A/N: I am so excited that so many of you are hooked to this story so far! I have read so many wonderful reviews! Thank you! So let's continue shall we… HAPPY READING!

Side note: Please forgive my lack of France geography/ location spots. I'm not familiar. But I try to do as much research as I can. Okay, enjoy.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke with an authoritative tone. "And why were you tailing me?"

The brunette slowly turned her head, facing the person currently pointing a gun at her head. The light from the streetlamp caught her features just then and the other woman gasped.

The brunette was finally able to look into the hazel eyes that had been haunting her for weeks.

"You…" the blonde shakily breathed. The recognition was evident in her voice.

"Hello, Maura."

Kill & Collect

Chapter 3

The brunette stared deeply into the other woman's eyes and noticed a variety of emotions playing over her face. There was surprise, then confusion, and then suspicion. Maura's brows furrowed and she held the gun up with more purpose. "How do you know my name?"

The brunette opened her mouth to reply but was silenced by another hurried line of questioning from the blonde.

"And why are you here? Did you follow me all the way from New York? Are you some kind of stalker?" She demanded.

"No. I'm not stalking you and I did not follow you from New York. Look, we don't have time for this so..."

"Time? There seemed to be plenty of time when you followed me home and sat out here for fifteen minutes watching my house," Maura shot back.

The brunette shook her head. She had not planned on being caught off guard like this. She looked at Maura once more and could not believe she was actually laying eyes on her again; speaking to her again. This woman had haunted her thoughts and dreams for two weeks straight and now she was standing right in front of her. She had only dreamt of them meeting once again, but a gun being pointed at her was not involved in any of her imagined scenarios. She kept her half-gloved hands up and spoke once more. "There is a reason I'm here, okay? But we should talk about this inside. I don't think your neighbors will think twice to call the cops if they see you pointing a gun at someone in the middle of the night."

Maura raised her eyebrows slightly, almost in a smug matter. "Good. Maybe I want the authorities to arrive."

The brunette pinned her with a somber stare. "This is serious. What you're dealing with... the cops can't handle," the brunette stated.

"No? I think they can handle a peeping Tom."

"I wasn't…" the brunette took a second to hold back her frustration. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes and I'd rather discuss this inside."

Maura let out a small chuckle of disbelief, still aiming her weapon at the brunette. She shook her head slightly. "I am not letting you in my home. I don't even know you."

The brunette studied the blonde for a moment, holding her gaze. Maura's hazel eyes shifted back and forth as she stared back into the brunette's dark brown eyes.

"You do know me," the brunette genuinely spoke. Her voice was soft spoken.

Maura's brows knit together slightly and then slowly began to relax. As though she had not expected her defensive walls to be breached so suddenly. She felt a familiarity, a connection. The brunette's brown eyes held that gentleness that she encountered when they had been together that night.

The brunette saw the contemplation on Maura's face and continued. "Please. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear it. Let's just talk inside. I'll explain everything."

The blonde shifted feet slightly and looked around the area. No one seemed to be aware of what was transpiring between them on the darkened street. She looked at the brunette once more and slowly lowered the gun. However, she now held the weapon at her waist, still keeping the gun aimed at the brunette. If someone were to see them, the gun was not so visible.

"Fine," Maura finally said. "Get out of the car, slowly."

Keeping her hands in sight, the brunette cautiously exited the vehicle. Maura kept a keen eye on her as she closed the car door and stood in front of her.

"Walk ahead of me," the blonde instructed.

The brunette did as instructed and headed for the house. In silence, they walked up the driveway and soon made it to the front porch.

"Open the door and step inside. Keep your hands where I can see them. I won't hesitate to shoot you," the blonde threatened.

The brunette opened the door and stepped into the foyer of the home. It was dark aside from the moonlight streaming into the window blinds. As soon as she heard the front door close behind them that was when she made her move. The brunette quickly whipped around, extracting the weapon from the blonde's hands, easily disarming her. The blonde gasped. The movement was so fast Maura did not realize what had happened until the brunette was behind her. The taller woman's body was flush against her back, holding her in a secure embrace. With one hand the brunette easily emptied the chamber of the gun and the bullets scattered to the wooden floor in a clatter. The gun soon followed.

Maura struggled to free herself and managed to land a solid elbow into the brunette's gut. The taller woman grunted, but quickly recovered, holding her grip. The blonde then attempted to land her opposite elbow to the brunette's chin, but taller woman expertly blocked it and held fast to the other woman's arms, turning them behind her back. It was now impossible for the blonde to move. Maura was panting heavily and her heart raced, not knowing what this woman was going to do to her.

The brunette held her close and leaned in so her lips were only inches from the blonde's ear. "That was a lucky shot… and I don't like having a gun pointed at me," she snarled.

The blonde struggled once more. "Let go of me," Maura growled, wrenching herself from the brunette's grasp. She whirled around and the brunette could see pure anger and frustration burning in those hazel eyes.

The brunette only stood there, silently looking at the other woman. A slight ache began in her abdomen where the blonde had elbowed her. "Jesus," the brunette sighed, slightly touching her stomach.

"Who are you?" Maura demanded.

The brunette straightened her stance and looked into Maura's eyes. "Someone that can keep you safe."

"Safe?" The blonde frowned. "I don't understand. What are you doing here? Did you follow me here from New York?"

"No. I was sent here."

"You were sent here," the blonde deadpanned. By who?" She impatiently asked, flaring out her arms.

The brunette took a breath and locked her gaze with confused hazel eyes. Enough bullshit. Time to tell the truth. "By the person who hired me to kill you."

Maura's eyes widened in alarm and she took a step back. "What?" The blonde breathed.

There it was. The fear the brunette did not want to invoke in the other woman. The last thing she wanted was for the blonde to fear her but she knew this moment was inevitable. The brunette raised her hands as a peaceful gesture, trying to keep the blonde calm. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay."

"You just told me you were sent here to kill me!" Maura shrieked, stepping further back.

"Yes, I was. That's true but I'm not going to. I want to protect you, but there's not much time. Pretty soon the person who sent me is going to send a backup; someone else to finish the job that I couldn't."

"And I'm the job," Maura stated, putting the pieces together.

"Yes."

"But why…"

The sound of a car door slamming outside alerted the brunette.

"Shhh…." the brunette silenced Maura, hearing the noise. She moved over to one of the front windows and carefully moved aside the curtain. In the distance, emerging from the shadows, a suspicious looking man in dark clothing was approaching the house. The brunette could tell just by the tranquil way he moved that he was trained. He was like her. "Great," the brunette muttered. She watched the man stealthily disappear behind some hedges and back into the shadows. The brunette deduced that he was heading for the back door of Maura's home.

"Who's out there?" Maura asked in a hushed whisper, a few feet behind the brunette.

The taller woman moved away from the window and headed further into the house. She glanced at the blonde. "My backup," she bitterly muttered. "They know I haven't done my job." As she walked further and entered the living room, she noticed the blonde following her. She stopped and turned to the anxious woman behind her. "Stay here, okay. Out of sight."

Maura nodded and hung back. She watched from the arch of the hallway as the brunette took position by the backdoor, pressing her back against the wall. Moments later, a figure's silhouette could be seen through the window shades, slowly approaching the door. Just as the brunette had suspected, the man was attempting to break in through the back.

The three clicks of the lock meticulously opening were extremely quiet, but the brunette heard it. She silently stood off to the side, watching the handle turn and then the door slowly creep open. She waited patiently for the man to enter the home and when the timing was right... She clocked the man with a hard left hook to the face, blindsiding him. He grunted and attempted to turn and confront his attacker but the brunette was far too quick. She was behind him in an instant and swiftly grabbed him around the neck, putting him in a choke hold. The man struggled for a while but was no match to the brunette's skill. Eventually, he became weaker and his arms lowered, causing him to drop his weapon to the floor. His entire body became limp in a matter of seconds and soon his head dangled off to side. He was out cold... still alive.

She could kill him. She could snap his neck in an instance. But she didn't. She didn't want to kill him. She knew he was only doing a job, just as she does. She may not have known the man personally, but like it or not, he was a kindred lost soul that was also taken under Hoyt's wing. She was doing the man a favor. But she knew there would be more men and women just like this coming after her and Maura. Next time she would not be as generous.

She carefully lowered his body to the ground and began to search him. She found two extra ammo clips and then she stuffed his gun in the back of her waistband. She needed all the ammo she could get. She felt someone approach her and she looked up, seeing Maura standing there. The blonde stared at the man on the ground.

"You killed him?" She asked in disbelief.

"No. He's asleep," Jane replied, standing up from her crouched position. "We need to go, now."

The brunette headed for the door and Maura followed. When they were in the foyer, the blonde suddenly switched direction. "Wait."

"Maura, we don't have ti…" But the blonde was already hurrying down the hall and into another room. The brunette sighed and quickly followed. It was the master bedroom. She spotted the blonde on her hands and knees, reaching for something under an impressive looking king-sized bed. "What are you doing?"

The blonde soon yanked a medium-sized black duffel bag from under the bed and stood to her feet. "Now, we can go," she said, flinging the strap onto her shoulder.

Was that a getaway bag? The brunette frowned, wondering why the blonde would have such a thing prepared but there was no time to dwell on it now. "Come on. We're taking your car."

"My car?"

"Yes. I'm sure they tracked my rental car to your house. That's probably how our surprise guest found us."

The blonde grabbed her car keys from the dish by the front door and handed them over. They were soon outside and hurriedly climbed into Maura's car. The brunette started the engine.

"Where are we going?" Maura asked, putting on her seatbelt.

"I didn't plan that far ahead." The brunette shifted the gear and peeled out of the driveway.

As soon as they exit the neighborhood, the brunette's cell phone began to ring. Her heart skipped a beat, knowing who it was. Maura looked over at her questioningly and their eyes briefly connected. The brunette reached into her jacket and answered, holding the phone to her ear. She said nothing.

"What are you doing, Jane?" Hoyt calmly asked. The brunette could hear his voice quaking with an undertone of anger.

"What I have to."

"What you have to do is kill her. She's your target. The target I assigned for you to eliminate."

"Not this time."

Hoyt let out a sardonic chuckle. "This sounds like you're making a choice, Jane. This was not what we agreed upon when I took you in. You have no choices, remember? Kill or be killed."

The brunette inhaled breath and defiantly raised her chin. "I'll face the consequences. I'm not gonna let her die."

Maura was listening to this one-sided conversation and could barely believe her ears. This woman was discussing her life. Her life was in someone else's hands. The thought terrified her.

"No?" Hoyt continued. Is it because she's pretty? Is it because you admire her intelligence?... Or is it because you fucked her in a hotel room?" He bitterly growled.

The brunette was stunned into silence. How did he know? She looked at the woman next to her and those hazel eyes were studying her closely. The brunette turned her eyes back on the road as a sick, quesy feeling came over her. Was Hoyt…? No... he couldn't possibly be jealous? Right? Was this some sort of vendetta against Maura? Through her whirlwind of questions she finally regained her ability to speak. "Why her? What has she done?"

"Questions, questions," Hoyt mumbled to himself. "No questions. You're dishonoring the code."

"I wanna know, damn it," the brunette demanded.

"I want her dead!" Hoyt suddenly shouted. He voice was laced with such venom and malice it caused the brunette to slightly flinch. This was a test of your loyalty to me, Jane. I have my reasons and my reasons alone are just enough. Kill and collect. That's what I trained you to do. So, kill her now…" He took a moment to calm his tone and continued. "…kill her… and I'll forgive this little lapse of misjudgment."

She looked at Maura once more and their eyes locked. Looking into this woman's eyes she saw a good soul. A woman that held mystery but was honest. A woman that had an edge but was soft. Maura. The brunette knew then and there that she had made the right choice. She turned back to the road.

"There's no misjudgment. Goodbye, Hoyt."

"Jane!" The man's voice hollered, before the brunette hung up. She lowered the window and tossed the phone outside.

"Your phone too," she said, holding out her hand to Maura.

"What?"

"Trust me. He can track us anywhere if we keep our phones."

With a huff, Maura dug into her jeans and handed over her phone. The brunette tossed it as well before rolling the window back up.

They were silent for a few moments as they drove through the darkness.

"Was that him? The man that hired you to kill me." Maura finally said.

"Yes." The brunette noticed Maura visibly shiver beside her. She wanted to comfort the blonde. She wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but she had no way of knowing that for sure. Hoyt had his ways of finding people and he always got what he wanted. This was a spontaneous risk she was taking. She was defying the man that she thought had saved her and showed her a new way of… well not living… being she supposed. She was standing up against Hoyt… all for the woman sitting beside her.

"So…" the blonde began, breaking the brunette's train of thought. "Your name is Jane."

The brunette felt a shiver run through her body, hearing Maura speak her name for the first time. She gave the blonde a questioning look.

"It was hard to miss the screaming on the other end of the phone before you hung up."

"Oh."

There was another pregnant pause between them. The blonde discreetly looked towards the woman beside her. Her eyes shifted to the steering wheel, noticing the brunette's hands were gripping it tightly. Jane was still wearing those leather finger-less gloves. She then discreetly shifted her gaze to the brunette's profile. She was just as Maura had remembered her. Those hard, yet soft attractive features... a woman that had mystery and darkness looming over her. Now everything was slowly coming to light.

"You're an assassin?" Maura carefully asked, breaking the silence.

The brunette nodded. "I am."

"So you've killed other people for him… with no rhyme or reason," the blonde stated.

Jane paused. For once she was actually feeling regret for having to admit this truth. "I have."

"Why?"

The brunette swallowed, not looking at the blonde. "I'm good at it," she honestly confessed.

Maura swallowed and nodded as she digested this awful truth. She was in a car with a killer. That did not sit well with her. She folded her arms and looked out the passenger side window. She let out an exasperated sigh. "You're no better than my father," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

And Jane could tell just from the cold demeanor that was coming from the blonde, any further conversation was over at this point.

They drove for what seemed like hours until they reached a motel on the outskirts of the city. It was nearly 3AM. The blonde seemed to be dozing off every few minutes but fought to keep her eyes open. Jane had noticed.

"We can rest here for a few hours," the brunette said.

Hearing Jane's voice, Maura opened her eyes and looked around. They had pulled into a small motel with only one level of rooms that ran along the perimeter of the parking lot. It was no Ritz but it was fairly decent. At least it looked clean enough. Frankly, it was a dump but Maura held her tongue. The brunette's voice broke her thoughts.

"I haven't seen a tail and they have no way of tracking us. We've got a good head start. We'll leave later in the morning. Besides, I'm sure you need the sleep after working at the hospital all day."

The brunette glanced at Maura and the blonde only stared back, her expression unreadable.

"I'll check us in." Jane stopped herself before exiting the car and looked into the blonde's eyes. "Stay here." She climbed out of the car and headed into the building to the checkout counter.

It took less than eight minutes for the brunette to sign-in with two fake names and pay for a room. When she walked back out and headed for the car her instinct radar immediately went off. Something was wrong. From a distance, it looked like her passenger was no longer in the vehicle. "Shit." Jane rushed over to the car and looked into the passenger side window. Maura was gone and so was her bag.

She immediately began to look around the area. Her mind was in a panic but she knew she had to remain calm. Only a few minutes had passed. Maura could not have gotten that far. She jogged out to the middle of the nearly empty parking lot of the motel and turned in circles. Where the fuck did she go? She looked towards the road just outside the entrance to the motel lot. That was when she spotted her. Not too far from the side of the road, Maura had just managed to hail a car over, attempting to hitchhike.

"Fuck," Jane muttered. She took off running full speed to catch up with the blonde.

Just as Maura was about to open the passenger door of the stranger's vehicle, the brunette grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. The blonde flinched with a gasp of surprise, dropping her duffel bag. "Hey!" She shrieked.

"Thanks but no thanks! She's staying!" Jane called out to the person in the vehicle.

"Let go of me!" Maura shouted, trying to wriggle from the brunette's strong embrace.

The man gave a shrug of nonchalance and drove off, leaving them on the side of the road. When the car was gone, Jane loosened her grip and the blonde yanked herself away. She pinned the brunette with a death glare. There was that look again. Full of fire and anger. Damn. She managed to piss off Maura twice in one night. But she could care less. This woman was acting way too reckless for her liking.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jane shouted. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"I'm trying to get away from you!" Maura yelled back. "If I stay with you I may get killed! You're a killer!"

"I already told you I'm trying to protect you."

"You say that now, but what if you suddenly change your mind and decide to do your boss's bidding."

Jane ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. "That won't happen."

"Well, I'm sorry but that's not very reassuring to me and I'm not waiting around to test that theory." Maura raised her arm and stuck out her thumb, looking for a potential ride once more. "I can take care of myself. I don't need to be protected."

Jane took a step closer. "You have no idea what this man is capable of, Maura. What the people working for him are capable of. They will find you."

"I'm not helpless. I can make it just fine on my own."

"What makes you think that?"

Maura finally looked at Jane, locking eyes with her. "Because I learned a thing or two from someone just like you. He was also coldhearted and unfeeling."

Jane stood there and took the stinging comment for what it was… the truth. She had become that way. She allowed herself to shut off all emotion. But after meeting the woman standing in front of her now, something had changed inside. She could not explain it but she knew she never wanted to let Maura go. She had to keep trying. "Do you want to live?"

Maura still stood with her thumb out, remaining silent. She ignored the brunette's question.

"Do you want to live?" Jane asked more assertively.

"Of course I want to live!" Maura shot back.

"Then you have to trust me! I know how this man thinks and how he operates. I know his tricks. You're not dealing with a mediocre player in this game. He's a professional and he's careful. When he wants you dead, you're dead."

Maura's confidence seemed to slightly deflate at Jane's words and she lowered her eyes.

"I won't let that happen to you. But I can't do that if you won't let me protect you."

The blonde slowly lowered her arm and turned away from the road. She then raised her eyes and looked into determined brown ones. "Why?" She finally asked with a shrug. "Why do you want to protect me?"

Jane lowered her eyes, hesitant to answer. "I… have a feeling that it may be my fault that he wants you dead." This was not the primary reason Jane wanted to protect Maura but after that disturbing exchange with Hoyt it had definitely become plausible.

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought he assigned random people for you to assassinate."

"Yes, but it's different with you. He's knows that we've met before… and that we…" Jane left the sentence open.

Maura lifted an eyebrow at her. "Had sex," she bluntly finished.

"Yes," Jane replied with an uncomfortable shrug. "And now he wants you dead."

"That makes no sense."

Jane shook her head, barely believing this herself. "I guess he developed some weird… infatuation with me. I never really picked up on it before."

"Wait a minute," Maura held up her hand and briefly closed her eyes. She was trying to wrap her head around the situation. "Are you saying that your boss is jealous of me because I slept with you?"

The brunette only looked at her, silently conveying her affirmative reply to the blonde's question.

"B… but that's absurd. That's crazy!"

"He is crazy. That's why I want to help you. I wasn't going to kill you to satisfy his sick mind fuck games."

The blonde realized she was now caught between two roads. She looked down the street and then back towards the brunette.

Jane could see that Maura was re-evaluating her actions. "So..." Jane began. "What's it gonna be?" The brunette gave a small shrug and gestured towards the road that had one passing car every two to three minutes. "I guess I can't force you to stay with me. But… it would really… well… it would suck if I never saw you again." Jane lowered her eyes, feeling extremely vulnerable about what she had just admitted.

Maura studied her closely and observed Jane's body language. The brunette was avoiding eye contact, she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other and she was rubbing the top of her hands where Maura knew Jane was concealing those angry scars. The brunette was anxious… possibly even worried. The honey-blonde suddenly turned and picked up her duffel bag from the side of the road. She set back her shoulders and held her chin up with dignity.

"What's our room number?" She asked before walking by brunette towards the motel.

Jane closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Maura was going to stay.

A/N: What are you thinking?