Outside the office, Margot and Emmett were unsure which way they should go. It seemed dangerous to retrace their steps in case they were to meet someone, but they didn't know where there might be another exit route. Emmett looked down at Elle. Her face was still pressed against his chest, wet from her tears, her numerous injuries clearly visible all over her thin body. With a jolt he remembered the deep gash in her wrist that was still bleeding freely.

"Elle, let me see your wrist." His tone was urgent. Elle whimpered softly, and held her wrist out so he could see it. It looked awful. The gash was very large and painful looking. It was right on her vein and though was bleeding a bit less then before it was still enough to worry him. Oh, when he saw Callahan he was going to kill him! He set Elle gently on the floor, took off his shirt and pulled out a pocketknife.

"Emmett, no!" Elle protested, her voice weak with effort.

"Shhh, I'll get a new shirt. We need to stop this bleeding before you pass out."

He carefully cut a bandage-sized strip from his sleeve and wrapped it tightly around her wrist. After reinforcing it with several more pieces of shirt, he discarded the ruined article and scooped Elle back up into his arms.

He turned back to Margot.

"We have to get out of here as quickly as possible. We're just going to have to take our chances with the front door. The party won't be over for a few hours still, if we're quiet no one will notice."

Margot nodded, her face pale. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Serena and Pilar to let them know they were on their way. Then she switched her phone to silent and followed Emmett back the way they had come.

Elle felt elated and exhausted. The past month's ordeal had taken a great toll on her. But it was all in the past now. Emmett was here. Her knight in shining armor had arrived right at the brink of her destruction. And now she was safe at last in his strong, warm arms. She felt more in love with him than ever and more grateful to him for being her savior once again than she had words to express. If Elle had been standing she probably would have felt weak-kneed. She nuzzled closer to her hero and closed her eyes.

Two weeks ago, Emmett would have said it was impossible to feel relieved, uplifted, worried to the point of crying, and angry enough to kill someone all at once. But now he knew differently. He was so incredibly relieved that Elle was alive that he couldn't have described it with words. At the same time he was worried sick about the injuries that covered her fragile little body, and the obvious emotional damage she had sustained during her captivity. Then there was Callahan. The very thought of that man filled Emmett with so much rage he could barely keep from screaming. The only thing that kept him from seeking out Callahan right then and tearing him to shreds was the beautiful disaster he cradled in his arms. He would not leave Elle without knowing that she would be all right. He wasn't sure he would ever be able to leave her again anyway. He had thought it was safe to leave her alone to talk to Callahan and look where that had gotten them. He pulled her sleeping form closer to him and gently pressed his lips to her bruised forehead.

They had reached the main entrance to Callahan's rather grand home. Margot and Emmett could hear sounds of the party echoing down the hallway. It was essential that they make it undetected through the front door and outside where Serena and Pilar waited in the getaway car. Emmett pressed his fingers unnecessarily to his lips and motioned for Margot to follow him. They crept towards the door as silently as possible, keeping alert for any signs that they had been discovered. They reached the front door. Margot darted in front of Emmett and slowly, silently opened it just wide enough for them to squeeze through. They slowly inched their way out the front door praying that they were being quiet enough. They made it through and closed the door behind them. Emmett let his breath out, not realizing that he had been holding it the whole time. A wave of relief washed over him. They had Elle. They were out. Everything was going to be okay. He and Margot walked swiftly across Callahan's front lawn, sweeping the street for their car. A wave of panic washed through Emmett's mind. Something was wrong. Where was the car? His eyes swept the narrow street again. It was definitely not there. What had gone wrong? Serena and Pilar had arrived he knew it. They had received the phone call as the plan said. Everything had gone fine. Where then, was their ride. He exchanged a worried look with Margot. The poor Delta Nu's face was white with panic, her eyes weak with exhaustion from the day's trials.

"What do we do, Emmett?" she whispered. "We know they were here, but where did they go? They wouldn't have just left. Something must be wrong." At this last statement her voice rose to a whine. Emmett couldn't blame her. After this exhausting rescue ordeal it was hard to believe that something could have gone wrong with the getaway. That was supposed to be the easy part.

"Do we call a cab maybe? I mean, I know this looks bad, but we can't just stick around and wait. We've gotta get Elle home to take care of her."

"You call a cab." Said Margot. "I'll text Serena and see what the hell is going on."

They both pulled out their cell phones but when Emmett was halfway through dialing the number for cab service when strong arms reached out and grabbed him from behind.

A/N- I just had to :)

Questions? Corrections? Suggestions? REVIEW!