The blade was long, I could feel it hit the bone. I let out another scream as she pulled the knife out. "I swear to you I have nothing to do with Nichols, I'm a detective in the Chicago Police Department." I knew that telling them wouldn't do any harm since that's where they picked me up.

"Yes, that is smart. Nichols had someone working for him with the cops, no wonder he got away for so long." An evil smile appeared on her face. She swung her knife again creating a cut on my cheek. I hissed, this pain was bearable unlike my thigh, which was now dripping with blood. "Now tell me where is my product!?!" She yelled at my face, her spit hitting my skin.

"I swear on my mother's grave, I don't know anything," I repeated, firmly.

And there was that angry look again as she took the knife one more time and stabbed at my other thigh, I let out another scream. "LIAR!" She yelled.

This went on for what felt like an eternity, I didn't know what to tell her but at the same time I slowly came up with a plan, a lie that she would believe, allowing me to somehow contact the team.

At this point I had stab wounds all through my legs, I knew she wasn't stabbing my upper body to keep me alive longer, so that I could keep talking but she would still slice through my arms and chest, creating smaller cuts. I felt my wrists getting more and more red as I pulled and tugged and tensed from all the pain.

"I will ask you one more time! Where did Nichols put my product!" I could tell her patience was growing thinner, anger becoming more prominent in her face.

"Fine, I'll talk, I'll talk, just don't kill me." I pretended to let fear give in to me, which wasn't hard, I knew that this wouldn't go on much longer and she wouldn't let me go.

"Go on." She put down her knife and leaned in front of me.

"It's hidden, in a storage unit, not even I know where it is I swear, but he told me-" I had to catch my breath from all of the pain coursing through my body. "he told me that when it was safe to move the product to call a number, call them and give them the all-clear and give them an address...that's all I know." I tried to sound as convincing as possible.

"Right you expect me to believe that?" I could tell she was checking for any signs of a lie.

"It's the truth, and it's all I know." I kept my composure.

"Give me your phone." She spoke to one of the men and he handed her a phone.

"I'll call the number, you speak, if I hear any signs of a lie, if you call for help I will shoot you." She pointed a gun at my head. "Tell them to drop the product off at the warehouse by the docks."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement. I gave her Jay's number, he would pick up, I knew he would.

"Alright, I will not hesitate to shoot." She repeated as she pressed the call button.

The number started dialing and I finally heard Jay's voice. "Ryan, it's y/n." I knew I had to get a word in fast before he said anything else. "It's all clear, the product can be moved."

"We got word the cobalt phantoms are roaming around-" Jay spoke and I saw panic fill the woman's eyes. "Are you sure it's safe to move?" He continued asking.

The woman glared at me, expecting me to come up with a quick explanation or excuse. "I took care of it, move the product, there's a warehouse by the docks, leave it there." The woman lifted up 10 fingers mouthing 'minutes'. "You have 10 minutes," I repeated and she hung up.

I admit that I was terrified to know what would happen after those 10 minutes were up, and I just hoped I had managed to keep them on the line long enough so they could track my location.

______

It was hard to tell how much time had passed but I had been left alone in the room, and a couple of minutes later one of the men came back with the same bag they had put over my head as well as a knife. He placed it over my head again and I felt as my hands and feet were released from behind my back giving me a very much-needed sense of relief.

I knew that after this there were was only one of two things that would happen, the team would get here late and I would end up dead, or the team would get here and do the best to save, although a gun would remain on my head at all times and the possibility of my death seemed bigger than any other.

I heard the man come around but realized he hadn't taped the bag to my head. I took a deep breath, it was like my body was going to react before my mind did. I ripped the bag off my head and with the rope in my hands I wrapped it around the man choking him.

I used my legs to keep the man's arms behind him and used all the strength I could muster to knock this man out or kill him. He used his nails digging them into my thigs, in the spots which were already so badly cut but the adrenaline gave me enough strength to not let go. And after what felt like a long time the man finally stopped fighting. I kept a grip for longer just in case he was pretending and finally let go.

It was getting harder to breathe, the pain was becoming more and more real but I knew I had to keep going now. I grabbed the blade the man was holding and made my way to the door that was ajar. I peaked my head through and there was no one. I walked out, I was barefoot so I didn't make much noise but I felt like just my breathing was too loud.

"You got this...you got this," I whispered to myself, my voice quivering.

I continued walking and saw and heard nothing. I was trying to look for a way out but there were so many halls and stairs. I made my way down a couple of sets of stairs when I heard the woman's voice. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE ESCAPED?!" She yelled. "FIND HER!"

I knew I had little to no time now so I started running down the stairs. I heard a door open on one of the floors above me. "SHE'S HERE VAL!" He yelled.

I kept running as fast as my legs could take me, I reached a floor and tried opening the door but it was locked so I kept going, I reached another floor, the last floor and tried again and this time the door opened. It was a huge open space, nothing to hide behind, nowhere to take cover. The door was at the opposite end of the hall.

I ran as fast as I could, the tears and sheer panic getting to me now. I heard the door open. "SHOOT HER!" I heard the woman's voice.

I heard a gun cock, and was ready to feel a bullet at any second. I saw the door open in front of me, it was Jay. "No!" He was going to get hurt. I threw my body on him as if becoming his shield for what was about to come.

I heard a shot, I squeezed my eyes tight shut. I felt Jay shaking me, trying to pull me away from him. I was probably shot, he wanted to save me, but I didn't feel anything.

"Baby, please." I heard him whisper.

I finally let go of him. I turned and saw the man was dead on the floor. The rest of the team arrested the woman.

Kim, Hailey, and Jay were all trying to take a look at me. "I'm not dead?" I asked.

"No, you're okay, you're okay." Jay took a look at my bruised and bloodied body.

"Here." Kim took her jacket off handing it to me.

"C, mon, let's get you to the ambulance." Both Hailey and Kim walked on either side of me and helped me up. Jay wouldn't take his eyes off me, as if examining every wound of my body with detail.

"Jay, let's get her to an ambulance." Kim snapped Jay out of his trance. His eyes filled with pain.

"C, mon honey." He replaced Hailey on my right side slipping his arm around my waist and helping me outside.

____

They had bandaged me up in the ambulance before transporting me. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off the pain was becoming more and more significant resulting in the paramedics giving me more drugs.

Everyone from the team had come to talk to me, ask me if I was okay. When Hank came he told me that things had been taken care of with Nichols and Kelton and once I was ready I could get back to work.

Finally, Jay had come back just as the paramedics had told me we were ready to go to the hospital. "How is she?" Jay asked the paramedic that stayed in the back.

"She'll be okay, they'll need to clean her wounds thoroughly in the hospital to avoid infection and she'll need loads of stitched but she'll be okay." The paramedic let Jay know.

"I'm okay." I reached for Jay's hand as he looked at me with so much pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry y/n, I should've known-" Jay felt guilty for what had happened.

"Don't, please, I was so angry I didn't think of anything else, it was all my fault." I knew I let the anger blind me, I should've known I'd become a target, I should've been more careful.

"Trudy and Kelly, they're at the hospital waiting for us. Trudy feels really guilty." Jay let me know.

"I argued with her before they took me, Jay, what if that had been the last conversation I had with her."

"You'll have time to talk baby, I'm sure right now she's just happy you're okay." Jay leaned over to kiss my head. "I'm just happy you're okay, back with me."

"I love you, thank you for saving me." I squeezed his hands a little tighter.

"You're the love of my life, there's no way I was letting you go, not like this, not now, we have our whole lives ahead of us." he smiled.

"He's a keeper." The paramedic was just listening to our moment.

"He is, that's why I married him." I lifted my hand up showing my wedding ring. Jay's smile grew wider, he leaned forward giving me a kiss. I knew I was okay now, I was safe with him.