Like most of the chapters, this one gets a little dark.

Mistakes are mine and definitely not intentional.

D19

Quinn scooted as far away as she could when she felt the bed dip. The smell of greasy, fast food filled her nose, and she scrunched her face. She was tired of burgers and fries. It seemed to be the only thing nearby, and if her nose was any indication, it was from the same place. Quinn had no idea where they were. Despite not being able to see, Quinn knew they'd been driving for a long time and had a feeling they were closer to California than she liked.

"I got your food. You should eat now. We'll be getting back on the road soon. Salt Lake City is about seven hours outside of Las Vegas, and I want to be settled before nightfall."

Ah, so they were in Utah. Way too close to California than she liked.

"Not hungry."

"Quinn, you need to eat. I don't know how far the next place to eat will be," he pleaded.

"I would rather starve than eat another burger, Xavier," she said tiredly.

"I'm back to Xavier now?"

If Quinn could glare, she would, but instead, she settled for a snort as she said, "You lost every right to call me a father when you kidnapped and drugged me."

"Would you have come with me otherwise?"

"Not a chance."

"I saved your life."

"No, you ruined it. I was perfectly fine in Lima with the others. I was happy there, even if I lost my sight, I was happy. You took that from me, and I will never forgive you."

There was a sigh. "One day, you will see that I made the best decision for us," he said softly.

Quinn frowned and said, "No, you made the best decision for you. A real father wouldn't have done this. I can't believe I let myself get happy with you. All the men in my life have been nothing but disappointments. At least with Russell, I knew what I was getting, and honestly, I would rather be with the father who abused me than the sperm donor pretending to love me."

She heard the intake of breath, the sharp exhale, and the bed moved shortly after. A hand landed on her cheek, and she flinched away, but chapped lips still brushed against her forehead. His cologne stayed even after he moved away, and she heard the bathroom door open and close. Quinn could still smell the burger, and she raised her shirt over her nose. She hadn't been able to bathe, to wash her hair, or to change clothes in what felt like three days, but apparently, no one batted an eye at the blind girl Xavier toted around like an accessory. Quinn grumbled to herself and stayed where she was. It wasn't like she could go anywhere without his help. The idiot accidentally threw her eye drops away when he dumped her purse with her phone and wallet, so now she had no medicine for her eyes, and her vision got worse instead of better. She saw nothing but colors. Scooting down against the headboard, Quinn closed her eyes and tried to relax the best she could considering, but naturally, she couldn't.

When the doorknob rattled momentarily, and she heard the tell-tale sign of someone opening the front door, Quinn had a moment of panic. If Xavier was right about kidnapping her to save her life, then maybe those same people caught up with them. Then again, Quinn imagined a near twenty-eight-hour drive was nothing for a desperate psychopath.

"Uh, Xavier?" Quinn called out nervously. "You should get out here."

There was shuffling, a curse, and she heard the bathroom door open just as the front door slammed against the wall. There was tense silence. Quinn was about to ask what was going on when a familiar voice filtered across the room.

"Hello, Xavier, Quinn. Miss me?"

Quinn, as happy as she was, felt ice slide down her spine. Guess a desperate psychopath wasn't too far off from the person who'd just broken into their motel room.

Eva watched Xavier's eyes dart to the gun on the nightstand, and she smiled, waving her finger as if she were talking to a child. "Now, now, Xavier. I'm only here to have a little chat, no need for violence," she cooed.

"H-how-" Xavier paused, and he swallowed roughly, "I thought you would be busy with Forbes and his wife. I was going to call you when we got settled so you can-

"Save it," she interrupted. "I already know you were planning on getting to LA and vanishing off the face of the Earth. Though I imagine you can't disappear too much considering Quinn is legally disabled. No offense."

"None taken," Quinn sighed.

"Come on, Eva. I would never just up and leave without telling you where I'm going," he said.

"You literally left Lima without saying anything. The only reason I knew you were gone was because I watched the hospital footage and we followed your car all the way out of town until you hopped on the highway."

Xavier winced and said, "I didn't want to distract you from Forbes. I figured you'd want to keep as many people off his radar as possible."

Eva lifted her left leg and wiggled it a bit. "Now try and pull the other one," she deadpanned.

"What?"

"Come on, Xavier. Drop the act. Stop trying to prove to me that you're the same guy that used to carry me around on his shoulders when I was younger. Stop trying to make it seem like you're still that crazy ass godfather who always gave me money and candy in exchange for keeping your pranks a secret. You ran because you were selfish. You were afraid Forbes wouldn't keep up his end of the deal, so you panicked. You kidnapped Quinn and tried to make a run for it, hoping that I would be so caught up with Marisol and Forbes that I wouldn't realize that you were gone. Well, guess what, I noticed!"

"Eva-

"No! You don't get to try and wiggle your way out of this. You don't get to talk your way into forgiveness this time because I am DONE with you. You are the worst type of person, and I am not surprised that Papa cut you out of our lives. Hell, had he not been murdered, I'm pretty sure he would've snapped your neck the moment he found out what you liked to do in your spare time!"

Quinn's head snapped up at that, and Eva clenched her jaw. She nudged Noah, who quickly walked across the carpet and bent down by Quinn. The girl jumped at first, but Noah told her it was him, and she relaxed. Noah took that as a sign to continue and picked Quinn off the bed.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Quinn asked.

"Trust me when I say that you'll be safer off in the car with Noah and Jake," Eva said quietly.

"Am I missing something?"

"Quinn, if you can't trust Eva, then trust me," Santana said. "Let Noah and Jake take you down to the car, and they'll explain everything."

Quinn made a face and reluctantly nodded. Noah carefully carried her out of the room, Jake right behind them, and Taylor closed the door after they'd gone. When it was just the four of them in the room, Xavier's entire mood changed.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"I already lost her once, I will not lose her again," he said darkly.

"It's too late for that. Right now, my friends are telling her exactly what kind of man you are with the proof to go along with it."

"And what kind of man is that?"

"The kind that'll make a deal with the Devil to save himself, not his daughter, and make sure his reputation stays intact as a good man who got dealt a bad hand."

Xavier folded his arms and said, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Eva stared hard at the man that she thought would be the man to step up and take the place of the two men she'd lost, but she was wrong. He was nothing to her. No matter how much it hurt to hear it, Eva was glad she saw that tape and glad she saw the real him before it got too late.

"I heard what you admitted to Forbes that day in the kitchen," she said softly.

Xavier's face hardened. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

Eva shrugged. "Whether you do or don't, I know what was said. Everything beyond that is ancient history."

"Ancient history?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Doesn't matter," she said dismissively.

"So, what, you here to kill me or something?" he snorted.

Eva straightened at his tone and said, "No, I am not here to kill you. I came here for Quinn, and I wanted to see you face to face, so you will know that I know who you are. I will make peace with that my own way."

Xavier looked at her suspiciously. "So, you're only here for Quinn? That's it?" he asked.

Eva smiled and said, "Yes, I am only here for Quinn. She needs to be with people who love her and want the best for her." She turned and unlocked the door, opening it wide enough to slip out. She then looked over her shoulder and added, "However, I cannot say the same for my fiancée. I might not be here to kill you, but her reasons for coming might be a little different from mine."

Eva walked out of the motel room and made her way to the car, replacing her sunglasses as she skipped down the stairs.

Santana waited until the door closed before she walked over to the nightstand and picked up the gun that Xavier was itching to grab. She passed it to Taylor and told him to hold on to it, that it might come in handy later on down the line. Taylor smirked and let it hang loosely by his side, tapping it against his leg as Xavier watched the two of them warily. Santana faced the man standing on the far side of the room, his eyes darting across the room, looking for an exit, but they all knew the only way out was through the front door. She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for him to come to that realization.

"You won't kill me," he eventually said. "You're not the type."

"Oh? Mighty strong tune change from the one you had in Lima about me. I'm more like Eva than you want to admit. And yes, Xavier, I am going to kill you. I desire to prolong your pain, but I have a flight I cannot miss, and I will not waste time with the back and forth. So, if you don't mind, get on your knees."

"What are you going to do? Shoot me?"

"No."

Xavier frowned. "You're going to try and kill me with your bare hands?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Not even close."

"Then what-

Santana thrust out her arm, and a blade flew from inside of her sleeve. It lodged in his throat, and he dropped to his knees.

"Would've been a lot easier for us both if you had simply done that the first time," she muttered.

Xavier grasped at his neck, trying to remove the blade, but Santana clicked her tongue against her teeth.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. That blade is pretty much embedded in your artery. You take it out, you bleed to death," she said.

He made a gurgling sound, and Santana leisurely strolled across the room. She ripped open Xavier's shirt, pushing him on his back, and then shook out her other sleeve and let the other blade fall into her hand. Twirling the knife between her fingers, Santana then straddled the man's thighs, rising up so that she wasn't entirely on top of him, and bent down. Letter by letter, Santana took great pleasure in her work. She was reminded of her sister with each carving and kept her tears at bay. Reagan would've loved to get her hands on Xavier, but since she was no longer with him, Santana was all too happy to honor her sister the best way she could.

When she finished, Santana rose to her feet and stared at her work, tapping the hilt of the blade against her chin.

"Come here, please," she said to Taylor. "Is it missing something?"

Taylor crossed the room, and she heard his intake of breath.

"Holy shit. That's going to definitely get their attention."

"Focus. Anything missing?"

Taylor shrugged. "Eva would cut off his dick and put it in his mouth," he said.

"I'm not Eva, but the idea has merit. Do you want to-

"Yeah, no, I'm standing outside for that one."

Santana snickered and bent back down as Taylor left the room. The entire process was short, no pun intended, and Santana took no time being gentle about it. Xavier had passed out halfway through her carving on his chest. But he definitely woke up when that blade began its motions. Santana wiped her hands on her pants and removed the knife that was in Xavier's throat. Blood poured out of the wound, and the entire scene was surreal. She pulled out her phone, snapped a picture, and left the room. Taylor glanced at her with a greenish tint, and Santana laughed.

"You wanna see?" she teased.

"Hell no. Can we go now? That manager won't be out for long."

"Spoilsport," Santana pouted.

Taylor rolled his eyes and pointed to the car. "Move it, woman," he said.

Santana laughed and practically ran down the stairs with Taylor hot on her heels.

Eva crossed her legs and watched Santana help Quinn across the shore. Noah and Jake were already in the waves, tossing a football around, and Taylor was in the cabana grilling the fish they'd caught earlier that morning. She grinned when the sun caught light off her ring and had no problems remembering both her wedding and wedding night. They forewent the honeymoon, considering the one place they would visit was the place they called home, and they spent that time with their family. Noah had found himself a woman, Jake a man, and Taylor was content nurturing the small fire he'd started with Quinn. They were both damaged, broken, and trusted only a handful of people, but Eva had hope for them. She felt her phone ding and looked down, seeing a message from her favorite police officer. Over time, Forbes had come to view the world without his rose-colored glasses and had found a way to contact Eva through the Dark Web. She wasn't too connected on the site, but Jake made sure her name stayed out of constant chatter, so when she found it, Eva decided to bite the bullet and see what he wanted. After making sure he wasn't trying to set her up, they started a tentative business venture that left them both agreeing to a full-time partnership.

Cold Case officially closed. Police found no leads. Can't imagine who would do such a thing. Can you?

Eva's laughter bubbled from her chest as she saw the article. One year and they still had no leads. How ironic, but Eva was positive the police weren't actively looking for the killer. After all, Santana's artwork told them all they needed to know. Eva typed back a message and sent a picture to Forbes's private phone.

Well, you do have a limited imagination. So, here's a little insight into your query, Lieutenant Forbes.

Attached was an image of Xavier, shirt ripped open with the words: 'CHILD LOVER' carved into his chest with a not-so-small present protruding from his mouth and a gaping hole in his neck.

Eva reclined back in her chair, took a sip of her drink, and chuckled to herself. Sure, she missed Sam and the others, more and more every day, but she knew they were looking down at her with the same exasperated smiles they wore when they were alive.

And that was enough for her.

For now, at least.