Present Day

Lee pulled out his phone with a shaky hand and called Barney, hell bent on yelling at him too. As it rang, he strung together some sentences he wanted to say.

"Do you know the whole story yet?" Barney said without saying hello. It made Lee pause. Did he know what Lee was calling about? Emily had probably given him a head's up.

"Maya knew?" he ground out around his tight jaw. He was met with silence, and then Barney gave a sigh.

"You didn't answer the question," he said. "Do you know the whole story?"

"No..."

"Then call me when you do."

And he hung up.

Lee stared at his phone in shock. Barney had hung up on him! What the bloody shit was this?! He felt Emily banging her fists on the door now, still yelling at him. He closed his eyes, trying to gain some sense of calm before facing her again. Then she stopped.

"Lee." Her voice was a bit quieter now. "You have to let me finish. Please."

He tilted his head back so it was resting against the door, and he stared at the ceiling. He felt his phone vibrate with a text from Tia.

What time did you want to pick her up?

He felt his blood boil slightly. It was bad enough that Emily had lied to him, but Maya had too? He couldn't take it.

I'll be in touch. Dealing with a situation, he replied. He didn't know if Tia knew about Emily, but he wasn't going to tell her via text message about it.

Okay. Maya's good so don't worry.

Thanks.

He pressed his hand that was holding his phone into his forehead. Then he pushed himself off the door and turned to face it. He counted to ten before unlocking it and pulling it back open. Emily was standing there, the bruise on her face having gotten darker in the last few hours.

"Make it quick," he growled. He moved aside to let her back in, and she bowed her head and stepped through the door.

July 2013

Emily smiled as Lee teased her lips with his. His arms were resting on either side of her head, and his St. Christopher medal was on her chest. She moved her fingers to catch the chain that was dangling within reach. Hearing him say that he loved Maya, would die for her, and would take her in if something happened to Emily was the most wonderful thing she could ever hear. She'd waited so long for a man to tell her this, and not because this could actually happen and she needed a plan but because it was something Emily genuinely worried about if she did die.

And then he'd shown her again how smitten he was with her, which had made her unleash a part of herself she hadn't known was in there.

"Have I proven myself yet?" he asked, kissing her softly before she could respond.

"Hmm," she vocalized, pulling back from his mouth briefly. "I dunno..."

He chuckled in his throat as he kissed her again. Emily loved his kiss so much. She could do it all day every day. It left her breathless more often than not.

"I suppose," she murmured a moment later.

"You suppose," he repeated. "That doesn't sound very promising."

"Maybe you'll just have to keep trying," she replied, giving him a cheeky look. He scoffed lightly with a smile and ran a finger along her jaw line and neck.

"I see where you're going with this," he said. She smiled wider. "I'm gonna have to take five, though."

"That's fine. I'm not going anywhere," she promised. His mouth was on hers again, and he rolled them onto their sides. She rested a hand on his chest over his heart, and he ran his thumb across her cheek, ending the kiss a moment later as slowly as possible.

Watching him sleep was a happy moment for her. He looked more vulnerable and almost innocent. She strongly contemplated telling him the truth about her when he woke up. He rolled over to his other side in his sleep, and she lay there awake for a while.

That's when Serena texted her.

Hey, babe. Running in to meet Fred in town for something. Not sure what, but seems important. Thank you for being my best friend. Love you xo Serena.

Emily looked at her phone full of scrutiny. Something about this did not feel right, and Emily suddenly had a very bad feeling in her stomach. Then she saw the text from Barney.

Be ready.

She was instantly on alert. Something was definitely going on if he was writing her that. She put her phone back and looked at Lee, the words on her lips. He stirred and rolled over again to face her.

"You good?" Lee asked.

"Yea," she answered. "All good." She heard their second boat leave a moment later, and Lee stiffened as he half lifted himself to look at the window in the direction of the noise.

"Who was that?" he inquired.

"Serena's running into town," Emily replied.

"At this time of night?"

"Yea." Nine thirty at night was an odd time to head to town. Emily agreed on that one.

"Is it Fred?"

"I don't know. She didn't say," Emily said, slightly fibbing. The text message was making her on edge still.

"You think something's wrong?"

"I don't know," she said again, "but she said she's fine, so there's that." She could feel Lee's disbelief, and she almost started talking again, the truth about to come out, when he beat her to it.

"You want me to tail her?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. She will call me if she needs help," Emily assured him. He seemed a bit conflicted at first, but then he nodded and sank back down. Emily lay there thinking hard and fast.

Should I tell him? Should I tell him? Should I tell him?

What would it do? He'd get angry possibly, or he'd get emotional and make a mistake during whatever mess was going to happen and end up getting hurt or killed. She didn't know what was the best thing to do here, but instead of being honest, she decided to stay quiet. She wasn't sure what else was keeping her afraid of telling him, but if her gut was saying not to, then there was a reason.

She dozed once it was quiet again, but Ethan's return woke her up, and she nudged Lee awake and forced him to leave. The entire interaction with Ethan left her feeling freaked out, so she headed back to Barney's where she found Lee waiting for her on the trail. His jaw was tight and he looked aggravated.

"I'm fine," she said when he saw her and relaxed. She reached for his hand, and he gave it to her. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the fire. Maya and Louis had been put to bed by Tia a while ago.

"Well, well, well," Barney said upon seeing them. "Look who decided to join us again." Emily met his eyes and saw that he was on edge. She looked away, not wanting to draw attention to them.

"Yay!" Tia exclaimed, clapping her hands. Caesar just smiled at them.

"You owe me twenty bucks," Toll said to Gunner.

"You already won the fishing bet," Gunner complained. "Are you really going to take more money from me?"

"Of course."

Emily felt slightly outraged that the men had been making bets on her relationship with Lee, but her anxiety about Ethan's demeanor stopped her from commenting on it. She peeked at Barney again, who was still looking on edge.

"What happened?" Lee asked her after they sat down. He ignored the others' banter.

"I don't know. Something just feels...off," she answered. "Fred and Serena are staying in town tonight apparently. I thought she was coming back."

"Stay with me tonight," Lee said instantly. "Don't go back there." She was going to say no, but then she realized she really didn't want to be alone with Ethan overnight. If he was going to kill her, she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Okay," she agreed. He gripped her hand tighter, and she tried to smile and show she was fine. She didn't feel fine. She felt very worried that something was going on with Fred and Serena.

After a moment, she squeezed Lee's hand. "I'm gonna check in on Maya."

"Okay."

She stood up and went to the tent. She found Maya awake with Louis sleeping.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi, Mummy."

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Okay."

Emily looked to make sure they were out of sight of the others. She took Maya's hand and walked with her behind the cottage out of earshot of Louis.

"What's wrong?" Maya asked, looking worried. Emily knelt in front of her and held her shoulders.

"Maya, do you remember when I told you that there might come a day where I have to leave you for a while to keep you safe?"

"Yea."

"I think that time might be coming."

"No..." Maya looked upset now, and Emily hated to do this to her.

"You're gonna be okay," she promised.

"Where will I stay?"

Footsteps behind her made her jump, and she turned to see Barney standing there. Heart hammering, she stared at him.

"You can stay with us," Barney said, answering the question. Emily swallowed. So he had heard.

"Really?" Maya asked.

"Yes. We'll keep you safe."

Emily didn't want to ask what would happen if any of them got killed, but it was on her mind.

"Why can't Mum stay and be safe with me too?"

"Because I have to go," Emily answered. "It's my job." Job? More like avenging her brother and laying to rest eight years of hard work. More like making sure Fred or his boss could never threaten them ever again.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know, and it might not even happen, but I need you to be prepared."

"I'll miss you," Maya said tearily now.

"I'll miss you too, but I'll feel better knowing you're safe," Emily said, hugging her tightly and kissing her head. Maya hugged her back hard. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Now go back and get some sleep," Emily urged.

"I can't now."

"Yes, you can. Please. For me?" She gave her daughter an earnest look, and Maya finally nodded before hugging her again and going back to the tent. Emily stood up now and faced Barney. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but something tells me whatever is about to happen is gonna happen sooner than we think."

"I feel that too."

"What's your plan?"

"I...I'm not sure yet."

"You said you might have to go away?"

"If I'm revealed, I want to be far away from her until it's resolved."

"We'll try hard to resolve it sooner than later," Barney promised. He hesitated. "You still haven't told Lee?"

"It's too late now, isn't it?"

"Not really."

"I'm just hoping I won't have to until it's over," Emily said. She had a thought of just taking Maya and going into hiding, but how was that fair to her daughter? That was no life. No, if things went bad, she had to make sure it was all cleaned up before coming back to her life.

"You better get back before Lee suspects," Barney said. Emily nodded and did so. She heard Barney's phone ring and looked over her shoulder to see him answer it. She sat down next to Lee, and he put a hand on her knee fondly. She felt guilty for keeping this from him. When Barney came back, she met his eyes, and she saw he looked stressed out and upset about something. He averted his gaze, and she figured he was trying to avoid her seeing it or having Lee catch on. Barney gestured for Toll to join him then, and Emily watched as they disappeared around the corner. She had a very sinking feeling in her stomach about Serena now. A few minutes later, Barney came back and nudged Gunner before looking at Lee. Emily's stomach was tight and anxious now as she saw Barney's hand make the shape of a gun. Had he thought she wouldn't notice? Or had he wanted her to know too? She pretended not to see, and a moment later, Lee's mouth was next to her ear.

"Why don't we ditch these guys and I..."

Emily felt her face burn and stomach drop as Lee described what he wanted to do. She knew he was really just wanting to remove her from outside, but she nodded and let him pull her to her feet and take her inside.

Lee tangled his fingers in Emily's hair as he kissed her once they were in his bedroom with the door shut. She sat on his bed and pulled him down slowly on top of her. For a moment, Emily wanted to pretend that they were simply going to do this and not face danger in the near future, but she couldn't.

"I can't," she said. "Not with everyone out there knowing this is exactly what we're doing." Not while I'm feeling so scared.

"That's okay."

"I am tired, so I might just sleep," she added, which was a lie. He nodded and pushed himself up, moving to pull the curtains shut. She figured he was trying to keep her hidden in there.

"I just gotta discuss something with Barney first," he told her. "Then I'll be right here." She was pretty sure that was a lie too. They were lying to each other, and she didn't know how to make it stop without him hating her.

"Okay," she agreed. She was sitting up on the end of his bed now, and she looked down at her fingers in her lap.

"You alright?" he asked, and she looked at him again. No, she was not alright. As he looked at her, she felt the strong urge to blurt it all out, but her tongue suddenly felt like a block of lead.

"Yes," she said finally, "I'm just worried about Serena."

"Want me to send one of the guys to check on her?"

"No. I mean, she's a grown woman, and she's spending the night in a hotel with her boyfriend. I shouldn't be worried," Emily reasoned, trying to brush it off. As she said it, though, she didn't believe it. Something was wrong. It would explain why Toll looked so upset standing behind Barney moments ago.

"If you're worried, we can check on her," Lee promised. "Just say the word."

"Okay, I will. Thank you."

He cupped her face and bent down to kiss her softly. One of her hands reached to rest on top of his. She tried not to worry about how much he was going to hate her after finding out who she really was when this was over.

If any of them survived. She did not want to be responsible for Lee being upset and getting killed because he wasn't thinking straight. She was realizing this was still her other reason for not telling him, as crazy as it was.

"See you soon," he assured her after, and she nodded. She really, really hoped she would see him soon.

Present Day

Lee stared at her still. Emily sat there quietly and looked back at him. He was trying to process all her words, and he was feeling angry again.

"So, Maya knew you were going to leave her," he said finally.

"I wasn't completely sure, but I wanted her to be ready in case," Emily answered.

"And Barney pretty much kept you in the loop the entire time about taking Fred down that night."

"Not entirely in the loop."

"But all of you knew what was going on," Lee clarified. "And I didn't."

"I didn't really know what was going on," Emily said wearily. "I just knew something was happening and soon. That's all."

Lee didn't know what else to say. His anger towards Barney was growing. His so called friend had orchestrated the adoption of Maya, had helped Emily "die," and didn't think it was something Lee should know about.

"I need to tell you the rest," Emily said quietly.

"I'm not sure I want to hear it."

"You should."

He just looked at her, and she looked so broken, which made him feel slightly better. At least he wasn't the only one broken around here.

"Finish it," he said roughly. "Just get it over with." He looked away from her, resting his head in his hands and bracing himself for more pain.

July 2013

After Lee left her, she snuck out the back and headed for her cottage. That's where she saw Fred disappear with Ethan down the trail, and she couldn't figure out how he'd gotten there without her noticing. It made her feel afraid for Serena, even more afraid than she already was. She thought about going to find her, but then she realized she had to find out what these two were doing. That was her job after all.

So she followed them.

They walked to where the guns were and began to dig. Then Ethan spoke.

"We're not gonna make it."

"Shut up," Fred warned. "We have no choice. We have to do this now."

"And he was okay with that?"

"He has to be."

Emily was trying to see in the dark when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind and an arm wrapped around her waist to hold her securely.

"Shhh," a voice said. "It's me."

Lee.

She felt her fight or flight still skyrocketing as she let him pull her back deeper into cover and out of earshot from Fred and Ethan. When he let her go, she whirled to face him.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. Why the hell had he snuck up on her like that?! He risked blowing their cover...her cover!

"I think the question is: what are you doing?" he countered. His tone made her heart jump. Did he know? Or was he just trying to stay in control of this conversation?

"I'm trying to see what the hell my best friend's brother and boyfriend are doing," Emily answered roughly. "Because Fred is supposed to be with Serena, and he's clearly not, so I need to find out what's going on." She had a very good idea, though, and it made her feel sick.

"Us too," Barney said, stepping from the shadows and making her jump, which was silly. Of course he'd be there too. Toll and Gunner were behind him. Emily looked back and forth between them all, having another one of her feelings as she took in all their weapons. A war was going to happen tonight. She stepped into Lee and reached around behind his back, wrapping her fingers around the pistol he had tucked into the back of his pants before he could pull away. She didn't say a word, just stood there looking at him intensely. In order to not have him suspicious of her, she had to be suspicious of him. He'd never told her he was a mercenary, and she knew that would play on him, but it would take the heat off of her. She had to at least pretend to be surprised he was a mercenary. She didn't know what to say, though, as she looked at him. She wasn't really sure why now she was more adamant to keep her cover safe. Or maybe she was trying to keep him safe. She didn't know anymore.

"I'm still me, just with a different job," Lee said earnestly. She'd always known who he was, though, and it didn't matter to her. She was still trying to find something to say when Barney saved her.

"We don't have time for this. Go back, Emily," Barney ordered. She felt relieved. He didn't out her, and she didn't out herself. All the same, though, she should never have involved herself with Lee because if something bad happened tonight, a lot of hurt was going to take place.

"I shouldn't have done this with you," she said now. She hadn't wanted to hurt him.

"We can talk later..."

"No, we're done here," she said, turning to walk away. She made it a couple of steps before he caught her and turned her back to face him.

"Would you still have fallen for me if you knew I was a mercenary?" he asked, holding her arms in his hands firmly. "Be honest."

She stared at him. Yes, she would have...she did. How she wished she could tell him that.

"I have nothing to say," she replied finally. What could she even say anyway? The truth now would be too complicated to tell when something more urgent needed to be dealt with first.

"Emily..."

"Leave me alone," she ordered, pulling from his grip. She had to get far from him because the farther she got, maybe the less likely he'd get hurt.

"Lee," Barney's low voice said.

"Just go back to our place," Lee said urgently. "Please."

She didn't answer as she hurried through the brush away from him. She was going to pack her bags and get the hell out of there tonight. She wanted to get away from all of them. Obviously something very wrong was happening, and she needed to keep Maya safe.

To hell with Church and his mission. To hell with trying to finish this case for her brother. To hell with everything else.

After packing, for good measure, she put on her thin Kevlar under her hoodie, but then she was attacked, which made her end up killing someone for the first time, and then Fred got a hold of her after Lee found her. He put a gun to her head, and then Ethan showed up with Maya, and Emily could see that Lee had no idea what to do.

"Lee," she said, her voice panicked as Ethan hauled Maya off with him. When he looked at her, she told him very clearly who to save with just one look.

Maya.

His eyes showed understanding.

"LEE! HELP ME!" Maya screamed.

As Fred gripped her tighter and pushed his gun more into her head while backing away with her, Lee looked devastated, and that's when Emily realized something that Lee absolutely needed to know, that she was realizing in this moment was true.

And she said it out loud.

"I love you." For a second, she saw the words hit Lee hard and fast, and his face said it all: He loved her too.

"Shut up!" Fred barked, backhanding her in the face. It was so sudden and hard that Emily cried out in pain. When Maya screamed again, Emily was about to yell at Lee to move when Toll and Barney showed up.

"We got her," Barney said. "Get the kid!"

And Lee was gone.

"Now what, Fred?" Barney asked, closing in. "Didn't quite work out the way you wanted, did it?"

"You think you've won?" Fred asked with a scoff. "You'll never beat me, Barney Ross. You'll never win."

"I just want Emily," Barney answered. "I don't care about winning."

"I'm confident Ethan is making sure your daughter is dying a slow, painful death," Fred said to her. "You'll be sorry you ever messed with me."

"Just leave her alone. Call him off!" Emily said, trying to keep her voice steady. It wasn't working.

"Ethan doesn't miss," he warned. Emily knew this about Ethan, but she didn't know how to stop him or what to do. She could only trust that Lee was able to save her daughter. Hearing the gunshots in the distance made her flinch and Fred chuckle. Was Maya okay? Was Lee? Emily felt scared, watching as Toll kept his gun trained on Fred as well. She could see the pain and rage in his eyes as he glared at Fred.

"Just so you know," Fred said now, looking at Toll. "I killed that bitch like a dog. She deserved it, and now you'll never have her. That's right, I knew all about her little crush on you."

Emily felt a scream of rage building inside of her as she understood Serena really was dead. Toll went to lunge, and Barney moved to block him. While Fred laughed and mocked Toll, Emily took the opportunity to stomp his foot and turn his arm the other way to let her go. She took a step back, and he aimed his gun at her, making her scream. Then he shot her. She fell to the ground in a lot of pain but still alive. Not wanting him to see that, she played dead. Another gunshot went off followed by the sound of running feet. Then four more went off consecutively. She heard footsteps and dared to lift her head when someone kneeled down next to her. Their hand rolled her over, and she looked up at Barney.

"You good?" he asked her.

"Uh huh."

"Now what?"

"I...I don't know..." She sat up slowly and looked at Barney. Church appeared then with a black ops team of six, making them both jump.

"You lost him," he accused.

"I'm sorry," Emily replied. "I was trying to stay alive." Getting shot had hurt so bad. She could barely breathe. They could hear feet running back. Afraid it was Fred, Emily dropped back down dead again.

"Well?" Barney asked.

"He's gone," Toll's voice said. "Jumped in the lake. He didn't come up, so I think he had scuba gear somewhere."

"Shit," Barney said.

"Is she...?" Toll asked.

"Go find Lee," Barney ordered. "Now."

"But..."

"Go! And find Gunner too!"

She heard Toll run off, and she sat up again. Church and Barney were both looking at her now.

"Well, now we have a pickle, don't we? He got away. He's still out there, and he's gonna do a lot of damage if we don't find him and stop him," Church advised. Emily felt so many things in this moment, but what she really wanted was to keep Maya safe, avenge Serena, and end Fred's life forever. All thoughts of running away and hiding were gone now. How could she hide? That wasn't a life for Maya, and she didn't want to always be looking over her shoulder. She had to end this.

"He thinks I'm dead," she said, making the men look at her. "So leave me dead."

"No," Barney said instantly.

"I have to do this, Barney."

"No, you don't."

"Yes...please, Barney. I have to finish this. I thought you of all people would understand revenge." Her eyes bore into his, and he looked like he was going to argue more, but he just sighed. "I have to do it, Barney. For Maya. For Serena." For Wyatt.

"You sure?" Barney sounded unconvinced.

"We're hot on his trail, right?" Emily asked Church.

"We will be," he confirmed.

"Then this will all be over soon, and I can get my life back," Emily vowed. "I need to finish him, Church. He's taken too much from me."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Barney asked.

"I think right now, it is," she confirmed. "You'll still look after Maya, right? If she...if she's not..." She couldn't finish the sentence. For all she knew, her daughter was dead.

"I've got her," Barney promised, silently conveying that Maya would be all right. Emily felt confident that Lee would have saved her.

"If Fred thinks she is dead, he won't go looking for her," she reasoned. "He won't have leverage on me. I'll get him."

"How are you gonna explain it to Lee?" Barney asked.

"I...I'll figure it out when the time comes." She watched as he looked skeptical, and she knew she was asking him to keep this secret too. She knew that would really hurt Lee when he found out. She just hoped he would understand why she did this.

"Good thing I had this as Plan B," Church said, holding up a vial.

"What's that?" Emily asked.

"It's gonna make you dead for a bit."

"Oh..."

"Last chance to back out and have a life," Barney said, and she looked at him. "I really think you should."

"As long as Fred is out there, I have no life," she answered simply. "If Maya is alive and he finds that out and comes after her, I won't have it. I'm doing this." God, she hoped her daughter was alive. She could see Barney trying not to fret about it either.

They could hear voices and had to act fast. Emily looked at Barney and nodded, and Church injected her quickly. She briefly felt something land on her face and realized Church had put blood on her where she'd taken a hit to the vest to make it look as though that had killed her. As she faded to black, she could hear Church moving with his team, feel Barney put his hand on her neck as if to check her vitals, and then the sound of Lee's anguished cry.

It broke her heart, and she tried to open her mouth to change her mind, but it was too late. Her last thoughts were of Maya and Lee, and she hoped that they would forgive her for this when it was all over.