A/N I swear, the reviews keep getting better and better each chap. I laugh, I'm touched, and I'm inspired. So thanks all who ave reviewed, be it once, a few randoms, or the very special people who have reviewed every single chap. You guys are all fabulous!

Alrighty, so last chapter we found out that James' psychologist is a huge creeping JACK ASS and is working for Hawk! A review from RainTastesGood said that James could easily just tell Mrs. Knight and call the cops before Dr. Clark knew that James had told. Well, true. Of course I thought of that. But I'm not going to make it that easy...

* Evil laugh *

Read on...

Breakdown

Chapter 26: Screams

The very first thing James thought when he woke up was that he must not have been unconscious for very long; if he had been, someone would have tried to come into the bathroom only to find it locked with no one answering from the other side, and the door probably would've been broken down by now.

Then James recalled the events that had led up to him finding himself here in the bathroom, waking up beside the toilet with a horrible ache in his stomach. He squeezed his eyes closed, tears streaming down his cheeks, as he fervently prayed for this all to be some horrible nightmare.

But the sheer terror he was experiencing told him that it wasn't. He could remember much too vividly the hatred emanating from Dr. Clark, his cruel, twisted words infiltrating James' brain and wrapping around him tight, like an invisible hand, squeezing and squeezing, choking him, suffocating him. That was how he felt now. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

James' throat opened, and he took a deep, shaky breath, filling his lungs until breathing in became painful, and his chest ached and he felt dizzy. Then he held the breath for five seconds and very slowly exhaled. Yeah, screw whoever said deep breathing helps when you're too panicked to function. James was still trembling. He let his eyes roam around the small bathroom for a minute. He was suddenly overcome by a very powerful urge to get out of there. He leaped to his feet and flung open the door, bolting down the hall and trying to ignore the fact that everything was spinning and he couldn't feel the floor beneath his feet.

James rounded the corner and burst into the waiting area.

"James?"

James jumped at the sound of his name. Gasping for air as his heart hammered wildly in his chest, James whirled around and found himself face to face with...

"M-Mrs. Knight..."

The mother smiled at James. "Your session ran a little long today, huh?"

"...How long have you been waiting?"

"Only for about ten minutes." She peered closely at James. "Are you okay, sweetie? You're looking rather pale." She took in the way he was clutching his stomach. "Are you getting sick again?"

James swallowed hard. He wanted so badly to tell her what had just happened, what had him so shaken up, but the image of Dr. Clark pointing a gun at him...

James bit back a moan and nodded at Mrs. Knight. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't give Dr. Clark the opportunity to point that gun at his friends. But how else would he explain why he was suddenly so jumpy and sick- which he was sure he was going to be several more times.

So James nodded. He felt trapped. What else could he do? The lives of him, his boss, and his brothers were being threatened. And he was standing in the building, with a gun.

James knew he was about to start crying again, so he stammered out to a worried-looking Mrs. Knight, "C-can we go now? I'm not feeling s-so good."

Mrs. Knight gave James a sympathetic look and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leading him outside. "Of course, honey. Oh, you poor thing. You just got over a bug." She rubbed his shoulder as she navigated him to her van. "Hopefully this isn't anything too serious."

James slid numbly into the vehicle and buried his face in his hands, struggling to choke back a sob while he feebly thought, You have no idea.

"Hey, James, how was-"

Carlos was silenced by a stern look from Mrs. Knight. "Carlos, shh, please. James isn't feeling well."

Carlos' face fell. "Again?" he whined as he took in his friend's ill appearance. He really did look sick. His hair was mussed and he had light circles under his eyes. He was clutching his stomach, too. He looked just like he had the first time he'd been sick. Only...only this time, there was something different in his eyes...but Carlos couldn't determine what. James looked scared, maybe. Was that it?

Well, whatever it was, Carlos knew it would just have to wait. James looked like he was in serious need of a nap. A nice, long, uninterrupted one.

Carlos sighed. He didn't know if he could let James have a long nap without getting bored and waking him up.

"Why don't you go lay down in your room, honey," Mrs. Knight suggested. "I'll bring you something for your stomach."

"Aww, I thought he was done with all the puking," Carlos complained, earning a scolding, "Carlos!" from Mrs. Knight.

James didn't hear any of that. He stumbled off to his room and collapsed on his bed. He took a shallow, shuddering breath. What had happened to his life? He'd thought it couldn't get any worse; apparently he'd thought too soon.

James didn't even know what to think, what to do. He saw no way out of this. Tell, everyone died. Don't tell but don't comply, the last thing he'd see would be the barrel of a gun and a devilish looking Dr. Clark behind it. Do as forced, and he'd be without his friends forever.

And to James, that sounded worse than death.

Fighting back tears, James rolled onto his stomach, buried his face in his pillow, pushing aside the urge to just let himself suffocate, and screamed.

He screamed and screamed until he felt all of the feelings he'd kept bottled up inside since the overdose tear from his throat. He let his tears wash away his fear and his hurt. But it wasn't enough. And even when he heard several voices shouting around him, at him, he kept on screaming.

Panicked voices were talking back and forth frantically. James knew it was his friends and Mrs. Knight, trying simultaneously to calm him down and figure out what was wrong. James couldn't hear what they were saying. His heart-wrenching screams filled his ears and made any other noise inaudible. James didn't care. All he wanted was to scream until he forgot why he was so terrified in the first place.

By now James' head was scrambled. He wasn't even thinking about Dr. Clark anymore. He couldn't feel the hands all over him, or the voices surrounding him. He couldn't feel the tears rolling down his cheeks and soaking his pillow. All he knew was that he was screaming, and he was pretty sure that if he didn't stop now, he never would.

Finally, slowly, James' screaming ceased. His wails quieted into sobs. He cried hysterically, fighting for a breath when he got the chance. His senses returned, and he could feel the soreness of his raw throat, hear the frantic voices of the others.

"What's wrong with him?"

"James, please, calm down!"

"Carlos, take Katie outside."

James' sobs slowed. He could breathe again. He felt his tense muscles slacken. Someone's hand was on his back, rubbing gently. The gesture was supposed to be comforting, but how could James feel calm and relaxed at a time like this?

Then Mrs. Knight's soft voice was humming in his ear. "Shh, we're right here, James. You're okay now."

She soothed James quietly for a few more minutes while Logan and Kendall watched, trying to calm down themselves. They were still quite shaken up, and they had every reason to be. They'd thought James had gone to sleep; they certainly had not expected to hear muffled, terrorized screams ringing down the hall from James and Carlos' room. Everyone's hearts had faltered as they completely forgot about what they had been doing and raced to his room, fearing the worst but at the same time not knowing what to expect.

Kendall and Logan could still feel their hearts thumping wildly. Like James, they too were just regaining their ability to breath.

The only sound in the room now was James' heavy, shaky breathing.

Logan took a timid step forward, and his slightly quavering voice sliced through the quiet air. "James, can you look at me bud?"

James shook his head, face still buried in his pillow.

"Please? I need to make sure you're okay."

Sucking much-needed oxygen into his deprived lungs, James turned weakly over onto his side and peeked up at his friends and second mother. Carlos and Katie were missing. The sight of him so broken and inconsolable must have been too much for the ten-year-old girl. She was tough as nails, but when it came to one of her brothers, keeping it together when one of them was suffering was impossible. That was her breaking point.

Now on top of everything, James felt guilty for freaking them all out. Like he really needed anything else wearing down on him.

The hearts of Logan, Kendall, and Mrs. Knight broke at the sight of James' red, puffy, terror and pain filled eyes.

"What hurts?" Logan asked, assuming the reason James had been screaming so wretchedly was because he was in some sort of severe pain.

"Nothing," James choked out.

"James, we can't make you better if you don't tell us what's wrong. So what is it?"

James shook his head miserably. He couldn't say anything. They'd all be dead within...wait a second. James was surprised he was thinking this clearly. Of course! How could Dr. Clark possibly know he'd told them? If he spilled to them right now, they could call the police and have that freaking poser arrested before he even knew what was happening.

But...what if he bugged me? James considered. What if he somehow attached a microphone to me and he can hear everything that's going on right now? Then he'd know I told, and he'd be over here before the police would.

And then James was thinking, Wow, can I be any more paranoid? He didn't bug me! He didn't even touch me! He stayed on the other side of the desk during all of our sessions!

James knew he wasn't being rational. There was no way the creepy doctor had managed to attach a microphone to him or any of his things. But he couldn't help but think like that. His mind was a jumbled mess.

Even if he did decide to tell them, though, he didn't know how to get it out. How was he supposed to tell them that someone was out to destroy them, either by breaking up the band once and for all, or by murdering them? He could hardly even stand to be looking at them. Images of them all taking bullets through the head, blood oozing out over their expressionless faces as he waited for the bullet to lodge itself into his brain flooded his mind, making the tears return and his stomach twist violently.

James could not hold back the whimper that escaped his throat, betraying him by giving away all of his worry, discomfort, and helplessness in that one small sound.

Logan studied his friend for a moment longer. His eyes...it made no sense. They were dull with a look of defeat, yet bright with horror. Why wouldn't he just tell them what was going on. And then Logan had a glimmer of a hypothesis. If it was what he thought it was, he was seriously going to lose it.

"You are in pain, aren't you?" It was a statement, not a question. "But not physically."

James gave a meek nod, his head barely bobbing.

Logan nodded back, ignoring the confused stares he was receiving from Kendall and Mrs. Knight. How did he know something they didn't?

Logan took a deep breath before continuing. He really didn't want to ask this, but he had to...

"Did something happen...at counseling? With Dr. Clark?"

James' eyes grew even wider, and he paled, his breath hitching. Logan had hit home. Maybe he wouldn't have to say anything. Maybe Logan had figured it out and all James had to do was confirm it.

But that wasn't the case.

"Did he get too personal? Bring forward any unwanted or suppressed memories?"

James' heart dropped. Logan hadn't figured it out.

James shook his head.

"Did he..." Logan swallowed, feeling sick. He prayed hard that James' honest answer be no. "Did he touch you?"

Mrs. Knight and Kendall went rigid. Was it possible...The way he'd went straight to his room after he got back from therapy, the screams, the terrified look in his eyes...Oh, god, they realized, dread forming heavy knots in their stomachs. It is.

They didn't want to hear the answer, any of them, but they needed to know.

But to their immense relief, James shook his head. He looked ready to start sobbing again. "He d-didn't do anything like that," James stammered, fresh tears welling up in his eyes.

"But he did something," Logan said.

James nodded again.

Mrs. Knight spoke this time, her voice soft. "Then what? James, honey, this is really important. We need to know how bad it was, and if it's necessary to get the police involved."

She noticed the way he flinched when she said 'police', and she placed a tentative hand on his trembling shoulder. "Is it that serious?" she whispered, afraid of the answer. She knew it wasn't right for her to be afraid, it wasn't helping in any way, but the way James kept tensing up and shrinking into his pillow had her worried. Not to mention the obvious, the screaming and crying. Something was seriously the matter, and though she sometimes just left the boys alone until they were ready to talk when something was bothering them, she knew she couldn't do that here, and she wasn't going to. Whatever it was that had James so visibly scared was coming out, not matter how long she had to persist to uncover the truth.

James just couldn't hold himself together. He was crying again, not sobbing uncontrollably, but the tears that were pouring rapidly down his cheeks just wouldn't stop. The only response he could manage was a nod.

Everyone else in the room paled. Dr. Clark hadn't physically contacted or harmed James, but something he'd done was bad enough that the police needed to be called.

"What the hell did he do?" Kendall seethed. Mrs. Knight let his language slip. She was too worried to care.

James just shook his head.

"James. What. Did. He. Do. To. You?"

James sat up, swiping at his tear-stained face. "I c- I can't-"

Mrs. Knight gently took James' tear-streaked face in her hands and looked him in the eye. "James, please. You need to tell us. This man could be dangerous. We need to stop him before he...before he hurts anyone else."

James struggled to wipe the tears from his face with his trembling hands. How was he supposed to do this? Just come right out and say it? It wasn't that easy.

But James knew Mrs. Knight was right. Dr. Clark was a despicable being, an abomination, and he needed to be stopped.

James opened his mouth to tell them the truth. But the words were stuck in his throat. He couldn't voice them, no matter how hard he tried. It was agony. The tears started up all over again, and James couldn't help but wonder if they'd ever stop.

There was a timid knock on the door then, and a nervous-looking Carlos peeked in. "Is it okay in here now?" he asked in a meek voice that didn't suit him one bit.

James took one look at his innocent friend's frightened, panicky eyes and knew he had to just say it. They were all scared, even fearless Kendall, and they deserved to know. He had to tell someone. There was nothing Dr. Clark could do. The only way he'd find out that James had told would be by the police cuffing him and reading him his rights, along with what he was being charged with or arrested for or however it worked. James didn't know and, at the moment, didn't care.

All he knew was that he'd feel a lot safer if other people knew and the cops were involved, despite the consequences that Dr. Clark had made all too clear.

James took one final look at the anxious expression of the faces surrounding, him, and he stuttered out "He threatened to k-kill you guys. And m-me."

The instant he said it, he regretted it. He wanted nothing more at that very second than to take it back, but he couldn't. And why exactly did he wish he hadn't said a thing? Because of the horrifying realization that suddenly hit him like a semi. What if Dr. Clark went to jail but escaped, got released, or didn't even go at all? There'd be nothing stopping him from staying true to his word and killing us all if he finds out I told.

Four jaws dropped, and four hearts skipped a beat. Nobody moved. They were all frozen, wishing they had heard wrong. There was just no way...

But the evidence was right there in front of them. James wasn't himself, and now they knew why.

Kendall was the first to break the heavy silence. Seeing James so broken was the lighter under his fuel. He shook with uncontrolled rage, but his voice was hard and steady. "That sick bastard. He wants to make death threats? He had no idea what's coming to him. He's not gonna get a chance to touch anyone, because before he can even think about doing anything, I am going to destroy that mother fu-"

"You can't!" James wailed, shaking on the bed. "He c-can't know I told you, he'll k-kill me first!"

Mrs. Knight snapped out of her state of shock. She looked at the boys with authority. "Keep him calm. I'm calling the police," she announced hastily, and rushed from the room.

James was a mess. He was crying once again. His sobs were loud and heart-wrenching, his breaths came out jagged and shallow. He was hyperventilating.

Logan sat on the bed next to James, his mouth still agape from the utter shock and disbelief he was experiencing. One of his best friends had just been threatened. Actually, all of their lives had been. It was horrible enough hearing it from James, but Logan could never imagine what it must have felt like for him. Sitting there, thinking he was getting help, when in all reality, the man who was supposed to be talking James through this rough patch was actually making James' life hell. Logan felt sick, but a slow rage was also settling over him. However, unlike Kendall, Logan kept his cool- or, as much of it as he possibly could given this nightmarish predicament.

He attempted to do what he knew he had to do. Calm James down.

Logan very gently, very cautiously, took James' chin in his hand and tilted James' head so that they faced each other.

"James," Logan whispered. "James, look at me."

James' sobs quieted as he struggled to hear what Logan was saying. James felt like he was out of his mind with sheer terror at that moment, but he was still thinking rationally enough to know to listen to Logan. Logan, who would never even think of harming James.

James stared right into Logan's soft brown eyes and listened to the soothing voice.

"That's it, James. Just breathe. Stay with me. Don't think about anything else, just my voice. You're safe. Now breathe. Deep breath in."

James somehow managed to suck in a shaky, deep breath. He let the air fill his lungs, then rush out in a gasp.

"Again," Logan murmured in his hushed tone.

James repeated the action several times, until he no longer felt like there was a hand wrapped around his neck, crushing his windpipe.

"Good job, buddy. You're okay now. I'm here, Kendall, Carlos, we're all right here."

James felt Logan's hand running up and down his arm. He felt another rubbing his shoulder. Carlos.

Then there was Kendall. He was still standing a little ways away from the bed, near the door. His entire body shook, his insides felt like they were on fire. He was seeing red. Kendall had never, ever, despite everything he and his friend's had been through, been this absolutely, uncontrollably enraged. It felt different than all the other times he'd been overcome by fury. Normally he'd be swinging fists left and right, kicking at walls when there was nobody to punch. He'd be screaming profanities at anyone unfortunate enough to be close, but right now, Kendall was angrier than that. His hands were balled into fists at his sides. He was trembling. He couldn't hear the voices of his friends over his heart pounding in his ears. He knew it wouldn't be long before he snapped. Which was why he needed to go to the Self Healing Centre right now so that when he did snap, he would kill Dr. Clark instead of some innocent stranger.

And kill Dr. Clark he would.

Mrs. Knight came into the room with Katie trailing behind her, looking, for once in her life, scared. Here wide brown eyes studied James for a moment as she stood timidly in the doorway. But he looked so young, so broken and terrified that she had to look away.

Mrs. Knight stepped closer to the bed, nodding her thanks to Kendall, Carlos, and Logan for keeping James calm. They got off the bed so that Mrs. Knight could have a seat next to James while she spoke to him.

She hesitated, wondering how she should ask him. She didn't want to freak him out anymore than he already was, but she was sure that asking him to relive the experience would only cause him to have another melt down. But this needed to be done.

"James, honey," she began, placing a hand over his. She noticed how he purposely avoided looking directly at her. She continued. "I called the police." James flinched at the words. "They're sending an officer over right now. He's going to listen to what you have to say, which means you have to keep yourself calm and remember exactly what happened today. Do you think you can do that?"

James pulled his hands away from Mrs. Knight and hid his face in them. He took yet another deep breath, fighting to stay composed. He nodded.

"Okay," Mrs. Knight whispered. Everyone else remained silent. "You're going to have to tell them. And when you do, don't leave out anything. Every little detail is relevant, whether you think so or not. Are you okay with this?"

Was he? James wasn't a hundred percent sure he wanted to do this. His mind was still in overload; his thoughts were fuzzy, and he was considering the worst of what could happen. Dr. Clark would somehow escape unpunished, and he'd waste no time going after James and the rest of them. But if James didn't give them the whole story, he'd be forced to reveal the deepest secrets of his friends to a man who was insane enough to use those very secrets to destroy this band.

James felt his heart pang as he thought Who are you to be saying that's insane? You were willing to do it.

But now was not the time for reflections of the past. Now was the time to decide; tell the truth and potentially be murdered, or lie and lose his friends forever?

It suddenly seemed like such a simple ultimatum. Life without his best friends was death; it was worse than death. And he wouldn't go through that. He wouldn't put his friends through the humiliation and betrayal of having their darkest secrets exposed for the world the discover, either.

James nodded in response to Mrs. Knight's inquiry. He sniffled, finally glancing up to meet her pained gaze. Her chestnut eyes were filled with worry, sorrow, and hurt. For him. She even had a hint of wrath etched into her features. James couldn't imagine lying and causing her even more grief.

So he broke down and told them everything, how Dr. Clark had always been super nice to him until this morning, how he'd started off by saying they were going to take a different approach this session. He told them about Dr. Clark trying to make James blame himself for all that had gone down in the past few months. Then James got to the part about Dr. Clark being an associate for Hawk. That was hard. Telling them about the gun aimed at his face was even harder.

By the time James was done, he wasn't the only one crying. Katie and Carlos had frightened tears streaming down their faces as well.

Logan and Mrs. Knight held it together, but they couldn't even look at James without being washed over by agony. They couldn't and knew they never would be able to imagine just what James had been feeling at that very moment when the barrel of a gun had stared him down. Hearing it wasn't even a tenth of how absolutely horrifying it had been for James.

So they let him cry some more. They sat in his bed with him and murmured words that they wished but knew could never sooth or mend him.

And then there was Kendall. His mind was still too awash with pure rage to think, to function properly. The last thing on his mind was comforting James. The only thing he so badly desired- the only thing he needed- was to have his hands wrapped around Dr. Clark's throat and let the man suffer and beg and plead for his life as Kendall let himself go completely for what he did to the innocent teenager that was Kendall's best friend, his brother. Then he would take care of Hawk, the sick, twisted bastard. Kendall couldn't give a shit less if he went to jail for murder. Because the way he saw it, nobody messed with his family and got away with it.

Mrs. Knight didn't budge an inch away from James until she heard the loud knock on the door. She handed a still trembling James to Logan and walked briskly from the room.

"I d-don't know if I can do this," James whispered.

"Why not? You just have to tell the officer what you told us," Logan reasoned. "Don't you want to make sure this never happens again?"

James nodded.

"Than you know what you have to do," Carlos murmured. He knew Logan was right; James couldn't let this horrid, evil man threaten him like this, but Carlos was scared for his friend, and not just because of the threat, but because he had just seen what talking about it had done to James. It wasn't easy for him. Carlos still didn't quite have his head wrapped around this whole thing. He understood, yes, but he didn't want to believe.

James wiped the remaining tear stains from his face and finally climbed off the bed. "Y-you guys are right," he admitted. "I have to do this...no matter how hard it is."

Logan and Carlos stood and each placed a hand on James' shoulders. "You'll feel a lot better once you do," they assured him.

The entire time, Kendall had remained standing in the middle of the room. Of course he wanted to comfort his distraught friend, but he didn't want to go near any of them in case his ticker went off and he blew. The only person- no, the only monster he wanted that to happen around was 'Dr.' Clark. That way he'd get what was coming to him and nobody else would pay for his inhumanly actions.

So Kendall, in order to keep himself in check, stayed silent during the entire ordeal. Logan and Carlos seemed to clue into this, and they didn't direct a word at Kendall. They knew he was seconds, one wrong word, away from snapping.

Kendall didn't move a muscle until the other three boys slowly wandered carefully past him and out of the room to face the cops. Only then did Kendall flinch and follow them.

The four boys headed into the kitchen area of the apartment to see Mrs. Knight offering the cops a seat at the table. The politely declined. Mrs. Knight lowered her hands from where they were gesturing toward the chairs and suddenly looked unsure of what to do with them.

There were two officers, one male, the other female. They had on their uniforms. Carlos, whose father was an cop, would have found this rather exciting had the circumstances not been so morbid.

"This is, uh, this is him." Mrs. Knight found new use for her hands as she ushered James forward.

James wanted nothing more at that moment than to hide in his room and forget about this whole thing. But he knew that wasn't a possibility, so, with a gentle but forceful nudge from Logan, James found himself stepping closer to the officers and greeting them with an unsteady handshake.

The next few minutes went by in a blur for James. One second he was being told but not hearing the officers' names, and the next he was seated on the couch between Mrs. Knight and Logan. Kendall, again stood a little apart, and Carlos held Katie close on the other couch. The officers stood in the middle of the room, facing James. The female officer had a pen and a notepad at the ready.

"Now, James," the male officer- was it Officer Harold?- began. "Right now all I want for you to do is to tell me exactly what it was that occurred. Officer Mills-" he motioned to the lady cop with the notepad, ready to start writing, "will write everything important down, and from there we'll see if we build a case or a possible charge against the man who did this to you."

God, that notepad reminded him of the one Dr. Clark used, which was now page after page full of secrets, emotions, and vital information, all about him...

"James?"

James blinked. Right, time to focus.

James clasped his sweaty, shaking hands together and folded them onto his lap, trying no to bounce his legs nervously.

All they want to do is help, James reminded himself. They can keep you safe.

And then James was talking, relaying the story for a second time. He spilled out every last detail to the officers, but when it was finally over five minutes later, James didn't feel the least bit safer. He felt the same. Scared out of his mind.

He felt even more uptight when Officer Gerald and Officer Mills talked quietly for a minute while examining the notes she'd made. What was there to discuss?

James' throat tightened again, and he forced himself to breathe before he freaked out and had another panic attack in front of everyone. No, discussing was good. Wasn't it? They were supposed to discuss; they always did on TV.

Finally, after what seemed like a six minute eternity, the officers lifted their heads and walked back over.

Officer Gerald cleared his throat. "Well, James, it seems that we have a very serious situation on our hands here." He paused.

James wanted to scream at him. He wanted to let the officer know very damn well that he was aware of the severity of this predicament, but what he wanted to know was how were they going to get rid of it?

Then Officer Gerald started talking again, and James shut his mind up and sat straight, waiting.

"Here's the thing, James. There have been many cases over the recent year involving innocent people being sentenced to prison or worse falsely."

James felt his stomach, his heart drop. Did the police think he was making this up?

Officer Gerald sighed and continued. "I'm sorry, James. It isn't that we don't believe you. But obtaining evidence of the crime is part of our protocol now."

Carlos piped up, startling everyone by making his voice heard for the first time in nearly fifteen minutes. That was a new record for the boy. "What does that mean?" he questioned seriously.

Officer Mills and Officer Gerald tried to smile at the boy, but it was no easy task. They settled for half-hearted grimaces and Officer Mills took over.

"It means that James needs to get proof of Dr. Clark saying these things before we can slap the cuffs around his wrists."

Despite the small amount of people in the room, the air was suddenly filled with the buzz of voices overlapping voices.

Mrs. Knight and Logan were asking the police if there was another way, any other way, Katie was crying, Carlos was murmuring soothing words to her, and Kendall was going ballistic, screaming at the officers that this man was dangerous and there was no way James was going back to him.

It was so loud, so muddled, but through all of it, James figured out exactly what it was that he had to do to gather the proof. His heart stopped beating. He blinked away the dancing black dots that darkened his vision and threatened to take him away from consciousness and focused on breathing. He couldn't believe this. It wasn't happening to him, no, it wasn't.

He'd have to go back into that hellish officer with Dr. Clark again.

Alone.

He'd have to be sneaky and sly in order to get what he needed.

And unless he wanted to die, he'd have to show up with information.

This. Chapter. Blows. That is all.

Happy holidays, beloved readers! Chapter 27 will be up next year! Have a wonderful final week of 2011!