Nathan was sipping coffee, his feet up on his desk when his partner walked in. Rather, stormed in as seemed to be her habit theses days. Nathan knew Audrey fairly well, as much as anyone could know her, and this was her figuring something big out mood. He connect the dots of when Audrey started her stomping around to just about their first interaction with Isla Callie Ferguson.

Audrey liked to know things, hated surprises and didn't care much for liars. Her friendship to Duke, a compulsive liar when it came to dealing with law enforcement baffled him. Callie was just one of those mysteries that Audrey was going to pursue till she ferreted out everything about her.

"Good afternoon Parker." Nathan motioned with his coffee cup to the one on her desk he had bought her earlier. It would probably have to be heated up, as she was a bit later then he expected.

"Nathan, does it look like I am attracted to women?" asked Audrey as she walked over to her desk and retrieved the paper cup of coffee from the diner. She didn't bother to add any sugar or cream, Nathan always remembered how she liked her coffee.

Nathan choked on the sip of hot liquid in his mouth at her comment. He coughed, and hacked up was sure his left lung before he could answer her with a slight red face. " What did you just ask me?"

" I asked, does it look like I am attracted to women?" Audrey repeated the question with a straight face, as she sipped the luke warm coffee.

"Why would you ask me that?" Nathan was confused at where this line of thought was coming from. He had never really given much thought to Audrey sexual orientation. She had never made moves to date someone, of either sex. No hints, no side ways looks or nervous girl giggles he remembered from high school whenever one of them would get around a boy they liked. She rarely flirted, and when she did it was usually with Duke, which got under his skin more then he liked to admit." Seriously, Parker where is this coming from?"

"Just something someone said to me." Audrey moved around the desk to sit in her chair. " Callie, actually. I've been stopping by the boat, you know cause she doesn't go into town anymore since she got out of the hospital, and I've been asking some questions about the night Duke's boat left the harbour in that big storm."

"We have both of their statements. There weren't any holes in either of them." Nathan reminded her, even though he knew it didn't matter that both statements match each other. Once Audrey got something in her head, she was like a rabid dog fighting for a bone.

Audrey frowned at Nathan. " You know as well as I do that, something other then what those two are selling happened. I don't know what, but something happened."

"Parker, of course something happened. It's Duke's boat for god sake. That alone should tell you that something illegal more then likely happened." Nathan told her shaking his head. There was one thing you could always count on Duke for, trouble. " Duke's not that stupid to take his pride and joy out to sea when everybody's predicting one of the worst winter storms to hit the coast. He knows better. Nor did either of the two of them sustain that amount of physical damage by getting tossed around the boat during the storm. That being said, neither one of them are talking. And we have no proof of anything otherwise."

"I'm going to find out what happen."

"We have enough on our plates right now, I think you would agree." Nathan sighed as he finished his coffee and tossed the empty cup in to the garbage. " I need you to focus on our already full caseload. Besides what does any of this have to do with you being a lesbian?"

"I went down to see Callie, and she gave me the same run around she has been giving me for the past week, but only this times tells me the reason why I keep coming round is because I'm secretly in love with her." Audrey threw her hands up at the ridiculousness of situation.

"Are you?"

"Your seriously asking me that, Nathan?" Audrey looked at him like he was sporting a third head. " Really?"

"I've never seen you with a guy or really heard you even talk about pass relationships." Nathan told her as he pulled some case files from the corner of his desk to the middle. This topic made him uncomfortable, but it seems she was bound and determined to discuss it.

"I don't have relationships, Nathan. I was never in the same place long enough before I either solved the case or the FBI put me on another one." Audrey told him, shaking her head. " I don't talk about things I've never had, but for you information I prefer one night stands."

Nathan felt his face go from slightly flush to down right stop light red in a matter of seconds as he processed what his partner had told him. " Audrey, I don't think we should talk about this."

"I am not a lesbian." Audrey tried not to laugh at Nathan's clearly embarrassed face. " If you want, I can tell you about every man I have ever slept with to prove it. I'll even give you details."

"No, please sweet Jesus no, Parker." Nathan got up in a hurry and headed for door. " I'm getting some air."

The back of his neck turned red as he heard Audrey's sultry laugh float out of their shared office, following him through the station and out the door.

Max lay in the corner of Duke's cabin below the deck of the Cape Rouge, chewing nosily on a raw hide bone that Duke pulled out of the cupboard a few moments after they entered the cabin. Apparently her dog had several of his own things here on Duke's boat. Clearly, Duke had a soft spot for her four legged best friend.

Duke watched her as he prepared their dinner. The salad was made, bread warming in the oven, vegetables roasting in a pan on the oven and his mother's mash potatoes whipped and ready to be eaten in a bowl on the counter. His meat was marinated, and grilling on the George Foreman on the counter beside the oven. He sipped his beer and watched her from his kitchen.

Callie took a sip of the juice she had in her hand. Duke wouldn't allow anything stronger because of her medication. He grinned when she called him a pussy. She pretended that his crooked grin didn't make butterflies in her stomach.

She didn't like the feelings he brought when he was near her nor did she like the way she often caught her self starring at him when he wasn't looking. God damn, she was in the shit deep now. Nothing good ever came around when you tied yourself to someone else. Emotional ties, were just baggage that got you killed.

"Callie," Duke looked at her long and hard, taking a drink of his beer and asked her a loaded question. " What are you running from?"

The question hung in the air between them. Callie knows Duke is looking at her with his all seeing eyes, and questioning mind. He knew too much already, more then what was safe. He saw the cracks in her defensives, exploited them trying to force the dam that she had built to flood open. She resented him for changing the game, moving her around to suit him. Making her want a life she couldn't have.

"What do you think I'm running from?" Callie asked she moved closer to him. She took a seat on one of the bar stools, keeping the counter that he was working on earlier between them.

"So you don't deny it. It warms my heart to see your growing trust in me. I'll male you a deal. I'll tell you what I know, and you do the same."

Callie said nothing but nodded.

"I think your running from something big. That number of well built fake identities tells me you mean to run for a long time and probably have been. You know how to lie without showing any tell-a-tell signs. And I know lying, I make a business of it." Duke told her giving her a nod respect. " Crooked knows crooked, sugar."

Yeah, they were two peas from the same pod. Like recognized like. But was he crooked enough to sell her out for a hefty sum of non traceable cash?

"You've built a pretty decent system of moving around, lying and staying in the background. I say you formed it with years of a habit. A professional runner is what you are, sugar. Your calculating, educated in the ways of a good con, and I bet even without that weird hand thing you do, you handle your self well in a fight. My question is, for someone whose got a fight personality why are you such an accomplished runner?"

Callie knew he had located her hidden stash of fake identities, complete with passports, drivers licences, social security numbers and everything else she would need to assume the role of a model citizen of numerous different countries. She wouldn't doubt that he had found her stash of various currency's along with the identities and weapons. When you ran from the people who gave you two choices that often didn't sit well with her, you made damn sure you were prepared for everything.

"You are an observant soul, Crocker." Callie told him as she cracked her knuckles. She brought her eyes up from the counter, hazel eyes met blue ones. Callie swallowed before she continued, keeping eye contact with him. " And for that quality, you just may end up dead before the year's done."

"You said you weren't going to kill me." Duke, gave her a smile as he raised his beer to his lips. Death threats in his business were a dime a dozen. He didn't shake at the thought of them, he just loaded his shot gun and met them at the front door. His daddy didn't raise no pussy, and his mama didn't raise a fool.

"Someone, may just beat me to it."

Duke, chuckled at her. "Then they're going to have to get in line, Callie. If, your thinking you can scare me off from blackmailing you, your going to have to come up with a better story then someone coming to kill me."

"You want a story?" Callie asked him raising her glass to her lips, and taking a drink. " I'll be happy to oblige you, Crocker."