Everything about the night turned out beautiful, making the water seem breathtaking. Well, in her eyes it did, as the movement of the water captured Kate's attention.

For a while she felt at peace but got distracted when Anna joined her.

" Are you okay?" Anna asked, with a concerned look on her face.

" Hmm." She nodded.

" You seem a little distracted."

" I......" Kate sighed, not able to find her words.

" What is it?"

" I've been feeling a little uneasy for a few days now, at first I thought it had to do with what Max told me the other day but we talked today and all is good. Now, that uneasiness returned and I don't know what it is." Kate admitted, being lost in thought as she spoke.

" Wait, wait, isn't Max that guy from down the street you told me about?"

" Uh......yeah." Kate replied slowly.

She realised that she hadn't told Anna a whole lot about Max and their past. She felt guilty about that and wished that at least she'll have the opportunity to do so during their stay, at Paradise Island.

" Kate, what's the story with this Max guy?" Anna asked, but made sure to lower her tone.

She didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves if this was a private matter.

" It's a long story, which I intend to tell you about, but not now." She pleaded with her eyes for Anna to understand why she didn't want to talk about it at that moment.

Anna sighed and nodded.

" Okay fine, but tell me something, he isn't dangerous or threatening you, right?"

Kate shook her head in amusement. " No, he is a nice person."

In Kate's eyes, Max was a nice guy.

" And Nick, does he know about this Max guy?"

" They met today."

" They did?"

" Yes and I'm glad they did, because when we return, I hope I can get them to know each other more."

Anna didn't say anything for a while but stared at Kate with a frown.

" What is it?" Kate asked out of curiosity.

" I think I want to finally get to know this Max guy too."

" Yes, you should."

" He must be quite special." Anna commented.

" Lets just say I'll forever be grateful for what he did for me."

" Now I'm curious but I'll wait for you to tell me. Anyway, I think you've been stressed out lately and maybe today is no different."

" I don't know." Kate frowned, not being convinced about this.

"Here." Anna held out a cup towards her.

" What is that?"

" Fruit punch, Maddie made it."

A suspicious look passed through Kate's face as she took it. " It's very tasty and will help you to loosen up a bit, you know." Anna continued to say with a smirk, making Kate to roll her eyes but smile.

Music that came out of nowhere suddenly blasted around them. Kate looked around until she saw Danny busy with his music stuff, Anna screamed out in excitement, which earned them a few glares from both Stacey and Chelsea.

None of that bothered the girls and they decided to ignore them.

The next person to let out a shout was Nick, who then sent a wink Kate's way, which made her smile .

Her mind raced as she sped her car on the road, trying to make it on time to Austin's place.

Despite how she felt, there was a sense of worry deep within about how both guys would take what she had to say. She wished so strongly for them to believe her about what she saw. She didn't want to sound crazy yet felt crazy.

Cold chills had travelled throughout her body when she realised how much danger, Kate was in, despite her being out of town for a few days.

What made it all seem worse was the fact that it Halloween time . She prayed that Max would not let all she said slide like others would.

This was about Kate and that meant it was important.

She jumped out of the car the moment she arrived, not wasting time to rush for the door.

She felt a sense of relief when she spotted Max, heading her way. As if he sensed her, he glanced towards her direction and their eyes locked.

" Julie?" Her name slipped from his lips out of surprise.

The two met each other halfway and she threw her arms around him, once he was close enough. " Max!" She cried out.

" Julie, is everything alright?"

" N-no." Julie pulled back and shook her head. " Everything is not fine, I saw him Max, I saw him!" She urgently said.

" Okay, okay, come sit down and tell me calmly what's happening." He suggested when he saw how her body trembled.

" No, I can't!" She protested, taking a step away from his hold.

" Julie, you're not okay, you ----"

" How can I be after what I saw, huh?!" She shouted in frustration.

A curious Austin came out of his office, wondering what all the noise was about.

A few seconds passed and she took a deep breath, so she could better explain everything.

" Kate's in danger."

" W-what?!" Max stuttered, blinking at her.

" After Kate and her friends left, I decided to stop by her work place to grab something to eat but then....."

" But then what?"

" I felt someone bump into me on the way. I would have ignored it, had it been just a simple stranger, but something about the way that man looked gave me chills. For a brief moment we made eye contact and those intense eyes of his couldn't get out of my head. It all came in full circle after a chat I had with one of her coworkers and a dream I had at home, that the man was none other than uncle."

A moment of silence took over with Max just looking at her without a word. He looked quite frozen in place and that worried her.

She opened her mouth to say something but Max didn't give her a chance.

" Follow me." He didn't wait for her but headed for Austin's office.

" Max?" She followed like he said.

" Don't leave out anything her coworker said." He continued to say as he walked passed Austin, as if he wasn't there.

Julie didn't waste time but spilled , making sure to not leave out any detail.

Like how she had hoped, Max didn't waste time and motioned for her to follow him into the office. Julie made sure to tell him everything, trying her best to remember all details.

Once Max was seated on Austin's chair, he glanced up to Austin, who now stood by the door. He had followed without a word.

" Do what you need to do." That was his answer to Max's silent question, for permission to use his office.

Max nodded in appreciation and got right into it. Meanwhile Julie received a text from her mom, requesting she make it back home quick because it was urgent.

" What are you looking for?" Austin finally asked a rather busy Max.

" I'm trying to find out whether Doctor Brown is still in his cage or not." He muttered, clicking away on the keyboard.

" And if he isn't?" Austin asked.

Max paused from what he was doing and looked at Austin for a moment. There was a look of promise on his face. " I'll f*ckin kill him if he goes anywhere near her. "

" I just got a text from my mom." Julie announced.

" Did she say anything about Kate?" Max asked.

Julie shook her head, " No, she only asked for me to come back home and said it's an emergency."

Max rose from the chair and walked over to her.

" You should go home."

" Do you think-?"

" I don't know." He shook his head.

" Uh, I think you guys need to see this." They heard Austin say as he looked at the computer screen.

Julie and Max stood on each side of him as their eyes scanned everything displayed, on the screen. Each of their eyes widened when there was a news report about a fire that broke out at an institution, the same one where Dr Brown was in. Five victims had already been reported to be dead while the rest escaped.

Speculation arose that the fire started near Doctor Brown's room. Investigation was still going on, rumours had already surfaced that Dr Brown was among those who escaped, while other rumours implied that he left dead bodies or he was dead somewhere.

" He got out," the words slipped through Julie's lips as she uneasily took a seat. " No, this is terrible. He's going to --------"

"Over my dead body!" Max said, storming out of the office.

Austin and Julie passed a look at each other before rushing after Max.

" Where- what are you going to do?" Julie asked as she caught up to Max.

Max haulted and turned to her.

" N-no Max, don't do anything risky."

" I can't promise you that."

" But Max -------"

" I have no choice Julie!" Julie flinched when Max raised his voice out of frustration. He let out a sigh when he noticed her reaction and lowered his tone this time. " I can't just sit and do nothing. Waiting for the police to come back with news of dead bodies is something I refuse to do."

" I hear you and I understand." Julie said, " but Kate would feel upset if she found out you got hurt."

" This concerns Kate." That's all he said.

" I know- I just....." She let out a sigh, " Fine. Do what you need to do, just don't get hurt. " She said in resignation.

" How serious is the situation with this Dr Brown?" They heard Austin ask.

" Deadly." Max responded as clear as day.

Both Max and Julie stared at Austin, waiting for his reaction. It didn't take long before he pulled out his phone from his pocket and started typing away.

" Location?"

Julie and Max passed looks at each other before they answered in unison, " Paradise Island."

" The scary part is that Kate has no idea about this whole thing and......" her words faltered as realisation hit her.

" What?" Both the guys asked.

" The whole gang is away. What if he goes after all of them and he does something?"

Austin's brows furrowed and his jaw clenched.

" I'm coming with you." He said, taking them by surprise.

" Austin-----"

" I'm going with you, where ever that may be." He trailed off.

" No, I can't have you two at harms way, already one and her friends are," Max argued.

" Look, I've known those guys for a long time and even though it's none of your business, I have my own selfish reasons for going there."

" Are you sure about this?" Max asked Austin, trying for the last time to see how certain he was about his decision.

" I have every intention to return with them unharmed, so to answer your question, yes I'm sure."

"Okay, fine." Max finally gave in.

" You will have to give me all the details on our way. " Austin told Max on his way out.

" Max?" Julie quickly grabbed Max's arm, stopping him from leaving.

" I can't allow for you to come with us." Max said, possibly calling out her thoughts.

Julie held back from admitting that this was what she thought, " I figured you wouldn't." She said instead.

" I can't have another person I care about hurt, okay?" He wiped a tear that trailed down her cheek.

She nodded in understanding and he was relieved.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before taking a step back.

" Please return with her." She pleaded softly, her eyes full of desperation.

" I was not able to do anything then, but things will be different this time. Trust me?"

" I do." She said.

" Okay, get home safely, please." That was the last thing he said before he hopped in the car and drove off with Austin.

*******

A few cars were already parked on her driveway when Julie pulled over. She took an uneasy breath as she tried to ready herself, to face her family.

The front door burst open and her sister came out first, looking ever beautiful. There was a mixture of both relief and fear evident on her face.

" She's here!" Alexis called out, the moment Julie got out of the car.

The two sisters met halfway and embraced each other.

Julie didn't get a chance to say anything before Alexis led her inside. It didn't take long before she was enveloped into a bear hug by her family.

She noticed the detective who had worked on Kate's case in the past, standing not too far. He was like a guardian angel back then and now he'd returned.

Despite his face remaining professional, his eyes, showed emotion. He was affected by this too because even after all these years, he never forgot about Little Amy.

When she was released from the embrace, she took a look at each one of her family members. Both her mother and sister looked like they had been crying for some time now while her father was both worried and angry.

She didn't even need to ask whether they find out or not, it was pretty evident.

" Sweetheart, there's something you need to know, it's about Kate." Her mother lost the rest of her words within between her sobs.

Knowing that Kate was in danger at that very moment, was a heavy blow to her. All she wanted was for Kate to return home safely.

" I know, " Julie immediately said.

" What?!" They all said in unison.

Julie took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to say.

" There's something you all need to know." She said, gesturing for all of them to take their seats.

There was a lot to be said and she needed their attention, so she would be heard loud and clearly.