By the time he arrived at his sister’s apartment, Tim’s despair had turned into pure rage. Someone was threatening to take away his loved ones; he was not going to allow that. Nevertheless, he could not fool himself into thinking that he was about to undertake something even more difficult than the Bradford’s house burglary. He had no clue about how many men he would go up against; Laura was likely to have quite a few people working for her. Furthermore, he had no idea where she was keeping them. More importantly, however, Tim had never fired a gun in his whole life. His hatred of firearms was one of the main reasons why he had chosen to become a burglar, instead of a bank robber.

Caitlin’s feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A male voice echoed in the hallway. The man who walked through the door looked vaguely familiar.

“Good Evening,” she chirped, joining him in the living room. “Tim, let me introduce you to my boyfriend, David Evans. David, this is my brother, Tim.”

“Nice to meet you,” David said, with a polite smile on his face, as he offered his hand for a handshake.

“Likewise,” Tim mumbled, keeping his gaze locked on the floor.

“Caitlin…” David laughed. “Are you sure this is your brother? That’s not how you’ve described him to me.”

“What?” Tim asked, as his gaze shot up to meet his.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, ok?” David smiled up at him. “It’s just that Caitlin said that you’re…”

“Loud.” She finished his sentence. “He looks people in the eye. That’s my big brother. He doesn’t act like that, unless…”

Her last sentence put him in a difficult position. The last thing he wanted was to talk about Jon and Josephine in front of a total stranger.

“I just need to get some sleep.” He claimed.

“By the way, David’s an FBI agent.” Caitlin’s words sent shivers down his spine. All of a sudden, the idea of discussing the situation with her boyfriend intrigued him. Still, the fact he would have to mention his involvement in the burglary to a man of the law did not sound at all appealing.

“That’s right,” David affirmed. “I understand you’re on parole. If you miss any appointments with your parole officer, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.”

“Help?” Tim squinted at him.

“Yeah,” David nodded, “anything to help Caitlin’s brother.”

“Then, please sit down.” Tim urged. “ I really need your help. It’s a pretty convoluted story, so this is going to take a while.”

David listened intently, as Tim narrated the entire story, from the moment that he started working at the compound until that very night. Caitlin was stunned to hear the news of Jon and Josephine’s abduction and even her boyfriend was in awe of the crimes that Laura had committed. Tim confessed to breaking into Bradford’s house with Jon’s help and even brought his sports bag and showed it to David. By the time he finished narrating, he was so overwhelmed by emotion that he was on the verge of tears.

“So let me get this straight.” David started. “You stole all that money to help her keep her job?”

“Yeah,” Tim said with a nod.

“Wow…” David silently mouthed to him.

“Look, if you want to arrest me?” Frustration was lingering in his shattered voice. “Fine, arrest me, but help them, alright? And get that bitch!”

“Who said anything about arresting you?” David wondered. “What you did was pretty admirable. I can look the other way. Just make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“Ok,” Tim sighed. At that moment, his cell phone vibrated for an incoming message. Laura had sent him the coordinates. “That’s where she’s keeping them.” He added, handing the phone over to David.

“I’ll talk to the Bureau. Don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to save those folks.” David assured. “But, I need you to do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t go armed to the rendezvous point.” David requested. “I know it’s dangerous and all, but…”

“He hates guns.” Caitlin interjected.

“One last thing, then,” David said. “I can only imagine what you’re going through. Try to stay cool tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid. You might put yourself and your loved ones in harm’s way.”

“I’ll try,” Tim said in a whisper. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”

“Honey, I’m sorry.” David attempted a low tone, turning his gaze to Caitlin. “I need to talk to my superiors. It takes some time to plan this kind of operation.”

“Go,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Call me tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” David grinned. Caitlin waited for him to leave, before addressing her brother. Much to his surprise, she had a huge smile on her face.

“I told you.” She winked at him. “I told you there was love there.”

“Women…” He hummed. “Aren’t you worried about tomorrow?”

“Of course I am!” She exclaimed, as her smile vanished. “I just think everything’s going to be alright it in the end, that’s all.”

“I hope so.” Tim heaved a long, deep sigh.

“Ok. Let’s say that the feds do save them. What are you going to do?” She inquired.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”

“I’d take her back.” Her response was sharp. “But, we’re not talking about me here. That girl loves you, Tim. Why else would she come back?”

“I’ll ask her tomorrow, if she makes it out of there alive.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“I still don’t understand why you slept with that whore. What the hell were you thinking?” Her question put a bitter smile on his face.

“I wasn’t thinking.” He admitted, as a tear rolled down his cheek, “Not with my head, anyway.”

“I’m sorry, honey.” A tender whisper escaped her, as she entwined her arms around his back. “It’s killing me to see you like that. You looked a lot happier when you guys were together.”

“I know, little sis.” Tim whispered, putting his arms around her waist. “I know.”

The emotional moment proved too much for him to bear. Two more tears rushed down his face, as he squeezed his eyes shut. Recalling Josephine’s smiling face, Tim felt his body shivering, fearing that Laura could well kill her and his friend…

Hang in there, baby. Help is on its way. Is Caitlin right? Did you really come back for me? I can’t wait to find out…