Thanks for all the great reviews but here's a heads up...Depending on whether Jack lives or not, Chapter 21 could be the last chapter. If I kill Jack, 21 will be the final one. If I save him the story shall continue. But you will find out in 21 whether he lives...lol. So that's a head up incase 21 is the last chapter. But for now, enjoy chapter 19!

Emilie had been gone for nearly three hours and I still hadn't seen any of Jack's family. I got a brief update on the news saying that police were still crawling all over the Mercer's house. So I figured they were tied up. I didn't mind sitting with Jack but his family should be here. They should be watching over him as the nurses and doctors rush in to check him every twenty-five minutes. They should be here watching him as his bandages are changed and when they come and replace his IV bags. They should be here incase he takes his last breath.

"Paisley?"

My head shot up and turned around to the source of the voice. For some reason I was jumpy but I relaxed when I saw Jerry, Bobby and Angel in the doorway.

"What are you going here?" Bobby asked, averting his from Jack. They all were afraid to look at him, but I understood why.

"Emilie called me. She was upset." I told him softly. Jerry walked over to the other side of Jack's bed and pulled a chair while Angel sat on the tiny sofa facing the foot of the bed.

"Well, where is she?" Bobby asked walking over to the window. I hesitated on answering him. I knew he'd flip if he knew she just left like she did. But I knew she needed her time and I knew he wouldn't understand.

"I sent her home." I replied a little too quickly. They boys all looked at me and I smiled sadly. "She was covered in blood and she needed to get cleaned up." I finished calmly.

"Have they said anything about him?" Jerry asked quietly looking at his little brother. I looked over and smiled at him.

"They removed the bullets, stopped his internal bleeding and stabilized him." I told them. "They are changing his dressings every two hours and they have him sedated for pain."

"Will he be okay?" Bobby asked. The sound of his voice shocked me. Never had I heard him sound so small and so hurt.

"They said it's up to him." I whispered.

"Lemme guess, they encourage minimal optimism?" Angel asked from the end of the bed. I looked over and nodded.

"They said it's up to him now. When they stop the drugs, he could wake up or he could stay in the coma." I said, brushing the hair out his face again.

"So this is it?" Bobby asked finally looking at Jack. "We just wait?"

I looked over at him and offered a weak smile that he didn't acknowledge as he sat in the edge of Jack's bed. That was how we sat for another hour. No one talking or moving, just watching, afraid to look away incase something happened.

"Whoa, Pais, turn the TV up." Angel told me. I looked over and snatched the remote up to turn the volume up.

'Tonight we are mourning the death of Lt. Markus Green, who was shot outside of a local bar late this afternoon. Detective John Fowler was on the scene and described the suspects as two young African American males. If you have any information that could be useful please feel free to contact the Detroit Police. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lt.'s family.'

"Oh my god." I blurted out, shocked. I kept my eyes on the screen as they showed the scene behind the bar and yet another body bag on the streets of Detroit. I watched as Fowler's face appeared on the screen and started talking about how upset he was that someone would attack a cop and how much he would miss his friend.

"How much you wanna bet Sweet is behind this?" Angel snarled.

"About as much as I'd bet Sweet will be swimming with the fishes when I get done with him." Bobby growled and turned the TV off.

I tried to say something but I couldn't. I didn't know this much had went down. I knew a little bit but only what Emilie told me and that was from Jack. And I knew for a fact he didn't share all the gory details. I nodded and leaned back in my chair.

"Well, I'm heading home." Jerry announced softly, after a few minutes. "Anyone need a ride?"

"They said only one person can stay." I told them. They all nodded and Bobby looked around at us.

"You guys go. I'll stay here." he told us and took the chair Jerry had vacated. We all nodded and left the room quietly.

We drove in silence as we made our way to my apartment. No one really knowing what to say or if they should say anything at all.

"Jer, I'm going to se if Diddle's okay." Angel said getting out behind me. I stopped abruptly and turned to face him.

"No, you shouldn't." I blurted out. I didn't want him going up there incase Emilie wasn't home. I didn't want him to flip on me and go all Marine on the town. "Her lights not on, so she's sleeping. I'll check on her for you but she really needs her space." The boys looked at me oddly and Angel cast one last glance at her window before nodding his head.

"Just tell her we miss her and we love her." he whispered and got back into the car. I nodded and watched them pull off. I looked around the parking lot and noticed that Emilie's car wasn't there. I sighed and hurried up to her apartment.

She wasn't there.

I decided not to look around and just go home. It was only 11pm, maybe she went out for a run or maybe she was back at the hospital. I knew one of the last places she wanted to be was here with all the memories of Jack. Even I didn't like being here and seeing the tiny reminders that Jack was here and was supposed to be here and not in that hospital bed.

To say the least, I had a rude awakening. All of sudden I was jerked and smashed into a wall of some kind. I wasn't sure what time it was, where I was or how I got there but that wasn't what was bugging me. What was bugging me was the headache I had and the fact that for some reason I couldn't see or move. I thought it was a weird dream but the longer I laid there thinking about trying to wake up the more it set it.

Fowler.

I remembered seeing Green being killed and then Fowler attacking me and it all hit me like a ton of bricks. I started to wiggle my arms and legs and shook my head to try and get whatever it was that was covering my eyes to fall. After shaking and nodding my head a few times the cloth fell of my eyes and I looked around. I sighed when I realized I was still in his trunk but we weren't moving. I heard foot steps right out and then the trunk was opened. I was expecting light but it was pitch black outside.

"Still alive I see." Fowler smirked and grabbed my forearm roughly. I winced as my hurt shoulder hit the side of the car as he drug me out. I looked around when I was standing and I noticed we were at a house.

'His house?' I wondered. He closed the trunk and started walking me into the back side of the house.

"Why'd you kill Green?" I asked as he pushed me into the kitchen. He laughed and looked over at me as I leaned against the counter.

"You've been hanging out with them Mercer's too long. They, too, think they are cops." he said and grabbed my arms again.

"Better than you." I smirked as he drug me up a small flight of stairs. He opened the door and pushed me, making me fall.

"Shut up." he growled and yanked a wooden chair from the corner. He picked me up and set me in it and tapped my ankles to the legs of the chair. Then he retied my arms behind the chair, which put even more pressure on my shoulder.

"You're stupider than I thought if you think you're getting away with this." I smiled sweetly at him. He glared at me and ripped one last piece of tape off and smacked it on my lips. He bent down to my level and smiled.

"And you're stupid for thinking I won't." he winked and grabbed my face. Even thought the tape separated us, I grimaced when he planted his lips on mine. He pulled back and walked back out the door. I stared at the door for a few minutes and sighed.

This was great. Ironic to some point. I was sitting here, tied up in a cops attic, while Jack was in the hospital. He could be dead, he could be awake, he could be hating me for not being there, or worried sick about where I was. Because no one knows where I was. I told Paisley I was leaving and just left. I didn't give any indication as to where I went. So by the time they notice I'm gone they could think I just ran off. How were they to know that I was kidnapped? How were they to know it was Fowler? Did they even know Fowler was dirty? Did they know Green was dead yet? Would I ever get out of here?

Will I ever get to see Jack again?

I fell asleep not too long after everyone had left. I tried to stay awake to make sure he was okay and to make sure the nurses were doing their job but the day had taken it's toll on me and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I woke a couple times when they were would lift Jack, to change his dressing, and would accidentally pull off the heart monitors, sending the machines in a wild beeping frenzy. They apologized profusely and I fell back asleep.

"Bobby?"

I cracked my eyes open and saw Paisley standing in front of me. I closed them back and stretched before sitting up.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"8am." she replied and handed me a white styrofoam cup. I nodded a thanks and took it. I opened the lid and inhaled the wakening smell before taking a sip.

"Angel and Jerry are on their way. They dropped me off and went to get breakfast. They wanted me to wake you up first." she told me and sat down on the sofa.

"Where's Diddle?" I asked, wondering if she came with them. Paisley looked at me and frowned.

"You haven't seen her?" Angel asked, walking in the room with Jerry right behind him. I sat up and looked at them.

"No." I answered shortly.

"Did you check on her like you said you would?" Angel asked looking at Paisley.

"No, her lights were off." she told us. "You guys she needs time to herself. She'll probably come by later after she's calmed down. She's not really used to having her boyfriend being shot and dealing with thugs on a daily basis."

"Well, if she don't show by lunch we're going to get her skinny ass." I mumbled and took the bag of food from Jerry.

"Ya know Green's service is today at 9." Jerry spoke up after eating. I looked over at him and nodded. "I was thinking we could stop by and pay our respects. Green always had our backs, Bobby. You know that."

"My brother and James are coming by later to see Jack so you guys can go if you want." Paisley told us. I looked over at the clock and sighed

"Alright. Just call us if anything happens." I said getting up. "Try and get a hold of Diddle. I want her here when we get back." Paisley nodded and took the seat she occupied yesterday as we walked out.

It seemed like this was how the rides were going to be, long and silent. But for the second time in the span of half a month we are heading to the cemetery. And all that was in our minds was the thought that the next time we would come here would be to bury our little brother.

About half the cops in Detroit were surrounding the flag covered casket as they set off shots to signal his fall.

"I'm surprised they used the guns. You'd think they'd have enough of the sound." I mumbled, earning a punch from Jerry.

"Show some respect." he scowled and looked around. "Ma would beat you if she heard you say that here."

"Speaking of Ma…" Angle whispered and looked a few rows over. It still seemed surreal. Some days felt like a haze or a dream.

"Uh excuse me?" a voice from behind us said. We turned around to see an Asian man looking very uncomfortable. "Is Miss. Ravin with you by any chance?"

"Emilie? No, she's not." Jerry told him politely. The man nodded and looked around.

"When you see her again, could you tell her to call me? It's regarding the address she was asking about."

"What address?" I asked.

"She came by the other day and asked Green to look up an address for her. I kinda interrupted them by bringing a tape but he didn't seem to mind. He let her watch it and-" I cut his rambling off.

"She went to see Green?" I asked and the man nodded. "What video did you bring him?" The man looked even more uncomfortable now.

"I'm not sure if I can say." he stuttered.

"He let Emilie see it." Angel told him. The man sighed and walked a few feet away and looked at us.

"Fowler found out that Mrs. Mercer filed a report against the city but Green never saw it of heard of it." he told us.

"We know about the report." Jerry told him.

"We just got cameras installed in the filing room and Green asked for the tape from the day it was supposedly filed." the man told us. "I brought it to him and over heard him and Miss. Ravin talking about Fowler being the one that talked to your mother."

"Wait, Fowler's the dirty cop?" Jerry asked and the man nodded.

"Thank you for telling us and we're sorry about Green." I told him quickly. I waited until he left to look at my brothers.

"Emilie, knew Fowler was dirty. That's who Green was talking about yesterday, when he said he was protecting someone else and that'd he deal with it. He knew Fowler was dirty and he knew that Emilie knew too. It'd only be a matter of time before Fowler found out that they knew. Green's dead, how much you wanna bet Fowler killed him? And what makes you think he won't go after Emilie?" I growled. Jerry shook his head and held up his hands.

"Now, now Bobby, don't be jumping to conclusions." he started.

"We haven't seen Emilie since she got into that ambulance." I retorted.

"Paisley, saw her. She talked to her." Jerry fought back.

"How about we call and see if Paisley has seen her yet?" Angel yelled fishing for his phone. He pulled it out and I snatched it from him and dialed Jack's room number.

"Hello?" Paisley answered.

"Paisley, have you seen Emilie yet?" I barked through the phone.

"No, not-" she started.

"What did she say yesterday? When she left?" I asked. She was silent for a few seconds.

"I told you I sent-" she stuttered.

"Don't fucking lie to me. Emilie might be in danger. Tell me the fucking truth." I yelled.

"She said she needed to leave, she had things to do." she confessed.

"What things?" I asked.

"I don't know." she told me.

"When did she leave?" I asked and waved for the guys to follow me.

"About 5pm, maybe."

"Stay put. If you see her, call me. And do not, I repeat, do not leave Jack's side." I finished and hung up. I jumped into the front seat and waited for Angel and Jerry to get in.

"Where are we going?" Jerry sighed putting his seatbelt on.

"To Diddle's house." I told him shortly and started the car.

"Why?" he asked. I looked over at him and glared.

"Because Paisley lied. She didn't send Emilie home yesterday. She just left." I explained.

No one else said a word until we got to her place. We barreled through the stairwell and stopped at her door. I saw jerry fishing through his pockets and stop.

"She took our key." he sighed. Bobby smirked and pointed to the door.

"I think this counts as an emergency." he said and rammed the side of his arm into the side of the door, knocking it wide open.

"She's gonna be pissed." I chuckled as we walked in. The firs thing I noticed was a pair of Jack's shoes and jacket by the door.

"Looks like Jackie was getting cozy here." Bobby smirked at me.

"Yeah and when he wakes up, he'll be getting cozy with my foot up his ass." I grumbled and walked into the hallway. I made my way to her bedroom and pushed the door open slightly. I knew she wasn't there but she was always private about her room. I looked around and saw her bed was unmade, which was unusual for Emilie.

"Anything?" Jerry asked walking in behind Bobby.

"She hasn't been here since the shooting." I told them sitting on the side of her bed and rubbing my face.

"How do you know?" Bobby asked looking at the pictures on her dresser.

"The bed's unmade, both sides. So unless she is cheating on Jack, the last time she was here was with Jack." I explained. Bobby looked over at Jerry and both gave me odd looks.

"Did he just acknowledge they were dating?" Jerry teased talking Bobby. I shook my head and looked around.

"What now, Bobby?" I asked helplessly. "You think Fowler's got her?"

"Maybe. Paisley said she left about 5pm. Said Emilie had things to do." Bobby told us. I looked around and spotted a picture of her and Jack on her bedside table. It was her 18th birthday. Jack had rubbed cake in her face and she returned the favor. Ma was smitten with how they looked and needed a picture.

"She went to find Fowler." I whispered.

"Why would she do that?" Jerry asked. I stood up as the both looked over at me.

"Same reason we went after Ma's killers and Sweet." I told them. "She knew Fowler was the one that sent Ma to Sweet, he sent the killers after her and we got them. Sweet's not happy so he went after us. He went after Jack. Fowler was the start of all this. He started this domino effect."

"So where was Fowler yesterday after 5pm?" Bobby asked. I looked behind him to the TV and pointed. They turned and saw the bar that Green had been shot at.

"Well, let's go."

We left Emilie's place, closing the door as good as we could, and made our way down to Tony's Pub. I wasn't sure if we were on the right track thinking Emilie would go after Fowler but all that vanished when I looked at the side of the street.

"Whoa, whoa, isn't that Em's car?" I asked pointing to a care across the street. Bobby pulled over behind it and parked behind it. We got out and walked up to it.

"It's been stamped." Jerry said pointing out the yellow sticker. "It was dated last night. Cops probably slapped it on there after the shooting."

I looked across the street and saw the alley where Green had been shot.

"Jerry, call Camille and ask her to come pick the car up. Ya'll got a spare, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, Camille co-signed with her." he nodded and pulled out his phone.

"Bobby, come on." I waved and jogged across the street. We looked around the alley for anything to show she was here but found nothing except a dried puddle of blood.

"I gotta take a leak." Bobby groaned and started to the back door of the pub. I followed him and walked past him as he walked into the bathroom.

"Can I help you?" the bartender asked. I leaned on the counter and looked around.

"Uh yeah, yesterday, sometime after 5pm, did a young girl come in? Brown hair, real tiny?" I asked.

"I was off yesterday but Jose's still here. Let me get him." he said and walked off as Bobby returned.

"What are you doing? You're not supposed to be drinking, we got things to do." he barked.

"Just give me a minute." I told him as another guy walked up.

"You asking about the girl?" he asked.

"Yeah, brown hair, real tiny. She come in here?" I asked.

"Yeah, a little after 6pm. She asked about those two cops. I didn't know they were cops until I heard the news but she asked if they were here." he told us.

"Were they?" Bobby asked. I shot him a glare for asking a stupid question and the guy laughed.

"Yeah, they had a scuffle and went out back. That's where she went. Not five minute later the shots were heard." he sighed.

"Did she come back in?" I asked.

"Nope, I went out back after pushing my way through the crowd and saw that white cop leaning over his buddy. She was no where in sight." he finished.

"Thanks." I mumbled and walked off. We walked back outside and got back in the car with Jerry.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, Emilie was here. She was looking for Green and Fowler. Bartender saw her walk out back, heard the shots and then she was gone." Bobby told him.

"So what now?" Jerry asked. I looked back at him and sent him a dirty look.

"What do you mean 'What now?'?" I asked. "We're going to stop Sweet and get Emilie back in the meantime." I told him.

"You can't go to war with Victor Sweet. Not straight up. He'll just hire more and more goons until we are all dead." Jerry whined to me. I glared at him again and we looked over at Bobby, who just shook his head.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore." he mumbled. "Jack might not make it and now Emilie's in danger. I just don't know anymore." We stared at him and I turned my head.

"I got an idea." Jerry announced, standing up.

"What?" I asked.

"We'll take the rest of the money from Mom's insurance, pay Sweet to call off the dogs." he explained. "He'll deal. He's a businessman."

"It doesn't count as a plan if it takes you longer to say it than it does to think it up." Bobby retaliated.

"Yeah, Jerry. Sweet will meet up with you, take your money. Won't be able to find your body till the river thaws." I told him.

"If you can get that far." Bobby mumbled. Jerry shook his head and looked at us.

"No, it will work. I just gotta talk to Evan." he said and grabbed his coat and left.

I knew what I was doing. Bobby and Angel didn't think so, but I did. This whole time I was against going after Sweet and his gang but Sweet crossed the line when she shot my little brother. Fowler pushed the line to when he took Emilie. There was no way I could just sit back and let Fowler hurt Emilie or let Sweet go after this. Jack and Emilie meant to much to me, they meant too much to each other. Emilie was family now. She helped me with Ma and the girls when Angel, Bobby and Jack left. She became the daughter Ma never had and the sister she never got to give us. She was the one that got to Angel, the one that got Bobby to show feeling and the one that showed Jack what real love was. Without knowing it she taught us as much as we taught her. How could I just give up on her when she needed us the most?

"Jesus, Jeremiah, what you doing here?" Evan hissed as she walked outside. He walked to every corner of the porch before looking back at me.

"I'm here to do a little collective bargaining." I told him calmly.

"What, with Sweet? Did you not get the message?" He asked. "He wants blood. That's not negotiable." he whispered, still looking around.

"Look, they told us we'd never get 30 an hour on the job either, right? But what we get? So

don't tell me this is not possible." I reminded him. "Come on, man." He looked at me for a minute and nodded.

"So, what you bringing to the table?" he asked.

"Four hundred thousand dollars." I offered.

"You sure about this Jerry?" he asked.

"I'm sure. Call him, Evan." I told him. He nodded and walked into the house for a minute. I waited outside and looked around feeling his paranoia rubbing off on me. A few minutes later he walked back out and sighed.

"4 o'clock. Be ready." he told me. I nodded and shook his head. I went to pull it back but he held on.

"Listen, Jerry, this might work and it might not." he told me slowly.

"I'm-" I started but he cut me off.

"If Fowler's there he won't agree. He's about as bad as Sweet. And Jerry-"

"He has Emilie." I finished. "We know."

"I'm sorry about all this, Jerry." he apologized.

"If you wanna apologize, make it up to me. Make it up to my family."

We finally looked at the house while we waited for Jerry. We stayed with him last night so we didn't get to see the real damage. And there was a lot of damage. Every window was broken, every wall was dotted with holes, pictures were broken. It was a gun shot purgatory.

"Yo." Jerry called. We looked down the hallway to see him walk through. "Evan called Sweet. He's going for it."

"So when's the meet?" Bobby asked.

"Four o'clock." he told us. I snapped my head to him.

"What?" I asked.

"Today?" Bobby gaped at him.

"Yeah." Jerry shrugged.

"That's in three hours." I said looking at my watch.

"Well, we ain't got no choice! Sweet's supposed to roll up on us any minute now." Jerry exclaimed.

"What? What else?" Bobby asked.

"Well, Evan, we cool. And he let me in on a little something. If Fowler's there, he don't think he's gonna go for it. He also knows that Fowler has Emilie." he told us slowly.

"So there's no plan!" Bobby yelled throwing his hands up in the air.

"Yes, there is, Bobby. We need to take Fowler out before the meet." I told him.

"We can't kill a cop even if he is dirty." Jerry told me.

"He handed Ma to Sweet, okay? And he has Emilie. He ain't walking away from this." Bobby yelled.

I was going to make damn sure of that.

I felt like I was going to die. My mouth was dry, my stomach was rumbling every five minutes, and I had to use the bathroom like no other. To add to all of that, my shoulder felt like it was about to fall right off. I hadn't heard anything else from him since he left me here earlier and I hoped he would come back soon.

"Oh Emilie!"

Looks like my wish is granted.

"Oh Miss. Ravin, you still there?" he sang and pushed through the door. "Oh yes, I tied you up. Of course you're still here."

I glared at him and watched him walk over to me.

"So how are ya? You like it up here? I find it pretty cozy." he smiled and pulled up another chair. I started making a muffling noise through the tape and hoped he'd take it off.

"Oh what is that?" he asked and cupped a hand over his ear. "You talking to me?" I made a softer sound to try and show him I wasn't being rude and he got it. He snatched the tape off my lips and I let out a tiny scream.

"Fuck!" I shrieked and moved my jaw around.

"What do you want?" he asked. I glared at him and cleared my throat.

"I need to use the restroom." I told him calmly. He stared at me for a second and stood up.

"Alright. But only because we're leaving in a few hours and I don't want you going in mine or Victor's trunk." he told me and untied my hands from the chair. He pulled me up and walked me to the bathroom in the attic. He pushed me into the bathroom and grabbed a few pieces of toilet paper. He laid it on the counter and bent down to my waist.

"What the fuck?!" I yelped and jerked back as his hands met my jeans.

"I'm not untying you." he smiled. "So if you gotta go, come here." I glared at him and was so tempted to tell him to go to hell but I had to go. I reluctantly stepped towards him and he smirked.

"Good girl." he winked and bent back down to my waist. I looked way as he unbuttoned me jeans and very slowly pulled my jeans down to my feet. I felt tears fill my eyes when I felt his hands rub my thighs.

"Ohh you're a fan of Victoria, huh?" he whispered and looked up at me. I cringed when he grabbed the straps of my panties and pulled them down. I sat down as soon as they hit the tops of my legs. He glared at me and stood up.

"Hurry." he barked and shut the door. I did my business and grabbed the toilet paper, that was a feat in itself. I stood up and tried to get my underwear up. I managed to pull them up but I couldn't get my jeans.

"You done?" he yelled through the door.

"Yes." I called back. He frowned when he walked in but picked my jeans up for me and buttoned them back. He flushed the toilet before walking me back to the chair.

"What meeting?" I asked when he finished tying my hands back.

"Oh those Mercer's are trying to pay Sweet off. They think it will give them a clean slate but they got another thing coming." he smiled. "So in about an two hours we'll be going for a ride and you'll get to see what Jerry looks like sinking to the bottom of the river."

With that he walked off and shut the door. I stared at the door and felt the tears fill up my eyes. I had a lot of hope in Bobby and them but now it was seeming hopeless. I still didn't even know if they knew where I was at. I didn't know if this would ever end.