Part Six:

She stared at him, his face just inches from hers. How could she not have recognized him? Had she actually pushed those horrible memories, from all those years ago, so far into the back of her mind that she couldn’t see what was staring her right in the face all these months? Or was it that she no longer was the woman she once was. The smart and savvy woman she was before she let the likes of Sam and Troy in her life. So many thoughts filled her mind. She needed to concentrate on the present not the past, you can’t change the past.

She tries to step out from in front of him but he moves his hands in closer alongside her head, pinning her further against the wall, “You’re not going to get away with this. You take me out of town; Bo will hunt you down until he finds me. You kill me and Bo will hunt you down, and if you’re lucky time on death row is all you’ll get.”

He smiles a menacing smile, “Your bravado is so heartwarming; really it is.” He leans in even closer to kiss her. Nora moves her head to the side, his lips grazing her cheek. He grabs her face, slowly moving his hands lower until it is wrapped around her neck, “Just like Rae, too bad it couldn’t help her in the end.”

 Bo looked up Hank, his face white as a ghost, “What do you mean her worst nightmare?”

“Stephen Haver is Shawn Hanson.” Hank looked back down at the two pictures, “I can’t believe this.”

Bo was beginning to get frustrated, “Hank!,” he shouts, “Who IS Shawn Hanson and what does he have to do with Nora?”

Hank snaps out of the past and looks down at Bo, “I’m sorry, I just…” Hank sat down in one of the chairs and Bo followed suit, “Shawn Hanson has been, as far as I knew, locked up in Chicago for the past thirty years.”

Bo runs his hands over his face, trying to mask his growing frustration at his best friend, “Well he’s obviously not there anymore, Hank! Tell me who this guy is; tell me why he’s supposed to be locked away,” he grabs Hank’s shoulders, “What did he do to Nora!”

Hank stares straight ahead, reliving that time as though it were yesterday, “He stalked her, terrorized her, for over a year. It ended the day he broke into her dorm room on the last day of her sophomore year. He hid out until she came back from classes, just waiting to pounce.” Hank stood up and walked over to a window, looking out over the campus grounds; his mind seeing a different courtyard, a different set of buildings in the distance, “He held her there for what seemed like hours, threatening to kill her if she didn’t leave with him. No one knew what was going on, she was one of the last ones still in the dorms that day. She had planned on staying until her roommate came back from her late class so they could leave for home together.” Hank walked back over and sat down beside Bo, “He killed her roommate right in front of Nora’s eyes, Bo.”

“Why?,” he asked quietly.

“Her roommate walked in, not knowing what was going on. Caught him by surprise according to what the police told me.”

Bo stands up and leans his hands on the table, staring at the yearbook picture and the jacket cover that now lie side by side, “He hurts her, Hank, and he’s a dead man.” Bo says through clenched teeth. Hank just nods, Bo won’t be the only one standing in that line.

She closed her eyes as thoughts of her children raced across her mind as the grip his hand had on her throat tightened. She struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists, trying desperately to find a way to get his hand off her throat. The room began to spin; she opened her eyes, a small smile playing across her face as she whispered his name, “Bo…” Her head fell to the side as her world turned black.

His eyes grew darker when he heard her say Bo’s name. He removed his hand from her neck, her body slowly slipping to the floor. He kneeled down beside her and placed his hand on her neck. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed, lying her down in the middle of it.

Hank stood up and walked over to where Bo was standing, still staring at the pictures in front of him, “She never recognized him,” he stated simply.

Hank looked over at his best friend, “You said yourself the similarities were subtle.”

“She never told me about it”, he said sadly.

“She worked really hard to forget about it, to put it behind her.”

Bo just nods. He’s about to say something when the phone on Stephen’s desk rings. Bo looks over at the phone and then over at Hank. He walks over and picks up the phone, “Hello.”

“Well hello, Commissioner Buchanan. I see Nora’s not the only one who found out my little secret.” He smiles as he watches Bo look around the room, “Yes, yes, I am watching you.”

“Where is she?” Bo shouted through clenched teeth.

“She’s where she belongs now, Bo. She’s with me, just the way it was supposed to be.”

“I’m going to find you, you son of a bitch, and when I do…I’m going to kill you.” Bo slams the phone down.

He closed the phone and pulled the earpiece from his ear, before walking over to the bed. He sits down on the bed beside her, reaching out to run a finger along the side of her face. He continued to watch her, the slow rise and fall of her chest the only indication that he hadn’t completely stolen the breath from her body. He stood up and kissed her lightly, “Remember, I’m the one who decides who lives…and who dies.” He shut out the light and walked back over to the desk and sat down. He watched as Bo, Hank, and the rest of the forensics team, finished clearing out his office, “You go where I lead…”