I posted 3 chapters in a row today, so make sure you read chapters 14 and 15 before this one :)

Two Days Later

Kate was having another vivid memory from her coma dream. She was swimming with dolphins with Jensen, and the closeness to him was overwhelming. Then, just as quickly as it started, it left her mind.

She sipped her water, watching Evan cook supper. He was talking about returning to work in a few days, and she was ready for him to go. His hovering was suffocating her.

Another memory popped up—one where she was being held by Jensen in a bathroom during a raging storm. She could feel his arms around her, feel his heart racing against her.

She cleared her throat and gave her head a slight shake.

"You okay?" Evan asked, noticing.

"Yea. Headache," she answered. The one thing about having been in an accident: She could feign pain and he'd believe her. He handed her an Advil, and his phone vibrated with a text. She watched him go read it, pocketing her painkiller to return to the bottle later. She couldn't see anything from his face about what was in the message he'd just received. He was not one to part with his phone. She'd tried, but when she'd finally gotten it, she couldn't get into it. Another dead end.

She stood to go fold the laundry that was now done. At least she could remember how to do that. She was working away when Evan came in behind her.

"What?" she asked, seeing his face. All the hair on her arms and neck stood up when he came at her. "Evan!" She jerked to the right, but he managed to corner her and catch her wrist. So the big bad wolf in him was still there after all.

"Sorry," he said, moving to push her out. She twisted around, punching him in the face, and the fight was on. She let out a scream as he threw her onto the floor.

"What are you doing?!" she shrieked. He kicked her in the side, making her cry out in pain again.

"Just give in to it," he ordered, pulling out handcuffs.

"No!" She kicked his knee cap, and he grunted in pain, stumbling. She managed to get back up and raced for the door, but he was right behind her, slamming himself into her and making her head bang off the wood, which slightly stunned her. He wrestled one arm behind her as she struggled. She wasn't going down without a fight, and she stomped on his foot before twisting to knee him in the privates. He cried out and let her go, and she went to open the door to escape.

He caught her on the stairs, knocking her over and sending her tumbling down a flight before sprawling on a landing. Winded, Kate couldn't make a sound. She tried to get up, but he was on her before she could.

"I'm sorry, Kate," he said, cuffing her hands behind her back and hauling her up. She gasped in air finally, and was about to scream when he pressed tape over her mouth.

She had no idea what was happening or why he was doing this. She was very, very pissed off.

"Yea, it's time," he said into the phone in his other hand. "No, things progressed faster than I thought. You have a small window, my friend." He hung up and looked down at Kate, who glared back up at him.

"Seems you have some friends in high places," he told her. "But it doesn't matter. You'll be long gone before they get here. Did you know the bounty on your head was more with you being alive than dead? I mean, why? They're gonna kill you anyway." He laughed. "Oh well. Now we're even."

Kate did not fully understand what he was talking about. The only people with a bounty on her head were the cartels. Then she slowly figured it out, and he watched her figure it out.

"You pissed off my friends," he told her. "You shouldn't have done that." He sighed. "And your pal, Alejandro, he didn't get them all like he thought he did. They want your head, Kate, and I'm willing to give it to them after what you did to me." He closed his eyes briefly, as if reliving something painful, which was unbelievable because he'd been the rotten one, not her. "Took me long enough to arrange all this on top of earning your trust, but now the timeline has been moved to today. So, let's get you up and out to meet them."

She tried to kick, but he just lifted her up over his shoulder to carry her back to the apartment. She kept kicking him, connecting every so often. He put her down to readjust, looking angry.

"Knock it off," he ordered. Her head was already throbbing, but it was the only weapon she had left. When he came close to lift her again, she head butted him in the nose hard. He howled, and she booked it down the stairs away from him again. She could hear him cursing and moaning behind her, and she managed to open a door and go through it without him catching her. Heart pounding, she went to the elevator and clicked for it frantically. When it came, she pressed the ground floor and stepped out quickly before the doors shut. She hurried to hide around the corner just as the door opened and Evan walked into the hallway. She shut her eyes, praying, and she heard him stop by the elevators and swear to himself. His steps receded back to the door, and then he was gone. She let out a sigh of relief. Her trick had worked. She waited a moment before moving again, calculating what the best option was, when hands caught her from behind. She screamed against the tape, certain Evan had actually been the one to fool her after all, when a voice spoke.

"Shhh, Kate it's me."

The hands turned her around, gripping her shoulders, and she saw the one person she never thought she'd see again in body armor with a shotgun slung over his shoulder. For a second, they just stared at each other, and Kate suddenly felt such relief that she really wasn't crazy.

"J," she said, muffled.

Two Weeks Earlier

Jensen came to in the hospital with Tavs standing by his side looking scared. He groaned, pressing a hand to his head.

"Oh thank God," Tavs said, reaching to pat him now. "I thought you were dead!"

"What happened?" he asked, groaning again. "Where's Piper?!"

"Down with the kids in the little daycare here," Tavs answered. "She's fine."

Jensen felt relieved and then scared again. "Kate. Where is she?"

"She wasn't with you," Tavs said, confused. "It was just you at the scene..."

"Tavs, she was with me," he insisted. "She asked me to pick her up. She was scared. She said something about us needing to leave. Then we got hit."

He noticed Tavs was wearing a grim expression now.

"What?" he asked. "Tell me."

"Kate had a run in with cartels on a job in 2015," Tavs explained. "She came to me on the run, and I gave her a place to stay."

"She said it was over," he insisted, familiar with Kate's situation to some degree. "That's why she came back for good."

"Apparently it wasn't."

"That's right," a voice said in the doorway, and both Jensen and Tavs lurched, startled. "And it's my fault."

"Alejandro Gillick," Tavs said, her tone giving away some disdain. "And here I thought you were dead."

"Not yet," Alejandro answered, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. There was a tension between the two of them, something that couldn't be missed.

"You know where Kate is?" Jensen asked him, eyeing him warily. He remembered this guy. He was the one who took Kate away.

"No, but I've been hearing some chatter, and it turns out I missed a few key players in my sweep," Alejandro said. "People I did not realize were key players, that's how good they are. They've got bounty on Kate, and when I find them, I'll find her."

"I'm coming with you," Jensen said fiercely.

"No," Alejandro answered simply.

"Watch me," Jensen snapped back. Tavs held up her hands.

"Alright," she said. "Settle down, boys. We are all going to find Kate."

"You've still got connections?" Alejandro asked her, and she nodded.

"I'll tap into them."

"You have a child," Alejandra said to Jensen, his voice factual. Jensen deflated a little. He'd forgotten that if Tavs wasn't here, there was no one to look after Piper.

"Your friend?" Tavs reminded him. "Chase?"

"Case," he corrected. "Yea, I can call her."

"Do it now," Alejandro ordered. Jensen fumbled for his phone while Tavs spoke on hers.

"Hey, Reg," she was saying. "We have a situation."

"J?" Case answered, sounding worried. "You never call. What's wrong?"

"Case, I need a favor," he replied.

"Anything," she answered.

"I need a sitter for Piper for a bit."

"I'll be there. Give me 24 hours."

"Thank you."

"Anytime." They hung up, and Jensen saw Tavs do the same.

"Reggie is gonna do some digging," she told Alejandro.

"They were obviously here," Jensen said. "She was freaked out by something."

"Is she still here then?" Tavs asked, looking between them.

"No hospital has a record of her," Alejandro answered. "I checked."

"Were you just lurking around here or something?" Tavs asked. "Why are you even here?"

"I was coming to warn Kate," Alejandro said thinly. "This just came up on my radar barely 24 hours ago."

"You could have called," Jensen pointed out.

"She didn't answer," Alejandro said calmly. "And she seems to need face to face interactions in order to fully understand what's going on."

"So, what do we do? Where do we start?" Jensen asked. He was feeling scared and incredibly sore all over. He was diagnosed with minor injuries, thankfully, but he still bloody well hurt.

"I'll check out Mexico," Alejandro answered. "You two meet me over there, and we'll widen our search after that."

"You're 100% sure she's not still here somewhere?" Tavs asked.

"There was a private jet leaving here not long after the accident," Alejandro advised. "My guess is she was on it."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable going off that hunch," Tavs insisted. "She could be here in plain sight."

"No offense, Octavia," Alejandro said, looking at her a bit intensely, "but I happen to know the cartel and their motives better than you." She drew herself up to her full height and glared at him.

"I happen to know that people can surprise you," she countered.

"Fine," he said. "You look here while I go to where she actually is."

"Why do you care so much about her anyway?" Tavs asked as he started to walk away. He faltered in his steps, looking over his shoulder at her. Jensen felt a swell of jealousy in thinking perhaps this man also loved Kate.

"She reminds me of my daughter," he replied, and Tavs's demeanor instantly changed. She actually softened, which made Jensen wonder just what happened to this man's daughter.

"You don't want to have a second failure on your hands," Tavs commented.

"Just leave it alone, Tavs," Alejandro instructed. Then he was gone.

"What now?" Jensen asked her. He felt afraid for Kate. He hoped she was okay.

"Now we hunt," she answered, and there was a fierceness in her that he'd never seen before and felt very grateful to have on his side. He nodded.

"Let's go."

...

It was a week later, and Jensen was feeling very scared that Kate was already dead. Case had come to stay with Piper, and he'd gone with Tavs to meet Alejandro in Mexico. It made him think about his time there with Joe and Case, but he didn't think about it for long. He was busy trying to find Kate, but they were not having any luck.

"She still hasn't been brought over," Alejandro advised, looking at maps on the table. Tavs was standing next to him.

"Where would she be?"

Jensen was playing with a coin in his fingers, trying not to lose his mind. Reggie was still helping to look in the States, and he was going to meet up with them soon as well.

"There's something missing," Alejandro said, looking up. "Something I'm not taking into account."

"Her ex," Jensen said, and they both snapped their heads to look at him. Then Alejandro swore.

"Shit," he said, flipping papers. "Shit, shit, shit."

"I thought you were the best," Tavs said, jabbing at him.

"You forgot about him too," he snapped back.

"I didn't think he would do something like this."

"Everyone is a suspect at this point," Alejandro retorted, which made Jensen feel worse for not thinking about it until now. They'd all been convinced it was the cartel behind it. Alejandro found what he was looking for and snapped the paper straight in his hands. "Evan. Find him."

The hunt was back on.

...

It had taken a few days to find Evan and a few more days to plan how to get him. Alejandro had scoped out the place and seen Kate, which had caused massive relief for Jensen. It was all he could do not to go and rescue her, but Alejandro made it clear they needed to find out what was going on before doing that. Reggie was now with them and aggravated all to hell about this entire situation.

"I always hated that guy," he kept saying.

"We'll get him, Reg, just relax," Tavs promised. Jensen was vibrating. He wanted to get her now. He wanted to go back home. Piper was sounding more and more afraid when they spoke despite what he was telling her, which most certainly wasn't that Kate was in danger. All he'd told her was that Kate had been hurt in an accident and needed more care than their hospital could provide, which she believed.

"We're set," Alejandro said now. "We gotta move. He's been spooked."

Tavs was gearing up with Reggie now, and Alejandro joined them shortly after. Jensen took the body armor offered to him, but he declined all the rest of the getup. He wasn't a military man, but he knew how to fire a gun. He took the shotgun and a pistol, wondering how messy this was going to get.

"You just stay behind us," Alejandro warned him. "Reggie, you cover the exit."

"Got it."

Jensen was quiet on the ride over. He was anxious as they walked into the building and rode up in the elevator. He was vibrating when they reached the door, but they found it ajar and no one inside.

"Shit," Alejandro said. "Reggie, eyes open they might be coming your way."

"On it."

Jensen had this feeling inside, one that told him Kate was still in this building—that she'd gotten away. He looked at Tavs, who appeared to have the same thought.

"Let's check the floors," she suggested. "Just in case."

Jensen didn't even wait for Alejandro to make a plan. He just started walking. He made his way down the stairs to the next floor below, and he rounded the corner to see Kate hiding in a nook and Evan coming through the door. Jensen pulled out of sight and waited until he heard steps leaving and the door at the far end shut. He looked to see Kate moving, and he caught up to her quickly, catching her arms. She let out a muffled scream.

"Shhh Kate it's me," he said, turning her around to see him. Her eyes were a bit wild with fear that turned into shock.

"J," she said through the tape over her mouth. He pulled the tape off quickly before cupping her face with his hands.

"Oh my God," she said, sounding tearful. "Jensen."

"I'm here, Kate," he said, pressing his face against hers.

"I thought you weren't real," she said next, and he frowned, looking at her.

"What?"

"He convinced me you were not my boyfriend. I...I can't remember a lot of things. I just have fragments..." She trailed off when gunshots sounded outside in the stairwell. Jensen moved them both out of sight, and he watched as Kate sat on the floor and worked her cuffed hands to be in front of her. He helped her back up, and she leaned around the wall to see what was going on.

"Let's go," Jensen said.

"You have another gun?" she asked. He pulled out the pistol he'd tucked in the back of his pants, and she held it in both of hers. They moved to the door, but it was yanked open before they got there. They both tensed and went to aim when they both saw it wasn't Evan.

"Kate!" Tavs cried. "Are you all right?!"

"Yes, I am. What's happened?"

"Evan got away."

"No!" Kate exclaimed, her chest tightening.

"Alejandro is on his heels, but he's a slippery son of a bitch," Tavs said. Kate felt hopeless suddenly, and Jensen rested a hand on her shoulder lightly.

"We'll get him. The main thing is you're okay."

"I guess."

"You know where the key for those are?" Tavs asked, gesturing to the cuffs.

"Probably in the apartment if they're not on him."

"Let's go look."

The three of them made their way back to Evan's apartment, and Tavs began hunting for the keys to the cuffs. Alejandro returned looking stormy a moment later.

"Kate," he said. "This isn't over. You've gotta lay low for a bit."

"I am done with hiding," Kate said strongly. "You can't make me go away again. I won't do it."

"Kate..."

"Let him come to me," she replied, jutting her chin out. "If he wants me so badly, he'll stick his neck out again. We'll make it look easy for him to get me, and then we take him out."

"I thought you didn't like to be used as bait," Alejandro countered, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not when I'm in the dark about it," she corrected.

"So how do we do this?" Tavs asked from the corner she was searching, sounding like a team leader again. "During transport or at a safe house?"

"Just let me think for a minute," Alejandro muttered. While he did that and Tavs kept looking for the cuff keys, Jensen turned to Kate and touched her face, taking in her scars from the car accident.

"He said I wasn't real," he echoed her earlier statement.

"He said him and I had gotten married again. He told me Reggie was dead. He told me a lot of things..."

"He was lying," Alejandro cut in, coming over to them now.

"Then why can't I remember what is truth and what isn't?"

"He was drugging you," Alejandro answered, showing her evidence he'd just picked up. Kate frowned as she looked at it. "He was intentionally keeping you foggy and forgetful."

"Will my memory come back?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Once you stop the drug, it will come back."

"They said I was in a two week coma," she started, and he shook his head.

"You weren't. Another lie."

"I knew I wasn't crazy," Kate said, looking at Jensen now as Tavs uncuffed her, having found the keys in a drawer in the kitchen. Once her arms were free, she hugged him hard. He held her back just as hard, thankful she was alive.

"He did a very good job," Alejandro said. "He's been watching you for a while. He made up photos, deleted your email, had someone pretend to be your mother if you called...and look here." Alejandro paused to hold up a notebook. "He'd even outlined his plans to hurt little Piper to smoke you out of hiding."

"Oh my God," Kate said.

"I told you..." Alejandro started.

"No," Tavs cut him off, angry. "Do not blame her for this. Trap or not, she came because she loves that little girl. You would have too!" They glared at each other, but Alejandro stayed quiet. Jensen felt murderous now. He wanted Evan's blood. Now.

"Kate?!" Reggie called, rushing in. "No one was answering me, so I decided to come up..."

"REGGIE!" Kate practically screamed, jumping to hug him.

"Whoa!" he yelped, catching her before they both fell over. "Hey!"

"Evan said you were dead," she sobbed.

"Can we deal with him now? Please?" Jensen asked. "How are we luring him out?"

"I don't think he's gone far," Alejandro answered. "I think he's waiting for us to leave and he'll follow to where we are staying."

"Then we let him think he's won and let him tail us there," Tavs reasoned. "You've dealt with the others, right? The ones he was going to hand her off to?" He scoffed.

"Of course. My contacts are hunting them as we speak."

"Then we finish Evan and then we are going home."

"Fine."

"Let's talk positions at the safe house on the way out," Reggie said, and he, Tavs, and Alejandro moved to leave.

"Just give us a minute," Kate said, and Tavs smiled.

"Of course. We'll wait."

"Hurry up," Alejandro said with a scowl.

"Take your time," Tavs insisted, shooting him a look.

"I won't be long. Oh, and Alejandro," Kate added, and he looked at her. "Thank you, but after this, I never want to see you again." A ghost of a smile was on his lips now.

"Ditto," he replied. The three of them left together to wait by the car, leaving Jensen and Kate alone finally.

"Oh my God, Jensen," Kate was saying as she hugged him again. "It was real. All of it was real...right?"

"Yes," he promised. "It was very real. Every last moment." He held her close, his hand against the back of her head to cradle it against his neck. He felt the tension from his fear of losing her start to unravel slowly, but he knew they weren't finished with this hell just yet.

Kate pulled back a bit after a moment, and she ran her fingers across his cheek as if checking to make sure he was really there. She kissed him next—gently, briefly.

"I wanna go home," she said after.

"Then let's go home," he replied, holding her face with his hand and smiling at her. She nodded, smiling back. Then she sighed.

"Have to finish this first." She looked very tired suddenly.

"You alright?" he asked then, needing to know.

"Yes, J," she answered. "I am definitely alright." She took his hand in hers, and they walked to the door, ready to close this awful chapter of their lives and move forward.

Almost to the end!