"Move, move, move," Voight ordered the unit, who responded swiftly, eager to take Diaz and his crew down.

xx

Back inside the living room of the flophouse, Burgess stood under the heat of Diaz's glare; his dark, soulless eyes were penetrating and unnerving. She knew if Diaz found the hidden wire in her tank top, he would snap her neck without a second thought.

"You know what, I say we could get started right now," Diaz started to undue his belt and Burgess instinctively stepped back, but Diaz was quick to pull her back to him.

"S-sure baby, you gotta condom?"

Burgess barely finished saying the word before the front door was kicked open with a loud slam leaving the door hanging by its hinges as the unit made their way into the house. A series of Loud shouts filled the room and before Burgess could move out of harms way Diaz jerked her hard by the neck causing her to yelp in pain. Ruzek tried to ignore the twinge in his gut as Burgess' fingers started to pry at the arm pressed against her throat.

xxx

"Let her go, Diaz," Olinsky shouted with his gun raised to Diaz forehead, his finger on the trigger.

"Fuck you cop."

"You have nowhere to go, Diaz, let her go," Dawson yelled as Diaz started dragging Burgess backwards into the dining room. Olinsky, Dawson and Ruzek pushed forward, not backing down.

"Whatcha you gonna do arrest me?" Diaz let out a sinister laugh. A whimper escaped Burgess as Diaz squeezed her harder, lifting her off the floor, her feet dangling helplessly.

Ruzek tightened the grip on his glock struggling to keep his emotions in check. "I swear to God, I will shoot you," Ruzek warned, and he had never been more certain of anything in his entire life, seeing the fear and terror in Burgess' teary eyes.

xx

Once the team entered the dining room, Halstead took the opportunity to clear the back of the house and more importantly, find Lindsay. A terrible feeling lingered in his gut. They waited too long raid the house, a lot could have happened. A lot could have went wrong. The long hallway was dark, but Halstead threw caution to the wind, he quickened his pace, seeing light from underneath the doorway.

With his back against the wall, just outside the doorway he nudged the door open slightly, not sure what or who was behind it. Seeing a glimpse of auburn hair, Halstead rushed into the bathroom. Lindsay was leaning against the side of the bathtub for support, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection.

"Erin, are you shot?" Halstead knelt on the floor in front of her, his hand still gripping his weapon.

"No, I will live just go get Lupo. He went out the window. Halstead glanced out the open window, then back and Lindsay. He gently brushed the hair away that had been shielding her face and cringed at the sight of her swollen cheek and bloodied lip. He was torn between his duty and the woman he cared about. He didn't want to leave her, but he wanted to get his hands on the monster that hurt her.

Lindsay could easily see the internal struggle in his blue eyes. A faint smile found her lips. "I'm alright, I promise. Go find Lupo," She hissed in pain, every word hurting more than the other, "Damn that hurts, fuck," She groaned, holding onto her broken ribs.

"No, I'm staying with you. Do you think you can stand up or do you need me to carry you?"

Lindsay snapped, "No you aren't. Go get him. Go get Lupo."

"You're in bad shape Lindz, I'm not leaving you here in this place."

"Jay look at me," Lindsay said softly as their eyes met. She could see the guilt weighing heavily in his eyes; he blamed himself. She reached out slowly and ran a finger down his scruffy cheek, wanting to take his guilt away. "If we don't catch him all of this-all of this will be for nothing."

Halstead let his head fall for a moment and took a deep breath. He knew Lindsay was right. This was bigger than either of them. Diaz and Lupo needed off the streets. He sighed again and hopped to his feet. "You are damn stubborn, you know that," He said before crawling out the window.

She waved him off and quickly regretted the movement. "Yes, yes, go. Be careful."

With a new found purpose, Halstead dropped from the windowsill into the snow-covered alley. He took off running at full speed following the footprints in the snow with his gun in hand. He hated to leave Lindsay behind but he needed to capture Lupo and make him regret he ever touched her.

Halstead radioed before entering the back yard of the abandoned house, Lupo in the distance. "Lindsay is in the hallway bathroom, in need of assistance. I'm in the pursuit of Lupo would fled out an East side window."

xx

Back in down the hallway in the dining room the standoff with Diaz continued.

"Let the girl go and put your hands up, now!" Dawson yelled.

"I'm not goin' back to prison, not this time," Diaz shouted clearly afraid. In a moment of desperation, Diaz snatched a butcher knife off the kitchen counter and pressing the shiny blade against Burgess' throat.

Ruzek took a firm step forward, and Olinsky stepped in front of him keeping him from doing anything rash. "Go willingly or in a body bag, you're choice. Don't make us choose for you," Ruzek said eerily calm, his body was vibrating with rage.

"I'll fuckin' kill this bitch, I'll do it."

"Whoa, whoa," Olinsky shouted, more to Ruzek than Diaz. "Ok Diaz, how about we make a deal. What is it do you want? You are in control here, tell us what you want."

"I wanna walk out of this place! No cops or I swear to God, I will kill her!"

"How about you put the knife down or I'll blow your fucking brains out," Voight suddenly appeared in a doorway behind Diaz. He pressed the steel barrel of his gun into the base of Diaz skull. He was done playing games, there wouldn't be any negotiations. Diaz realized he was cornered.

He cursed under his breath and the butcher knife clattered against the tile floor.

Once free from Diaz' murderous grasp, Burgess darted directly into the safety of Ruzek's arms. Ruzek held her trembling body tightly against his chest and kissed her hair. His eyes never left Diaz as Voight and Olinsky secured him in handcuffs. Ruzek and Diaz were caught in a deadly stare. Ruzek would have killed him. There was no doubt. Burgess burrowed her face into Ruzek's chest and sobbed uncontrollably.

"You're safe, you're safe," Ruzek whispered as they clung to each other.

"Get me the hell out of this damn house, please."

xx

"Lindsay. In hallway bathroom, in need of assistance. I'm in the pursuit of Lupo would fled on foot out an East side window."

Voight heard Halstead's urgent call for assistance over the radio.

"Halstead fall back and wait for back up," Voight radioed in and made way down the hallway of the abandoned house, "I repeat, fall back, that is an order." Nothing but static on the other line.

Voight entered the bathroom to find Lindsay still on the floor. He noticed her bruised cheek and bloodied lip and balled his fists until they turned white. Lindsay had managed to lift herself off the filthy tile floor onto the edge of the bathtub. It took every bit of strength she had, but the disgusting floor proved to be enough motivation.

"Burgess alright?" Lindsay refused look at him so he could see the depth of pain she was in, "She's safe, let me take a look at you."

"I'm fine don't worry about it, it's nothing."

"I said let me take a look," He tipped her chin up to get a closer look at the purplish-blue bruise forming along her cheek, "Doesn't look like anything is broken, but it will be colorful tomorrow."

"Tell that to my ribs-ow, and Diaz?" Lindsay choked, trying not to breathe too deeply.

Voight reached out to steady her as she struggled to her feet.

"He's in custody. Halstead took off after Lupo."

"I hope that he-" She paused, struggling to breath, "catches that asshole."

"I'll radio in a bus, get you checked out."

"No, no, I don't need a damn bus," She said hastily and hissed again from the sharp pain. The last thing she wanted was to end this night in a hospital bed. She despised hospitals. "I need pain meds...and possibly...a shot of tequila...maybe two."

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Voight ushered her by the elbow afraid to touch her injured frame. They walked together through the living room, now swarming with police officers as they contained the scene. Olinsky stopped in this tracks when he saw Voight helping Lindsay walk. Apparently, she looked worse than she thought.

"You alright kiddo?" He asked her but looked to Voight with concern in his eyes.

"She will be sore tomorrow, but she will ok." Voight answered and Lindsay groaned with every move they made. She felt instant relief as the fresh cold air hit her skin. Just being free of the cramped stale air of the musty abandon house made her feel better.

"Any word from Halstead?" Lindsay asked as they continued down the sidewalk of the house.

"Antonio and Atwater are with him, they are still trying to find Lupo. He took off out the back, he could be hiding out in any of these abandoned houses on the block."

"Call of the search, Hank."

Voight narrowed his eyes questioningly at her.

"They are only going after him because of what happened to me and Burgess. Make them come back. It's pointless, he's long gone."

Voight knew she was right. Finding Lupo in the darkness was a hopeless cause, there were too many variables. Besides, a criminal like Lupo would be able to disappear in no time. But the guys would not end their pursuit so easily after what Lupo and his crew subjected Lindsay and Burgess too. Especially, Halstead who was bound and determined to get his hands on Lupo.

xx

Voight only nodded and opened the door to his dodge. "Stay in here and warm up," Voight told her firmly before closing the car door. This time Lindsay did not argue with him. Her entire body shivered and welcomed the warm air blowing on her freezing bare legs and skinned up knees. She watched the unit from afar as they moved about the scene. Some were still circled in front of the house while others continued to gather evidence from the house.

Her eyes darted from face to face searching for Halstead in the crowd. It had been awhile and Lindsay was growing anxious, wanting to see his face, to know that he was alright. She imagined what Halstead would do to Lupo if he caught him. Lindsay couldn't wait to get her hands on Lupo, herself. But she did not want Halstead to travel down that road, he wasn't Voight.

Now that her adrenaline was beginning to taper off, her teeth began to chatter from the frigid winter air and excruciating pain throughout her body. She rubbed her shaky hands together for warmth. She glanced in the backseat and spotted Halstead's black leather hooded jacket. Careful not overexert herself, she reached for the soft leather in the backseat.

While holding one arm tightly over her broken ribs, she slipped into Halstead's leather hooded jacket with the other. She relished in the soft fleece against her bare skin, the mixture of Halstead's cologne and leather completely engulfing her senses. She closed hers eyes and wrapped her arms around her midsection, trying to keep herself together and her body from shaking.

The vivid images of Lupo flashed before her eyes; the way he painfully groped her, pushed her, and kicked her repeatedly while she was defenseless. It brought up old memories from her childhood that she fought hard to forget.

Warm tears threatened to burn her eyes, and Lindsay burrowed deeper into the comfort of Halstead's jacket. This was not the time or the place to cry. If Voight caught her, he would make a big deal out of it, and she didn't need that.

She closed her eyes tighter and imagined Halstead taking her bruised and battered body into the comfort of his arms. But the thought only made her heart ache and tears quickly filled her eyes. She gripped his jacket tighter around herself, and welcomed the pain the movement caused. She felt completely vulnerable and could not deny how desperately she wanted him-needed him to hold her, and tell her she was safe. Especially, now.

Tears spilled over her lashes and she quickly wiped them away. What she wanted-what she needed from Halstead was not reality. They were keeping in professional after all. They had too; a relationship in this profession would cloud their judgment, and could ultimately get someone killed. Tonight proved that; when Halstead refused to leave her side. She raised her chin defiantly, burrowing the emotions deep down, with all the rest of her feelings she could not deal with.

xx