This chapter is *Dedicated* to spottedpony for her love and excitement over this story. You RoCk GIrl!

Thank you, dear readers, for your patience with my chapters. I promise to finish this story, no matter how long it takes, lol. ;)

"I might keep you around after this just to make my coffee for me," she purrs.

"I just, - might stay."

He says the words in a lazy drawl which only heightens her awareness of him, makes her eyes fall to his granite-stone ass, making her wish they could've met under different circumstances.

The detective in her quashes the woman and reminds her why she's in her favorite author's loft in the first place... Alexis.

She takes a deep breath before delving in. "I need you to start from the beginning, Rick. When were you aware of Alexis' stalker? When did she start receiving texts? Gifts? Please tell me all you know or suspect about what has happened... Leave nothing out. Not even something you feel is insignificant, because just the slightest detail might be the triggering factor in finding your daughter."

His hands wrap around the coffee cup, fingers curling tensely, and those piercing blue orbs fill with apprehension, laced with agony, and she knows, before he even speaks, she's reopening a wound that might never heal.

"It started about six weeks before my last Derek Storm gala. She was so damn happy that day when she came home from school, saying she had a secret admirer who'd left a note in her locker, commenting on her beauty, how her hair was more lovely than a New York sunrise on a cold winter's day." Rick set the coffee cup gently on the counter before continuing. "He put a note in her locker once a day for the first week, always commenting on her appearance, - her eyes, lips, make up, hair, the clothes she was wearing... I actually didn't think anything of it until he started texting her, just assumed it was a high school crush, a boy experiencing puppy love for the first time." His voice fell to a hushed murmur, "I actually didn't start to worry until the texts became more umm, su - suggestive."

Oh God, his eyes narrow and he blinked rapidly, refusing to let the pooling tears fall.

"We still don't know how he found out her phone number. Over the past year, I've switched phone companies twice, but he still somehow managed to track it down."

"I hate to ask," Kate interrupts softly, "but would you mind giving me an example of the texts?"

"How about I show you?"

"Show me?"

"Yes. Once I realized this admirer of hers was more than just obsessive, I started to write down each of his texts."

Add 'extremely intelligent' to his other list of fine attributes, Kate thought with a smile.

Rick sauntered towards the large mahogany desk in the center of his office.

She found herself admiring the desk. It was the most beautiful piece of craftsmanship she had ever seen, sturdy but elegant, with heavy mahogany pedestals and a polished, natural-finished cherry top.

A slow-crawling flush spread up her neck and across her cheeks as the sexy thought arose, How would it feel to be spread across that desk top?

She didn't ponder on the simmering heat swirling her loins as Rick misjudged the distance to the desk and began swearing like a sailor when his upper left thigh smacked the corner of it.

"Nice to know you're not invincible, blind man," she teases, hurrying to his side. Her hand fell on his lower back as he massaged his sore leg gingerly. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Constantly," is his quick reply and her heart flinches at the racking pain in his voice. "But I don't have time to dwell on what that creep did to me when he has Alexis."

"I have to say, I admire your devotion to your daughter," she purrs as she watches his biceps ripple while rummaging through paperwork on his desk.

"She makes it easy, but thank you for the compliment, De - tec - tive Beckett."

How was he able to make her title sound like a delicious, creamy, strawberry milk shake he couldn't wait to sip and devour?

"The information you're looking for should be in this folder." His thick fingers glide along hers before placing a manilla folder in her grasp, adorned on the front with a large sticker in the shape of a novel.

Kate notices a couple more folders on his desk, each with a different shaped sticker, and she's impressed once more with his ability to adjust so magnanimously to his new condition.

She opens the folder and a photo of a teenage girl with light red hair and eyes the same ocean blue as Rick's floats to the floor.

She eagerly picks up the picture, absorbing the happy, innocent, young woman who is obviously the author's daughter. She's sitting at a bar in a lovely, feminine, bright red dress, a notebook open before her, a soft smile lighting her features.

"Rick," Kate begins, "Where was this picture of Alexis taken? The one where she's sitting at a bar?"

His eyes somehow find hers, and the mix of terror and despair combined in their midst, hint at what he's going to say next.

"It was taken at my last Derrick Storm book party... It was taken by him."

Kate's extremely quiet while she listens to Rick tell her about that night, how the paparazzi were only allowed to take photos outside the venue before the party officially began and not during the affair itself... How a couple of days later, this photo arrived in the mail addressed to Alexis, saying she was the most beautiful girl at the party and he couldn't wait to have her spend time with him, model the dress for him personally, and he planned on it happening very soon.

"Alexis wasn't afraid of him before that night and needless to say, the arrogance of this prick, and his ability to reach her, to get under her skin, fed into my own fears and sent me into panic mode... I decided for her safety to go underground, drop completely out of the limelight, as I didn't want her stalker using the media to his advantage. I cancelled my Derek Storm book tour, kept Alexis within arm's length, changed her cell phone number, stopped accepting mail at the loft and rented a P.O. box, but despite my best efforts ..." Rick ran shaky fingers through his thick hair, the pain of failing to protect his daughter clearly etched on his face. "He was still able to get to her. As the creepy texts and gifts continued over the months, insinuating that she was his and his alone, I even hired a personal body guard for her.

From the way his tone dipped when he spoke about the 'body guard', Kate knew something had gone horribly, terribly wrong.

She quickly scanned through the paper which showed the text messages Alexis' received and read:

'Your courage rivals that of Joan of Arc and your beauty surpasses Helen of Troy'.

'The fire in your hair matches the fire in your soul'.

'Your intelligence equals mine and I can't wait for the day when you finally see me for who I am... Yours and yours alone'.

'Alexis, You are my missing half. No one will ever have you but me'.

Kate's eyes widened as she continued reading, the texts becoming more suggestive, talking about stealing her virtue, showing her the glorious path to womanhood, being the one and only guy in her life to touch her, being her teacher and confidant and lover in all areas of her life.

Rick continued quietly, "It took him nine months to plan the perfect abduction and now he has her... My little girl."

"Rick," and Kate's hand reaches for his, fingers curling around his palm, squeezing lovingly. "I know that it will be difficult, probably the hardest thing you've ever tried to do, - but you have got to stop blaming yourself. Alexis wouldn't want you to... You did everything in your power to stop her kidnapper but I've come across his type of psychopath before, - determined, obsessed, unhinged. He was going to succeed at any cost. Alexis wouldn't want you dwelling on what you incorrectly and unjustly perceive as your own failure in protecting her."

"I know she wouldn't," and the sparkling, Casanova smile he throws her way stirs to life the sleeping butterflies in her abdomen. "Thank you for reminding me."

"Anytime." Her hand drops his and she's surprised by the tingling desire to entwine their fingers once more.

She hesitates before asking, "May I ask you a personal question?"

"On one condition," and the impish look adorning his face makes him look younger than his 38 years. "I get to ask you one as well."

She tugs on her lower lip while scanning his handsome face intently, has to consciously stop herself from reaching out and pushing back a thick lock of sandy hair that's fallen across his forehead.

"Agreed," she answers, thinking she can easily dissuade him from getting too close.

She shoves aside the notion that this author just might be the one and only man who could dismantle this wall of hers and rescue her from the suffocating rubble.

"Do the specialists know what caused your blindness? Do they think it's permanent? Are there possible treatments to help you regain you vision or is it simply a matter of time?"

"Well, first of all, that's four questions," Rick responds, chuckling heartily, - dark, deep and downright sexy. "So to address your questions in order, 'Maybe, No, Yes, and Don't know."

Of course, he would inherently know there were four questions and in what order she asked them, ever the sharp, brilliant man. She's also pretty impressed that he can answer with no seeming embarrassment or reticence.

"Concerning the magnitude of your vision loss, can you see anything at all or is your blindness absolute?"

"On occasion, I can make out the difference between night and day, just an impression of daytime being lighter than night. With this in mind, the specialists are optimistic that I may recover at least some limited vision in the future. I hope they are right. I would certainly love to be able to see my mother and Alexis one more time, Detective Beckett, as well as ..."

The air sparks with his unspoken admission of 'you'.

Kate breaks the charged atmosphere with, "That's incredibly hopeful news. And please, call me Kate. We are going to be working closely together and since I'm taking a leave of absence from the Twelfth, there's no need for formalities."

"Kate it is."

Jesus, everything about her screams 'erotic'.

Rick's flabbergasted, especially in this short amount of time, how bewitched he is by this amazingly fragrant, sultry woman with the come-hither, bedroom voice. She smells of cherries and vanilla and home. A scent he will forever associate with her.

How he wishes he could see this enchanting woman, to actually see if she is as mesmerizing visually as she is in his active imagination.

"I have a very good friend who happens to be a Medical Examiner for the 12th precinct. She is one of the best forensic pathologists in the State. Do you mind if I mention your condition to her to see if she might have any suggestions?"

"No, not at all. Please do. I'm happy to let her see my medical records if you believe she could possibly help."

"I'll speak to Lanie this evening." Kate sighs and lays her warm hand on his forearm, filling him with unbidden thoughts of smooth skin, long legs and sex-laden sheets, "Now back to Alexis... Do you have any files or evidence on the man who abducted Alexis? Do you have any information that might be useful as a place to start my investigation?"

He stands up a little straighter and sighs, "Yes, thank God, there's plenty of evidence."

His injured leg must still be throbbing because he moves slowly, favoring it. He leads her to the stairs, past some clever, modern artwork and up to Alexis' room.

She quickly peruses the room, taking in what is obviously a teenage girl's bedroom. The room is done in subtle pastel shades with a smattering of pink here and there to belie the female ownership. On the walls are posters: one of the band Blue Pill, along with a separate one of Hayley Mills herself. A Stanford pennant is pinned to one wall, indicating her desire to attend the university.

She continues to look around, finding a large teddy bear playing a violin, and on her dresser a vase of dried red and black roses.

She's drawn to the dead black flowers as she's never seen that particular color before. As her fingers trickle over a bud, she says, "These black roses on the dresser. Do you know if it's the real color or have they been treated in some way?"

"They are real. I did some research and they are only grown in certain regions in Turkey. They are very rare, expensive, and difficult to come by. They were sent to Alexis by her captor, – as were most of the intimate items displayed on the dresser... I guess you saw the teddy bear and violin?"

"Yes, that was one of the first things I noticed. Quite an unusual choice."

"Well, Alexis plays the violin so I'm sure he thought he could win her over by giving her meaningful gifts. Did you notice the Blue Pill concert tickets, the two fencing sabres and the heart shaped diamond festooned Promise ring?"

"Yes," she murmurs while her eyes traipse over the items, imagining Alexis' fear growing with each new gift received.

"In addition, each of these gifts came with a personal note describing his love and devotion to her. For example, the note that came with the teddy bear holding the violin says, 'A soft and cuddly companion for your Monkey-Bunky. I'm hoping to be yours one day'.

His lips purse together as he says through clenched teeth, "The other notes are eerily similar."

Kate continues her rounds of the room, getting a feel for both Alexis and the abductor from the objects she has collected and the gifts he had sent her.

She picks up the note lying with the Blue Pill concert tickets and reads, 'I want to be the one to serenade you with these songs. Hayley Blue can't justly express the feelings I have for you'.

Accompanying the swords is a note stating, 'I want to cross swords with you, in more ways than one.'

But the most disturbing note of all is the one with the ring. 'I promise you we'll be together soon. Together forever'.

"I'm assuming you've had these notes analyzed?"

"Yes, but there were no fingerprints. The paper is extremely common. Something you pick up at any local office supply store."

Her fingertips flutter across the roses' dead petals. "Rick, are these roses expensive? Have you tried to trace them? I bet there are only a few, select florists in the city who can get them. They have to be special order."

"I haven't had any luck tracing them. I can't even find one florist shop that carries them. This guy has to know someone from outside the city or have contacts in another region."

His eyes light up a striking, electrifying blue as they both say in unison, "May be the place to start."

Kate's glorious smile breaks free at the implication, finding their similar mindsets quite endearing.

"Did we just say the same thing at the same time?" Rick asks.

"Yep," Kate responds and with a melodic chuckle continues, "Great minds think alike."

"Can't disagree with you there."

As Kate continues discussing their next move in finding Alexis, Rick undoubtedly feels a rare connection to the sensitive detective. A sliver of hope, and just a touch of passion, seeps into his cold tortured heart, - the one that's been locked in the vault with the name 'Alexis' inscribed on the sealed, secured door for so long now.