Carlos sighed as he walked away from another house with no information. It seemed like this neighborhood wasn't the most security conscious. And the people who actually did have cameras kept them pointed at their own porches, to catch if any packages got taken. But he needed to know about something much more important.

The group chat had been ominously quiet the whole time, since no one else had any updates. It wasn't like Carlos expected there to be people peeking through their curtains at all times of the day to watch the comings and goings of their neighbors, but this was ridiculous. The idea of a quiet neighborhood sounded amazing at first, but now he wished they had the hustle and bustle of the city to rely on. TK shouldn't have been able to vanish without a trace like this.

Carlos walked up to the next house, scrubbing the frustration from his face. It was on the corner, so after this he was going to have to figure out which direction to go. It was getting late, but he didn't want to give up. He'd wake people from their slumber if he needed to.

Carlos schooled his features as he knocked on the door. People were more receptive to him if he didn't have his stern officer face on. TK always told him his soulful eyes could get people to spill everything to him, but he didn't quite believe it. He desperately hoped TK was right about it though.

"Hello, can I help you?" an older woman asked. She looked a bit frazzled, but he knew that a lot of people were apprehensive about opening their doors to strangers.

"Hello Ma'am, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" Carlos asked, pulling out his phone that was opened to a recent picture of TK. It was a candid photo Carlos had taken right after they'd moved into the new house. TK was sitting on their couch, looking around with a soft smile on his face. Carlos had been compelled to take the picture, wanting to capture the easy happiness of the moment. "Have you seen this man?"

"Oh um, no I haven't," the woman murmured, glancing at the screen before looking away. "What's this about?"

"I'm going around the neighborhood to see if anyone might've seen him recently. No one has been able to get in contact with him and that's making people worry," Carlos explained. He'd grown up in Texas, so he knew telling people who TK was to him wouldn't always go over well. Sometimes it was better to keep things casual when it came to strangers. "Have you seen anything strange in the past few days? Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Well, I usually keep to myself, you know. When I'm not working in my garden, I'm sitting at home."

"Is there anyone else home I can ask?"

"No, it's just me here," she replied, glancing quickly over her shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" Carlos asked. She was by far the strangest person he'd talked to so far. That wasn't a crime, but it still gave him pause. Her level of nervousness was not typical.

"I'm just in the middle of a recipe. There might have been more of a certain ingredient added than I planned," she mumbled, shifting from foot to foot.

"Is that how you hurt your finger?" Carlos wondered, tipping his head at her bandage. She quickly covered her injured finger with her other hand.

"Yes, but it's fine. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have to get back to it," she rushed out, easing the door closed in front of him. Carlos wanted to protest, but he didn't have much reason to. If this was just an odd woman, getting caught up in whatever she was doing was going to take time away from finding TK. He had to prioritize.

"Of course. But if you think of anything that might help, could you give me a call?" Carlos held out one of his business cards and the woman hesitated before finally taking it from him. He tried to look around her as much as possible as she closed the door, feeling an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was it just stress or something more?

He walked slowly away from the house, going through everything he knew in his head. The woman was peculiar for sure, but why was that screaming out at him? She hadn't shown any particular reaction to TK's picture, but she also didn't offer any of the usual sympathy people typically did when they heard of something like this. But a lack of caring wasn't enough. Maybe he was just searching too hard for a villain. Or maybe it was the instinct he'd been encouraged to trust.

Carlos paused before he left the yard, feeling like there was something just outside of his grasp. One thing that would signal to him that it was okay to leave. Or something that would tell him he was exactly where he needed to be. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearing his head.

That was it.

TK's heart fluttered as he heard Carlos so close by. The moment he'd been dreaming of since he'd been taken against his will was finally here, but what could he do? Burt would kill him before he even got to see Carlos' face. And Burt's whispers in his ear about what he'd do to anyone who came in were keeping him quiet more than the threat to himself. TK couldn't let anything happen to Carlos.

He couldn't hear much of his conversation with Lorna, thanks to the roaring in his ears and his own choked off sniffles. Would Carlos see that she was guilty? Would he be able to feel that TK was there? Their friends would always tease them about being able to find each other in a crowd during calls, no matter how chaotic it was. Was that pull strong enough now?

When TK heard the door shut again, he lost every bit of hope he had left. Burt was still covering his mouth as he broke down completely, heaving sobs out of his stuffy nose. Knowing Carlos was safe should've been enough, but right now he was feeling selfish. He wanted Carlos to come in and save him, since he couldn't save himself. But now he was going to die knowing that rescue had been within reach.

"Stop your crying!" Burt hissed, finally moving his hand off of TK's mouth. He wiped it off in disgust on TK's shirt before pulling the knife away and moving it in front of his face. "My warning still stands." TK ignored him, feeling himself go lightheaded from the force of his panic and the poison still flowing through his system. His chin flopped against his chest in defeat. If he just had one more chance, he'd do things differently. And then there was another knock on the door.

A few things happened at once. Burt had gone over to the sink to wash the blood off of his knife before Lorna could see it. Lorna hadn't come back into the kitchen yet, but TK could hear her still near the front door. He wasn't sure what compelled her to open it again, but he didn't care. This was what he needed.

"Sorry to bother you again, but-"

"Carlos!" TK shouted, no longer caring of the repercussions. Burt whipped around, his face red with fury. It was done and Burt couldn't do anything to change that. TK heard Lorna shout and pounding footsteps and he trembled in anticipation. It was finally going to be over, one way or another.

"For Lorna," Burt snarled, raising the knife back up and striding toward where TK was sitting defenseless. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the moment the knife went into his body. Maybe he would get a few seconds to say goodbye to Carlos before he slipped away for good.

You don't quite understand how loud a gunshot is until you hear it in person. Especially in an enclosed space. TK knew that sound intimately though and the memory of it still woke him up in the middle of the night occasionally. But now, it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

TK's eyes sprang open and he watched Burt crumple to the floor with a hole in his chest. Lorna screamed and ran to his side, pressing her hands to the bleeding wound.

"TK?" Carlos whispered, frozen in the doorway.

"Carlos," TK choked out, and that broke him from his stupor. Carlos rushed over, running his hands over TK's body, as if he needed the physical contact to prove that this was real. "You found me."

"Always. Always," Carlos murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He kept Lorna and Burt in his sights, but they didn't look to be much of a threat anymore. "Are you okay?" TK shook his head, because he wasn't okay. He was relieved to finally be safe, but this was going to stick with him for a while. Not to mention the unknown substance still swirling around in his body.

"Carlos," TK whimpered, pulling at his still trapped arms. All he wanted was to be able to hold his boyfriend and he held in return.

"The others are on their way. I texted them to come here," Carlos soothed, running a hand through his hair. TK winced when his fingers touched the tender spot on the back of his head, but he didn't want him to stop.

"How did you know? What made you come back?" TK asked.

"Sage."

"Sage?"

"I had a feeling she wasn't telling the truth, but I had no proof. Then when I stood outside and smelled the sage, I knew this was the house you'd been to the other day. And that she was lying about never having seen you," Carlos explained, cupping his cheek. "I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me that. You were the key."

"You saved me," TK sobbed, tipping forward to press his face to Carlos' neck. He'd been convinced that he was never going to get out of this situation alive, but once again his boyfriend had come through for him. Every time he needed him, Carlos was there. Even after all this, TK still felt like the luckiest man in the world. "You saved me."