"Well, you finally found them." Nash said, smiling at Frank. "Took you long enough, though."

Franks eyes narrowed. This was the man who had beaten Joe and dragged him almost to his death. Frank was instantly ready to attack, to make him pay, when four other men descended the stairs. Seeing Frank's anger had reached the breaking point, Callie grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"Frank, don’t!" She said, almost pleadingly. These were the same men who had beaten Joe. It was bad enough having to witness that assault; she did not want to see the same thing happen to Frank. While Frank remained in control in almost every situation imaginable, Callie knew that when it came to Joe, Frank tended to think emotionally rather than logically.

"You need to make up your mind, sweetheart." Jenkins smirked, eyeing Callie. "This morning you were trying to hold the other one back. You need to decide which brother you really want." He laughed as Callie’s cheeks grew flushed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Frank glared at Jenkins.

"You mean she hasn’t told you how cozy she and your brother…"

"Shut up!" Callie hissed at him.

Jenkins was enjoying her obvious unease, but was stopped from further comment by Nash who was looking at Frank.

"I assume you came here to stage a rescue?" He asked somewhat amused. "Too bad you didn’t figure out where they were a little sooner. Maybe your brother wouldn’t be quite so bad off."

"You son of a-" Frank lunged for Nash, stopping only when Nash pulled a gun, aiming it directly at Frank’s chest.

"Then again, they almost pulled it off themselves. Almost." Nash said, glaring at Joe, while unconsciously rubbing his still sore midsection.

"I see Joe got in a few good punches before you sicced your goons on him." Frank said smugly, understanding why Nash held a hand to his stomach. ‘Nice job, little brother.’ Frank thought with a touch of pride. At least Joe went down fighting.

"Oh, but he paid dearly for it, believe me." Nash replied, smiling once again. "Now I know it took a lot of effort for you and the young lady to find us," he continued, nodding towards Vanessa, not letting on that he and Jenkins had been watching Frank and Vanessa’s every move since they had arrived at the cabin. "And I don’t want your efforts to be in vain. So I’m going to let you take what you came for and leave."

"You’re going to…what?" Frank asked in disbelief.

"I’m letting you go." Nash loved the mind games he played. Loved to watch the expressions on the faces of his victims when he did exactly the opposite of what they expected. Inevitably, they would end up playing right into his hands and he knew without a doubt Frank Hardy wasn’t going to let him down in that respect.

"You’re going to let us take Joe and Callie and just walk out of here?" Frank asked, now suspicious.

"Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say both of them could leave? No, I meant one of them could leave." Nash replied, waiting for the full effect of his words to dawn on Frank.

"Which one?" Vanessa asked in a shaky voice.

"Well now, that’s up to him." He said staring at Frank. "He gets to choose which one he wants to take with him when he leaves."

"What?" Frank said, absolutely sure he had misheard.

"Oh, you heard me right." Nash smiled that evil smile that made Callie’s blood run cold. "You can leave and take one of them with you. Whomever you choose to leave behind will remain here with us. You can come back for him…or her…tomorrow."

Frank stared at Nash, shocked and speechless. Choose between Callie and Joe? He couldn’t possibly! That was beyond cruel. Frank now realized while this man was very good at inflicting physical pain, as evidenced by what he had done to Joe, he excelled at inflicting mental anguish and emotional pain. Judging by the smirk on Nash’s face, he not only enjoyed the mind games, he reveled in them.

"I’m taking them both." Frank said with determination.

Nash laughed out loud at Frank’s statement. "I think you’re forgetting who is the captor and who is the captive. No, you’ll only take one of them. The question remains, which one will you choose. Your precious little brother? Or your beloved fiancée?"

Frank remained silent, staring at Nash with unbridled hatred, refusing to make a choice. Nash, too, remained silent knowing Frank had to be reeling from the anguish of knowing he would eventually have to choose.

A painful moan from Joe, followed by muffled cries from Vanessa broke the silence and ripped at Frank’s heart. For once in his life, he was having a difficult time keeping his anger under control as he stared at the man who had caused the two people he loved most in the world so much pain.

"I don’t know, Frank. Doesn’t look like he’s going to last much longer." Nash taunted him, looking at Joe. "In fact if you choose to leave him here with us, I can just about guarantee you he won’t live through the night. You’d have a hard time explaining that to Mommy and Daddy when you got home from vacation, now wouldn’t you? I really think you should take him." Nash stopped, savoring the look of disbelief on Frank's face.

"Then again he probably won’t make it through the night anyway, even if you do get him to a hospital tonight. Trust me, his injuries are pretty severe. I should know since I’m the one who inflicted them." Nash said, a note of pride in his voice. "So why don’t you choose your pretty little fiancée instead. Do you really want to leave her in our hands – literally – for an entire night?"

Callie was pressed up against Frank's back, clinging to him, obviously terrified of this man. Frank could feel her trembling as Nash spoke.

"You can come back and pick up your brother - or rather, your brother's body - tomorrow."

"You're sick!" Frank said, venomously. "Twisted, evil and sick."

"Thank you. But flattery won't help you now. And I'm growing rather bored with this game. So choose. Now."

"No." Frank replied evenly.

Nash and Frank stared at each other for what seemed an eternity.

"Fine. You have ten seconds. If you haven't made a choice by then, I'll do it for you." Nash said, ominously.

Frank heard Vanessa gasp and felt Callie cling tightly to the back of his shirt.

'Damn!' Frank mentally kicked himself. He knew he had been taking a chance calling Nash's bluff, but Frank was gambling that if he refused to make a choice, Nash would simply keep all four of them hostage, giving Frank a little time to figure out how to get them all out safely.

"Ten." Nash began counting.

'Oh, God, what do I do?' Frank's blood ran cold.

"Nine."

Looking at Joe, Frank realized he had never seen his younger brother so battered before.

'It has to be Joe. I have no choice. He'll die if I don't get him to a hospital tonight.' Frank blinked back the tears, refusing to let Nash see them.

"Eight."

Frank could feel Callie's tears soaking through the back of his shirt. 'I can't leave Callie here! God knows what those animals will do to her!'

"Seven."

Joe moaned once more and suddenly Frank heard his brother's voice in his head, laughing and joking the day they had gone to pick up Callie's engagement ring.

"Six."

"You have to take Joe." Frank heard Callie's whispered voice, shaking with tears. "He'll die if you leave him here. You don't have a choice, Frank."

"Five."

"I'll be ok here. Don't worry." Callie continued, the terror in her voice betraying her confident words.

"Four."

'Please, God, help me!' Frank prayed. 'I can't do this!'

"Three."

A sudden click grabbed Frank's attention. Nash had his gun aimed at Joe's head and was ready to fire!

"Frank, please!" Vanessa begged, clinging to Joe's hand, unable to look at Callie. She felt like she was turning on her best friend, but she knew Joe would die without immediate medical attention.

"Two."

Frank saw Nash start to squeeze the trigger.

"Say goodbye to your baby brother." Nash smiled evilly, relishing the look on Frank's face.

"NO!" Vanessa screamed.

Nash's finger and the trigger move just a fraction of an inch. Frank felt the sweat dripping down his back, felt his pulse racing, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Joe!" Frank cried out. "I choose Joe!"

He heard Vanessa exhale with relief and then everything was silent. Frank felt Callie let go of him and take a step back. Whirling around to face her, he gasped at the look in her eyes.

'Oh, God, what have I done!' Frank felt as if his heart had been ripped out and torn in half. Callie's words said one thing but the look in her eyes said something else entirely. Betrayal.

"You had no choice." Callie whispered, turning away from Frank, hoping he couldn't see what she was really feeling. The overwhelming emotion she could not control. The one thing she did not want to feel. She had told him to choose Joe. She wanted him to choose Joe. He had to choose Joe. Callie knew if Joe hadn't been beaten within an inch of his life, Frank would have chosen her, no question. Yet she still felt betrayed, like a small piece of her soul had died.

That feeling of betrayal was suddenly replaced by guilt and shame, when she realized that Nash had just played the ultimate mind game with both she and Frank. Nash set them up perfectly and they walked right into his little game. Nash made absolutely sure Joe was so badly injured that Frank would have to choose Joe. He made sure Frank would have to say it out loud, confirming in front of everyone that in Frank's eyes there were situations where Callie would come in second to his brother. Nash wanted to make certain Callie knew this; that she heard it in Frank's own words.

Nash looked at Callie and smirked, taking pleasure in the look of utter devastation on her face. "Well, I guess we all know where you stand now. Right behind his little brother."

Nash's obvious enjoyment of Callie's pain caused Frank to finally lose control. Lunging at Nash, Frank grabbed for the gun, yelling and screaming obscenities at him. Nash simply took a few steps back as three men grabbed Frank, holding him back.

"My, my. And here I thought your brother was supposed to be the one with the temper."

Turning Nash started up the stairs, then stopped. He slowly turned back to face Frank, the evil smile once again firmly in place.

"Oh, and you can take both of them when you leave. I just thought it was important that your fiancée know your true feelings. It's always better to find out about those things before the wedding, you know in case one of you wants to call it off." Laughing maliciously, he disappeared up the stairs.

Frank felt a chill as he looked first at his brother lying unconscious on the floor, then at Callie, trying desperately to hold back tears. Would saving Joe's life really cost him the woman he loved?