"You've out done yourself, Riley," she whispered as she reached for the door handle but stopped when Riley's fingers enclosed around her other wrist. "Oh geez, you know I'm not going to run..hell I don't even know where I am!"

He rolled his eyes before releasing her arm and allowing her to step outside, stretching her legs that were cramped and sore from hours of not being able to stretch them out. The only good thing about being in this secluded place was the air. It was fresh and it reminded her of her home that she missed dearly. "Where are we?"

"We're still in Florida and that's all you're going to find out...you don't have a cell phone or anything on you, do you?" he asked, walking towards her and giving her a questioning look that made her toes curl. "If you don't hand anything over, I will search you, Em."

She wanted to hurl at the thought of that man touching her. "I don't have anything on me..not even money, Riley...don't you even think about touching me."

He let out a laugh that made her feel desperate and small inside. He was such a horrible person and all she wanted was to be in the presence of someone good..someone who cared..she wanted to be with JC.

"You let everyone else touch you, Emily...I've touched you many times before..you're mine..I can touch you whenever I like..you got that?" he seethed, coming close to her and sending his hot breath on her face. "You need to learn some respect...I think I should teach you some.."

"Don't touch me you jerk," she replied calmly before taking a step away from him and glancing around to make sure she'd have room to run if he kept coming after her. She knew that she could not out run him, but she would at least make him chase her. She was going to prove to him that she wasn't the same weak girl he thought she was.

"You can't run, Emily...I know these woods..I've been here before..you haven't..go ahead..run..but I'll find you," he said, before laughing and walking toward the car to pull out two black duffel bags and throwing them on the ground. "Are you hungry?"

Emily couldn't contain a laugh as she witnessed his mood swing from anger to caring. "You amaze me, Riley Burns...you truly amaze me."

"What did I do?" he asked, displaying confusion upon his face as he reached into the pocket of his jeans and produced a gold key.

"How can you treat me like the lowest piece of trash on this earth and still have the nerve to ask me if I'm hungry?"

"Maybe you should take a nap," he said as he walked to the front door and inserted the key and giving her a look, silently asking 'are you going to come in or not'.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to help contain her sanity before slowly walking into the house that gave her the creeps. She had been right with her guess that no one had been there in a long time. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere and she could smell the age. "This is lovely."

"Would you like to sleep in a tent?" he asked in a smart tone as he turned the lights on and made the piles of dust more apparent.

"It wouldn't be as creepy as this," she mumbled before walking over to a window and looking outside. The time that she had to spend here was going to go by slow and she had a feeling that the window was going to be her only friend. As long as she could see how beautiful nature was outside, she'd be able to keep herself mentally sane and she had a strong feeling that her sanity was going to be a key player in this game.

"We're going to do that, M'am but we need all the information that we can get. Are you sure there are no places in Florida that he might take her?"

Whitney sighed and leaned into Justin as she tried to call to attention anything that Riley might have spoken over the years that indicated he knew places in Florida. "The only thing that I can recall is he talked about some cabin that his dad would take him and his mother too..I don't know specifically where its at..but I know its not in South Carolina."

"Thank you..we've got your number and if we need anymore information, we'll be in touch with you. In the meantime..just think positive and stay calm. We're going to find your friend," the cop said as he tipped his hat and walked away, leaving Whitney and Justin alone in the middle of the parking lot.

"You just bit his head off..I felt sorry for the man," Justin told her calmly as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to tell her to calm down. "They're going to find her..you need to relax..you're not going to accomplish anything by being hostile." "Imagine that someone has your brother, Justin...how would you feel? Emily is like my sister...that's how I feel right now. I'm sorry if I can't just keep calm..I'm worried sick about what the jackass might do to her..."

Justin could feel the energy draining from Whitney's body as she began to support herself in his arms. He knew that he would feel that exact same way if something happened to one of his brothers or someone that he cared deeply about. It was easy telling someone to be calm when on one side of the situation, but when on the other, it was difficult to follow the advice. "We should get JC home."

Whitney looked over at JC and couldn't help but sigh. This was not a healthy situation for anyone to have to deal with and she could see it taking toll on JC. He was standing by his car, looking off into space with a sad and hurt look on his face. She wanted to console him but she did not know what she should say...afterall...words were only words. "Maybe you should talk to him, Justin...you're a guy..guys can connect..plus..I don't believe I'd be much help. I'll drive your car home and you drive him..he doesn't look like he'd be able to make it safely home..and maybe you should bring him to your house...so he's not alone."

"That's a good idea," he said before pulling out his keys and handing them to her. She turned to walk away from him but he reached and gently touched her shoulder, making her stop. "Be careful, darling."

"Don't worry about me..I'll be fine, Justin," she said before giving him a half smile and walking to his roadster that was hidden from the passing traffic. Once she was away from the restaurant, she began to think about Emily...mostly wanting to know if her best friend was OK. It was so strange to let the realization of what was happening sink in. This was something you read in books and saw in movies...you weren't supposed to witness it for real-life. But she knew she could not deny the facts that were in front of her. This wasn't a book and it wasn't a movie...and it definitely wasn't going to go away very easily. She wanted to hurt Riley for what he was doing to this poor, innocent girl that deserved so much for being the angel that she was. Emily was the type of girl that everyone loved... a sweet personality, a radiant smile and the most sincere eyes that you would ever glance into.

Whitney felt tears stinging the corner of her eyes as she pulled into the driveway of Justin's large home. She would not cry. Weakness was something that she did not need to show...she needed to be strong and help Emily. Once she had parked the car, she noticed a car in the driveway that she had never seen before. She had not been there that long, but Justin would have told her if he was expecting company.

She grabbed her purse and used the key that Justin had given her, calling out to Lynn when she walked through the door. "Justin will be home shortly."

"Come in, dear!" Lynn's cheerful voice replied as she came to greet her. "A friend of Justin's has came to surprise him with a visit...come on and I'll introduce the two of you."

Whitney didn't really feel like meeting new people, but she didn't want to seem rude, so she followed Lynn into the living room, where she saw a young woman sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine. The girl was very pretty with her medium length auburn hair laying against her shoulders and thin frame sitting delicately on the sofa. "Ummm...hello..."

The girl looked up before flashing a sweet smile, showing pearl white teeth. "Hello."

"Whitney...I'd like you to meet Natalie....Natalie, this is one of Justin's new friends, Whitney," Lynn said, pushing Whitney forward so the two girls could exchange smiles and hand shakes.

When Whitney touched the other girl's hand, she felt a weird feeling flow through her. This girl was too...she couldn't exactly pin the word she was looking for, but there was something about the look that the girl held in her eyes. She suddenly didn't feel like staying around and getting acquainted. "I hate to seem rude..but I've just found out some really horrible news and its drained me. I think I'm going to go take a nap."

The girl's smile never faulted as Whitney gave her one last look and heading up the stairs to the second level where all the rooms were located. As she slowly made her way down the hall, she stopped at Justin's room, taking a quick look inside. It contained a large bed, a few awards here and there and some pictures of family and friends. She couldn't help herself from walking inside and laying on his bed, inhaling his scent off of his pillow. It was so relaxing and comforting that she couldn't make herself get up and go to the guest room where she had announced she would be staying. Between worrying about Emily and trying to figure out what it was about this Natalie girl, she was exhausted and had no problem drifting off to sleep.