Theodore gave me a chilling smile and said to the man next to him, "Chief Waters. It appears these two trespassers started a fire on my property."

"No!" I cried. "We're not trespassers. We haven't been able to escape this place because of you!"

"Shut up!" Theodore screamed and moved the gun closer, pointing straight at my chest.

"Blake," Chief Waters said calmly. "Just put your gun down and we'll handle this." Every other police officer on site circled around us, drawing their guns.

"No!" He growled. "Not until you arrest these two! Can't you see my house is burning to the ground because of them?"

I kept my mouth shut for fear of Theodore pulling the trigger. I didn't even have the courage to put my hands up in a show of surrender. Harry stood next to me, squeezing the life out of my hand, terrified and equally helpless, unwilling to do anything that would cause Theodore to release a bullet from the chamber.

"Blake!" Chief said with a definite edge to his voice. "We have it under control, now put down the damn gun before someone gets hurt."

Theodore's eyes were wild with fury as waved the gun, first at me and then at Harry. Finally, he trained it back on me and with a click, he turned off the safety. I closed my eyes and swallowed the panic clawing up my throat. "You two have caused enough grief. It's time to end this."

Chief Waters firmly demanded, "Theodore, I'm giving you one more chance and then I'm going to place you under arrest. Drop the gun."

"NO!" He shrieked and spun around towards the chief, sending a bullet flying without a predetermined target. Three more bullets flew from the guns of surrounding officers, hitting Theodore in the chest, shoulder and thigh. Then they tackled him to the ground, forcing the gun from his hand. One radioed, "We have a man down, send immediate medical assistance."

Chief Waters turned back toward us and before I could even sigh in relief, he commanded, "Arrest those two and bring them in for questioning."

An officer by the name of Michaels yanked my arms behind my back and I cried out with the pain shooting through my injured shoulder. At the same time, Harry was being apprehended but he shouted, "Stop, she's hurt! Theodore shot her and she's injured."

Neither officer was swayed by Harry's story and Theodore, who was still conscious, pleaded weakly, "Don't listen to them. They will lie about anything to get away."

The chief walked over to me and spoke in a disparaging voice. "If you're shot, then where's the blood?"

"Three weeks ago," I whimpered. "We were trying to escape and he shot me. Or one of his men. And he beat Harry; don't you see the bruises on his face?" I asked.

The chief halted when I said Harry's name. He turned his attention over and asked, "What's your name, son?"

"Harry Edward Styles, sir. William Blake and Anne Styles were my parents," he looked at me with agony in his eyes because he knew I was in pain. He fought back his angered tears and said, "Theodore is my adoptive brother. He raised me and kept me in that place for twenty years." He tilted his head towards the burning building.

"You expect me to believe that?" The chief asked. "I've known Theodore for over ten years. Been out here dozens of times. How come I never saw you?"

"Because he kept me locked in the back apartment," Harry insisted. "He didn't want anyone to know about me."

The chief directed another of his officers, "Carlton, bring Blake's staff over here and we'll get to the bottom of this."

Officer Carlton went and gathered up a group of people, most of whom I didn't recognize, but there were a few I did. There was the woman who always brought Harry's pills and the man who brought my luggage to me on the second day. The three guards who had ventured into the woods looking for us had managed to return, without their guns in hand, conveniently enough.

"Struthers, you ever seen these kids before?" Chief Waters asked the guard who had been standing in front of of the apartment doors.

"No, sir," he answered and I screamed at him, "Then who the hell were you just looking for in the woods? And why were you standing in front of those doors for days on end with an assault rifle at your side?!"

He just ignored me and the chief told me to shut up. I closed my eyes in defeat. Theodore had his staff so fucking brainwashed, they were all going to lie to cover for him.

"Any of you?" The chief asked of the assembled staff. "Ever see these kids before? They say they were held captive in the apartment at the back of the house." Despite the pandemonium of the firefight behind us, the silence of these people surrounding us was thunderous. I knew I'd seen some of them in passing. They had to know that Harry was locked up in that suite. They were all playing stupid to protect their beloved employer who was already loaded into an ambulance and on his way to a hospital.

"He's not even here!" I shouted again. "Stop trying to protect him!"

Chief Waters came and stood toe to toe with me. "I told you to keep your mouth shut," he growled.

Harry pitched in, shouting, "She's telling the truth!"

The chief then drew his gun and threatened both of us. "Keep your mouths shut!" He screamed again.

"Chief!" One of his deputies demanded. "Holster your weapon. These kids are unarmed."

"I don't care," he snapped. "They'd better learn to listen."

The chief continued questioning each member of the staff, while still holding his gun towards us. I made eye contact with the woman who brought Harry's meds. I silently pleaded with her to come forward and tell the truth. The chief asked each staff member one by one, "You ever seen these kids in your house before?" Each one either said no or laughed at the idea of someone living under the same roof without them knowing. When the chief finally got to the woman who brought the meds, she hesitated. I could practically see the battle in her mind to stay loyal to Theodore or to tell the truth.

Finally, in a mousy voice, she said, "Yes. I brought Harry his medications every Saturday or Sunday. And I bought groceries and delivered them to the apartment. Every week."

The chief, not quite ready to admit his defeat, asked "And when did she arrive?" He asked, pointing to me.

"Theodore hired her in June. As Harry's nanny."

Disappointed anger was written across the faces of the rest of the staff at this woman's admission but I mouthed out a thank you through my tears.

Chief Waters turned to the two officers who held Harry and me and said, "Release them. Get them to an ambulance and get their full statements at the hospital." He was none too apologetic about falsely accusing us and threatening us with his gun but I would make sure to include that in my statement.

As soon as the cuffs were off, I flew to Harry's arms like a magnet and he enveloped me, both of us weeping in utter relief. I clung to him like he was life itself and he smothered my head and face in kisses. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? How's your shoulder?" He asked frantically.

"I'm good," I laughed, moving my hands up to his face and wiping his tears away with my thumbs. "I love you so much."

He leaned in to kiss me hard, and I could tell from the collective gasp around us that everyone was shocked by the nature of our relationship. Neither of us cared one bit. "I love you, Jules. So much," he gushed, pulling me tightly against him again.

"Come on," Officer Michaels said. "Let's get you to the hospital."

"Please," I begged, "let us stay together. He doesn't have anyone. And neither do I."

Since we didn't require stretchers or immediate first aid, we shared an ambulance, and sat one stretcher together. Officer Michaels accompanied us, as the chief had ordered. "I apologize for the chief," he said once we were settled inside. "I've never seen him so disjointed. He and Mr. Blake are pretty good friends so he's probably upset that his friend turned on him and ended up getting shot."

I nodded and said a quiet, "Thank you." I huddled close to Harry and began to shiver as I suddenly realized how cold it was. The EMT cloaked us in a warm blanket which we tugged tightly around us, bringing us even closer together.

"We're telling the truth," I told Officer Michaels.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I'll get your official statement once you've been treated." Speaking of that, I was looking forward to some more pain medication because the arrest had done a number on my once-healing shoulder.

"But you need to know this," I said. "When we tried to escape, one of Theodore's guards came after us and found where we were hiding. He was going to shoot us - Theodore gave the orders for his guards to kill us - and Harry hit him with a bat. He's probably still unconscious, so someone should go and look for him. He's about thirty yards down the fence line from the driveway."

Michaels radioed the other officers, saying, "We have another suspect, possibly unconscious, thirty yards east of the driveway along the fence. Please investigate."

With that, I started crying, loudly and without reserve. Not the helpless and hopeless tears from the past several months, but enormous tears of relief dripping down onto the blanket like a rainstorm. I leaned my head against Harry's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me. He wrapped his arms around me and I tugged the blanket tighter around both of us.

"We did it," I sobbed. "We're free."

* * * * *

Okay, so a short-ish chapter but I'm assuming you are all happy with the way this one ended! And FYI, it's not the end of the story yet. :D

Every read, vote and comment helps the story climb the ranks! <3