A/N: Sorry for the delay. I got sick a couple days ago, thus this chapter is a couple days late, but I hope it'll be worth the wait. I'm loving the responses to this story! So, please continue to tell me your thoughts! Take care and happy reading!

KILL & COLLECT

Chapter 4

The two women stepped into the small motel room and Jane turned on the lights. The dank interior was revealed to them in a dim light. Maura looked around and scrunched her face at not only the furnishings but the smell of dust in the air. There was a single full-sized bed and to the left of that was a wooden nightstand with a phone and lamp on top. To the immediate right of the bed was a door that led into a small bathroom, at the foot of the bed was a dresser with a small television on top. Straight across the room, opposite the door of the motel was a small closet. The space was every vacationer's dream! Not.

Jane closed the door behind them as the blonde stepped further into the room. Maura noticed the sleeping arrangement and raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "There's only one bed."

The brunette looked between the bed and Maura. "You're taking the bed. I'm staying up to keep watch."

The blonde tossed her bag on the bed and began to unzip it. Jane stood near the window looking past the curtain and into the parking lot. Nothing looked suspicious. She then walked over to the small restroom and clicked on the light. There was a sink, toilet and shower. No window. Satisfied, the brunette shut off the light and turned back to the room. She noticed Maura had unpacked a toothbrush and was pulling out a tube of toothpaste. The brunette eyed the bag questioningly and then looked at the blonde. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Maura replied, not looking up.

Jane stood there and folded her arms at the blonde's nonchalant reply. She waited for the blonde to meet her gaze. When Maura finally looked her way she rolled her eyes at Jane's stare and sighed. "Okay, what?" the blonde relented.

The brunette gestured towards Maura's small luggage. "That's obviously a getaway bag. Why did you happen to have one so conveniently packed?"

Maura lowered her gaze and slowly turned and sat on the bed next to her bag. "I'll answer your question… but I feel I deserve some answers first." She looked at the brunette.

Jane gave nod. "Okay," her raspy voice carried over the small room. She took a seat in the chair next to the air conditioning unit, leaning her elbows on her thighs and interlacing her gloved fingers. "What do you wanna know?"

Maura crossed her jean clad legs and placed her hands in her lap. Jane noticed the woman kept her back straight at all times. The blonde had very admirable posture. Jane had noticed it from the night they met. The blonde looked straight into her eyes with an unwavering gaze.

"I want to know what else you know about me." The brunette only looked at her silently so the blonde continued. "You obviously knew my name… that I worked in a hospital and where I live. What else?"

Jane gave a shrug. "Not a thing."

Maura knit her eyebrows together. "I find that hard to believe. You don't research your targets before you…" Maura trailed off her sentence.

Jane shook her head. "No, it doesn't work like that. All I'm given is a location, a time, and a picture. That's it."

"You know nothing more about me," Maura stated, rather than questioned.

"Well…" Jane drawled out, looking down at her hands. "I do know a few things that I normally don't about my targets," she spoke with some insinuation. When the brunette finally looked at Maura, she noticed a blush lightly covering the other woman's cheeks.

Maura cleared her throat, avoiding Jane's gaze. "I… um, I wasn't referring to that," Maura shyly said, tucking some of her honey-blonde locks behind her ear.

The brunette smirked, thinking Maura's embarrassment was cute. Maura suddenly looked up and slightly narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "Oh, I see." She said, folding her arms with a haughty attitude. "You're being a smartass."

Jane's smirk grew even more and she ducked her eyes. She did not see it, but the blonde was fighting a smile of her own.

"Okay, then…" Maura went on. "If that was all the information you were given about me, how did you know my name?"

"One of your co-workers shouted out to you that night you forgot your keys."

Maura's face dawned remembrance and her eyes widened slightly. "You were there?"

Jane nodded.

"Were you casing the place or something?"

"No. I was assigned to… take care of you that night."

Maura swallowed. "Oh…"

Jane began to rub her hands through her leather gloves, trying to ease the tension of her old scars. She knew the true reason why she did not kill Maura. She felt a strong connection with the blonde and just couldn't go through with it.

A few moments of silence sat between them and neither one of them were able to make eye contact.

"How do you do it?" Maura soft voice broke the quiet.

The brunette slowly met Maura's hazel eyes.

"How can you just kill people… and not feel anything?" The blonde went on to ask.

As Jane looked into Maura's eyes, she was astonished to see that there was no judgment, no disgust or disdain; just a need to understand. This placed some comfort in the brunette. She released a heavy sigh before speaking and lowered her eyes to the floor. "I was in a dark place for a long time… when Hoyt approached me I cared for nothing and no one. I kind of just, shut everything off… all my emotions. How?" The brunette shrugged. "I don't know... but Hoyt knew how to tap into that dark energy I had and use for his advantage. He made me believe I could be useful to the world again."

Maura frowned, not completely comprehending what the brunette was saying. "By killing people?"

"Yes…" Jane honestly replied. "… as sick and twisted as it is… yes."

Maura figured there was more to this that Jane was not disclosing, but she decided not to push the subject any further. She read it in the brunette's body language. There was another long string of silence between them. Jane raked her hand through her dark hair and finally looked at the blonde. "Will you answer my question now? About the bag?"

Maura placed her hand on her duffel bag, lowering her eyes on the ground. "It was just in case."

Jane waited for Maura to further explain, but when nothing else spilled from the blonde's mouth, Jane knew Maura was holding back. "Okay… but the common person does not have a getaway bag, Maura. Not unless they're in some kind of trouble."

Keeping her eyes glued to her lap, the blonde let out a heavy sigh. Jane raised an eyebrow, studying the other woman. "Are you... in trouble?"

Hazel eyes finally connected with curious dark brown ones. "Every day," the blonde quietly replied.

Jane watched as the blonde took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"It all revolves around my father… Patrick Doyle."

The brunette perked up at the name. "Doyle…" Jane repeated. Then it suddenly clicked. "You mean Paddy Doyle the Irish mobster?"

Maura nodded solemnly.

"He's your father?"

"You've heard of him."

"Anyone who grew up on the east coast knows Paddy Doyle. He's got one hell of a reputation."

Maura let out an unimpressed chuckle. "That he does. People fear him."

Jane watched as the blonde fidgeted with her hands before continuing. "He's the one who taught me all the trades of surviving on the streets. Self-defense, how to fire a weapon…" the blonde locked eyes with the brunette. "… how to make someone who is tailing me…" The blonde lifted an eyebrow at Jane and the brunette gave a nod that said touché. "Anyway, at the age of only fifteen, I picked it all up fairly well… and a part of me even enjoyed it... I was well on my way to becoming my father's successor." Maura closed her eyes, remembering how passionate she was as a young woman, wanting to please her father. "There was always that thrill of potential danger… although I had never encountered it... not until I was seventeen."

"What happened?" Jane asked, fully engulfed in the blonde's story.

Maura was looking off in the small room, transported to another time as she told her tale. "One evening, an intruder entered our home. He was from a rival gang and was sent to kill my father and I. My father was able to apprehend him however. I was awoken by a noise and went downstairs." The blonde shook her head. "I can still see him on his knees in the kitchen… my father pointing gun at his head. I suppose he thought I was still asleep, but I saw the entire thing. He interrogated him and beat him, trying to get information… by the end of it, the man was begging for his life… but my father… Paddy… he didn't care. After he got what he needed, I watched him shoot the man point blank in the head. No hesitation," the blonde said with a shrug. "He acted as though it was nothing… and that terrified the hell out of me. While my father was training me, I was so naïve. I believed that a mobster life seemed like fun and games… but Paddy was not just training me, he was preparing me. And after I saw him murder a man, it became real. Too real. I knew then and there that was not the life I wanted to lead. Killing and torturing people and being involved in illegal activities was not something I wanted to be a part of. When I told him this, I saw the disappointment but he understood. He said his enemies may look for me someday, just to get to him. So he assisted me in fleeing to Paris. I've been here ever since."

There was a beat between them until Jane finally responded. "Wow, that's… that was really brave of you to leave that life."

The blonde bit her bottom lip, not sure how to further respond. She was touched by Jane's simple yet sympathetic words. "Yes…" she whispered. Though she loathed admitting it right now, but she still felt a connection to the woman sitting across from her... even if she was a killer.

"So…" the brunette said, clearing her throat. "No one has ever shown up?"

"No." The blonde finally made eye contact with the brunette. "Not until now. I even changed my name from Doyle to Isles."

"Isles?"

"Yes. I saw the name in the papers and thought it sounded nice," the blonde shrugged.

Jane said the first and last name together in her head and thought it sounded nice as well.

"So, when you showed up, I thought you were one of my father's enemies," Maura said.

The brunette frowned slightly. "What about your mother in all this?"

"She died giving birth to me."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"Its fine," the blonde said, shaking her head. "Anyway… with my family background, you can see why I was not exactly thrilled when a killer wanted to protect me."

"Yeah, I can see that now…" Jane nodded. "But I'm glad you're letting me."

They silently looked into each other's eyes. Each of them still had burning questions inside of them, wanting to know more about the other. They both remembered their admittance of wanting to confess their deepest darkest secrets to one another the night they met. Jane may have been holding back but she still felt the same way. However, given the current circumstances and the divulgence of Maura's horrific tale, Jane felt full disclosure of her dark past as a killer would not be appropriate to share at this time. The less the blonde saw her as a monster the better.

Maura was the first to break eye contact. She ran a hand through her hair and stood from the bed. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

"Okay," Jane replied, watching the other woman walk by her.

As Maura stepped in the doorway of the bathroom she turned back around. "I have an extra toothbrush if you'd like to use it. I left it on the bed."

Jane gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Maura nodded and stepped into the restroom.

Jane instantly felt more at ease with this arrangement. Maura was at least being civil to her. That was a good start. The brunette stood and removed her leather jacket, lying it over the back of the chair. She was now only in her black tank top and dark jeans.

"Jane!" Maura screamed.

The sudden outburst instantly put the brunette on alert. She removed her gun from her waistband, and was in the bathroom within seconds. Maura was standing in the small room just pointing at the sink. No one else was in the bathroom. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, gun drawn, Jane furrowed her brows. "What? What's wrong?"

"An arachnid."

"What?" Jane lowered her weapon, stepped forward and looked in the sink. She spotted the eight legged creature and let out a chuckle. "Maura, it's just a spider."

"Don't laugh," the blonde pouted. "I hate spiders."

"I thought you were in danger. Real danger." Jane commented, stuffing her gun back in her waistband.

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed. "Can you get rid of it?"

Jane smiled at the situation and shook her head. "Yeah." Without hesitation she scooped up the insect between her cupped hands. "Open the door for me."

Maura rushed to the motel door and quickly opened it. Jane knelt down by the open doorway and gently set the spider outside. The insect crawled out into the darkness, well on its way. Jane stood to her full height and closed the door. "There. Crisis averted," she said with some amusement in her eyes. A warm hand was suddenly on her bicep, squeezing lightly.

"Thank you," Maura said.

Jane's breathing stopped at the touch and she looked down at the blonde's hand. Maura felt the heat and strength of the other woman's muscle under her hand and she was embarrassed by how turned on it made her feel. She looked down at her own hand and soon realized what she had done. She shyly withdrew her hand and their eyes locked for a moment. Neither one of them had any words to say, but felt that attraction… that draw to one another. Maura lowered her gaze and took a step back. "Thank you," she said again.

"Sure," Jane got out. Her eyes followed the other woman's movements until she disappeared back into the bathroom. Jane was able to breathe again. Their sexual chemistry was definitely still there. Judging from the blush that appeared on the blonde's face, Maura had felt it too.

Within the next twenty minutes, Maura had finished in the restroom and was now lying on her side, fully clothed but shoes off, facing the wall. Jane was sitting in the darkness, staying on alert. Every once and awhile her eyes would venture to the form lying on the bed. Jane knew she would do everything in her power to protect Maura... even from spiders. She smiled to herself at the memory. The blonde had made her genuinely chuckle and that felt good. Just being around Maura made her feel good.

Hazel eyes slowly opened. Maura had to take a moment to get her bearings. She was not waking up from a nightmare in the comfort of her own bed. She was in a motel on the outskirts of Paris. Everything had actually happened last night. She was on the run with a killer. The smell of fresh croissants filled her senses and she turned over in the bed. A brown bag that read, Belle's Bakery, was sitting on the bed. She looked by the door and saw Jane standing by the window, looking out. She must have slept a few hours because sunlight was escaping past the window curtain and into the room.

"Hi," the blonde's voice cracked, still laced with sleep.

Jane turned from the window, looking at the other woman sitting up in the bed. "Hey." She took a few steps towards the bed. "I grabbed you a little something to eat."

"Oh. Thank you." The blonde frowned and looked at the other woman. "Wait, you left me?"

"The bakery is right next door," the brunette said, shoving a thumb at the indicated direction. "I was gone less than seven minutes tops. I made sure you were secure before I left."

The blonde felt her stomach rumble, not realizing how hungry she truly was. She reached into the bag and pulled out a large croissant. "What time is it?" She asked, before taking a bite into the fresh bread.

"A quarter to eight. I figured we should head out soon."

The blonde looked down at her attire and wrinkled her face. "I'd like to shower first."

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

A small smirk formed on the blonde's lips as she eyed the taller woman. "You could probably use one too."

The brunette frowned and bent her head, smelling her armpit. She did not smell like roses at the moment. "Guess you're right."

"I have a spare tank top you can wear. You seem to be fond of those."

Jane nodded. "Thanks."

Maura soon finished off her food and crawled out of the bed. She grabbed a towel and a bar of soap from her bag and set out the spare tank top. It was red. The blonde then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Jane looked at the tank top on the bed and lightly smiled. The color did stray away from her traditional black, but at least it wasn't pink. She grabbed the brown paper bag and began to eat a croissant of her own.

The brunette was watching television from the chair by the window when the bathroom door opened fifteen minutes later. Maura emerged in the doorway and Jane's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the sight. The blonde was standing there wrapped in a navy blue towel, hair dampened, and small droplets of water were sticking to the skin of her shoulders and calves. Jane tried not to stare as the woman walked by her but that was impossible. Jane remembered all too well what was under that towel and if she caught a glimpse of that perfect nude form again, she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself. Her heart began to beat faster and her palms became sweater.

Holding the towel securely around her body, Maura now stood at the foot of the bed and raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "It's not polite to stare."

"Sorry," Jane whispered, but her stare never wavered. She was hypnotized as her eyes raked up and down Maura's form unconsciously.

The blonde felt heat throughout her body under the other woman's gaze, but she held fast to her pride. She would not succumb to this seductive stare. "Turn around, Jane," she said. "You lost your privileges to see me naked when I became your target."

The statement broke Jane's spell and she raised her eyebrows at the other woman. "Ouch," she whispered, before turning the entire chair towards the window. Instead of luring at the naked woman behind her, she kept busy by scanning the parking lot.

After a few minutes of hearing zippers and rustling behind her, the blonde finally announced she was decent. Jane turned and saw Maura dressed in a dark purple button up blouse and black skinny jeans. Her hair was still damp and in a bit of disarray, but Jane thought she looked amazing.

"Aren't you going to shower now?" The blonde asked, grabbing a brush out of her bag.

"Yes, but I was waiting for you to get dressed."

Maura frowned. "Why?"

Jane grabbed the chair by the window and moved it beside the head of the bed. "I need you to sit here and keep an eye out for anything or anyone that looks suspicious outside. Just scream if you see anything."

"From here?" the blonde questioned with puzzlement, watching as the brunette opened the window curtain.

"I don't want you near the window," the brunette replied.

Maura noticed she could see the entire parking lot from where Jane had placed the chair. She sighed. "Okay, sure."

Just as Maura took her seat, Jane grasped her wrist and quickly zip tied it to the bedpost. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Just a precaution," Jane calmly stated.

Maura wrestled her arm against the restrain to no avail. She was beyond annoyed when she realized she was stuck. "Untie me," she demanded. "You know I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know that," Jane replied. She squat down in front of the blonde and looked into her eyes. "But I do know you're Paddy Doyle's daughter and I don't know what you're capable of."

Maura let out a huff and rolled her eyes. "I hate you," she muttered.

The brunette smirked before standing to her feet and heading into the bathroom. "I won't be long."

"This is so not necessary, Jane!" The brunette heard Maura call before she stepped into the bathroom. Jane blew out a breath and quickly stripped out of her clothing. That woman was a handful.

Several minutes had passed and the blonde was still sulking over being tied up. She yanked on the restraint once more and rolled her eyes. She supposed this made sense that Jane did not fully trust her. She had only tried to runaway just five hours before.

The sudden screeching of tires in the parking lot was what caught Maura's attention. Curious, she looked out the window and spotted a black car. It had just pulled up next to her vehicle. Four men dressed in black piled out of the black car and began to look around. Two of the men began to inspect Maura's vehicle. They did not look friendly at all.

"Oh, shit… oh, shit…" Maura whispered to herself. "Jane!" She yelled. "Jane!"

Her hair still damp, in only her jeans and a sports bra, Jane rushed out of the bathroom. She looked at Maura who pointed towards the window worriedly. "Outside… those men…"

The brunette looked out the window and saw the four men. She recognized them immediately as Hoyt's guys. The brunette saw one of the men kick down the door of the motel room that was parked closest to Maura's vehicle and they went charging inside. As a precaution, Jane had parked in the space furthest away from their room, hoping it would buy them some time. It seemed to do the trick.

"Time to go," the brunette said, taking out her Swiss army champ. She swiftly cut Maura loose from the bed post. The blonde quickly began to pack up her things while Jane threw on the red tank top, black leather jacket and boots. She peaked out the window again. The men were breaking into the next rooms, splitting off into pairs. Jane and Maura were in the last one down the line of rooms. Unfortunately, the only way out of the motel room was how they got in.

"We have to move now," Jane announced.

"Okay," Maura breathed, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She came over to Jane's side and the brunette turned to her, looking into her eyes.

"The bakery parking lot is out the door and to the right of the motel. We'll have to hop a fence and see if we can get a car. Got it?"

Maura nodded. "Got it."

"We only got one shot at this."

A look of pure determination was on the blonde's face. Her hazel eyes became so steely Jane almost didn't recognize her. "Let's do it."

"Okay." Jane cautiously opened the door and poked her head out. The men were four rooms down from them, guns drawn, breaking into another room. "Come on," Jane whispered, pushing Maura ahead of her.

They stepped out unnoticed and they quickly began to tip toe towards the side of the motel. They were nearly out of sight when…

"Over there!" A man shouted.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jane hollered. They both began running and within seconds of spray of bullets were fired at them, missing them within inches as they made it to the side of the motel for cover.

Maura quickly hoisted bag over the wood fence before scaling it herself. Jane made sure the blonde cleared the fence first before climbing over herself. Just as she got over the top and jumped down, more bullets riddled to the top the wooden fence just seconds from where she was before.

The brunette scanned the small lot and spotted a vehicle. "The station wagon!" Jane commanded. She was behind the blonde, placing a secure hand on her lower back as they took off running. It was not the ideal getaway vehicle but it was the only car around.

The door was locked. Jane quickly broke the glass with the hilt of her gun and unlocked the vehicle. Both women hopped inside. Their heavy breathing, coursed with adrenaline filled the vehicle as Jane a yanked out the necessary wires to hot-wire. Maura looked out the back of the rear window and saw one of the men climbing the fence.

"Jane, they're coming!" the blonde frantically exclaimed.

"Come on, you son of a bitch," Jane growled, sparking the wires together. Suddenly the engine came to life and she instantly shifted gears and hit the gas.

Five bullets were fired at them as Jane skid out of the parking lot. One in the trunk, two at the rear window which shattered the glass, and another that went through the back passenger side window at an angle. The brunette floored the gas, getting them out of the line of fire. Maura was breathing heavily, her hands gripping whatever she could hold on to. The brunette was frantically weaving between cars, trying desperately to create distance between them and Hoyt's men. She was constantly looking at the rear-view mirrors, checking if the black car was following them. There was no sign of them yet, but she knew they would be pursuing. She quickly turned off onto a dirt road, avoiding the main street. After a few minutes of no threat, Jane released a breath. "I think we lost them." She glanced at the blonde. "You okay?"

Maura swallowed as her heart rate began to return to normal. "Yeah…" she nodded. When she finally looked at Jane her eyes widen with alarm at the sight of blood.

"Oh, my God, Jane! You've been shot."

"Yes, I know," Jane strained between her teeth at the fire stinging pain in her shoulder.

Maura leaned forward to examine the wound closer, but could not see much through the leather jacket. "You'll have to pull over so I can take a look."

Jane shook her head. "No, it's not safe to stop now. Just…" The brunette grit her teeth and leaned to the left, attempting to shrug her right shoulder out of her jacket. She grunted in pain and Maura helped her remove it the rest of the way.

Crimson liquid coated the skin of her shoulder and two lines of blood had trickled down her arm past her elbow.

Maura lightly touched with her fingertips around the wound, avoiding contact with any blood as she examined it. "The bullet is still lodged in your shoulder. I have a first aid kit in my bag, but I'm afraid I don't have the proper tools to remove the bullet."

Jane reached into her pocket with her other hand. With a grunt she pulled out a knife. A gleam shined off the blade, reflecting from the sun as it was revealed. "This should work."

A/N: And scene. What do you think?