For the entire drive back to the house, Shane kept hearing Steve's voice in his head. ". . . maybe there are some benefits to fighting back."

If only it were so easy.

The last thing Shane needed were lectures from people about what he should be doing. The entire situation was hard enough for him to take without constantly being told that all he needed to do was "fight." Between those lectures and Kim constantly pushing him - constantly reminding him about their love - he was nearly at wit's end.

Then there was Jeannie. In the melee and his anger at Steve, Shane had nearly forgotten Rachel's latest threat. Now he would have to tell Kim that Jeannie's paternity would soon be front-page news. That was going to hurt Kim so deeply.

And Shane was helpless to stop it. Hell, he was bloody-well helpless to do anything right now.

Frustrated and angry, he pulled the car into the driveway of the mansion and came to a stop in front of the house. Mike opened the door before Shane even reached it.

"Mrs. Brady received another delivery," Mike said. "Photos . . . I've already called Commander Brady to come over."

It took a moment for that to register. Photos. Photos of what? How did Kim react? Shane looked at Mike. "Where's Kim?"

"In the library. I moved the photos to your desk," Mike said. Before Shane could ask, he added, "Except for the corners of the envelope, I made sure not to touch anything with my bare hands. If there are prints, they'll still be there."

Shane made a beeline for the library. As he burst through the door, he spotted Kim standing next to the desk and staring down at the pile of photographs. She was shaking.

"Kim?"

She spun around as he approached her. He glimpsed the fear in her eyes before she threw herself toward him. Without even thinking, he pulled her into his arms.

"It's okay," Shane whispered. "It's all right."

Kim did not pull away, but pressed against him even tighter. "I'm so scared," she said. "He's here."

Here? Shane did not want to let Kim go, but he held her for just a little longer before he pulled away and walked over to the desk. He quickly scanned the pictures; his stomach lurched as he realized the message being sent.

Jericho or whoever was behind this was telling them he could get to any of them. Each of the photos was taken from a clear vantage point to its target. Shane had enough experience with ISA snipers to tell that the photos were taken as tests. Figure out the placement, make sure the line of fire is clear, and calculate distance to target.

And the red "Xs" identified the targets.

"Why?" Shane asked himself. He could feel his anger building. It threatened the calm veneer he was trying to maintain in front of Kim. Why would someone do this? If it was Jericho or Lawrence, his quarrel was with Shane.

But I'm the only one without an "X."

He realized that Kim had followed him to the desk and was leaning close to him. "Do you see anything?" she asked. "Any clues?"

Only that he could have shot any one of us in the past few days.

There was no point to scaring her any further. "No," he lied. "Not really. Maybe Roman will see something."

Kim gave him a searching look. She could tell he was holding something back, but she did not ask. Instead, she walked away from the desk. She stepped over to the couch and turned without sitting. "Did you find Rachel Knight?"

For a moment, Shane had to think about the question. He had been so preoccupied with worry about Kim and with the photos that he almost forgot why he had left the house earlier.

"I did, but . . . let's just say, I didn't accomplish much." Shane looked at Kim and broke the rest of the bad news. "Someone told her about Jeannie, I mean, about how she's Cal's."

"She's not going to publish that?" Kim asked, but, when he did not respond, she got her answer. Her face fell. "Jeannie's just a baby. How could that woman. . . ."

"I'm sorry. I begged her not to print anything, but she refused." Shane looked down at the desk again. Between Rachel Knight and the photographs, he was doing a pretty lousy job of protecting his family. "I wish I could have spared you this."

Kim was about to say something when Roman came rushing into the room. He went directly to Kim and gave her a hug. "Mike said you got another threat?"

She nodded and motioned over to the desk. Then she gave Shane a quick glance, before looking back at Roman. "Why don't you talk? I'll go see about getting Andrew and Jeannie some dinner."

Roman watched Kim leave, then turned to Shane. "That looked suspiciously like an 'I know when I'm not wanted' exit by my sis. You want to explain?"

"Over here," Shane said, motioning to the desk and the pictures. He waited as Roman looked them over.

"Whoa." Roman looked up, having obviously realized what the photos represented.

Shane focused on a picture of Andrew just inside the garden gate. "They're not even safe on the grounds," he said angrily. "You've had cops out there this entire time, but how far away is that? Maybe 100 yards. What kind of protection is that?"

"Calm down, partner."

"No, Roman, I won't calm down," Shane snapped. He ran his hands through his hair. "Someone's out there and could have easily killed them." He pointed at the picture of Andrew. "How can I protect then if he can get so close? One shot from not that far away. That's all it would have taken."

Roman grabbed both of Shane's arms. "But it didn't," Roman said. "I know you're under a lot of pressure, Shane, but think about it. If Jericho really wanted to kill Kimmie and the kids, they'd be dead already. He doesn't want them dead. At least, not yet."

Shane stopped and let that sink in. He looked at the pictures again. Roman was right; a shooter could have killed all of them several times over. "I . . . I guess I didn't think about that."

"It's okay," Roman said, letting go of Shane's arms. "You've been going through hell the past few weeks. It makes sense that you're not thinking straight." Shane felt uncomfortable under Roman's scrutiny. "When's the last time you actually slept?"

Shane had to think about that. It was Monday. Maybe Friday he had slept a little. The other nights he had sort of dozed in between pacing around his bedroom trying to figure things out. "I'm okay," he insisted. "There will be time enough to sleep-"

"When you're in jail?" Roman quirked an eyebrow as he asked the question. "Come on, Shane. You can't think like that."

"Maybe not. . . ." Shane shook his head. "I just feel bloody helpless, Roman. I've got these charges hanging over my head and-" He motioned to the desk. "And look at those. I don't even have a clue what he's after any more. It's like . . . first, he was going after Andrew. I'm sure I was right about that, Roman, but now he's threatening Kim and Jeannie too. I don't understand."

Roman looked at Shane. "You need to calm down, Shane. Getting yourself even more worked up isn't going to help."

"Then what is?" Shane said, his voice rising sharply. "What's going to help? He could be right outside the gate as we speak. He could come back any time. You asked me about sleep? How the bloody hell can I sleep when my son and the woman I . . . I mean, Kim, are in danger?"

Roman gave Shane a knowing look. "You mean 'the woman you love'? That's what you were going to say."

Shane knew he was flushing red, but he downplayed his slip. "I meant Kim," he insisted. He was still worked up. "And my point stands. I can't rest while she and the kids are in danger."

"Stop it," Roman barked, grabbing Shane again. "I know what you're going through. I've been there. When Marlena was kidnapped. When Carrie was taken by Stefano. I've been there, and I'm trying to tell you . . . Now calm down. You're not doing anyone any good if you kill yourself worrying about Kim and Andrew."

That seemed to get through to him. "If you kill yourself."Shane fell silent and stood still for a few minutes, waiting for Roman to let go of his coat. Then, Shane stepped back and walked over to the couch. He sat down and thought about Roman's choice of words. The entire time, he felt Roman's eyes on him.

Finally, Shane spoke. "You know . . . I never really told you about the raid." He paused, trying to figure out how to start. "That place was ridiculously hot. The ISA analyst said maybe there were a dozen security guards, but it had to be three or four times that number - and well-armed, too."

Roman's eyes narrowed. "Why are you telling me this?"

Shane ignored the question. "When we reached the building Steve was in, there were some men barricaded on one side. One of them tossed a grenade." Shane stopped, remembering the sound of the explosion and how he had been thrown through the door. Then he remembered the debriefing when he had seen the shrapnel in his armor vest. "If not for my body armor . . . I would have never walked out of there." He looked up at Roman. "Have you ever thought of how many times we should have died? With some of the crazy stunts we pulled?"

Roman cut to the chase. "So you're saying that it would have been better if you had just died rescuing Steve?"

"I didn't say that-" Shane started to say.

"No, but that's what you're thinking. You're thinking Kim and the kids would be safe if you weren't around, that this whole sorry mess with the ISA wouldn't be happening, and you wouldn't have to deal with it all." Roman stared at Shane. "Look, partner, you're exhausted and a lot of guys would've cracked by now. But you've got to push through this." He looked toward the door. "Kim can help you if you'd just let her."

"So I can lead her on?" Shane asked. "Give her some hope that we have a future? Look at what's going on now. Someone may be trying to kill her and her daughter because of her involvement with me. For all we can have, it would almost be better if I'd died."

Roman shook his head. "For a smart guy, you know, you can be one of the stupidest men I know. You're also one the most stubborn son-of-a-guns I know - and, as a Brady, I know stubborn. You and Kimmie could help each other through this. It's a really tough time for you both, but you don't have to do this alone. If you'd just open your eyes, you could see that."

When Shane said nothing, Roman rolled his eyes. "Fine. I've had my say." He turned back to the desk and began sliding the photos into the envelope, doing his best not to do anything to disrupt any fingerprints. "I'm going to take these to the police lab. I'll let you know if I find anything."

As he walked out of the room, Shane rested his head in his hands. He was exhausted and maybe he was not thinking straight, but a sudden sound interrupted his thoughts and made him look toward the door.

Kim was standing there silently.

How long has she been there? he wondered.

The dark look in her eyes told him that it had been long enough. He could see her silent accusation, but she did not voice her anger. She looked at him for a long, silent moment, shook her head sadly, then turned and walked away.