Well, I've been away for a while but I thought I would get my feet wet and have another go at a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys story. For the past two years I've been over in the Supernatural fandom but I've never forgotten where I got my start with writing. It really helped my decision to write another ND/HB because of all the new people coming along to read my old work. It really flattered me that people are still reading my stuff when I was sure I was long forgotten.

But enough about that.

This story takes place with Nancy and Frank being 23 and married while Joe is 22. I'm not sure how deep to really explain it because I don't want to give anything away. If you have read my work before then you know what I do—give you insight into the criminal mind, as well the core characters. Everyone has a story to tell and I try to give it to you from all sides.

I will update but it won't be as quick as I'd like it to be. Along with my job, I also have responsibilities with a couple of Supernatural websites, a virtual season I write for and other writing projects I've committed to.

I'm really hoping you guys will enjoy this and please tell me what you think, good or bad. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask because I'll be more than happy to answer them as long as I don't give anything away with the story.

This chapter is not beta'd so any mistakes are my own. As for a warning—there is language in this story. Let's be realistic after all—it happens every day.

Oh, and that pesky little disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I create.

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Penny Blake wondered why she even put up with it some nights.

The twenty-three year old, titian haired woman should have had a career by now—a great paying one as a matter of fact. Instead, she'd opted to drop out of college and for what? Empty promises from a man who promised her that he would love her and take care of her for the rest of her life?

Amazing how that only lasted for about two months. Yep, Gavin left her behind in a cloud of dust but not before draining her bank account and leaving her life in shambles. Any sensible person would have realized he was a loser from the beginning—lord knows she had many of her friends telling her she should have never gotten involved with him. Apparently, he'd had a reputation around campus and Penny was dumb enough to fall for him.

Now fast forward six months later.

Penny couldn't get back into college—she'd lost every bit of her scholarship with her decision to drop out. The worst part of it was that she only had a year left before she could graduate with her business degree. Now, the young woman was stuck working the late shift as a bartender at Joey's Sports Bar and Grill, a local favorite hangout for anyone who loved sports.

Normally, it wasn't so bad—the gig paid well, not to mention all the tips she earned. But tonight was shaping up to be a different story. The natives were a little more restless than usual, not even the constant flow of alcohol or variety of games on the ten plasma screen televisions throughout the establishment. It amazed her how sports could rile up any guy and winning only seemed to make them act crazier. She was being beckoned from every direction and Penny was doing everything possible to keep from going postal.

Billy is so going to hear about this for calling in sick at the very last minute.

"Hey, am I gonna get any service down here or what?" One of the patrons slurred, slamming his empty beer bottle down on the counter.

Penny rolled her eyes at the pot-bellied, slightly balding man dressed in a Chicago Cubs jersey as she made her way down to him. "Don't you think you've had enough for tonight?" She had to shout to be heard over the sudden commotion as a run was scored.

Pot-belly smiled drunkenly. "You hear that? The boys are winning! We're celebratin'."

"I think you've done enough celebrating for the entire crowd."

That wasn't a lie. Penny had lost count of the number of beers he'd had tonight. Joey frowned upon his bartenders cutting off his patrons but Penny didn't agree with that. Not that she was too concerned about morons drinking themselves into a stupor—if they wanted to do that to themselves, then so be it. But she wasn't about to allow them to go out and cause harm to an innocent person.

"Are you seriously cutting me off?"

"I seriously am," Penny said. "Now, if it's a club soda or a strong cup of coffee you want, then I'm your girl."

Walking off, the young woman went to help another patron who was signaling her. Before she could take two steps away, Pot-belly walked behind the counter and grabbed her arm, pulling her against him.

"I can think of another way you could sober me up," he replied, smiling suggestively.

"Get off of me," Penny said, pushing against the man, but somehow in his drunken state he managed to retain his grip.

"Come on, baby—why don't you loosen up a bit?"

"I said let go!" Penny brought her knee up, nailing the guy in his genitals. He let go of her instantly, bending over in pain as he tried to catch his breath.

"You stupid bitch!" He roared, reaching out to grab her again. Before he could do it though, she reared back and clocked him in the jaw. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground and the customers sitting at the bar began to cheer, their attention now off of the baseball game.

"Penny, what the hell is going on out here?" Joey demanded, pushing through the crowd to get to her.

"Joey, she totally clocked that old dude!" One of the younger patrons said, laughing with his buddies.

"You what?" Joey asked, turning from the men to look at her.

Penny shrugged. "He violated the rules, Joey. I told you I won't have them coming back here. This is my territory."

The owner leaned down next to the man and felt for a pulse. "I doubt he felt a damn thing when you knocked him out." He stood up and nodded at a couple of men around the bar. "We'll let him sleep it off for now. Why don't you take the rest of the night off?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You just assaulted a customer—"

"Who grabbed me first."

"—And you're wiped out. Go get some sleep, Penny," Joey said calmly. "I'll still pay you for the rest of your shift."

Penny sighed but grabbed her purse and jacket from under the bar. "Fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Penny said as she walked out the door and into the cool April night.

Joey was right—she needed to get away and clear her mind. Right now she wanted nothing more than to get back to her apartment and clean. It was the one thing she could do that she could actually have some amount of control over. Even when she was a kid and she was mad about something, she would clean like there was no tomorrow.

Mom never complained…it saved her a lot of work in the end.

Pulling her fleece jacket tighter around her body, Penny kept her head down as she walked the desolate Chicago sidewalk. While she normally would have taken a cab the ten blocks to her complex, tonight she figured the walk would help ease some of her anger. It wasn't too cold out—only the wind seemed to make the temperature lower than it actually was.

So what do you do, Penny? Do you stay here and waste away your life but maintain that independence you craved when you were growing up? Or do you go back home to a smothering mother who won't so much as let you breathe without her knowing?

"I really don't see where either is giving me too good of an option there," she muttered and then cringed as she realized she was answering the voice in her head.

Yep, definitely not crazy there, kiddo.

What she really needed was a break from her life—if nothing else than a weekend away from it all. And she really didn't have to have a plan. All she needed to do was hop in her car and just drive all day—where ever she stopped for the night would be her destination.

I'm sure Joey would let me have a long weekend if I asked. It's not like I've ever requested a day off before and after tonight, I think he'd practically push me out the door.

"That settles it then. I'll call tomorrow and get the ball rolling…"

So lost in her thoughts, Penny didn't pay attention as the outline of a shadow crept up behind her. The wind and usual city night sounds masked any footsteps that may have alerted her to any potential danger.

What the young woman did notice was the hand that thrust out, covering her mouth. Her blue eyes widened in shock and she tried screaming as the figure pulled her into an alleyway, hoping someone would come to her defense. The only thing she could think of was that it was the drunken guy coming to finish what she started in the bar. But that couldn't be—he was still KO'd back at Joey's and would be for a while.

As the stranger's hand rose above her, a nearby streetlamp caught the glint of metal and Penny panicked as she saw that it was a knife. Oh, God…oh, no no no! Someone please help me!

Her prayers went unanswered was the blade was thrust down and into her heart. Penny convulsed once before the mysterious assailant dropped her to the ground in a heap. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a single pink rose, dropping it beside the dead girl.