Ransom

Liam paced his office slowly, a cigarette clung to his bottom lip. He had resulted back to smoking ever since Nicole and Ashlee disappeared from his sight. He couldn't stand to look at himself in the mirror. He had dark circles forming under his eyes from the lack of sleep. His hair had grown greasy to the extreme from the small amount of showers he had taken. Liam was a mess, but he would never admit to it. He beat himself up for letting Ashlee get taken away from him. Knowing Nicole had disappeared from his sight as well only fueled the never ending fire.

He sat down at the computer desk and started to type at the keyboard. He knew that Rev had a bad reputation and it made him sick to his stomach. He hadn't eaten in days - he couldn't afford to vomit anymore bial from his stomach. His throat burned from the acids that worked their way up his throat, but he dealt with it. He knew he needed to find Ashlee and Nicole, especially since he didn't know where half of his life savings went. The money and worst of all, his family, was gone. His eyes grew heavy as he worked throughout the night.

He couldn't help but rest his head for a moment. He had been lacking on sleep for the past few nights, which only lead to his delerium and sickness. He didn't know how to work with himself anymore. He couldn't keep anything down. He couldn't focus right on his work. He was expected not to work his own case, but what did his collegues expect of him? Liam let his head rest against his hands as he let out a quiet sigh. It seemed that sleep was slowly overcoming him. He knew if he could catch a few minutes, he'd be up and willing once again to find his girls.

Liam dragged his feet through his hallways, passing Ashlee's room in a matter of seconds. He stopped at the open door, eyeing down the yellow caution tape and tags that signaled a crime scene. He wiped his tired eyes as he went to pass, but stopped dead in his tracks as something caught his eye. He peeked into Ashlee's bedroom and felt a knot grow in the pit of his stomach. Tiny fingers peeked out from behind the half shut door and he slowly walked into the room. He gasped at the sight, pressing a hand to his mouth in the process.

Both Nicole and Ashlee lied sprawled out along the floors, their limbs hanging off the sides in odd directions. Blood spewed dangerously from open wounds as Liam dropped to his knees. He reached his hand out to touch his girls, but his shaky hand never touched their cold, dead skin. He swallowed hard as tears formed quickly in his eyes. He fell forward slightly, allowing his trembling hand to come in contact with Ashlee's pale, frozen skin. He let out a loud moan of distress as he pulled Ashlee into his arms. The warm blood that coated along her side smeared against his shirtless body.

"Ashlee,"He buried his head into her chest, whimpering and crying loudly.

His three year old little girl lie lifeless in his toned arms. He knew, with the amount of blood on the floor, that they were not able to be saved.

"Ashlee,"He moaned."Nicole!"

He reached for his limp wife, tugging roughly on her upper arm. With a heavy heave, he pulled Nicole upright and into his right arm. He rocked them back forth, whispering his apologies into their ears. He felt so helpless, knowing that he was unable to save his family. His life. As his sobs echoed into the bedroom, soft footsteps followed after them. He never turned to look. He couldn't bare to turn away from the family he couldn't save. He couldn't bare to see this person's face as they looked down at the two corpses in his arms. He was unable.

The footsteps stopped behind him, but he continued to cry and sob into his baby girls. It was when a cold, thick metal was pressed to the back of his head that he tried to calm himself. He didn't turn away as an evil, vile laughter filled the room. He knew this laugh very well, but at the moment, he couldn't place it. He lifted his head, the barrel of this gun following his every move. In a quiet, almost absolete voice, whispered, "Why?"

"Money."Liam turned his head as far as he could, finding Matt's cold, hazel eyes starring down at him."I win."

Liam woke up quickly, tossing his keyboard off the desk in the process. His heart beat fiercely against his chest as he tried to catch his breath. He looked around the room with frantic eyes before realizing that it was just a dream. Ashlee and Nicole weren't home in a bloody mess. They were still gone. But as far as he knew, they had a possibility of being safe. Liam stood from his chair and kicked it under the desk, allowing it to hit and plop to it's side on the floor. He growled lowly before running warm hands through his thick brown hair. He had to leave.

Liam walked out of the station, lighting another cigarette in the process. He made his way to his car and yanked the keys from his pocket. When he got in and started it up, he stopped for a moment upon hearing static. He froze as his walky began going off, but it wasn't Matt. Matt. He thought back on his dream and shook his head. He would be crazy to think Matt had set up his family. He turned his attention back to the walky and let in a shaky breath. The voice sounded like a distressed woman. With fumbling hands, he pulled it from it's spot in the center console.

"Hello?!"He called."Hello, can you hear me?!"

His first thought was Nicole.

"Hello, is anyone there?"The voice was slightly raspy - this was not Nicole.

"This is Detective Connor. Are you in need of help?"He swallowed hard, finding his last bit of hope fade.

"Liam!"He choked on his breath as he put the voice to a face."Liam! I need your help."

It was Valary.