"If you get a clean shot, take it."

Olivia moved closer to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling him into a hug.

"I promise."

Olivia drove her truck to Toplands Cove, her heart pounding in her ears. Before she got out of the truck, she did as Heather had instructed, taking a deep breath and thinking of Etta. She found herself becoming calm and more collected. She glanced at the building, wondering how she had never known about it before. It was well away from the city, another hour's drive from the abandoned tracks and trains. It, in fact, looked like the old barns you saw in movies, painted a rusty red and seeming to be barely staying together. She was just about to check her gun again when there was a movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react, the back door of the truck opened and the vehicle shifted as another body climbed in. She felt the cool kiss of the gun as it pressed against her temple and the heat in her ear at the voice that followed.

"Drive."

It concerned her that Cullen's voice was becoming so familiar to her. And the fact that her body had the same reaction, gentle tingles and the blaring of a silent alarm. Everything in her told her to escape. But she fought those instincts and started the engine again.

"Where are we going?"

"Away from the backup I know you were smart enough to organise."

Cullen was right. If they drove long enough and lost the two vehicles that she knew was following, she would be on her own. Even with the assistance of Nina's little invention, they would be too far for it to work. She was prepared, knew that this was a possibility but still, her heart started racing again and this time when images of Peter and Etta filled her mind, it didn't calm her. It just made her more resolved that this was going to be done. Cullen didn't know it yet, but he wouldn't win.

"Charles got you again I see."

She could see his arm a little in the rear-view mirror and the slight bulge where a bandage laced around the injury. Mick scoffed.

"Stupid fucken dog. I should have killed him."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because Fiona was fighting. The moment I threatened Charles, she stopped, said that she would come with me if I just left him alone."

"How did you know that I would visit her?"

"Because you visited her before. Left here."

Olivia turned left as instructed, watching as more of the city faded away.

"Right and then the next left."

She knew what he had planned. He wanted her alone with him. The man that made her skin twitch with memories. Eventually, the city disappeared completely and they drove another hour before he finally told her to stop. She was somewhat familiar with the house that they were in front of. And it made her wonder just how long Brookes had been using it. Because the house, with its overgrown garden, rotting fences and windows that looked like eyes, was a magnet for ghost hunters or kids that just wanted to get a fright. It had been the scene of multiple homicide twenty years ago. It was classed as a heritage home, which meant without someone to purchase it, it would stay where it was, falling apart and the council unable to do anything about it. She also knew that this was one of the rare hot spots in the city where there was no phone reception.

"Put your gun on the passenger seat."

Olivia did as she was told, pulling the gun from her holster.

"And your back up weapon."

Olivia withdrew the second gun that sat by her hip, hidden under her jacket.

"Anymore?"

He didn't need to know about the third, much smaller gun that was strapped around her ankle.

"No."

She slipped from the truck, casting a glance at the space around her. There was no sign of the trucks, one of them containing Peter, which were meant to be following her. Cullen pushed her forward with a hand to the middle of her back, almost causing her to stumble. She found her footing, her steps cautious as she made it up the steps to the front of the house. She could feel the soft give of the wood beneath her boots as Cullen pushed her into the dark mouth of the house. It took Olivia a second for her eyes to adjust. Even then, with the windows boarded, the interior if the house was nothing more than shadowy outlines. Olivia blinked, trying to see something behind the shades of black. Cullen pushed her again and she moved further into the house. He grabbed her arm roughly when he wanted her to stop, pulling a piece of rope that hung from the ceiling. Olivia stepped back as a large ladder came sliding noisily down, thing the floor with a dull thump. Cullen pushed her towards it.

"Get up. Now."

The barrel of the gun brushed against her back and she felt a small tremor of fear but she shoved it aside, fighting the instinct to turn and push the gun from Cullen's hand. She had to see A.J and Fiona first. And she wanted answers. With Brookes not talking, he was it. Olivia climbed the stairs as fast as she could, hearing and feeling the soft creak. When she got to the attic, the only thing to guide her was a soft light of a candle. And sitting in front of a battered typewriter was A.J. Her head was hung low, her eyes closed. Olivia moved closer to her.

"A.J?"

When no answer came, Olivia moved closer still. She kneeled in front of her and pressed her fingers to A.J's neck. It was faint but she had pulse. Olivia gave the rest of her body a quick sweep , seeing the blood inching out from the thick chains that kept her at the desk. And judging by the smell, A.J had been there since she had gone missing.

"She passed out a while ago. I'm just waiting for her to die."

Olivia stood and turned on her heel to face Cullen again. He had the gun pointing squarely at her chest but she didn't feel fear. She wanted to disarm him, to hurt him the way he was hurting A.J.

"Where is Fiona?"

"She's hidden somewhere just as dark, waiting to die. I'll honour that wish once I get rid of you and my darling ex-wife."

"Tell me first.'

Cullen frowned at her.

"No."

Olivia shrugged.

"We figured out most of it anyway. Why not come clean?"

"You know nothing.'

Olivia made her voice hard when she spoke, trying to goad him.

"We know more than you think, you wife bashing piece of shit."

Cullen moved quickly and when he punched her, it took her by surprise. And this time, it wasn't a glancing blow. He hit her hard enough for her to briefly see stars. She stumbled, letting the ringing pain fuel her anger. He smiled at her when she looked at him again. And with a pull of hatred, she smiled back.

"My husband was right. You can't hit anything but a woman. You don't have the balls to take on a man."

With an animal like growl, he came at her again, only this time she was ready. She turned on her heel, causing him to over-swing and fall hard against the wall behind her. She went to move again but he was faster. He had the gun pointed at her chest before she could take a breath. He breathed heavily, his teeth gritted.

"Bitch. I am going to enjoy killing you."

Olivia cocked her eyebrow.

"With a gun? Not really your style, is it?"

"You need to shut up now."

"Or what?"

Cullen wavered for a second before pointing the gun at A.J.

"Or I blow her brains out."

Olivia swallowed.

"You really want to end the game like that?"

Olivia could see it now. Cullen thought he had something over her and in a way he did But she had something over him too. She knew what buttons to push. They were the same ones her step-father had. If she could get him to focus on her and not on A. J or Fiona they might have a chance. If she could get him to focus on her just like she used to do with her step-father, it will give the back-up time to rescue them. Olivia stood a little straighter, ignoring the pain in her cheek.

"All that planning you put into getting to Alfonso and then to Brookes. Do you really want to waste that effort?"

Cullen frowned.

"Who told you that?"

"We figured it out. We know that A.J kept her writing under lock and key. It was because she found you snooping, didn't she?"

Cullen growled.

"She hid things from me in my own home. I punished her for that."

"But you found out the secret didn't you?"

Arrogance and pride swept over his face.

"You almost didn't figure it out."

"But we did. And we have Brookes in custody. We've connected him to six other murders so far. But that's just the beginning. Then you can add on kidnapping."

"He was useless and sloppy."

"He's been on the run for years. Most people thought he was dead. Not too sloppy if you ask me. He got sloppy when A.J started investigating."

"No one asked you. He fucked up. A.J should have been dead from the second I told him about her."

"Why did he keep her?"

"He told me he would kill her one he was done with her. Before you caught him, he was going to finish him off."

Olivia made a mental note to tell all of this to Heather. She had been right. Brookes was arrogant enough to believe that the world needed to hear his story. And he used A.J to do it.

"Alfonso is dead. Did you or Brookes organise that?"

Cullen shook his head.

"Nope."

It must have been the other prisoners. It had to be. In their minds, A.J was the only one willing to talk to them, willing to give the truth to the rest of the world. She had managed to help a man escape prison and the others thought that she could do the same to them. Or at the very least make them even more infamous than they already were. Olivia didn't know how they figured out that Alfonso was part of the demented team but they did. And he paid for it with his life.

"He was murdered."

Cullen shrugged.

"No great loss. And it will be the same when you die. You want to know something?"

"What?"

"When I'm done killing you, I'm going after your husband and daughter. I'm going to make them suffer."

Cullen cocked his gun and pulled the trigger.