Steve braced himself for what was to come as he followed Roman into the lounge with Abe trailing behind him.

Once inside, Roman poured a cup of coffee and offered one to Steve, who took it gratefully. He needed the caffeine to ward off the exhaustion of the last few days.

"Okay, Steve," Roman said, pulling up a chair at the table. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened this morning?"

Taking a deep breath, Steve sat down at the table. He took a sip of his coffee and then began telling Roman the entire story, starting with the phone call from Jimmy the night before.

"Why the hell didn't you call me when you went to the Heart?" Roman asked, interrupting Steve's explanation of what had happened.

Steve's temper flared at Roman's tone, but he held it in check. He knew this was just how Roman reacted to being left in the dark. "We didn't call you because we didn't know if the guy really did have any information." Steve gave Roman a look. "And, if he did, I knew he wasn't going to spill it to the cops."

Roman's eyebrow rose in response at Steve's remark. "So you and Shane decided to just do this on your own?"

Steve held up his hand, trying to stave off Roman's anger. "Look, Roman. I know you're not happy about this, but you know those guys on the riverfront don't trust the cops. Hell, that's why you wanted me to go to work for you in the first place."

"You still should have called as soon as you got the information," Roman grumbled.

"We did call," Steve replied, still keeping his temper in check. "Shane called Abe. You know that."

"Yeah, he called. But you two didn't bother waiting until the back-up got there, now did you?"

Roman had him there, Steve knew. But he also knew that there was no way he or Shane would have waited. Not with Kim and Kayla inside that hanger. "Would you have waited if Marlena was in that hanger?" Steve asked. "And don't bother telling me you would, because I know different. I remember what you were like when she was kidnapped before."

Roman did not respond and Steve knew he had won that round. Then he heard Abe's voice behind him. "So what happened when you got to the hanger?" Abe asked.

Steve turned to Abe. "We stopped and checked out an empty hanger to try and get a lay of the land. We figured if Kim and Kayla were there, they were in the back part of the building. So we decided Shane would go around back and I'd wait at the front. When he gave the signal, I'd bust in."

Roman asked the next question. "So how did it go down?"

"I waited at the front of the building like I said I would." Steve replayed the events in his mind. "It seemed to be taking forever, but I just kept waiting and watching. I could see somebody moving around inside, but I couldn't get a positive I.D."

Unable to sit still, Steve stood up and began pacing around. "I kept waiting for the signal from Shane and when it didn't come, I knew he must have found something at the back of the building." He took a deep breath. "Then I saw the guy inside moving towards the back. There was no way I could get a shot from where I was, and I wasn't even sure if the person inside was Cal."

"So what did you do?" Abe asked.

"I waited as long as I could, but I could see the guy going to the back of the building and I was afraid Shane would be caught in a trap back there. And if Kim and Kayla were back there, they could get caught, too." Steve looked at Roman, hoping he would understand. "So I crashed through the door. I figured I could get the drop on the guy or at least keep him in the front of the building."

"It sounds like that didn't work," Roman said, raising an eyebrow.

Steve shook his head. "It was a trap. There was a taser set up. . . . It nailed me as soon as I went through the door." He shuddered slightly remembering the pain from the taser. "I was as helpless as a baby in a matter of a couple of seconds."

"So if you got tasered, then how did Shane get shot?" It was Abe's turn again.

Steve felt the guilt wash over him yet again. He got shot because I screwed up. Taking another breath, he continued. "I tried to tell Winters that I was the only one there, but he didn't believe me. He said he knew I was lying. He called Shane out, telling him that he'd kill me if Shane didn't come out."

"So Shane came out?" Roman asked.

Steve nodded. "He dropped his gun, but I knew he had a back-up. We worked on Winters, trying to get him to surrender, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. So I started taunting Winters, trying to draw his attention. I guess it was working because he was focused on me and about to shoot me."

Steve paused, seeing the entire scene play out in slow motion in his mind. He could see Cal's finger tightening on the trigger.

"Steve?" Abe said, a questioning look on his face.

Steve shook his head, clearing the picture from his mind. "Winters was shooting and I got knocked down. It was like all at once. He pulled the trigger, I went flying, and I heard the shots. 'Boom boom' - just like that."

Steve looked down at the floor. "I thought I'd been hit at first. I mean, it was point-blank. Winters' couldn't have missed, but he did, I thought. When I got up, I saw that Winters was dead. . . . I told Shane it was a hell of a shot." He paused, remembering the look on Shane's face. "That's when I realized Shane had been shot, too."

Steve turned to face Roman and Abe. "Shane pushed me out of the way of that bullet," he said, his voice low and anguished. "He's in that operating room right now because of me. I should be in there right now. Not him. If he doesn't make it, it's my fault." Steve turned away and walked to the window. Staring out at the bright sunshine of the day, he thought again, If Shane dies, it's all my fault.