"Shit, shit." Echo said to herself as she rolled over the man who was on the ground. She stared at him in shock. She'd never seen a man this badly beaten... or beaten at all. His face was blood and mud stained and she could see his arm was hurt. What happened? Her fingers fluttered nervously as she tried to inspect his face, his wound, trying to gauge how badly he was injured. She leaned in closely, bringing her ear near his face... listening...

Okay. He was breathing. Echo felt relief sweep over her before she quickly patted her pant pockets, remembering she'd left her phone on the table at the opposite end of the garden.

"Fuck. HELP." She began to yell, hoping someone would hear her from inside, glancing around her. "HELP."

She waited a second, waited to see someone rush out those doors but no one came. The rain was very heavy at this point and she doubted they could hear her screaming. She looked at the man, unsure what to do first. Get up and call 911 or try to get him into the pool house which wasn't very far. Then, she called out again.

"HELP!!!" She began but a hand on her arm made her shriek.

She looked down, he was moving and at the moment, his grip was firm on her.

"Oh my god, thank god." She said, turning to him as he tried to sit up. "Are you okay?"

He didn't respond.

"No, of course not. How is he going to be okay?" She said to herself, unsure what to do as she moved.

"It's raining." he said after a few minutes, his voice rasping and wincing in pain.

"Yeah, hard." She said a little breathlessly. "I have to get you out of the rain. Can you walk? There's a pool house I can take you to."

His eyes darted in the direction she pointed. It was only a few feet away and he'd seen it before- it was actually where he was trying to get before he failed. He looked back at the girl in front of him, she was completely soaked and looked very small but he was sure that with some help he could get there.

"Yeah, can you help?" He asked and she nodded, helping him as he stood.

"Are you sure you can do this?" She asked, hearing his groans as she rose.

"Fuuucckkkk." He said loudly, making her flinch as he did. "Yes..."

He reached towards her and she quickly hooked his arm around her shoulders.

"Careful, I'm pretty sure they're broken."He muttered, trying to pull himself upright.

She looked down to his ribs, nodding as she moved him slowly, intentionally towards the pool house. It was only a few short feet away but it felt like an eternity as she tried not to crumble under the man's weight. A few minutes later, they were in and she was helping him settle down onto a sofa.

"Here." She said, moving towards a closet and pulling out a blanket, not taking even a moment to catch her breath.

"Thank you." He said, taking the blanket without really glancing at her.

"Listen, I have to go get my phone. I'm going to call an ambulance but I'll be right back." She said, turning to leave quickly but she heard a click and then he spoke.

"No." He said, making her stop in her tracks. Echo was still. Somehow she knew, before she even looked. "Turn around."

Echo stared at him blankly.

He was holding a gun. He was holding a gun directly at her and somehow she knew, she knew in the pit of her stomach that he would use it if he had to.

"Please don't kill me." She said, staring at him. "They may have not heard our screams but they'll hear a gun shot."

He raised his brow.

"I'm sure they will, whoever they are." He said.

"My family. My father is a man of means. I have money... if that's what you want, I have a lot of it." She said, beginning to panic. He smiled.

"That's nice to know." He replied, "But I kinda figured that one out on my own."

She nodded. It was true. One look at their house or even just the inside of this pool house told you just how wealthy her family was.

"What do you want then?" She asked. She watched the man in front of her, wondering how he managed to look so composed. He was clearly in bad shape.

"I want you to sit the fuck down and let me think." He said, motioning to a chair nearby. Echo moved slowly, watching him the whole time, afraid that if she turned her back he might just shoot. She watched him pull his phone out of his pocket, his eyes narrowing as he did- it was obvious he was in pain.

"You're very hurt. You need a doctor." She said as he did so, taking a seat on the very edge of the chair. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to. The look he was giving her was much more efficient than a 'shut the fuck up' would have been.

"My phone is dead." he said after playing with it for a few minutes, trying to get it to turn on. "Do you have a charger?"

She raised her brow and shrugged.

"Maybe in one of those drawers." She said, pointing to the desk nearby, trying to remember if there was one in there.

"Get it." He said, afraid that if he moved he would black out. She watched him lean back against the back of the sofa, thinking that if she could just get away, it wouldn't be hard to out run him. There was no way he could catch up to her in that condition.

"Here." She said, plugging it into the wall and handing him the cord, hands shaking. As he hooked up his phone, she turned in the direction of the chair, wondering if she should make a run for it.

"You might be faster than me but not faster than my bullet." he said as if he could read her thoughts. "And even if you did by some miracle manage to get out of here, I'm important enough that my people will eventually come back and hurt yours."

She stared at him blankly, any color she had gone from her face.

"Do you understand?" He asked, looking at her. She didn't respond. "I asked you a question. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" She said, sitting back down. "Yes, I understand."

"Good." He said, looking back down at his phone with a frown. "It's dead."

"The rain." She said.

"No shit." He replied, leaning back with his eyes closed for a second. She stared at him, there was something about him, something familiar.

"There's a first aid kit in here. I can help you with your face... maybe with your arm a little too." She said, standing and showing him her hands were empty. He watched her for a second, gun pointed at her as she moved, pulling a kit out from under the sink at the bar area. She turned to him, pointing the the first aid kit.

"Are you gonna let me help you?" She asked. He watched her for a second, gun still pointed at her, then he slowly lowered it and nodded. Holding her breath, Echo walked towards him, trying to be calm. She could not let panic get the best of her.

"You a doctor?" He asked as she pulled up a stool and sat next to him. He watched her open the kit, unpacking it's contents. She seemed so young, much too young.

"No." She shook her head, "But I did take first aid in high school."

"How old are you?" He asked as she fiddled with the contents.

"Twenty two." She responded quietly. He was quiet.

"Luke." He said, prompting her to turn towards him. She nodded.

"Echo." She replied, turning her attention to his face and gently beginning to wipe it with a towel. "Sorry if this hurts..."

"How many people are inside?" he asked as she worked.

"Depending on the time, 8 or 10. My family and a handful of helpers." She said, watching him wince as she wiped. "And a dog..."

"Helpers?" He asked. "I'm assuming you mean servants. What kind of dog?"

"We don't like that word." She said, "But yes. He's a mastiff."

"Employees." He said with a nod. "Is it your dog?"

"It's the family dog but he's really more of my sister's pet." She said as she looked at his shoulder and then his arm for a second.

"Is he likely to attack?" He asked but she shook her head.

"I can clean it, put a bandage over it but I won't be able to do much else. It's going to need stitches. You'll need a doctor. Even if you don't bleed out, it'll get infected." She said, going back to cleaning his face. "And your ribs..."

"Then that's what we'll do. You'll bandage me and I'll go see my guy." He said. She frowned. How the hell was that going to happen? He wouldn't even let her call an ambulance.

"Do you have a car?" He asked.

"Yes... but you're in no condition to drive." She said.

"I'll be fine." He replied.

"You'll end up in an accident." She said.

"Okay, then you'll drive." He said, making her shake her head.

"No, absolutely not. Have you seen the rain? Even if I was dumb enough to consider driving in it, my parents would never let me out in this weather." She said.

"What are you, 12?" He asked and she frowned.

"No. I won't do it." She said, suddenly getting his face clean enough to recognize him. "Holy shit."

She jumped back away from the stool, her heart speeding up more than it had been as she noticed the long scar. It was him... it was the devil.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Echo opened her mouth, about to blurt out that she'd seen him before but then she stopped. If he realized she was the girl in the elevator, he would know how to find her. As it was, there was still a really good chance he didn't know where they were.

"The scar startled me." She said, making him frown. It was typical- women overreacting over the scar. He'd had it for several years now. Before it, women had considered him the most handsome man they'd ever seen but now... now they seemed to cower away from it.

"Good, now you know I'm a dangerous man and you are right to be afraid of me, Echo. You are more than right to be scared of me." He said. She raised her brow.

"Are you going to hurt my family?" She asked.

"No, not if you do everything I say. If you do exactly what I tell you to do, then everything will be fine." He said. "So let's make that clear. You're going to do exactly as I tell you."

She watched him a few seconds, her eyes fixed on his face. This was not ordinary mad, she was sure of it.

"I'll do exactly as you tell me," She said with a nod, "If you promise not to hurt my family."

"I give you my word." He said. "and you should know I'm a man of my word."

"Okay." She said, nodding. Somehow, she knew he was telling the truth. As long as she did whatever he told her to, she and her family would survive this whole thing.

"Good. Now, the rain will go on for a while. You're going to bandage me up like you said. Then, you'll go inside, grab me something dry to wear, get yourself cleaned up and bring me something... anything to help with the pain." He said and she nodded. "Go do that first. I'm giving 15 minutes. Got it?"

"Yes." She said, turning towards the door.

"I'm not done." He said and she turned back around.

"Of course not." She said, facing him.

"If you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE... even one person, Echo, that I'm here..." He began to say but she shook her head.

"No, I won't tell everyone." She said. Luke watched her, this small, pathetic looking woman. She was soaked, head to toe, her dark hair matted down to her clothes. Didn't she have it tied back before, it must have gotten loose as she helped him. She was scared, he could tell, but she was also very composed, managing to keep her self in check.

"Okay... go." he said.

"Right." She replied, turning on her heel and running out of the pool house. As she sped up the steps to the terrace and onto the porch, she moved quickly, knowing his threats were not in vain. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest but she couldn't figure out if she was frightened or... exhilarated.