Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Kate was scared.

Thus far everything had been going according to plan. She was here, walking into the hotel suite with this rich, mysterious and very handsome man, but she could feel that something was wrong. There wasn't any one specific thing, nothing she could point her finger on but the feeling was so overwhelming she had to force herself to keep going on with the charade.

She watched on nervously as he closed the door behind her, unconsciously rubbing her wedding-band and it caught his attention when he turned towards her.

"Are you having second thoughts?" He asked in perfect English – not a trace of an accent – and nodded towards her hands to emphasize the meaning of his question.

Kate immediately stopped playing with her ring and actually blushed, forcing herself to smile up at him and shook her head, "No … no second thoughts, it's just …" She paused in search for the right words, "… It's just that I've never … done this before. I guess I'm a bit nervous."

He smiled at her then, but the smile that was meant to put her at ease only seemed to frighten her more. She fought the urge to run!

He stepped towards her, ran his hand down to her lower back and ushered her into the main room of this breathtaking hotel suite. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and looked around under the pretense of admiring their surroundings, but she was actually taking in as much information as she could. "Wow!" she said and gave him a big smile.

"You like it?" He asked as they stepped further into the luxurious room that was decorated in white leather couches, class tables and blush white carpet with doors that lead out to a large balcony, overlooking the beach.

He led her to one of the leather couches and waited for her to take a seat before he sat down beside her. He smiled again and she smiled back.

"Do I make you nervous?" he asked with a hint of a smirk on his perfect face and Kate couldn't help herself but notice that he had no dimples like James. She'd give anything to see those dimples right now.

She chuckled then and looked down, attempting to play her fear off as nothing but bashfulness, "Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe a little." He smiled back, a genuinely friendly smile this time.

Kate laughed then and shook her head, "I'm sorry, it's just …"

"You've never done this before." He interrupted her repeating her earlier statement and she nodded in agreement.

She had to get her act together, so far nothing was actually wrong, and Kate began to suspect that the only thing causing her to be scared was all the doubt James had put in her before they left for this assignment. This was all James' fault, she quickly decided, and took a deep cleansing breath before she spoke up.

"Maybe a drink would help." She blurted out.

He looked surprised, maybe embarrassed for not suggesting it first but immediately stood, "Of course, what would you like?"

Kate got up too, holding her black clutch purse in front of her, "I make a mean Long Island Iced Tea."

"Long Island Iced Tea?" He repeated with raised eyebrows, before he added, "I don't think I've ever had one."

Kate smiled then and stepped towards him, one hand gently resting on his chest as she pushed herself past him, "It's your lucky day then, you'll love it. Two Long Island Iced Teas coming right up."

Ha, James was so wrong. He's not that different!

She had hoped he'd sit back down but instead he followed her over to the bar, with a clearly amused look on his face.

Placing her purse on the counter beside her, she began to gather all of the ingredients, among them vodka, gin, tequila, and rum.

"That is a lot of alcohol. Are you trying to get me drunk?" He said and stepped behind her then, placing both his hands on her hips like James had done earlier. And there it was again, that feeling so strong and overwhelming that she had to fight every fiber in her body to keep going and not freeze.

The two previous Marks before him had touched her too, but it had only filled her with disgust, not fear. What was it about this guy that made him so intimidating?

He pressed against her, resting his chin on her shoulder under the pretense of watching her mix their drinks. It made her skin crawl, but she continued on, trying desperately to think of something to distract him with.

She turned her head then, forcing herself to lean into him and whispered in his ear, "You know what else would ease my nerves a little? Music." She answered before he could say anything.

"What kind of music?" He whispered in her ear then as he wrapped his muscular arms around her from behind, pulling her even closer.

"Surprise me." She flirted back and it brought a smile to his handsome face before he reluctantly stepped away from her.

Kate swallowed hard and watched him disappear into the other room, which she presumed was the bedroom and she immediately retrieved the small vial of powder that she'd hidden in the lining of her purse, poured and mixed it into one of the two glasses and stirred it with ferocity to dissolve it as quickly as possible. She'd made it without being caught and her eyes flickered to the clock on the wall to ensure she was still on schedule.

The breath she'd been holding escaped her then and a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. All she had to do now was get this son of a bitch to drink this; a few sips would be enough to knock him out for the rest of the night. Piece of cake.

Music suddenly started playing from the bedroom and Kate stiffened at his choice of 'Let's get it on' by Barry White. Could this guy be any more of a cliché?

He walked back out into the room with a smirk on his face and she smiled back at him, falling back into her role she commented on the music, "Interesting choice."

"I was told Americans like this song." He answered without hesitation but kept his eyes on her as she handed him his drink.

"I can honestly say I've never 'gotten it on' to this song before, so this will be a first." She took the smallest sip of her drink, hoping he'd do the same but he didn't.

He stood there with his drink in his hand and watched her with hawk eyes and that's when Kate noticed that the smile he displayed didn't really reach his eyes and that fear she'd felt earlier came back with full force.

Desperate for this to be over she couldn't help herself and the words slipped out of her mouth before she had time to think if this would make him suspicious or not, "Aren't you gonna try your drink?"

His smile faded then and he looked the long glass in his hand up and down before he looked back at her, "Not yet." He put the drink down faster then she could protest and reached for her drink instead, taking it from her and placing it next to his back on the counter of the bar. "Let's dance." And just like that she was in his arms, one hand in hers while his other hand rested on her lower back as they slowly danced to the slow seductive baritone voice of Barry White.

Trying her best to pretend she was comfortable and relaxed, she forced herself to rest her head against him and just let him lead. Wrapping both her arms around his neck he curled his arms around her middle and pulled her closer and for a fraction of a second she felt reassured again that she could do this.

Just then her eyes scanned the clock on the wall and realization dawned that she was running out of time. Ten minutes! In ten minutes she'd have to text James that everything was a go.

She swayed along to the music while her mind searched desperately for another way to get him to drink her little concoction and if he didn't, what reason would she give why she had to use her phone? Time ticked away, mocking her as the stupid song restarted. For heaven's sake, he put it on repeat!

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James sat at the bar with his half empty class of whiskey in front of him. He'd needed that drink desperately after having to watch this guy with his hands all over Kate tonight. With a frown on his face he emptied the tumbler completely, then reached for his phone in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Glancing at the time on the screen, she had two more minutes to text or call. He tried not to read too much into the fact that the previous times she'd called a good five to ten minutes early, but it just didn't sit well with him.

And this uneasy feeling that had stayed with him the entire evening seemed to only grow more intense with every second that ticked away without her call.

Staring at his phone, he watched as the number changed and one minute had passed.

Come on, Freckles … call!

And then there it was, another minute had passed and she still hadn't called him. He stared at his phone, eyeing the bars in the corner that indicated he had full reception, but what if she didn't? What if she had no reception and couldn't call him?

Please, god, let that be it!

But what if she couldn't call him for a different reason?

He waited impatiently, his heart pounding so loud it drowned out everything around him while he stared at his phone until another minute had gone by.

That was it, she was officially late on getting back to him, and he knew something was wrong. Weather it was just a case of bad cell phone reception, or worse … but he didn't want to think about that as he threw money on the bar for his drinks and stormed off.

Thinking on his feet he got into the elevator, pushing the button for the top floor where the suite was located. He quickly went over every scenario in his head, as he felt for the syringe in the inside pocket of his jacket.

He couldn't wait any longer, he just had to get in there one way or another and the bluntest approach seemed to be the most logical at the moment. But none the less, he still desperately held onto the hope that she'd answer the door instead.

James gingerly walked down the small hallway to not raise any suspicion, looking over his shoulder one last time to see if anyone had followed or noticed him before he stopped in front of the double doors that held Kate just on the other side. He took a deep breath before he knocked loud enough to wake the dead.

He held his breath as he heard footsteps approach and this stomach twisted in knots at the realization that it wasn't the clicking of Kate's high heels that he'd heard earlier today. Bracing himself for the worst, he reached for the gun in the back of his pants for reassurance that he was prepared for whatever was awaiting him inside that hotel suite.

The door opened and James found himself standing face to face with the man that had tried to bed his wife. He would've been amused by the lack of security, since his adversary hadn't even bothered to ask who was on the other side of the closed door before he opened it.

But when their eyes met he realized that Mr. Salvatore practically oozed arrogance and he knew he could use that bit of information to his advantage.

"May I help you?" Came the question directed at James as his eyes flittered passed the man's large frame and into the suite, but there was no sign of Kate.

Laying on his thickest southern accent, he spat back with annoyance, "Hell yeah you can help me. I'm here for my wife."

"Excuse me?" The man answered amused, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about."

The irritation that was evident in his tone of voice couldn't have been any more obvious, "I was told that my wife left the bar with you, so where the hell is she?"

He had the audacity to grin at him and shook his head in amusement, "I left the bar alone. I'm sorry I couldn't help you …" he stepped back to close the door in James' face but James quickly stepped forward blocking and stopping him from closing the door.

"I just left a fucking shitload of green down at the bar to find out whom my wife left the bar with, Enrique, so our little chat ain't fucking over yet, buddy-boy."

Forcing his way inside and past the man he kept in role of the scorned husband and yelled for her, "Freckles, I know you're here! Freckles?"

There was no answer, no sign of a struggle, no sign that she'd ever even been here until James' eyes fell on the two empty glasses sitting by the bar. Just then a breeze swept through the room from the open balcony doors, the smell of ocean so strong it took him back in time for just a split second before he regained his wits and he knew just what he'd have to do.

A clearly enraged Julio Salvatore suddenly grabbed a hold of his arm and swung him around, "You need to leave now."

Barely struggling against the man's hold on him, he kept on arguing, "They said she left with you. Folks down at the bar saw you leave with her." He huffed in annoyance as they approached the door.

"She is not here. I already told you so." He exclaimed as he stood his ground and stopped James from intruding any further into his suite.

James shrugged the man's hands off of him and straightened his posture as he buttoned his jacket up again, "I know she's here." He smiled a wicked smile and met the man's eyes dead on, "You can keep her, she's your problem now, Romeo."

The stunned expression on Julio's face was exactly what he would've expected. James turned away in pretense to walk out the door and seized the moment as he pulled the syringe out of his pocket, and with an equally smooth move pulled the cap off between his teeth, quickly turned back around and had the needle buried in Julio's neck. "Sweet dreams"

Shutting the suite door that was already ajar and checking one more time to make sure this guy was really out for the count, he rushed through the suite to the first closed door and swung the double doors open.

"Freckles." He called out again, but there was still no answer. The bed was made and nothing seemed out of place but then he heard it, the small moans coming from behind another door. His heart pounded in his chest as he ribbed the door open and found Kate lying on the carpeted ground of the walk in closet.

"Son of a bitch." He knelt down beside her and undid the gag she had over her mouth and instantly sobs escaped her throat and big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "I got you Freckles." That's when he noticed the bright red mark across the right side of her face and the bloodied busted lip and a sudden rage overcame him as he began to cut the zip ties on her hands and feet with his pocketknife.

With her arms freed, she practically threw herself into his still sobbing inconsolable, and he wrapped his arms around her as he held her tight and thanked the heavens that she was alright. They sat like that for a long moment on the closet floor.

He could feel her heart beating in her chest and he drew back enough to get another look at her face. Cupping her chin with his left hand he tilted her head to the side and examined the damage. "He hit you?" He could barely utter the words as fury filled his eyes at the sight of her broken skin.

She pulled away then, suddenly ashamed and her eyes downcast avoiding his, but none the less she answered him truthfully. Mainly because she'd always hated it when her mother hadn't told the truth after Wayne had gotten mad with her. So she uttered a whispered, "Yeah." Besides, there was no point in denying it, evidence of Julio's assault on her was literally all over her face, and she knew there would be more bruises to explain later on that he just hadn't noticed yet.

"Son of a bitch." Came a loud curse from him and his jaw tightened with anger.

That's when Kate reached up and framed his face with her hands, turning his focus back on her as she leaned into him to place the softest kiss on his lips. He kissed her back, long and hard as he poured all the fear he'd felt just moments earlier into this kiss.

It was only minutes before both of them rather reluctantly got up off the floor and refocused their attention to the mission at hand.

James went about to gather all the information Richard required. Kate began to wipe down everything James and her had touched, destroying any evidence that could help Julio Salvatore trace this back to them.

About two hours later they were both in the car, on the road to their next assignment.

Silence filled the air around them for a long while, and unlike the previous times, neither of them felt like celebrating this time around.

Kate was the first one that spoke up, "Just go ahead and say it."

Her words both startled and surprised him. "What are you talkin' 'bout, pumkin?"

"I'm talking about that you were right. I should've listened to you and gotten on that plane in Paris."

"So that's why you've been givin' me the silent treatment for the past hour? Because you're waiting for an 'I-told-you-so'?" James snorted, "Where the hell is that coming from?"

That's when she finally dared to look at him and he glanced her way before he had no choice but to focus his attention back on the dark country road before them. She swallowed, "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this."

"Cut out for what?" He inquired before she could say anything else.

"Being a mother." She sighed audibly, then added, "Being a wife."

James grunted in annoyance and grabbed the steering wheel tighter as he focused his full attention on the road ahead. A long moment passed before he finally decided to speak up, "Is this where I'm supposed to be encouraging and what not?"

Kate glanced at him and he met her eyes dead on for a second before he continued on, "The truth is … you fucked up, Sweetheart." He looked at her once more to gauge her reaction before adding, "You should've been more cautious, I told you this guy wasn't like the rest of 'em, didn't I? But that ain't got nothing to do with you being a good mother or a good wife."

She was speechless. For a moment she didn't know what to say to that and before she could utter any kind of rebuttal, he added, "But what's done is done."

After that she didn't say anything else, just sat there in silence again with one hand resting on her stomach, because she knew that what he'd said wasn't necessarily true. Nothing was done. This guy had kicked her, punched her, so who's to say that his assault on her wasn't going to leave more than just a busted lip and a few bruises. Who's to say that she'd still be expecting a child come morning?

But his voice brought her out of her thoughts once again when he asked, "Why would you even say that anyways? You've been a great mother to Aaron. And you've been great with Clem too."

She glanced over at him then, smiling slightly at his flattery, but she couldn't help but notice what he hadn't said and commented on it, "Just not that good of a wife?"

He looked at her, then at the road and back at her again before a dimpled smirk graced his face, "You're hell in the sack!"

He said it with such vigor it was hard for her to keep a straight face. She wished he wouldn't have this kind of effect on her, because she really didn't feel like smiling and joking. She turned her head towards the window, trying to hide her smile from him when she noticed he was pulling over. He put the car in park right as she turned to face him, "What are you doing?"

"Com' here." He said with a casual wave of his hand.

"What?" she asked confused.

"I said, com' here." And with that he unbuckled her seatbelt and reached towards her. She didn't fight him, but instead let him help her climb over to him, which seemed harder to do in the short black dress she was still wearing.

He'd pulled her onto his lap and held her close. Her head tucked under his chin, he pulled the red wig off of her and began to unpin hundreds of bobby pins that held her real hair in place until her freed brown curls cascaded down her shoulders and back.

Silence and contentment wrapped around them both for a long moment. He played with her hair while Kate closed her eyes and inhaled his masculine scent, but despite the fact that she felt so content in his arms, she couldn't push that nagging feeling away that he hadn't really answered her question. "It's more than just sex?"

He smiled at the irony how someone so beautiful and headstrong could also be so incredibly insecure, "You cook, you clean, you're easy on the eyes! A mayor pain in the ass, but the great sex cancels that out."

She pulled back and sat up straight, careful not to hit her head on the ceiling of the car and looked at him, her insecurities written all over her face.

He met her gaze, "It's always been more than just sex, Freckles." and cupped her cheek gently, "What's really goin' on?"

She lowered her gaze, and braced a hand flat on his chest, "I'm scared that he might've hurt the baby."

Anger, guilt and concern all flooded his face when his hand immediately rested on her abdomen, "Are you hurting?"

"No." she shook her head, "But what if-"

He cut her off, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, alright."

Kate nodded her head but clearly didn't seem convinced.

"How about this, we get back on the road and we have Richard send a doctor to the hotel, and he can check you out to make sure everything's still good, alright?"

"Alright!" Kate agreed and leaned in for a kiss before she reluctantly climbed back into her own seat so they could get back to the road.

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Several hours later James was spooning Kate as they lay in bed in their dark hotel room. His hand protectively rubbed her lower abdomen, "You're gonna be a great mom, Freckles."

Her hand covered his then and held it tight, "James?"

"Yeah?"

"He was nothing like you!"

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End Note: Please review, if you have a moment. I know it's not very long but I didn't want to wait any longer and finally post it. It was unusually hard to get this chapter done, but I hope the work paid off and some of you liked it. xoxo