WHEN DARKNESS ENGULFS ME, I WILL KNOW I AM NOT ALONE.

Nathan dropped the picana on the ground, when the bullet hit his thigh. He yelled out in pain and lunged at Dani. She was completely distracted by Malcolm's terrifying response to the shock. He wrestled the gun away from her before she realized what was happening. Then he got up, hobbled over to the table, yanked the picana cord from the control box and wrapped it around his upper thigh in an attempted tourniquet. He grabbed the control box and the car battery and limped toward the door.

"You're going to pay for that, bitch," Nathan spat. Then he slammed the door and latched the locks.

Dani was up in an instant and ran to Malcolm's limp body. She released one wrist from the knot and draped his arm over her shoulder. Freeing the second wrist without dropping him was far trickier, however she managed to awkwardly catch him and lay him down next to the tub. She placed her fingers on the side of his neck under the jaw; he had no pulse.

Frantic, Dani began CPR on her partner, putting all of her weight into each push. She counted to thirty, bent his head back slightly, and gave two breaths, immediately returning to compressions. "Malcolm!" she yelled as she pushed, "Please! Don't do this, Malcolm!" Two breaths. "Come on! Please, please!" again, putting all of her strength into the compressions. "No, no, no, no. Come on!" Two breaths.

Malcolm lay there lifeless, as Dani refused to give up. Anger began to consume her as the continued compressions with renewed vigor. Anger at Nathan, anger at herself, "Don't leave me. You can't leave me." She was in a full panic now as she pushed his chest violently, "WAKE UP!"

Malcolm's whole body lurched, his chest heaved as he gasped for as much air as he could possibly inhale. His arms were searching for something, anything to grab ahold of; they found Dani's arm. "It's okay. It's okay. You're okay," she assured him. Malcolm's eyes were wild as he tried to figure out where he was. He was still gulping air.

"Dani?" he asked, between gasps.

"Yeah. It's me," she smiled, tears running down her face.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?" she began.

"I remember him aiming the prod," Malcolm pieced the details together one at a time, "You got his gun," he said looking up at her. "What happened after that?"

"He head butted me, pushed the prod to your chest, and I shot him in the leg."

"How bad?"

"Non-lethal. Unfortunately. I'm guessing he's picking a bullet out of his thigh as we speak." Malcolm lay back on the floor, trying to return his breathing to normal. A minute passed as he did this, and Dani was not-so-subtly checking every move he made to make sure he was okay.

"I'm sorry, Malcolm," her voice was a whisper.

"For what?" he lifted his head up, bewildered.

"I had him. I had his gun at the back of his fucking head and somehow I screwed it up."

"At least you injured him. I couldn't even manage to do that," Malcolm flashed a half smile. "Although given the past four days, I'd say we should be allotted a certain margin of error." He pushed himself into a seated position, grimacing.

"Easy," Dani warned. She was still crying as she lifted her eyes to Malcolm's, "I thought- I thought you were dead."

"I think, technically, I was," he replied.

Dani rolled her eyes, got up, and retrieved his button up. "Here," she helped him put it on and sat down beside him, facing him. He didn't bother trying to button it.

Malcolm reached over and put his hand on hers. "You saved my life. Thank you." He absent-mindedly traced circles on her hand with his thumb.

"If you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you myself," she grinned. Malcolm chuckled. But the enormity of what had just happened ate at them like a disease and the laughter was replaced with fear at what repercussions were in store. They continued to stare at one another for a minute. Then, as they had before in a vastly different situation, they rested their foreheads together, closed their eyes, and attempted to slowly breathe away the trauma.

After a few breaths, they could hear Nathan at the door.

"Help me up," Malcolm whispered.

Dani pulled him to his feet, "Can you stand on your own?'

"No clue. But he doesn't have to know that."

Dani gingerly let him go. He swayed a bit, but remained upright.

Nathan returned to the room in a fit of rage, open switchblade in hand. Knife not gun. He's worried Dani might get his weapon again, Malcolm thought proudly. He slammed the door and marched with a purpose toward the duo. Dani casually positioned herself between him and Malcolm. Based on the square cut into the thigh of his pants, and the makeshift bandage under it, she had been right. Nathan had been upstairs removing the bullet from his leg.

What was unsettling was how quickly he was moving on the recently injured leg.

Pain pills don't kick in that fast, Malcolm thought, he's on something stronger.

Nathan approached the two of them quickly. Neither of them backed down from him. When he was a foot away from Dani he paused, and shifted his gaze from her to Malcolm. "Well, well, well. He is risen," Nathan opened his arms in a sacrilegious mockery of the crucifixion. The knife in his right hand adding to the farce. Malcolm stared daggers into his captor. He held himself as still and straight as he could, to feign strength he was sorely lacking. In response to Nathan's jest, he tilted his head slightly sideways and raised his eyebrows. "I have to ask, what was it like… death?"

"If you really want to know…" Malcolm left the threat open-ended.

Nathan simply smiled, "I truly enjoy your tenacity, Malcolm. So many of the others just broke down, begged me to spare their women, lost their minds at the slightest inkling of torture. But you- you literally died! And yet," he gestured the way a salesman might show off a new car.

"And yet," agreed Malcolm.

Nathan returned his focus to Dani and pointed at his leg, "I just pulled my own bullet out of my thigh. That was unpleasant."

"So was dying," Malcolm retorted. Nathan's eyes shifted to him for only a second before going back to Dani.

Without warning Nathan lifted his arm and brought it down, backhanding Dani so hard that she fell to the floor. Malcolm knelt next to her sweeping her hair from her face and examining the damage. A small drop of blood dripped from her bottom lip.

"I'm fine," she said, as the two of them stood again.

Nathan pointed the knife at Dani, it's tip less than an inch from her eye, but he was looking at Malcolm. "Don't move," he ordered. His next command was for Dani as he walked behind her, "Arms." She put her arms behind her as Nathan pulled zip ties from his back pocket and bound her wrists together. He shoved her roughly to her knees and zip-tied her ankles together behind her also.

You should be scared of her, Malcolm mused.

As Nathan got up and walked to the door, Malcolm was analyzing every detail of their situation, trying to find something, any mistake that might aid them. When he saw Nathan reappear with the picana and car battery, his blood ran cold. Their captor made short work of reconnecting the appropriate cords, but waited to turn the machine on. He spun around at the table, facing his two prisoners. "Get in," he ordered Malcolm, gesturing once more to the tub of water.

"You can't be serious," Dani said in disbelief.

Malcolm stared emotionlessly at Nathan. "I'm not getting back in that tub," he answered defiantly.

"Oh, I think you will." Nathan walked leisurely over to Dani, knife in hand, bent down, and ran its edge across her upper arm.

Dani hissed, holding in the scream she wanted to release. Blood began to trickle slowly down her arm.

Malcolm's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, trying to weigh the outcomes. If he got back in the tub, it would only take a few shocks at best for Nathan to stop his heart again. He would bar Dani from reviving him and she would have to watch him die, again, leaving her alone with the sadist. If he refused to get in the tub, Nathan would continue doing god knows what to Dani until he complied, anyway.

"Get in," Nathan calmly ordered Malcolm a second time. When Malcolm still hesitated, Nathan crouched down behind Dani and wrapped his arm around her head, pulling it back. He raised the knife and put it to her throat, pricking just enough of the skin to cause a tiny trail of blood.

Malcolm's deliberation was over. "Okay. OKAY!" he agreed, his hands up in submission.

"Malcolm, don't!" Dani begged. But he slowly stepped back into the water. Nathan stood and went to him.

"It's going to be okay, Dani," he reassured her, as Nathan tightened the slipknots around his wrists.

"It's NOT going to be okay! He's going to kill you!"

Nathan went to the table and turned the machine on, adjusting the dials. He returned to his prisoner, prod buzzing. Malcolm looked down at Dani. If he was going to die, he wanted her to be the last thing he saw. Her eyes met his, tears spilling out of them. Nathan leaned in toward Malcolm.

"Wait!" implored Dani. "Wait! Do it to me!"

"No," Malcolm firmly replied, changing his focus to Nathan.

Nathan didn't even turn to look at her when he responded, "I told you I don't torture women, does nothing for me." He inched the picana closer to Malcolm.

"But you do other things to them," Dani said baiting him.

Malcolm's head whipped in her direction.

Nathan paused for a beat, then bent his head toward her, "I'm listening."

"Not happening," Malcolm demanded.

"Shut up," Nathan replied. His demeanor instantly changed at Dani's comment, there was a predatory hunger behind his eyes. "What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked her.

"Whatever you want," Dani offered, "But the shocks stop."

"Absolutely not. Dani, no."

Nathan's eyes roamed up and down her body, as she sat on her knees, already defiling her with just his gaze. Malcolm tried to regain Nathan's attention using reverse psychology, "You're seriously going to let her control you like that? She bats her lashes at you once and she owns you? You didn't profile as a submissive."

Nathan fell for the deterrent and hesitated turning back toward him.

Dani interrupted, "Malcolm-"

"Be quiet," he replied, coldly.

"No. I'm not going to watch you die a second time." She held her ground.

Nathan disrupted their spat, "Enough." He closed the distance to Dani and bent down. "I would love to wreak havoc on every inch of that body." He slid his hand up Dani's waist and fondled her breast over her shirt.

"Get your hands off her!" Malcolm growled.

Nathan stood and strolled the three paces back to the tub, prod still in hand, lifting it up toward Malcolm's chest. "However, watching you… how you completely flipped the switch on her and just… it was animalistic. It was erotic. I bet you're still trying to deal with that aren't you, Malcolm," he tapped his head with his index finger, "up here."

Malcolm jerked his head away from his hand.

"That was new for me too. I never would have thought that watching could be just as enjoyable as doing, but that was… intense."

Malcolm had heard enough, "No."

"What?" Nathan was amazed.

"I said, no."

Dani was just as shocked as Nathan, "Malcolm?"

"Seriously?" Nathan was so astonished it actually threw him off a little. "You would rather get shocked again, than fuck her?"

Malcolm's glare was unyielding.

Dani was incredulous, she directed her words to Nathan, "We'll do it."

"No, we won't," Malcolm quipped.

"What do you mean 'No, we won't'? Malcolm, this is insane!"

"I mean, I refuse." He looked at her. She could see the turmoil in his eyes. "I won't do that to you again, Dani. I can't."

"So you'd risk dying instead?!"

"YES!"

His reply stunned her into silence.

Nathan processed the conversation for a moment, and focused on Malcolm. "You've surprised me, Malcolm. I'm genuinely surprised. But, fine." He turned off the picana and sat it down.

Malcolm didn't understand, until Nathan headed toward Dani. Then he realized. He's taking her deal. Dani had figured it out too. Her face was a mixture of relief and dread that Malcolm had never seen before.

Nathan came to a stop behind her and used the knife to cut off the zip ties. As he lifted her to her feet Dani looked up at Malcolm.

"It's okay," she reassured him. Nathan buried his face in her neck, his hand snaked around from behind to her stomach. Malcolm watched as his fingertips grazed the skin between Dani's shirt and pants.

Malcolm's stomach lurched. "Please, Malcolm… Not him."

"Okay," he said.

Nathan lifted his head, but kept it on Dani's shoulder. "What was that?" he asked, a smirk spreading across his face.

"I'll do it."

Nathan kissed Dani's neck and pulled her close, pressing himself into her back. "Lucky, Malcolm," he whispered into her ear.

He put the knife to the other side of her neck and nudged her forward. "Get him out," Nathan told her, once they reached Malcolm. Dani loosened the ties and he shook his arms as the blood flow returned to them. He looked to Nathan for instructions on which way he was going. "Your place," Nathan mocked, "Then pants off." Malcolm led them to his corner of the room.

When they arrived, Malcolm removed his pants and knelt. Nathan motioned for Dani to fetter his wrists yet again. After she was finished, Nathan made his way back to the table, his VIP seat to the show.

Dani removed her pants as well and knelt in front of Malcolm. She immediately closed the distance between them. "Thank you," she said, as she kissed him softly.

"I'm sorry," he replied, when their kiss broke.

Dani kissed the side of his neck that wasn't facing Nathan and whispered into his ear, "He doesn't get to win this time. We've earned an escape. No guilt. No shame. Just feel." She kissed him again, deeper this time, and then pulled back to read his response to her words. He gave none, and simply stared into her eyes for a moment.

She repeated herself, "Just feel," and aligned her body with his wrapping her hands around his neck. Malcolm placed his arms on her waist and touched his forehead to hers. The gesture had become sacred over the past four days. Then, he leaned his head in and kissed her. When he did so, every emotion he had felt in the past four days came rushing out of him. Pain, anger, guilt, shame, desire, each of them combined forces into a kiss that, even given their circumstances, stirred something in Dani. After a few moments she pushed him softly backward, and he lay down. She removed her underwear swiftly, as Malcolm did the same, and crawled on top of him.

Dani bent over, her hands bracing herself on his chest, and kissed him again. He wrapped his arms around her trying to forget where he was. Before Nathan could say something to shatter the bubble, Dani sat up slightly, found the right position, and lowered herself onto Malcolm slowly. He grabbed her head and brought her lips to his and she began rocking back and forth in a rhythm. Occasionally they would hear Nathan, but before he could break the spell Dani would find a way to regain Malcolm's attention. "Don't think. Just feel," she said. He watched her above him. She was breathtakingly beautiful on a regular day, but this… The way her tongue felt on his, the way she moved her body, her face as the pleasure kept building, she was a goddess.

They had kept rather quiet throughout; whether that was a conscious decision due to Nathan's presence or not was anyone's guess. Then, as he was watching her move on him, Dani couldn't suppress a faint moan. The sound almost sent Malcolm over the edge. He sat up instantly, keeping her on his lap, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto him with just enough force to intensify the pleasure. He met her rhythm with his own and it didn't take long before he felt her climax wash over her. That in turn brought his, and he held her against him as he finished. They sat there for a moment relishing in the euphoria, desperately trying to prolong their break from reality.

It had been four hours since Gil and JT had arrived at the house. Their team was still scouring every inch of the house for clues, and they were currently neck deep in financial records and personal journal entries. JT yawned as he examined the stack of financial records. Gil was on the third journal since he had sat down and the lines were starting to blur together. He shook his head to wake himself up.

JT leaned in closer to the packet of paperwork. "Boss, I might have something here," he waved for Gil to come over. "Just under a year ago. That's an awful lot of money to just 'gift' to a friend for 'services rendered."

"Yeah, it is. Contact info?"

"Already on it." JT headed into the bullpen to do some research. Gil made himself another cup of coffee and returned to the journals.

A little less than an hour later JT returned.

"Finally tracked down the 'friend'. Money was for a one room cabin just outside the catskills. Says the guy who bought it was, and I quote 'super creepy, but I needed the cash'."

"Got an address?"

"Yep. It's a little over two hours out. TAC team is suiting up as we speak." JT was almost out of the room before he turned back to Gil, "I think we found 'em, Boss."

"Now we just have to get there in time."