Meg was upstairs sighting her rifle, gauging how far she could comfortably see in each direction and getting the best distances set, when the pressure alarm went off for the cattle guard on the road in front of her gate. She skipped back down the stairs and pulled up the screen for that camera to ensure that it was the advance team that Bob was sending. She buzzed open the gate and then stood on the front porch with a pistol grip shotgun in one hand and her long-barrel .40 in the other. She felt Norman step up beside her, holding the 9mm Glock she had given him back in Nebraska.

Together, they watched a Jeep pull up and park and what could have been 4 adventure seekers pile out. Only someone with the experience Meg had would notice the various concealed weapons and cold eyes trained to take in every detail of their surroundings.

The lone female, a short stout woman with dark hair in a single braid down her back, greeted Meg. "Ma'am" she said with a nod of her head. "We're going to scout the area, just to ensure there's no activity. Jonesy here will stay on the porch and we'll all meet back here once Mr. Kelley arrives." Jonesy was an enormous mountain of a man whose eyes were the only break in an unrelentingly dark face.

Norman watched the man climb the steps and take up a vigil on the porch. Meg greeted him and the others put hiker style gear on and set out in different directions. He couldn't help but feel like his life had just become a bizarre film that he was watching from the outside. He turned and went back into the cabin and poured himself a tall Jack and Coke and sat on the couch to wait for Bob to show up and make some sort of sense out this fucked up scenario that had become their real life. He watched as Meg walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and then joined him on the couch.

She reached over and took his hand in hers and then looked up and met his gaze. To his surprise, there was a deep sadness etched over her features and it made him swallow hard.

"What's up, Meg; why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm... Oh god, Norman, I'm so fucking sorry about this; my mistakes are coming back to haunt me and you've been stuck in the damn middle." She leaned her head back and sighed while squeezing his hand. "I will not let anything happen to you, please believe me."

"Do you honestly think that's what I'm worried about?" Norman asked and Meg watched his features turn to stone. "You are the most infuriating woman I've ever met, do you know that? I know you're some kind of ninja badass, but that doesn't mean I won't do everything in my power to protect you." He made a groaning noise and buried his head in his hands for a few seconds before popping his head up piercing her with his gaze. "Could you for one damn minute think of how scared for you I am, and how the thought of some assassin with your face – the face that I love – in his sights makes me want to vomit?"

Meg sat and looked at him, slowly blinking. She was stunned by the feeling behind his words. She had to admit, "I'm sorry, you're right. I didn't think of this from your perspective, not even for a second. Protecting has always been my job, so my instinct is to get to work and not think about the emotional impact." She scooted over to him and crawled up under his arm. The warmth from his body made her feel better immediately. She looked up at him and whispered, "I feel safer with you, please never doubt that. Also know that you are the single most important person in my life."

Norman looked down in her face and while there was a part of him still thoroughly frustrated and more than a little pissed at her, the look on her face melted his defenses and he pulled her closer so he could kiss those remarkable lips. "We're going to come out the other side of this, together, and that is all that matters."

Meg searched his eyes and saw that he truly believed what he was saying and a little piece of her soul died. In response, she shuttered her heart so that he wouldn't see her pain. Instead of responding she pulled his face down for a kiss that led to a make out session on the couch. Just as they were about to reach the point of no return, there was knock on the front door and the sound of someone clearing their throat.

_____________________________________________________________

Bob had to chuckle as Norman excused himself to the restroom to get things back under control. Meg, in her usual unflappable way, just smoothed her hair and readjusted her bra before getting up to start some coffee.

He was happy to see Megan with a man that was so obviously head over heels in love with her. He hadn't missed how her eyes tracked Norman's movements in that way that clearly showed the man had become the center of her world.

When they were all seated with a fresh mug of coffee Bob got right to the point. "We have Tayte under 24/7 surveillance and have tapped his phones. Through this we found an accomplice which would explain how they were able to find your exact location." He looked at Norman and asked, "What exactly does Samuel Johnston do for you?"

Norman's face got extremely red and he swallowed a few times before responding. "He works for the studio. They loaned him to us for 'Ride' to help schedule our trips, find places for us to stay, and research the areas where we were going to be visiting."

"How well do you know him?" Bob asked.

"He was one of the guys. We all hung out on occasion; he seemed to be closest to Stan, my production manager."

"Does the name Amelia St. John mean anything to you?"

Norman froze and then slowly he lowered his head into his hands. When he lifted his head his face was full of pain and he nodded. "Yes, it does..." his hand reflexively went to his upper lip that to this day had periods of numbness before continuing, "She was a model that I dated for a time years ago. We were in Berlin for a concert and got into an argument so we left early. She had the keys to our rental car because I had been drinking, but what I didn't know was that she was high on heroin... she pulled out in front of a semi. She died and I was in the hospital for months while they put my face back together."

"Samuel Johnston is Amelia's younger brother. He must hold you responsible for her death because he's the one that was working with Michael Tayte; giving him your whereabouts – most likely through a tracking app on your phone - and making sure that you and your crew stayed in close proximity to Meg, essentially guaranteeing that the two of you met."

It was Meg's turn to speak up, "But, why would they have gone to so much trouble to make sure that Norman and I met?"

"I know," Norman said quietly. "Michael wants me to feel what he felt... he wants me to know what it's like to love a woman so strongly and have her ripped out of my life." He looked at her with an apologetic look on his face. "He wants me to suffer like he did because I turned my back on him when he needed me."

"How did he know that you'd fall in love with Meg?" Bob asked and then quickly held up a hand. "I mean, obviously Megan is stunning and has a wickedly attractive personality, but the odds of you two falling this hard for one another had to be greatly against him."

The silence drug out until it was almost uncomfortable before Norman finally answered. "He knew both of us, knew me better than almost anyone aside from my Mom. He also spent 4 months with Nikki, and while that was not really Meg, he must have recognized darkness and a wounded soul. He knew that those things combined with her super weird personality would make me a goner."

She smirked at him and reached over to squeeze his hand. Then she turned to Bob, "So, we know why they did this and how they did it; what do we do now?"

Bob looked between the two of them and knew the next thing he said was going to be hard. "First thing is to get Norman out of here." Just as expected, the second he finished speaking Norman started shaking his head.

"No way, no how am I leaving her." He said with his hand held up.

"Do you want to see Michael Tayte pay for what he's done?" Bob asked.

"Of course I do, what he's done is beyond forgivable."

"Then we are going to need you to help us take him down. We have a plan put in place to get Samuel to give him up and testify against Michael. It will be very important to keep this whole incident quiet. It's the only way to keep Meg's name and identity out of the media spotlight."

"Where will she be?" Norman asked, looking at her and seeing a flash of something in her eyes that gave him a chill.

Bob exhaled and sat back in his chair. "There are a couple of different scenarios that we're working through, but I'm going to be straight with you; it's not going to be easy either way." He looked directly at Meg know and continued, "The winning bidder was the Cartel leader whose operations you took down about 8 years ago."

"Don Carlos Antonio?" She asked.

"That's the one."

"Who'd he hire?"

"El Sombre" Bob answered and the look on his face told the story. A shadow passed across Meg's face as she registered that one of the most deadly assassins in the world had a target on her back. Nobody was sure of El Sombre, or The Shadow's, true identity. Hell, no one was even sure if it was a man or a woman just that his specialty was getting in and out of places no one should be able to without leaving a trace.

"Did you find the actual contract?"

Bob knew why she was asking and he nodded his head. "Affirmative."

"What's the contingency?"

"The contract never expires, and it cascades. If El Sombre doesn't deliver within 21 days, the contract goes to the next one willing to take it.

"What was the POD requirement?"

"He wants a video of the body and..." Bob looked away, swallowed hard, and took a deep breath to steady his emotions. He couldn't even think about what might have to be done.

"Out with it, Bob – it's not like I don't know it's going to be bad." She said with a steady voice. Norman on the other hand, felt a rising panic.

"... a foot or a hand."

Ls'