Only his sense of duty had him coming to Sofia's place once more to rescue her from Rafe.  The first time he had done so was in answer to a call from dispatch about a violent domestic dispute having taken place at Sofia's residence.  He and his partner at the time, Tabitha, had arrived on the scene...never knowing Rafe was nearby.  Sofia's husband had beaten her so severely that Vince had carried her away, and taken her to the hospital in his own car.  Of course, he had warned Ana directly afterwards of what had happened...his beautiful wife, and then he had gone out looking for Rafe.  He had been furious with what had happened to Sofia, but that was nothing compared to what came next.  To this day...it still haunted him with every single bit of clarity as if it had just happened seconds ago.  It was even worse when he was asleep.  For even while he was out looking for Rafe; the bastard had come back to the Montgomery home and savagely raped and murdered his precious sweet wife.  The scene when he came home was burnt into his very soul...he would never forget that wretched tragic night.<br/><br/>And, he had never forgiven Sofia for it all.  Oh, it wasn't like she had done these things to Ana - her own sister.  It wasn't like she had encouraged Rafe to rape and murder Vince's wife.  Yet, the sheer connection she had to it all, and the fact that she had married someone like Rafe did nothing to help Vince forgive her.  If he hadn't been helping her...if she had never married the bastard...if he hadn't been out trying to catch Rafe for her...Ana would have been safe...would still be alive and untouched.<br/><br/>If, however, never solved anything in the past.<br/><br/>Vince made his way up the stairs...hyper alert and almost begging for Rafe to show himself.  After all, if he did, then Vince could finish the ghastly affair, and he wouldn't have to take Sofia anywhere.  Yet, his instincts told him Rafe was nowhere around.  No doubt finding his ex armed had put Rafe a bit scared for the moment, but Vince knew it would not last.  His training...both as a detective and from his parents...refused to let him leave.  Sofia was a human being, and she needed his help.  No matter what had happened in the past...she needed him, and Ana would never forgive him if he let something happen to her sister.  Thus, despite the savage war going on inside his mind and heart; Vince found himself at the door and knocking.<br/><br/>He hadn't seen her in a long time, and gulped hard after announcing, "Sofia, open up!"<br/><br/>Naturally, he was armed with his Beretta neatly holstered away under his blue blazer which went well with the comfortable black work slacks he wore.  When the call had come in - he had been on his way home from the police department.  As such, his short wavy black hair was a bit of a mess, and he was still keyed up from the cases he had been working.<br/><br/>What would she say?  What would Sofia do when she saw him?  He knew she blamed him for the death of her sister - almost as much as he blamed her.  It was an intolerable situation, but he stood his ground waiting for her to open the door.  She had called him.  Would she now pretend not to be home just so she could avoid seeing him again?  No...no, he knew she would answer.  Rafe scared the hell out of her.  She needed protection, and he was really her only option.  Even the Captain had accepted this idea rather quickly, and it wasn't like the department had a lot of manpower to spare.<br/><br/>When she did not answer immediately; Vince began to wonder if his instincts were wrong.  Perhaps Rafe had returned after all, and decided to finish the job.  Perhaps he already had.  It was likely Sofia was dead already, and likely as bad or worse than what had happened to Ana.  He gulped hard again, and forced himself to remain calm.  Breaking down the door after only one attempt of knocking was over reacting.  Taking a deep breath; Vince knocked again...waiting as patiently as he could for Sofia to open the door.  All the while, he could have sworn his beloved wife was looking down from Heaven...watching as he went once more to her sister's rescue.  Did she blame her as he did?  Or did his wife blame him for not being there?  Had she called out his name...begging him to show up...begging for his protection as he so often had nightmares about?  Vince blinked away the tears that were trying to form, and sternly shook his thoughts into order.  Now was not the time for this.  Sofia needed him...even if it was the last place he wanted to be.