Working with Gibbs (a NCIS story)

Chapter 45: Enter Paloma Reynosa

-a few days later-
Grace had quickly figured out that when it came to stubbornness, like father like son.  Thankfully, Jackson had taken fairly quickly to her and the kids.  She was sitting in the room with them when Gibbs got a call.
"Yea, Gibbs...where?...send me the address." Then he hung up the phone.
"What's wrong?" Grace asked.
"They have a lead" he replied, getting his jacket on. 
"Where are we going?" She asked, and he looked at her like she was crazy.
"Nice try...I'm going, but you're staying here.  I've almost lost you too many times to take the risk now."
"Fine...just be careful, alright?"
"I will.  I'll call you when it's safe." He told her, and she nodded in reply.  He kissed her quickly before turning to the kids and Jackson, saying goodbye to them before heading out the door. 
"Don't worry, Leroy knows what he's doing..." Jackson said from his spot on the couch. 
"I hope you're right..." she replied with a sigh before getting back in the floor with her kids. 
-a day or two later-
The lead turned out to be a dead end, and Gibbs was about to head back when he got a call from an unknown number.
"Yeah, Gibbs"
"Hello, agent Gibbs.  I hope you remember my voice from when I called your wonderful wife a few days ago"
"How could I forget, Alejandro? What do you want?"
"It's quite simple, really.  I want revenge - no, that's too strong a word.  Justice."
"And how exactly are you going to get it?"
"I must warn you, I have a sibling who is just as eager to get justice as I am.  Keep that in mind.  That's all for now, agent Gibbs.  Oh, by the way, I had a question - your father...his store is in Stillwater, yes?" Then the line went dead.  He hurried to gather his things and went out the door as quick as he could.
-meanwhile-
Grace had just put the kids down for a nap and came back downstairs to see Jackson standing at the opposing end of a woman holding a gun. 
"Jackson? What's going on, and who is this woman?"
"Grace, get back.  My son would kill me if you got hurt." Realization shone in the eyes of the mystery woman.
"So you're the wife of agent Gibbs.  Just the person I wanted to see."
"What do you want with me?" She asked.
"May name is Paloma Reynosa.  I know that name doesn't ring a bell to you...maybe my brother's name will - Alejandro Rivera" Grace paled in response.  She reached for her gun that was in her hip holster. 
"Now everything makes sense...the lead, if that's even what it was, was to separate Gibbs and I...well, you should know I'm not a defenseless woman."
"No, you're not, and I'll give you points for that.  However, I do know your weakness.  Your children are upstairs, yes?" Paloma asked, starting towards the stairs.
"You take one more step that way, you'll be dead before you even hit the ground" she replied, teeth gritting.  Paloma turned around.
"Alright, then.  I guess you'll have to do."
-about 2 hours later-
Gibbs finally made it back, but saw the windows shattered and feared the worst.  He ran in the door, but didn't see anybody.
"Dad? Grace? Kids?" He called.
"Jethro!" He knew that voice. 
"Keep talking, I'm here.  Where are you?"
"Behind the counter" came the reply.  He went behind the counter, and sure enough, there she was.  "You're dad is upstairs with the kids, he's okay too." She added as he helped her up.  It was then that he noticed her arm.
"You're bleeding.  What happened?"
"This woman came, said she was Alejandro's brother...she started to head upstairs towards the kids' room and I told her I'd kill her if she took another step.  Then, she turned and started shooting at us.  Jackson grabbed the rifle from up above that shelf and fired back, but she ran off.  One of the shots she fired must have grazed my arm" 
"Come on, lets get you cleaned up." She nodded silently in reply as he helped her up the stairs.