Jensen got to the bar early. He had already been out and figured it didn't make sense to go all the way home and then all the way back. Tavs had Piper for the night, and Jensen didn't know where things were going to go with Kate, but either way, he was glad to have the house to himself later.

He sipped his beer, watching the TV in the corner. It was highlighting the damage done by the hurricane, which he knew could have been much worse. As it was, everyone was recovering and cleaning up. He'd spent time today at the marina helping out and getting things back on track. He idly listened to the chatter around him of other patrons, and he hoped Kate would get there soon. He felt nervous about what she was going to say. He wasn't sure what to do anymore, if he was honest. He sat there and waited.

And waited.

...

"What are you doing here?" Kate demanded, her heart rate spiking. The last time she'd seen this man, he'd had a gun shoved under her chin.

"I came to warn you," Alejandro answered. He was calm and looking at her the way he did before. She didn't like it.

"About what?"

"The cartel have pieced together where you went," he answered. "It's only a matter of time before they send a kill team, and then you're dead."

"How did they know where to look?"

"I don't have the answer to that."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"Kate, why would I come all the way here to lie to you?"

"How do I know you didn't bring them here?!"

"Again, why would I be here telling you this if that was my intention? I would have killed you in your sleep if that were the case." He held her gaze, and she swallowed. She knew this was true.

"Okay," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, so...so what do I do?"

"I'd advise you to leave," he replied. "Start over somewhere else. Perhaps use a fake name next time." He lifted a brow as if to say "amateur hour," and Kate felt stupid. She should have done that. Why did she think she was untouchable here?

"I don't even know where to go..."

"I have a safe place you can stay," he offered. "If you want." She eyed him warily. Why would he want to help her? What was his angle?

"Where?"

"Pack a sweater."

She made a face.

"I still don't understand how they'd figure out where I went," she insisted. "I did very well to cover my trail..."

"Regardless, they did, and my contact says they're gearing up to leave soon, so you need to leave. If you're not here, then they'll believe their information was wrong and give up."

"How did you know I was here?" she challenged. He didn't answer, and she felt chills. "You've been watching me, haven't you?"

"That's neither here nor there," he replied finally.

"It certainly is here and there," she retorted. "You can't spy on me!"

"Not spying," he corrected. "Checking in on."

"Did you watch me leave?"

"Yes."

Kate felt aggravated. She hated all of this. "Have you spied on me here?"

"No," he answered. "I let you go and figured you'd be safe, but I was wrong."

"So...so I have to leave," she said, feeling like crying suddenly. She had a life here now. She didn't want to leave. And Jensen...

"Anyone you care about here is also in danger if you stay," Alejandro warned, reading her mind. "Think about that."

"I don't understand," Kate said. "Why are they even after me? You were the ones who caused the damage!"

"You were a part of it in their eyes. I'm sorry, Kate, but this is how it is," he told her. "I can take you someplace safer, but we need to leave tonight."

"Tonight..." Not tonight. She was supposed to be with Jensen tonight. Oh God. She looked at the clock. She had already been half an hour late. Now, she was later. She cringed inside. He'd be wondering where she was. On cue, her phone vibrated with a text.

"Cancel your plans, and pack up," Alejandro stated. He stood, unmoving.

"I can't just leave..." she started. He took a step toward her, and she stopped talking. She stared at him as he grew impatient.

"Kate, unless you want them to kill your friends, you better pack up and get your ass into the car. You're lucky I'm even letting you pack," he said menacingly.

"The dog," she started. Daisy was standing there watching, unsure of what was happening.

"I'm sure someone will take it."

"Where are we going?"

"Kate," Alejandro said, his voice darker now. "No more questions. Move. Now!" She stepped away and glared at him before going to grab her bag. She didn't really own much and hadn't accumulated anything truly meaningful here stuff-wise. She threw some clothes and essentials into it and rejoined Alejandro ten minutes later.

"What about them?" she asked, referring to Tavs, Jensen, and Piper. "Are they in danger?"

"Not at this point. They don't know about the people you've been spending time with here. For all they know, you vacationed here for a bit and moved on. Let's keep it that way."

"Are you sure? Really sure?"

"Are you asking me to keep an eye on them?" he inquired gruffly. Kate hesitated.

"No," she finally said. "Because if they're following you, I don't want them coming back here." She was fairly unknown here for the most part, just that she worked at Tavs's place and occasionally played ball with orphans. If they showed her photo around, no one would know where she lived, exactly, or who she spent time with. At least, they shouldn't...

Nemo.

She jolted at the thought. He knew she was with Jensen. Would he say anything? Would he be wise and keep his mouth shut? Nemo didn't seem like the ratting out kind of type.

"Okay. Let's go," Alejandro ordered, and he marched past her to the door. Kate looked at Daisy, who was whining.

"I'm sorry, girl," she said sadly. "I have to go." She thought about taking the dog with her, but how fair was that? Daisy's home was here. She knew Jensen would look after her. Or Tavs.

"Kate!" Alejandro barked, and she hurried after him, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She took one last look at her little house and felt really sad. She didn't want to leave, but how could she endanger everyone here? She couldn't.

"I'll start a rumor that you're somewhere in Spain," Alejandro said now. "Take them off the path of coming here." Kate felt relieved. Maybe there was hope yet that no one would come sniffing around here for her.

Jensen's truck came into view, and she knew he would be worried because she was never this late to meet him. Alejandro put his hand near his hip where his piece was, but she stopped him.

"It's a friend," she advised. He nodded and stood there waiting. Jensen got out and slammed the door.

"What're you playing at?" he asked her, walking towards her. "Huh? You think this is a game? You think you can just twist my heart all up and expect me to just forget about it and move forward?!"

"J," she started.

"I never lied to you about how I felt," he went on over her. He was in front of her now, not seeing Alejandro yet. "The only thing I didn't tell you was the false allegations about me because I was afraid you'd believe them, and you did."

"J," she said again, firmer this time.

"I wasn't even going to try this again because I wasn't sure if you could ever fully trust me," he said, louder, "but I thought, what the hell? This could work. She understands. She believes me. And then you stand me up!"

"JAY!" she shouted, and he finally stopped talking. He looked at her, and that's when he saw the bag on her shoulder.

"You going somewhere?" he asked, his tone slightly aggravated.

"I...I have to leave," she answered. He looked shocked.

"What? Why? Where are you going?"

"She can't tell you that," Alejandro said now, and Jensen spun to see him finally.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"He's right," Kate said, making Jensen look back at her. "I can't tell you. You can't know anything about me anymore."

"Why not?! What the hell is going on?!"

Kate pulled him a bit away from Alejandro, who was giving her an impatient look. She ignored him. "J, it's my past."

"What about it?" he asked, concerned now. His anger from before seemed to be gone now that he was catching on to what was happening.

"I'm not safe here, and you're not safe knowing me. I should never have come here or let you into my life. I put you all in danger, and I'm so sorry..."

"Kate, just tell me what's going on," he urged, grabbing her hands as she started to cry.

"Kate," Alejandro warned, overhearing.

"I can't," she said raggedly. "I can't tell you or it'll just put you in more danger. I'm sorry."

"Kate..." Jensen's voice was pained now.

"I really, really cared about you," she went on. "I did. I wanted this to work so badly. I hate that this is happening. I hate that I have to go."

"Then don't..."

"Can you adopt Daisy? Please?"

"I...I will...but Kate..."

"Please tell Piper I love her," Kate interrupted. "Please tell her I didn't want to go and that she's one of the most special people I ever got to know."

"Don't go, Kate," Jensen practically begged. "Whatever it is, we can figure it out."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She forced herself to pull out of his grip and take steps back. He looked broken, and she hated that she did that to him. She turned away to walk towards the waiting SUV when she felt hands grasp her waist and turn her back around. Startled, she caught her breath just as Jensen kissed her, his arms wrapping around her tightly. She kissed him back, feeling so sad this was over and guilty for hurting him after he'd worked so hard to try again after Suzy.

It was with great reluctance that they broke apart, and she touched his face lightly.

"There's another chance for you yet," she told him. "It doesn't end with me. I hope you know that."

"I don't want anyone else," he replied, his voice revealing his emotions.

"I'm sorry," she said again, her face pressed against his.

"Kate, let's move," Alejandro said rather roughly behind her. She kissed Jensen one last time before pulling out of his arms and stumbling away. He stood there, watching helplessly with his arms at his side, as she threw her bag into the backseat of the SUV and opened the passenger door. It almost killed her to get in and buckle up. Daisy was howling from the house, which was not helping. She looked at Jensen through the window, her hand resting against the glass, as Alejandro drove them away.

...

Kate was gone. Jensen stood there breathing hard and feeling like he was going to lose his shit. Whatever had happened to her was putting her in danger again, and he understood why she thought she had to leave in order to protect him and Piper and Tavs, but he wished that she knew they'd keep her safe here. Tavs was former air force with some clear skills, and Jensen was no stranger to winning fights.

He went to get Daisy, who instantly ran down the drive after Kate. He called for her, but she ignored him. Eventually, she came back, looking despondent and as broken as him. He went to his home and paced and stood in the middle of the house not knowing what to do.

Kate was gone. He'd lost her, and he knew he was never going to get her back.

A Week Later

Kate sat in front of the laptop screen, looking at the email Tavs had sent. She was using one of those things that made her IP address bounce around so as not to be found. She hated that she had to live her life like this now, but Alejandro had insisted.

Him sticking her in the middle of nowhere in a cold, isolated place felt a bit unnecessary, though. She hated it there. She hated that she was probably going to be stuck there a long time.

Why did you leave?

She read Tavs's words again. It had hurt to leave her without a goodbye. She poised her hands over the keyboard, getting ready to respond. She'd been warned not to share too much, but she trusted Tavs.

It wasn't safe for me to be there anymore, she wrote back. Not for me, not for all of you. I'm sorry. I had to go.

She sent the email and closed her laptop. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. The fire was going in the corner in the fireplace, and she dreaded going outside to get more wood. Sighing, she got up and went to her armchair, picking up the novel she was trying to read. She missed her freedom. She missed Reggie. She missed Tavs and Piper. Most of all, she missed Jensen. She wondered if he'd have come with her, but she knew that would have been stupid. He didn't deserve to live a life in hiding, even though he kind of was in a sense. Him and Piper here, in this cold place, would not have made any sense. Piper needed to have a life, to be free. She didn't deserve to be in hiding, afraid for her life. Kate leaned her head back and closed her eyes, trying not to cry. This was her life now. There was no going back.

...

Jensen could barely focus on the game, and Tavs kept nudging him with her foot under the table.

"Your turn," she said.

"Sorry." He threw down a card without really paying attention, and it gave Tavs the advantage needed to win. She sighed and looked at him.

"She had to leave," she started.

"I know," he cut her off.

"I don't know what happened before she got here, but she came here to hide," Tavs went on. "Obviously, she was found out, so she left."

"Nothing happened, though," he insisted. "No one came to hurt us."

"No, and that's probably because she left," Tavs countered. "I know it's hard and it sucks, but if I were her, I'd have done the same thing."

He said nothing as he stared at the table. Tavs reached to squeeze his hand lightly, and that's when Piper cried out in her sleep. Jensen got up and went to check on her. She'd taken Kate's leaving very hard and wept a lot about it. It made him feel so sad and pained that he couldn't help her feel better.

He pushed open her door and saw her sitting up.

"You alright, luv?" he asked, stepping into the room. Piper shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"I dreamt Auntie Kate got hurt."

"That's scary," he said, sitting down next to her. She crawled into his lap, and he held her comfortingly.

"I miss her." Piper's voice was small.

"I do too."

"Is she going to come back?" She asked this question a lot, and Jensen never knew how to answer it. He sighed and rubbed her back soothingly. He'd told her what Kate had said, and she held onto those words to bring her comfort. Jensen held on to the memory of the feel of her in his arms.

"I don't know, Piper."

"Why did she leave?"

"I still don't really know, luv," he fibbed slightly. He didn't want to worry her any further about Kate's safety.

"When I'm older," Piper said now. "I'm going to look for her."

Jensen didn't know how to respond to this, but she wasn't looking for a reply. She tucked herself into him tighter, and he did his best to help her feel better.

Inside, he wanted to cry along with her.