Another chapter to prove that I'm not giving up on this! Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 15

After much insistence from his partner, Adam pulled over and allowed Amy to take over driving. The group only had about a half hour's worth of driving left before they reached the safe-house, but Amy noticed Adam's drooping eyelids and refused to let him continue. The two switched seats as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake a sleeping Leila. They knew she needed as much as rest as she could get. By the time Amy pulled the car back onto the sparsely lit road, Adam was already asleep. She snuck a glance at him and smiled to herself, unable to avoid thinking how lucky she was to have landed such an attractive man. Suppressing a wider grin, the Marshal focused on the road, slightly wary of its narrow lanes and hidden intersections. New Mexico was definitely not for her. When the GPS informed her that they were ten minutes away from their destination, Amy reached out and lightly shook Adam's thigh to wake him.

"Almost there?" he asked as he stretched. Amy risked a glance as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, finding his sleepiness quite adorable.

"Yea." She said with a smile. She nearly jumped when Adam placed a quick kiss to her cheek as she returned her eyes to the road. The blush that overtook her made him grin. "Maybe we should wake her up?"

"Sure." Adam twisted slightly in order to reach Leila who was seated behind the driver's seat as Amy eased to a stop at an intersection she had almost sped past.

"Try waking her without touching her first." Amy informed him. "She's a little jumpy." Adam hummed his acknowledgment as he started calling her name softly. The girl shifted in her sleep and eventually began to open her eyes.

"Where are we?" she mumbled, not really expecting a real answer.

"We're about ten minutes from the next house." Adam informed her. The girl perked up immediately, thankful to be off the road and out of the car. As Amy pulled away from the stop sign, she heard a hum that seemed to be getting louder. There were no lights and the sun had set hours ago so the Marshal could see nothing except what her headlights showed her. Continuing straight, she turned her head to the right and her heart froze in her chest as she made out the outline of a large SUV headed straight for them. She opened her mouth to scream, to warn the others, but before a sound could emerge, the dark SUV slammed into the passenger side and knocked the air out of all three occupants. The sedan skidded on the concrete road for several seconds before flipping and finally landing upside down. Amy could already feel the blood as it streaked down the side of her face and onto her blouse. She opened her eyes, struggling to see past the blood, and turned her head to where Adam should be. As she tried to suck in a breath, a myriad of pain erupted in her chest. Opening her mouth in attempt to draw more air, Amy gasped as she saw the figure beside her begin to move.

"Amy," Adam groaned, "are you alright?" The woman reached a hand out and squeezed his in response.

"Leila." She wheezed, feeling her chest scream in pain at the action. Adam quickly whipped his head around and glanced at the groaning teen.

"She's alive." He informed his partner. "Leila? Are you ok?"

"I-I don't know." She gasped, trying to examine herself in the dark. As she ran her hands along her body, she nearly screamed when she felt a thin, metal rod sticking out of her right shoulder.

"Don't worry," Adam struggled to undo his seatbelt, "I'm going to get you out." He groaned as he dropped to the ground but quickly recovered and began climbing out of the car. Kicking the window out, he crawled onto the road and quickly looked around for the other driver. He could see the SUV, barely dented due to the police style battering ram on its front. Warning bells went off the in Marshal's head as he realized that this was no accident. He removed his sidearm and began shining his flashlight around the vehicle.

"Adam?" a weak voice, Amy's, called out to him.

"This wasn't an accident, Amy!" Adam shouted. His worry for the women in car increased by the second but he wasn't sure where the driver was and didn't want to turn his back on the car.

"Adam, I don't think she's ok!" Leila's voice cried out. "Amy, stay awake!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Adam holstered his weapon and sped back towards the sedan. He began to crawl back in from where he had exited and saw that Leila was right. Amy's head wound was bleeding significantly and her eyes were already half closed.

"Adam." The woman breathed. "Get her out." The man placed a hand on his partner's cheek, stroking it affectionately.

"I'll be right back." He promised. As he crawled back outside, he smashed the window of the back, right door with the butt of his weapon. Leila shielded her face as glass showered down on her.

"I'm stuck." She panted, panic slowly taking over. She knew what was happening. She knew who had done this.

"It's alright, Leila." Adam said calmly. "I'm going to come in and-"

"Behind you!" Leila's shrill scream was almost drowned out as the sound of a single shot being fired echoed in the empty street. As the bullet pierced his head, Adam Rhodes was dead before he even hit the ground.

"Hello again, Leila." A familiar, cold voice caused the teen's blood to freeze. "Did you miss me?" Leila opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her entire body was paralyzed with fear as she looked at the man that had ruined her life not once, but twice. His wide eyes betrayed his insanity as he tilted his head.

"A-Adam?" the girl's voice was small, almost a whisper, as she fought to comprehend what she had just seen.

"Adam's not available at the moment." Jeremy Parilla grinned. "Actually, he's not available ever." The laugh that erupted from the man's belly made Leila physically shrink back into the broken door to her left. She blinked rapidly, trying to make out Amy's shape in the seat in front of her. The woman remained unmoving. Reaching out in front of her, Leila fumbled in search of the agent's sidearm. Jeremy merely chuckled as he watched, knowing that she could never reach it with her shoulder pinned to the seat by the rod.

"Amy." Leila watched as the woman's hand twitched. "Amy, please wake up."

"She can't help you either." Jeremy said as he began climbing into the car. Leila's breathing turned into hyperventilating as she watched the object of her nightmares make his way towards her. Tears stained her vision as they flowed endlessly down her cheeks. "No one can."

"Amy! Amy, wake up!" the girl began to shout, begging to be saved. "Please, Amy! Help me!"

"Quiet now." Jeremy took hold of her face, relishing in the fear that emitted from her eyes. "You and I have a lot to discuss."

"Don't touch me!" Leila cried, the command coming out more like a plea as the man held her in place and removed her seatbelt. "Amy, help!" Leila began to outright sob as Jeremy yanked the rod from her shoulder, the pain radiating to her entire body. She could feel the blood as it soaked her shirt and yelped as Jeremy began dragging her out of the vehicle with no concern as to the pain he was causing her. As the man yanked her out, Leila fell to the ground with a grunt and did her best to stand. Using the car for support, she stood on shaking legs and faced down the monster of her nightmares.

"Come now, Leila." Jeremy frowned. "We both know you can't take me. Especially like that." The man began to approach her and Leila swung wildly, crying out as she felt her shoulder protest. Jeremy dodged the blow easily, grabbing her around the torso and throwing her back down with force. Leila coughed as her breath was knocked out of her and forced herself to her knees. Jeremy leaned down to her level and grabbed her by the collar.

"Leila?" Amy's voice barely made it to their ears as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"Looks like someone's still alive." Jeremy breathed in Leila's face. The girl's eyes widened as he dropped her and removed the gun from his waistband.

"No, no!" she cried. "Don't hurt her, please!"

"Why not?" Jeremy grinned in amusement, crossing his arms as he waited for the girl to respond.

"Please, just don't." Leila begged. She could hear Amy struggling to set herself free but knew that even if she managed, there would be little she could do to save them. "You already have me, just leave her."

"I did come for you, after all." Jeremy said, almost to himself. "And having a witness wouldn't be all bad, I suppose. Besides, who knows, maybe she'll die on her own." The thought seemed to bring the man a significant amount of joy as he peeked into the car and saw the woman struggling to remove her gun.

"Please." Leila breathed. "You've already taken JJ from me." As Leila said her sister's name out loud for the first time since her death, tears sprung in her eyes. Jeremy froze at the mention of the woman he claimed to love and Leila could almost see the sadness in his eyes. Nodding once, Jeremy returned the gun to his pants and made his way back towards her. Leila closed her eyes, hot tears streaming down her face as she pressed against her shoulder wound.

"You'll come quietly." Jeremy stated. "Don't give me any trouble or I'll come back and shoot her straight in between those pretty eyes. Got it?" Leila nodded slowly, her entire body still trembling with fear as he hoisted her up. As the two approached the SUV, Jeremy opened the trunk and pointed at it. Leila swallowed hard as she glanced back and caught a glimpse of Adam's body. A sob escaped her lips and Jeremy shoved her injured shoulder impatiently. She hissed in pain but climbed into the trunk and waited for him to shut it. Holding her breath, Leila waited to hear the man enter the car to ensure that Amy was actually spared. When a door opened and closed, she released it and tried to make herself as comfortable as she could. Barely able to wrap her mind around what had happened, Leila hugged herself and began to sob once again. He had found her. She was alone once again and in the grasp of the psychopath that had murdered not only her sister, but six other innocent women. Her fear was unparalleled and Leila fought hard to prevent the approaching panic attack. She failed. Leila closed her eyes as she rocked herself and did the one thing she hadn't done in years- she prayed.

The dark haired woman could almost feel the tension increase as she eavesdropped on the part of the conversation she could hear.

"Yes, I understand." The other agent said into the receiver as he risked a glance at her. "No, she's still with me. Yes, we can be there tomorrow. Of course I'll tell her. Thank you."

"What is it?" the woman asked, already on her feet. The man before her, Agent Paul Wells, slowly stowed the burner phone back into his jacket pocket before taking in her wide eyes. "Tell me what's happened."

"He's got her." Wells stated plainly. "He's got Leila."

"No," the woman shook her head, "no, that's not possible. She's with the Marshals."

"He killed one of them to get to her. The other's in the ICU at Artesia General in New Mexico." Wells watched as the information sunk in and the woman rushed to pack her things. "Careful, you don't want to-"

"Don't tell me what I want to do, Wells." Her icy gaze nearly froze him in place as she stared him down.

"Just slow down." The man insisted, watching the panic and fear begin to set in. While he hadn't known her for very long, Wells felt drawn to her more than his job demanded. He knew that he was tasked with keeping her safe but it was more than that- he genuinely cared for her well-being and seeing her in such a state worried him. "We're going to get there and figure this out, trust me."

"Trust you?" the woman slammed the duffel bag she had been holding down onto the bed. "Are you seriously saying that to me when your agency is the one that messed this up so royally?"

"Hey, an agent died protecting your-"

"Well he didn't do a very good job now, did he?" she ignored the surprised look on Wells' face as she said something he would never have expected from her. "Now stop standing around and get us on the next flight home."

"The Marshals' already booked us tickets. We leave in three hours." Wells informed her, his voice low. She continued to pack, ignoring the slight tug from her stitches as well as the narrow glare from the man she had grown to call 'friend'. As she zipped up the bag and loaded it onto the cart, her hand reached for her neck and took hold of the horseshoe charmthat hung there.

Hold on, little sister. I'm coming.