"So you're sure you haven't seen Blaine since earlier this evening," Kurt enquired. He drummed his fingers impatiently along the armrest of the car door, his phone firmly against his ear. He had just left The Blue Banana and discovered that Schuester had suggested to Blaine that Tina might have some information for him. It had been an innocent mistake on his behalf; the old man had no idea what was going on. He wasn't involved after all.

"Definitely," Tina assured him. "Like I told you earlier in the day, he stopped here at around six thirty. So he should now be wandering the streets trying to get people to talk to him." She brushed back a long lock of hair behind her ear, reached out to the TV monitor in front of her, and stroked the screen. She tried to keep her breath steady; the sight of Blaine confidently guiding Eli through his first experience was definitely something she was enjoying watching.

"Damn it!" Kurt swore. "I've looked everywhere." There was a long pause. "Did you tell him anything?" Tina's attention returned to the phone conversation and she swiveled around in her chair so she could concentrate on Kurt's words instead of the two naked men in front of her.

"My lips are sealed, Mr. Kurt Hummel. Your money has bought my silence, but why you would risk losing such a fine luscious piece of ass like that, I just don't know."

Kurt ignored her pretentiousness. They had stopped using each other's full names a long time ago. "That's my business, Tina. You just keep your end of the bargain and you'll receive the rest of your handsome payment."

"Don't worry. I'll keep my end of the bargain." She couldn't help her eyes from flicking guiltily back to the TV monitor when she said that. She caught sight of the two bodies moving together, in time and in sync, and her mind went to not how hot they looked, but to the other blond-haired man who she had also watched countless times on the very same screen. "Kurt? What are you going to do about Sam?"

Kurt sighed and Tina continued, "this new guy, he means business, so you better not fuck them around too much longer. I don't know how patient he will be. If they've already gone to such lengths to kidnap Sam, a stranger to all of this, I really don't think they will stop at anything."

"I know, I know," Kurt said forcefully into the speaker. "But really, if it's a loss that needs to happen, then it'll have to happen." Kurt's gaze went to watching the people walking along the pavement just outside his limousine. He wished he was one of them, walking past the endless cafés and small boutiques without a care in the world, away from all of this horrible mess that was only getting more and more complicated as the hours went by.

"That's your choice, Kurt." Tina glanced back to the screen. "You just better pray that Blaine doesn't find that out though."

"My main concern right now is just trying to find him. I don't want any of those men getting their hands onto him."

"Don't worry. I'm sure he is safe for the time being." Tina stroked her fingers over the TV monitor once again. The two men appeared to be reaching the end of their encounter. "Just keep looking and if I see any sign of him, I'll let you know."

Tina ended the call, placed her phone on the desk beside her, and stood, straightening her short dress in the process. She gave one last satisfied glance at the monitor and then headed towards the door so she could meet Eli in the corridor.

***

Blaine rolled to the side of the sofa and crumpled onto the floor not caring what the hell he was sitting in. The room stank of stagnant beer, cigarettes, and sex. Horrible smelling, smack you in the face, sweaty, hard truth, sex; sex that he had just had with someone else other than Kurt. He tied a quick knot in the used condom and flicked it in the direction of the trash can, not really caring whether it made it or not. He felt sick to his stomach.

What had he just done?

WHAT HAD HE JUST DONE???

Blaine couldn't think, couldn't put his thoughts into order. His breath shortened and he grabbed at his throat. He took several deep heart-wrenching gasps for air, frantically trying to fill his lungs. The air seemed to be eluding him however, escaping from his mouth before his body was able to absorb it. Was he starting to have a panic attack?

He tried to ignore the feeling and quickly reached for his jeans that he had draped over the end of the sofa. He pushed his legs through and pulled them up around his waist. The mere sight of them churned his stomach though. How tacky and cheap was he, that he had been sitting there, naked on the floor of a karaoke bar? He dragged his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his body.

Blaine dropped his head on to his forearms and began to rock himself back and forth. The pain, oh the pain! It was unbearable, heart-stabbing pain that was tearing through him. It wasn't just Kurt's heart that he was going to break, but his very own as well. He tried to hold onto a sob, but it echoed in the silence of the small room, his chest shaking just from the mere act of producing it.

He heard a quick short noise of someone moving on the sofa behind him, and an uncomfortable cough filled his ears. "Are you alright?" Eli asked hesitantly. "Did I do something wrong?"

Blaine couldn't answer him. The very sound of Eli's voice was too much. He lifted his head and rested it in one of his hands, and nothing he did now would be enough to stop the tears that had started to well up in his eyes. "No," Blaine finally managed with a gasp. "No, I'm not alright." He was at the furthest possible point away from being alright. It felt like his throat was clenching up, tighter and tighter, and for a brief moment, he wondered if it would close up completely and he would no longer be able to breathe. "It's not you but please, if you could just go."

"But..." Eli paused, utterly confused. "I'm sorry, I..." He was really unsure as to what he had done wrong.

"Just go," Blaine sobbed, his words becoming unclear as he buried his head in his arms again.

Eli quickly gathered his things, pulling on his clothes so quickly that they sat haphazardly on his body. "I, I had a good time," he quickly offered, but his words fell onto to the muffled sound of further sobbing.

Blaine turned his body away. He couldn't even remember clearly what he had done, whether he had been good or not, not that it fucking mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. He was nothing. He was the scum of the Earth. He didn't deserve Kurt. He didn't deserve anyone or anything.

Several minutes passed before he became vaguely aware that there was a new presence in the room. He didn't even know when they had entered; he had been so consumed by his emotions. Tina's soft but fragrant perfume filled his nostrils. She was the last person in the world that he wanted to see right now. Tina was the cause of all of this. She was the one who had trapped him into this corner where he had been forced to betray Kurt.

A soft, gentle hand reached for his elbow.

"Blaine," Tina began softly, cautiously scooting closer to him. But Blaine ignored her, suddenly afraid of the mounting anger he felt within him. He was unsure of what he might do with it. He was not a violent soul, the feeling was new, strange and foreign, but in his dire frame of mind, the anger was frighteningly compelling.

"Blaine!" Tina tried again, this time more forcefully. She reached over and placed a firm hand on his forehead; he resisted her at first, but in her determination she managed to push his head up. Blaine's eyes were red and watering, and as Tina's eyes connected with his, a single tear fell free and trailed down his cheek.

Her heart filled with remorse. She knew it was the worst possible thing that she could do to Blaine, but he would understand eventually. He may never forgive her, but he would maybe one day forgive himself. She turned, found his shirt, and placed it over his legs. "You need to go," she said slowly but firmly. "You don't have a lot of time. You need to go back to Kurt."

The mere mention of Kurt caused another tear to fall free, this time from the other eye. "I can't," he gasped.

"You can, Blaine!" Tina encouraged again when his gaze drifted off. She forced his head to look back at her and it was her next words that really brought him out of his daze. "If you want answers, you need to go to Kurt."

Blaine's eyes flicked back to her then, her words knocking him out of his guilty daze. "What?" he shook his head, had he misheard her. "Kurt?"

"Put your shirt back on and I'll explain." Tina sat and watched as he drew the piece of clothing around the back of his shoulders and pushed his arms through. He didn't have the strength to button it back up and instead simply stared up at her glumly.

"I'm actually not allowed to tell you what's going on," Tina began. "I swore."

Blaine snapped.

Tina's sudden confession was the last straw. He couldn't help it. The boiling energy that had formed and had slowly been building momentum over the past couple of minutes exploded to the surface just like lava from a volcano. Before Blaine could reason with the anger, it was there and he was unable to control it. Tina didn't have time to react. He had her, his hand quickly snapping up and grabbing her tightly around the throat. Blaine pulled her down quickly, jarring her off her feet and knocking whatever precious air she already had out of her lungs in one harsh, surprised gasp. Tina tried to regain her footing, but couldn't, and ended up half lying on him and the cold floor. The shock and pain jolted through her face and she clawed at his hands. He was not agitated in the least and only pulled her closer, cutting off more of her air supply at the same time.

"Blaine!" She gasped frantically. "Let me go!" They were so close now that when he spoke, she could feel his angry breath on her face.

"Tell me what you know or I will kill you!" He spat. "I've got nothing to lose now!"

Tina didn't doubt for one moment that he meant it. She had never thought before that Blaine had it within his bones to hurt anyone, but from the agonized and wild expression she could see right at that instant, she believed he was very well capable of it. She could see the fire, the anger, the pain, and she had caused it, she had created it and she was going to suffer the consequences.

"I can tell you where Sam is," she cried, and Blaine eased his hold slightly. "But I can't tell you anything else." Blaine retightened his grip and she staggered on her haunches, trying to take some of the pressure off her neck. "The Dalton House, that's where Sam is." Blaine frowned at the information. He had heard of the elaborate estate before. It was an elite establishment where only the wealthiest men stepped within its gates. He had heard stories about the secret men's club when he was on the streets of LA and he was surprised he hadn't put two and two together before. All of Schuester's comments about the wealthy clients that Sam had become involved with, suddenly made even more sense when he connected them to Dalton.

"And he's being held against his wishes?" Blaine continued to question.

"Yes," Tina managed again, her face clearly showing the discomfort he was putting her through.

The door to the small room suddenly flung open and several men shoved their way through the entrance, but Blaine ignored their arrival. His only interest was to continue interrogating Tina.

"How do you know The Dalton House has him?"

Tina's face was quickly going red and Blaine released his hold a fraction to enable her to answer. "Because we have someone inside," she confessed.

"Let her go!" One of the men demanded. Blaine recognized him immediately as the man who had watched him from his chair earlier in the evening. It was Mike. He stood threateningly over Blaine, but he didn't act any further. He could tell from Blaine's grasp that with one swift flick of his hand, he could break Tina's neck if he wished to. He was still going to send Blaine a very clear warning though. "You do anything to her and you'll be leaving this room in a body bag."

"Do I look like a man who gives a shit?" Blaine laughed back up to him. He dropped his gaze back to Tina again. "Tell them to back the fuck off."

She waved her hand to dismiss them, but the men were not about to go anywhere. They didn't move and the aggression in their stances remained. Tina let out a small whimper in pain and the men in the room only tensed further. Mike held both of his hands out though, blocking the men behind him from approaching and going to her aid.

"Why do they want Sam?" Blaine asked. He had noted their aggressive postures, but he was confident they wouldn't approach, not while he had Tina in such a fragile position. He loosened his grip to allow her to speak and she desperately gasped in some large gulps of air.

"It was a trap," she whispered after a few seconds, Blaine's abuse to her neck temporarily injuring her vocal cords. Tina glared up at him, her face slowly returning to its normal color.

"What?" Blaine asked confused. He was so mystified by this information that his hand went lax and he nearly lost his hold on her altogether. Tina saw it as her opportunity to escape and she tried to struggle free, but the sudden frantic fight against Blaine's hand reminded him, and he retightened his grip once more.

Tina and Mike exchanged a quick nod and she elaborated. "They really want you, Blaine."

"Me?!" Blaine stared at her in disbelief. "What do you mean?" He whispered, his voice barely audible.

"They hoped you would come to LA to look for Sam, and you did. If you've not careful, you will fall straight into their hands."

"But why me? Why would they want me?" He gazed quizzically up at Mike. "I have never met anyone before who is associated with them."

"Once they got you..." Tina paused, unsure as to whether she should continue. There was a lot of money riding on their confidentiality.

"Once they got me?"

She thought quickly, not wanting to jeopardize their arrangement with Kurt. "Once they got you, then they knew they would be able to get Kurt to do whatever they wanted."

Blaine froze. There it was again; Kurt?

"What?" Blaine demanded, afraid of what he was going to learn.

"Kurt's involved in all of this," Tina explained further, "some shady business deal that's gone bad. He tried to get out of it and they went sour."

Blaine leaned in, bringing their faces only inches apart. "He got into a business deal with someone from The Dalton House?" Blaine's frown deepened. The person who had been calling him and who wanted to meet him the next day had to be someone from The Dalton House then. His eyes focused back on Tina suspiciously, "and, why the hell do you know all of this?"

"Because, because Kurt came here asking for our help." Blaine's eyebrows rose in surprise. Kurt had been to LA on several occasions to work on several projects in the past year, but Blaine had never pried into his business. He had trusted Kurt. "He's not innocent in this, Blaine. We have the proof. We have him on camera at our other club but apart from that, I really can't tell you anything else."

Blaine could feel his heart ricocheting in his chest. He let go of her neck and Tina collapsed onto his legs. She gulped in large mouthfuls of air to replenish her lungs, but still with enough strength to eye him up viciously.

"Didn't know you had it in you, to be honest," she hissed at him, some of her previous attitude returning. Blaine didn't respond, but he bent his legs up in disgust and she slid down them to the floor. He didn't want her touching him. He glared at her satisfactorily though. Even in the dim light of the room, Blaine could make out the red pressure marks he had created on her neck. They were sure to leave bruising and hopefully she would remember just what he would do if she messed with him again.

"Show me," he spat. "Show me the video."

***

It was the fifth time that the silent recording had played. Blaine squinted again, his eyes analyzing different aspects of the footage, trying to gain as much information as he possibly could. What he got from it was very limited though. But one thing was for sure, Kurt had been in Tina's club and Kurt had been doing something that left Blaine's mind reeling. All of a sudden, he didn't feel that disturbed by what he had just done with Eli.

He thought he knew Kurt. He thought they were in an honest, loving, caring relationship. But now, he wasn't too sure.

He suddenly rose to his feet, causing Tina to startle on his left. His previous assault on her had created a new found wary respect for him, and she was now keen to keep her distance until she was sure his anger had completely dissipated. From the way he had banged the table with his clenched fist in the past half hour though, as he watched the footage, she knew she still needed to wait awhile.

He had seen enough and it was now time for him to go. If it was Kurt who he had to see to get information regarding these backups, then it was Kurt who he was going to call. Hopefully, he would be able to get some answers before he had to meet these Dalton people in person at the Mondrain.

Blaine turned to Tina. "I'll never forget what you made me do and I've never said this to anyone before, but I hate you. I mean it, I really hate you."

Tina was silent for a moment, unaffected by his words. "You'll hate me more soon enough."

"What?" Confused, Blaine stepped away from her, repulsed by the fact that he even had to look at her.

"It doesn't matter." Tina shook her head, the same sorrowful expression that had plagued her face earlier in the evening returning.

"We strongly advise that you don't go to meet these Dalton men tomorrow at the Mondrain Hotel," Mike suddenly spoke in warning. Blaine had noticed him approach, but he was surprised that Mike had spoken. He had been so quiet until then, allowing Tina to do all the talking. Blaine's eyes swept over Mike suspiciously. Was he really the fugitive that had escaped the police in Hong Kong, the one that Schuester had told him about? Mike's identity was a mystery, and Blaine had to question their involvement with all of this even further. He had no idea how Mike even knew that he had arranged to meet someone at the Mondrain Hotel, but he had just confirmed his suspicions; it was someone from Dalton that wanted to meet him about the backups.

Blaine turned to face him. "I have to go tomorrow! I have to for Sam!" Blaine threw his hands into the air. Why did he feel like he was getting nowhere fast? Why did he feel like instead of answers, he was only getting deeper and deeper into this mess?

"Just go to Kurt, Blaine," Tina ordered him. She gave another look towards Mike, and Blaine saw in that moment that it wasn't Tina who was calling the shots here. It was Mike. He was the one who was in charge. "We've got people involved, people who are trying to get Sam back."

She took Blaine's elbow and began to guide him towards the door. He wasn't going to have any of it though and flicked her hand free. He didn't want her touching him.

"What I don't understand is why would you make me have sex with that man, if you are saying that you are helping Kurt?" Blaine was exhausted now. The whole day had worn his emotions and physical stamina thin.

"Go to Kurt. He will give you all the answers you need." Tina repeated, ignoring his question completely. She opened the door for Blaine to go through. "Karofsky said you literally passed each other on the streets tonight. He said he doesn't even know how you missed seeing each other."

Blaine looked away and swallowed deeply. He couldn't make eye contact with her while the tears threatened to come forth once again. Kurt was here, in LA? He'd come to help him and they had missed each other on Hollywood Boulevard. How was that possible when only a year ago, as strangers, they had been able to find each other?

Blaine turned around to leave, only to find Karofsky standing defiantly before him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Blaine blurted angrily and he tried to shoulder his way past the large man. Unperturbed by Blaine's efforts, he didn't budge and instead easily pushed Blaine against the wall, preventing him from leaving. "Get your hands off me!" Blaine yelled.

"Karofsky is going to escort you to where Kurt is staying," Mike informed him. "If you hadn't already noticed, he's been following you."

"Yeah, how could I not notice?" Blaine replied sarcastically. "Scaring everyone into not talking, that's what he's been doing."

"Actually," Mike said with an amused smile, "he's been protecting you. You've been followed by the men from Dalton all day, Blaine, ever since you turned up outside of Sam's apartment building." Blaine couldn't believe his words, they were ludicrous. Mike saw his incredulous expression and decided to elaborate, "let's just say the Dalton House and I have a mutual respect for each other. They weren't going to touch you with Karofsky at your back."

Karofsky released his hold. "Let's go," he invited, waving his hand in the direction of the exit. He attempted a smile, but it only came out as a snarl.

Blaine didn't answer but shoved past him and stumbled down the hallway. He looked over his shoulder and sighed when both Karofsky and Tina were following him. He came to a complete halt though when he heard Tina begin to speak, her phone poised delicately on the side of her face.

"Kurt," Tina said into her phone. "I have Blaine here with me. He's just turned up."

Blaine watched her listen, his heart in his throat. Would she mention what he had just done before he was able to have any attempt in telling him first?

"Yes, yes." She held the phone towards Blaine. "He wants to talk to you and if I were you," she continued at a whisper, "I would keep your mouth shut about what happened here. Tell him to his face."

Blaine didn't need to take relationship advice from Tina. He snatched the phone free from her hands and brought it to his ear.

"Kurt," he breathed, his voice thick with his unshed anguish.

"Blaine?! Blaine!" Kurt cried. "Thank God you're alright."

There were so many confused and mixed emotions running through him. So many unanswered questions and now, so many guilty confessions between them; Blaine didn't know where to start. One thing was sure though, he wanted to see Kurt. He had to see Kurt. Blaine had believed that their future was clear, certain, and honest, but now he didn't know if there was even a future for them to have together.

Kurt's voice was like home and the sound of it pulled Blaine towards him. And really, Kurt didn't need to say his next words because Blaine was already halfway there, nearly wrapped up protectively in his arms.

"Come meet me here at the Beverly Wilshire," Kurt encouraged him. "I'll be here waiting for you."

A smile, although a fragile one at that, finally came to Blaine's lips. "Okay," he whispered his voice cracking, "I'll be right there."