Standing outside of the apartment, Mark had his hands clasped onto his hips and he continued pacing. He was on edge. He knew that there was something going on. He knew that something had happened to Verity and he was cursing himself. He should never have let her leave. He should have forced her to stay at the police station with him. But he never thought that this would happen. He never thought that she would go missing. He felt sick, his stomach churning and his mind unable to think clearly. He kept trying to rationalise this. He kept thinking that maybe she had gone away somewhere.

But where? She would have just gone to Janet's and clearly she wasn't there. She would never do this. She would never just go and leave him with just a note. No matter the argument, she wouldn't do that to him.

"It's blood."

Mark had called Eric as soon as he had seen it on the door. He knew that they needed professionals down there instantly and thankfully Eric had overseen it. Tapp was on his way in too, despite having the weekend off for his wife's birthday. Mark had insisted on forensics coming with them, but he didn't need it confirming that it was Verity's blood. Deep down he knew it was.

"And there's no other sign of a disturbance?" Mark asked.

He had gone around the apartment before the police had arrived, but he hadn't found anything particularly different. As soon as Eric had shown up, he'd been forced to vacate the apartment. He wasn't involved in the investigation and he knew why. Most times they were called to disappearances, the person who phoned had something to do with it. But this wasn't the case with Mark. He knew he was innocent and he only hoped his colleagues wouldn't challenge that.

"Nothing," Eric said with a shake of his head. "Her bag is gone and the note matches her handwriting…she said she needed some time away."

"Verity never signs her name off like that," Mark said, pointing back into the apartment. "It's always Ver. I always call her Ver…something is wrong, Eric."

"And I know you think that," Eric said with a stern nod of his head. He held his hands up, trying to urge Mark to be calm. He knew that was a battle he was unlikely to win. Mark wasn't entirely in the mood for being calm. "But is there any chance that the blood came from a cut? She might have done it and opened the door?"

"No," Mark said sternly. "It's not that. I know you're trying to get me to think rationally…persuade me that she's fine…but I know she's not. I know someone has done something to her."

"And I know why you would think that based on the threats you've recently received," Eric said to him with a firm nod of his head. "But at this moment in time, we have very little to go on. You know that too, Mark. You might just be a rookie, but you're not an idiot. You know how these things work."

"I know that the longer a person is missing then the less chance there is of finding them," Mark said. "And that's why I need to find her. I just don't know where to start. I don't know where she could be and it's not like I can run around the city looking for her, is it?"

"Mark, I know that this is stressful," Eric said to him with a nod of his head and he reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder. "I know that you're worried about her, but wherever she is, we'll do everything we can to find her, okay? We'll do whatever we need to do."

Mark wanted to shrug Eric's hand from him, but he didn't. He ground his teeth together and forced himself to remain composed. It was difficult, but he knew it was for the best. Losing his temper and snapping at the people trying to help him would do him no good. No. He had to remain composed. He had to try and keep his mind, no matter how difficult he found it.

"Mark? Is everything alright?"

Mark turned his head over his shoulder and spotted Josephine Benson from down the hall. She was a middle-aged woman who worked in a law firm. She had two children and a divorced husband who picked them up on a Friday night and dropped them off on a Sunday. She was always looking flustered, but her clothes were pristine and she always towered over people in her six-inch heels.

"I don't know," Mark answered honestly.

He always exchanged pleasantries when he passed her in the corridor. He was always cordial to most people in the building since he'd become a permanent fixture there. Josephine arched her brow and cocked her head to the side.

"Is it Verity?" she asked. "I saw her leave earlier on."

Mark's eyes instantly met hers and his interest piqued. Eric stepped forwards too, suspecting that they could have something and this wasn't just a neighbour being noisy like they usually found happened when they were called out to investigate something.

"You saw her leave?" Mark checked with her.

"Yeah," Josephine said. "She was with someone…said he used to be someone she tutored…"

"When was this?" Eric questioned, tugging his notebook out.

"About three hours ago," Josephine said, checking the big gold watch on her slim wrist. "She said she was in a hurry…do you think something has happened to her?"

"Can you give us a description of this man she left with?" Eric wondered, scribbling in his notebook.

Josephine let out a deep breath. "I don't know," she confessed to them. "I only saw him for a moment, but he looked like he was about eighteen or nineteen…kept his head down and had short, brown hair…I thought he was shy but his eyes kept flitting around."

"Matthew Jacobson," Mark whispered the boy's name. It was the first name that had come to him based on the description and with Verity saying it was someone she had tutored. He remembered how he had found her that night in the apartment after the kid had assaulted her. Gulping down the lump in his throat, he tried not to let his mind go there.

"That kid?" Eric checked with Mark.

"Who else?" Mark wondered.

But Eric shook his head. "He's in the Hamptons with his mother."

"And do we have any confirmation on that?" Mark wondered.

"Is Verity okay?" Josephine piped up once more.

Eric looked to her and offered her a small nod and a forced smile. "Thank you for your help," he said to her. "If you don't mind, I'm going to send an officer to you just in case you remember anymore details. Will you be in?"

"Yes, but I'm-"

"-Thank you, ma'am," Eric interrupted and Mark just nodded at Josephine, unable to do anything more. She left, heading back down to her apartment and Eric watched her close the door behind her. Turning his attention back to his colleague, Eric spoke. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Josephine Benson. She's a lawyer."

"Could tell by that diamond ring on her finger," Eric said. "I'll get Rigg to go down and check on her to see if she remembers anything. I'll get Allison to call Juliana Jacobson and see where she is and if we can speak to Matthew."

"Then we need to get back to the precinct," Mark declared, knowing that they had to hit up the phones.

Verity hadn't wanted to go with Matthew willingly. It was either that or he threatened to wait until Mark got home and he'd kill him. She didn't know if he was bluffing, but she wasn't willing to find out. She had written the note but signed it with her full name, hoping Mark would pick up on it. She'd packed her bag to make it look convincing as Matthew rifled through her drawers with gloved hands. She tried not to be scared of him, but she was finding that difficult considering she knew he was holding a knife and seemed to be more unhinged than usual.

He had walked with her out of the apartment and hadn't spotted her blood on the door from where he'd slammed her head against it. She'd wiped the dried blood away, but her head was pounding. She had carried her bag on her shoulder and bumped into her neighbour on the way down, telling her she was late to practice with her former student. She only hoped Josephine might talk to Mark at some point.

Matthew had driven them through the streets in silence, the doors locked and the traffic passing by slowly.

"What do you want, Matthew?" Verity questioned from him.

"Shut up." Matthew demanded from her.

"Matthew, you don't need to do this. Whatever it is that's happened, we can work it out," Verity assured him. She'd once heard Mark tell her that it was important to use names when trying to talk people down. She'd asked him if it was just a tactic they used in the movies, but he'd told her it was actually real, just dramatized.

"Did you not hear me? I said shut up," he snapped back at her and Verity knew not to push her luck again. She would find out at some point what was going on and what he intended on doing. Her mind went to dark places as they drove out of New York City and onto the highway. She remembered what had happened the last time she had been alone with Matthew.

But she would fight him. Whatever he had planned, she wasn't going to stop fighting. It had started to turn dark, the lights from oncoming cars dazzling Verity's eyes. Eventually, passing cars became infrequent and then finally there was hardly any passing traffic. Verity felt herself grow with fear once more.

"Matthew," she whispered his name. "Where are we going?"

He didn't respond instantly, but he didn't tell her to shut up either. She kept looking at him expectantly, almost too nervous to look away.

"My father had this cabin. He used it when he needed to escape the city…usually by bringing his mistresses out here," Matthew answered her. "I figured it would be remote enough for us to talk without being interrupted by that idiotic boyfriend of yours."

Verity's brows furrowed. "You just want to talk?" she asked from him.

"You'll find out what I want when we get there," he said to her and then pulled onto a dirt track where a few moments later he stopped the car. The quietness echoed in Verity's ears. She scrambled for the handle, but it didn't budge. Matthew grabbed a fistful of her hair, tugging hard enough to hurt her scalp as he pulled her back. He lifted his other hand up, the knife moving against her throat as she saw it glisten in the corner of her eye.

"You try and make a move and I will kill you," he said. "Do you understand?" he snapped, voice tight and firm, leaving Verity with no choice but to nod her affirmation. He pushed her forward again and climbed out of his side of the car. Moving to her door, he opened it and she staggered out, forgoing her bag that was in the footwell.

He pushed her forwards and she made out the outline of the cabin as they approached it. The grass was covered in crisp leaves and there looked to be a pond to the side surrounded by trees and glimmering in the moonlight. Verity felt Matthew grab her arm as they approached the porch of the cabin. He kept his grip firm on her as he unlocked the door and turned the light on.

The cabin was large with an open planned living room and kitchen, a dining table by a wall covered in glass that looked out over the vast expanse of forest. There was a staircase in the middle of the room that split off in two directions that no doubt led to bedrooms and bathrooms. The cabin was rustic with wooden panelling and wooden floors, beige furnishings everywhere.

"Sit down," Matthew said and he pushed Verity to sit on the sofa. She sunk into the cushions and looked around as Matthew sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite her. "You know you ruined everything, don't you?"

"Matthew, it wasn't me. I had-"

"-Save it," he interrupted her and she looked at the knife that he'd set down next to him. He caught her glance and his hand instantly covered its handle. "You ran off to that cop boyfriend of yours and made up a pack of lies about how I'd come onto you…next thing my dad is arrested for fraud and you expect me to think that's not a coincidence? And you…you walk away like nothing has happened when my whole life explodes. You know that I got rejected from Julliard? I've been living in the fucking Hamptons for months…living in hiding…"

"I never wanted any of that to happen," Verity said. She wasn't sure that she should tell him that he'd never been good enough for Julliard. "But this isn't going to help you. You'll get in trouble…Mark will be looking for me. You know he will be."

"You left a note telling him you were going away."

"And when he doesn't hear from me?" Verity questioned. "Matthew, he's a cop. We passed by my neighbour leaving here…just think rationally."

"It doesn't matter," Matthew said with a firm shake of his head. "He ruined my life and I want to ruin his."

"Your father made his own decisions," Verity retorted. "I know that it's hard to hear, but he did. Blaming me won't help things. Blaming Mark won't change that your father committed a crime. What do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't care," Matthew said with a shake of his head and for a moment, Verity saw a troubled kid. "I want my life back," he whined. "I want what I'm owed."

"And what is that?" Verity asked him. "No one is owed anything, Matthew. We have to work for it. I know things have been tough for you, but bringing me out here isn't going to change that. If you let me help then I can help. We can work through things…find a college…it doesn't have to be New York. It could be somewhere else…away from here…you could build a new life for yourself."

He looked at her and she saw the tears begin to flow from his eyes as he sat forwards, leaning further towards her and she noticed his bottom lip tremble. "I don't know how," he said to her in a small whisper and she hoped that she had found a way through.

"I know it might seem like that," she said to him with a gentle voice. "But there's always a way through. Trust me."

"How do you know?" he asked her.

"Because when I finished Julliard…my parents cut me off. I had to make my own way without them," she replied. "And it was scary. Doing something on my own was scary but I did it because I wanted it. If you want to go to college then you can. We can make it happen."

"You don't know how hard it's been," he said. "And you…I blamed you…you came onto me and then ruined everything because you changed your mind…why should I suffer?'

Verity bit down what she wanted to snap at him. She had to be smart and she knew that she had to be smart. She exhaled a sharp breath and leant further forward, doing everything in her power not to feel sick.

"You shouldn't," she said to him with a shake of her head. "And that's why I want to help you. We can work through this. I can write letters of recommendation and help you with personal statements…anything…it doesn't need to be this way. You don't need to get in trouble over this. I can tell everyone it was all a misunderstanding."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course," Verity lied through her teeth. "We'll figure this out, Matthew."

But then he did something she hadn't expected. He leant forwards, his hand moving to her cheek and he kissed her forcefully on the mouth. Verity kept her mouth firmly closed and her eyes opened wide as Matthew pulled back, sensing that she wasn't kissing him back. He shook his head and his gaze clouded over.

"Matthew, that's…I…I'm with Mark."

"I knew you were lying to me," Matthew said. "I knew you never wanted to help me."

"No, I do," Verity promised him, reaching out and resting a hand on his arm. "But not this."

"And there you go again…continuously leading me on…when will it end? Why can you not just accept that I like you? That we're good together?"

"Because we're not," Verity said quickly this time and she knew it was the wrong thing to say. He stood up, picking the knife up with him and he began pacing. She stood up too, her hands shaking as she kept them by her side. "I meant what I said, Matthew. I will help you get out of this, but we have to go back to the city. I need to go home and back to Mark."

"That's all you care about, isn't it? Your precious Mark," he spat his name, spittle flying out of the corners of his mouth. "Well that's not going to happen. You're a liar. I should've known you were nothing but a liar."

"Matthew, please-"

"-You think saying please is going to get you out of this mess?" he demanded from her. "No. I don't trust you. I knew I couldn't trust you. You're a liar."

"Matthew-"

"-We're done talking," he retorted and he lunged at her with the knife.

It turned out that Juliana Jacobson hadn't been in the Hamptons like they'd first thought. She was holed up in a hotel awaiting her husband's trial. She'd kept a low profile and apparently hadn't left the room in over four days, not that Mark could blame her. They had found her at the hotel in a suite, sat on the sofa and dressed in a grey pantsuit, hair neatly pushed behind her ears. She had let the officers into the suite and Mark had looked at her with disdain. She hadn't even been able to meet his eye.

"Ms Jacobson, we're here about your son," Eric said.

He had allowed Mark to tag along with him so long as he let him lead.

"Matthew?" Juliana checked.

It had gone eight p.m. and darkness bathed the city.

"Do you know where he is?" Eric continued pushing.

"Haven't seen him all day. He's been like that since the trial," she threw a dirty look at Mark that he ignored. "He goes out for most of the day doing God knows what and comes back home late at night and hardly talks to me. He blames me for what's happening."

"We need to talk to him," Eric settled on saying. "The sooner, the better."

"Why?" she questioned.

"Verity's missing," Mark finally spoke up. "She's gone missing and the last person she was seen with was a former pupil of hers…a boy who resembles your son."

"Matthew wouldn't go near her."

"After what happened?" Mark questioned.

"After she tried to groom him?" Juliana checked. "She's lucky that I didn't tell the police about what she had tried to do. She shouldn't be allowed to tutor-"

"-We both know that's a load of bullshit," Mark interrupted, not allowing her name to be dragged through the mud. "We know that your son attacked her. She came back with bruises…scared beyond her wits. Your son did that to her and you threatened her."

Juliana scoffed at that and rolled her eyes. "Are you going to let him get away with talking to me like that?" she addressed Eric.

"At the moment, I am more concerned with talking to your son," Eric said and Juliana glanced off to the side, sniffing loudly and rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Mark despised the woman. He couldn't stand her. He just wondered if there was any semblance of someone with some compassion inside.

"My girlfriend is missing," he said, trying a different angle. "I know you might not like her, but we both know what happened at your apartment that afternoon and what your son tried to do. If he has her…if he's taken her somewhere…then I need to find them. She's never done anything to hurt you. It wasn't her who did this to your family. It was your husband."

"You think I don't know that?" she sniped back at Mark.

"Then help us find her," Mark retorted quickly. "Stop blaming her and help us find her."

Silence engulfed them and Eric continued observing the woman with intensity. He suspected that she did know something. He knew that she would be covering for her son and, in a way, he couldn't blame her for doing that. He knew what it was like to have a family in turmoil. He inhaled a sharp breath and waited patiently, Mark doing the same with his fingers drumming against his jean clad thigh.

"He's…I told him that he could maybe talk to her," Juliana confessed. "See if she could help him with colleges."

"And why would you do that if you accused her of grooming him?" Eric wondered and she stammered then, her face contorting and her eyes flickering around. Shaking his head, Eric was in disbelief that this woman's audacity. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised considering what he'd seen in his time on the force. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"No," she said and Eric suspected she was being honest on that point.

"Is there anywhere he might have taken her?"

"We sold our apartment…the house in the Hamptons is empty…there's only the cabin that his father used to own but it's miles away."

"Where is it?" Mark asked, already jumping to his feet.

"I have the address written down," she said and she moved to her handbag, tugging out a notebook and flicking through it. Tearing a page out, she handed it over to Mark. "But he won't be there. He wouldn't hurt her. You have to believe me."

"Believe you?" Mark asked her in disbelief. "What have you possibly done that could make me believe you?"

He was already rushing out of the suite. Eric didn't offer a goodbye to Juliana. He was following his friend. "Mark!"

"I need to go," Mark said determinedly.

"And if she isn't there? You're miles out of the city."

"She has to be," Mark said, not knowing if it was faith or conviction that was leading him to that decision. "Where else could she be? She's out there. I know she is. And I need to get to her."

"Listen, I'm coming with you. Just let me use the phone at reception to call Kerry and ask her if she's got anything and tell her where we're going. I'm not letting you go there by yourself, alright?"

Mark suspected that was as good as he was going to get and so he agreed to it, silently hoping that he'd find Verity sooner rather than later.

Kerry had told them that she'd looked into Matthew Jacobson and found that he had rented a car that morning. Why would he need a car? Mark suspected it was to drive out into the middle of nowhere. If this kid intended on doing something to Verity then he wasn't covering his tracks very well. Mark let Eric drive them out to the cabin. The drive was tense and Mark tried not to snarl or curse at his friend as he took a wrong turn twice. Finally, they pulled up to a cabin and Mark spotted another car there. The curtains were drawn, but Mark could make out light peeling out from behind them. He shook his head slowly as he climbed from the car and rushed towards the cabin, Eric hauling him back with a hand around his arm.

"You can't just run in there unarmed," he snapped. "Think about it."

"She's in there," Mark said determinedly.

But before they could formulate a plan, a gunshot echoed from inside the house. Mark forgot any form of protocol then. He ran forwards, his feet hitting the ground and almost slipping on some muddy patches. Coming up the steps to the front door, Mark was relieved to find it open. The lights were on, but he couldn't see anyone in the living area.

He heard noise come from upstairs though, the sound of banging and grunting echoing in his ears. He moved to the staircase and followed the noise, his breathing heavy and laboured as he saw an open door and heard more grunting.

"You fucking whore!"

The voice yelled and Mark came to the bedroom and saw Matthew on top of Verity on a mattress covered in a thick, white duvet. He had his hands holding onto her wrists as he tried to buck him off of her, her legs flailing either side of him and a gun discarded on the floor, a bullet hole in the ceiling.

Mark rushed forwards, grabbing hold of Matthew and hauling him from his girlfriend. He noticed that Verity's jeans were missing and her jumper discarded, leaving her in her plain black underwear. She sat up, cheeks red and eyes puffy from crying. Mark handled Matthew with ease, pushing him onto his back and kneeling over him. He balled his hands into fists and punched him over and over again, not easing up despite the calls from Verity. Eric was in the room a few seconds later having tripped on his way into the house.

Matthew groaned under Mark's punches, his face becoming bruised and bloody. Mark didn't care how much his knuckles ached; he kept going. He wanted to kill him. He wanted him to suffer. But Matthew just kept on laughing manically like this was all part of his plan.

"Hoffman!" Eric snapped loudly, reaching for him and trying to pull him away. "Hoffman, enough!"

"Mark!" Verity shrieked his name again and she felt a sense of relief when Eric managed to haul him off of the younger man.

Stumbling backwards, Mark looked down at the bloody mess on the floor, chest heaving and anger still coursing through his body. Eric knew he needed to get him out of there before he did something that crossed a line.

"Take Verity downstairs," Eric demanded from Mark.

Looking to his girlfriend, Mark reached his hand out for her and she instantly took hold of his fingers. He noted the cuffs on the headboard of the bed and the indentations on her wrists. He helped her stand up and noted she was weak on her feet, his arm going around her waist to keep her upright as she held tightly onto him.

"Does she moan for you, Officer?" Matthew managed to ask, spitting out a glob of blood. "She makes such pretty noises."

"Shut up!" Eric demanded, his gun aimed at the kid.

Mark's teeth ground together as he continued to move towards the door, the thought of that boy touching Verity making his rage bubble to an uncontrollable level.

"And she was so wet…does she get so wet so easily for you? I doubt it."

Verity's grip on Mark increased as she sensed he was ready to pounce again. And she was right. He moved back towards the kid and he spotted the gun on the ground that Verity and Matthew must have been tousling over. Picking it up before Eric could stop him, he aimed it at the kid and Verity let out the most blood-curdling cry of his name he had ever heard from her before.

"Mark!"

It was simple. It was just his name. But it stopped him in his tracks. His face contorted as he went through a mixture of emotions. He wanted to pull the trigger. He wanted to stop this kid from smirking up at him. But then his eyes flickered over to Verity who was stood there, tears rolling softly down her cheeks and her body shaking. Her eyes met his and she shook her head slowly and he knew that if he killed him then she'd never look at him in the same way. And so he drew the line. He let Eric take the gun from his hands and he ignored the chuckles coming from Matthew. He went to Verity and enveloped her into his arms, walking her from the bedroom and back down the stairs.

He urged her to sit down on the sofa and he pulled his jacket from his shoulders before tugging his sweater over his arms, leaving him in a simple grey tee.

"Come here, sweetheart," he urged from her, getting her to lift her own arms above her head and he helped her into his jumper before dragging his jacket over her shoulders. Settling down next to her, he wrapped his arms around her and burrowed her face against his neck, crying against him. "I'm so sorry, Ver," he whispered to her. "I should never have let you go. I should never have said what I said…this is all my fault…"

"It's not," she promised him with a gargle.

He wasn't entirely certain on that point. He kissed the top of her head tenderly and squeezed his own eyes shut.

"Did he…Ver…you can tell me anything…" Mark babbled, but Verity shook her head. She knew what he was asking.

"He tried to," she said to him. "He was taunting you up there. He…I got free of the cuffs…and then he…he tried to touch me…but the gun…I tried to get it from him. I tried to get it and shoot him, but I…" she trailed off and Mark shook his head slowly.

"Sh, sh, sh," he soothed her, fingers running down her hair. "It's alright, sweetheart. It's alright. I've got you."

He stayed by her side as back up arrived and took Matthew away. Verity said that she didn't need an ambulance and all she wanted was to get home. Eric told her that they would need to interview her at some point, but Mark told them that it could wait and his tone was stern and final. Eric just nodded his head and allowed them to leave in Mark's car as he went back with the other officers. Verity had pulled her jeans back onto her legs and grabbed her boots. She kept Mark's jumper on and his coat and followed him to the car.

Driving back to the city, Mark knew that going back to the apartment was a no-go for the night. He knew that money was tight, but he insisted on checking them into a hotel. He dealt with the booking and Verity just remained mute by his side, her hand inside of his as she let him take charge. Guiding her up and towards their hotel room, he unlocked the door and worried about what they would do for toiletries and a change of clothes later on.

"You didn't need to pay for a hotel," Verity informed him in a soft whisper.

He shook his head. "I did," he retorted.

"We need to go back to the apartment at some point," she said and Mark pushed the chain across the door as Verity looked at the bed that took up most of the room. "He…he's going to go to jail, isn't he?"

"We caught him red-handed. He's not going to be able to wriggle his way out of this," Mark promised her. "He's going to come nowhere near you again. I promise."

Verity sat down at the end of the bed and Mark went to sit next to her.

"I thought you were going to kill him," she confessed.

"So did I," Mark said, not bothering to hide it.

"I wanted to too," Verity said to him. "When I got the gun from him…I tried…but I couldn't. I couldn't pull the trigger, Mark. I just couldn't pull it."

"You didn't need to," Mark promised her and he reached for her again, holding her once more as he closed his eyes. She might not have been able to pull the trigger, but he had been so close to doing just that.

...

A/N: So we see a bit more of Mark's dark side and there will be much more to come! Would love to know if you are reading!