A/N - Thanks for the reviews. They keep me motivated to see this fic through!

Before Danny could say anything or let Elena know who was on the phone, Carlos spoke again. "If you tell anyone that I'm calling, then you'll never see me again. And more importantly? If I'm gone, Elena and Sophie are as good as dead," he stated ominously.

Hearing these words sent a chill down Danny's spine. The tone in Carlos's voice was dead serious. Doing his best to hide his shock and concern from Elena, he gave her a small smile as he covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "It's Sylvia. She's having some crisis with Nicky. I'll go in the hall so I don't wake up Sophie," he whispered, before turning and walking out the door.

As soon as the door closed and Elena was out of earshot, Danny spoke. "What the hell is going on? Where are you?"

"Emil told you what's going on. I'm in a lot of trouble and I need to disappear, but…" he trailed off, his voice cracking with emotion.

"But what? What about Elena and Sophie?"

"Emil overheard them talking, the Sergeis. If they don't get the money back, they're going to kill Elena and Sophie before they come after me. Where are they, man? I went by Elena's tonight, but all the lights were off. Where are they?"

Sighing in heavy frustration, he responded, "They're safe. They're in a safe place. When you were reported missing, Elena wanted to make sure that you weren't planning something again."

"Good…good, and I mean good that they're safe. You'll keep them safe. I know you will."

"I can't keep them safe forever, especially if you disappear and the Sergeis decide to make good on their threat against them. Carlos, you have to give yourself up, man. You have to come in, tell the DEA everything, and they'll put you in protective custody," Danny pleaded.

"They'll put me in prison, Danny."

"Not necessarily. If you give them enough on the Sergeis, they'll work with you. But if what you've done leads to something bad happening to Elena or Sophie, then you're a dead man either way," Danny stated resolutely, both knowing that Danny would seek revenge himself if he had to.

Carlos sighed heavily. "I don't want anything to happen to them. I love them. You know that."

Nodding, Danny responded, "I know." Even though Danny knew it was an unhealthy, obsessive love. "Tell me where you are, Carlos. I'll come get you and we'll work all this out," he said in a calm, even tone as he looked into the bullpen area and made sure Martin was still there, knowing he'd want to take Martin with him as backup.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Carlos replied in almost a whisper. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me something, mi hermano."

Rolling his eyes, Danny resisted the urge to tell Carlos they were far from "hermanos" after all he'd done to him and Elena. But knowing he had to play the game to get Carlos in custody, he asked, "What?"

"I only trust you right now. You have to come alone. If I see anyone else with you, I'm going to take off. No Elena. No Malone. No one. Got it?"

"Why the hell should I trust you? How do I know you're not going to put a bullet in my head as soon as you see me?"

"I'm not going to kill the only person who can keep Elena and Sophie safe. This is bigger than some custody fight or…or me being pissed because my woman moved on with my friend. This is about life and death, mi hermano. I promise, you can trust me."

Danny slowly pulled up to the run-down building in Harlem. After putting the car in park and turning it off, Danny got out and immediately unholstered his gun as he started to walk to the door.

Swallowing hard, he opened it, raised his gun and entered the building. Carlos told him to go to the second floor, so he started up the stairs while on high alert for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. His heart beginning to beat wildly, Danny made his down the hall and then approached the first door on the left. Taking a deep breath, he stood to the side of the door and knocked three times, while keeping a firm grip on his gun. At first, he heard nothing, but right as he was about to knock again, he heard the chain being removed and the door creaking open. Glancing to his right and aiming his gun, Danny turned to confront Carlos. As the door opened wider, a look of surprise suddenly crossed Danny's face. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain against neck as he lost balance and everything faded to black.