Brian's POV
After I watched the video and collected myself, I went back to everyone. "I'm going to get her back from this bastard myself, who's with me?" They all said yes.
I turned to Wanda, "If you help us and tell us where she is I won't turn you into the police. I will even help you get out of town."
She looked straight at me. "Penny told me that too, but you don't have to do that, I have accepted my fate. I came here to help because it's the right thing to do."
"Well, you'd better text him and we better come up with a plan and get moving fast." I said.
"Allen, Jay, you guys have your concealed carries?"
"Hell yes" Allen said "and I have another gun in my car." Jay nodded his head.
"Matt, Zack and Johnny, stay here and distract the police. Tess, stay here with them.
"Let's go, Wanda is going to give us the address and lay out of where she is and we have to come up with a plan."
"Wait! I'm going with you, I can help with the planning and I am not going to sit here while my little sister's life is in danger." Tess said.
We headed out. I asked Wanda on the way to the car "I've got to know, her shirt, tell me he didn't?"
"No luckily, I walked in and was able to stop him. Who knows what has happened since I left." She said.
"We have to get her, quick."
Wanda gave us the layout of the house they were staying in. We had a plan. When we arrived at the house, we were at the 40-minute mark.

Penny's POV
Merlin was pacing back and forth." I guess lover boy didn't love you that much after all. Of course, I wouldn't pay a dime for you. He must have realized what a worthless lying slut you are. I should just go ahead and kill you, I've only kept you alive this long in case he wanted proof you were still alive and to have Wanda help me with your body. She's as worthless as you are. But you know what, there's only 10 minutes left and I have to get out of here and put your body somewhere by myself. So let's get this over with, shall we?"
I was scared as hell, all I could think about was that I was never going to see Brian and my family again. I would never get to see or hold my Granddaughters.
He took the gag off me. "I want to hear you cry, beg and scream right before I slit your throat. Did you want to beg for your life first?"
I knew that my only chance was to stall him, hopefully Wanda did what she said and help was coming. I knew exactly how to get him caught up in his second favorite thing besides drinking. Beating the crap out of women, especially me.
"I won't beg for anything from you and I will not shed another tear because of you. You are a despicable excuse of a man and I will die with the comfort of knowing that someday you will rot in hell."
He slapped me across the face. I just gave him a stone cold stare.
"What makes you think you won't be in hell right beside me?"
"Because I have already been through hell with you."
"Holy and righteous Penny, right to the end."
"That's better than an evil piece of shit that killed his own daughter." He backhanded me.
I spit blood at him. "Is that all you got? My mother can hit harder than that" He backhanded me again even harder.
"I thought prison inmates worked out all the time. You fucking pussy."
"You are lucky I won't punch a woman in the face." He said
"Oh yes, you can slap them or back hand them, even kick them, but your morals won't let you punch them. You are such a man!"
"You fucking bitch!" He punched me in the stomach. Excruciating pain shot through my ribs and I knew some were broken. It hurt like hell but I had to try to not show it or I would be giving him what he wanted. "Did you forget that my morals don't have a problem punching a woman in the stomach?"
"I thought you only did that to kill babies. Do you ever think about the child you killed, your child?" I said through clenched teeth.
"That's it, I'm tired of talking to you Bitch. Too much of my life has been wasted because of you."
He picked up the knife and went behind me and I knew this was it. I closed my eyes and prayed.
Suddenly the door opened, Brian and Jay came in with guns. "Put the knife down Asshole!" Brian yelled.
Merlin crouched down beside me right at my head. "Go ahead, shoot me but you'll run the risk of shooting your precious Penny. I doubt you're that good of a shot." He still had the knife at my throat. "Now put down the guns and kick them towards me or I will slit her throat right in front of you while you're trying to take aim."
Brian looked at me, I mouthed "I love you, don't drop it." I knew letting those guns go meant he would kill them too. He looked at Jay and nodded to him and then they both did as Merlin said. He picked up Jay's gun and pointed it at Brian and Jay. Merlin stood up. "Now you get to see me kill her anyway, before I shoot both of you."
There was a loud boom. The knife and the gun dropped and Merlin fell to the floor. I looked over to see Merlin dead. I turned my head the other way and my brother was standing there with a gun. He must have snuck in the back door.
"I don't know if he's that good of a shot but I am, you son of a bitch." Allen said.
I looked at Brian and started crying, he ran over and started untying me. "You're okay now baby, it's going to be alright. He can't hurt you anymore. I'm here, it's over."

Brian's POV
Even though I knew Allen was coming in the back door, I didn't know if he would make it in time or be able to get a good shot at that bastard. I had the horror of the possibility of seeing my wife murdered. Merlin was holding Jay's gun at us and the knife at Penny's throat. He stood up and Allen had a clear shot. A bullet to the head and the demon was dead.
I untied Penny and she wrapped her arms around my neck and I held her carefully, I didn't want to hurt her more. She was crying and I could tell she had just been beaten and she was very weak. I looked at Allen and told him "Thank you."
Allen walked over to Merlin's body and kicked it. "I guess; I've killed a man now. There's no one else, I'd rather kill."
"I'm not sure you can count him as a man." Jay said.
I looked at Penny's bruised, swollen and bloody face. "He was a monster."
"I stalled him off as long as I could, Wanda said she was going to you. There was only one way I knew to do that." Penny said.
"I know sweetie and you made it. I'm just sorry we didn't get here sooner." Wanda and Tess came into the house. Tess wet a paper towel and handed it to me. I dabbed the obviously fresh blood off of Penny's face. She winced as I touched her.
"We're going to get you to the hospital." I tried to comfort her. "I'm going to take care of you."
She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Brian, for not telling you and for not listening to you when you told me not to..."
I shushed her. "Shh, it's okay. All that matters now is that you are alive and safe. I love you and no one is ever going to take you from me again."
Wanda knelt down to talk to Penny. "I am so sorry that I was ever part of this happening to you."
"I know how Merlin was and how he controlled with fear. You saved my life, I will forever be grateful."
"Wanda" I said. "You need to get going before the police get here." I handed her all the cash I had on me, then Jay, Tess and Allen did too. "That's about $600 that should get you out of town and someplace to stay for a couple of days. You have my number, contact me and I will give you more when you need it."
"I can't take this, it's not right. I am waiting here for the police to arrest me." She handed the money back to me. "I have another confession to make. I worked for the clerk of courts, I am the reason you didn't get notified of his release. I didn't know what he actually did to you, he told me you set him up. He told me you were this terrible person. I believed his lies. He said you and your husband would be out to get him. Once I kept you from getting that letter and he was out, he came up with this kidnapping thing. I was in too deep and I didn't know how to get out."
I was ready to turn her into the police. Everyone just stood there in silence.
Penny spoke up. "Merlin was a master at manipulation and control. When he wanted to, he could say just the right thing. You still saved my life and risked everything to do it." Penny's hand shook as she took the money out of my hands and handed it to her. "Please take it and go. Don't let Merlin have the satisfaction of ruining one last life. I'm begging you."
Wanda looked at me and I nodded in agreement to her. She went to the door. She turned and looked at me. "Take care of her. You are both lucky to love each other like you do." She left.
Not long after that we heard the sirens, we went over our story to make sure we were all the same. We agreed to say we had an anonymous tip of where Penny was, but only had a short time to get here. Then the rest of the story was pretty much how it happened.
They questioned Jay and Allen there.

They let me go in the ambulance with Penny. She was very weak after not eating or sleeping for two days. I held her hand, I could tell she was in pain. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, she had to be exhausted. Then her eyes shot open. She was panicking. "Brian!"
"I'm right here Penz. It's over and you are on your way to the hospital." I tried to calm and reassure her. She started crying.
"I thought I was going to die, I closed my eyes and I see it all and I dreamt that you never came for me."
"Penny, I would never not come for you. I would risk my life a million times over for you. Allen and Jay did not hesitate to risk their lives either." I pushed a piece of hair back from her face. "I am just so sorry we didn't get there sooner. Penny, I've got to ask and you need to tell the doctors if he did. Did he, I mean Wanda told me she stopped him, he didn't do anything after she left to get me?"
"No, he didn't try that again. He said I was so ugly he couldn't even get hard." She started to cry again "It was so awful, he had the knife and he said if I screamed..." The monitors started going crazy.
The paramedic spoke "Mrs. Haner, please try to be as calm as possible." I held my hand up at him that I would take care of it.
"Don't sweetie, just calm down. It's over, you are beautiful and I am going to be right by your side until you are all better and the twins are born." I leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, but I had to hold back my own tears. "Then we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, happily ever after."

While she was in the Emergency room being examined, I gave my statement to the police. "Are you sure you have no information on the woman that was with him or who gave you the address?" I shook my head. "We'll come back and get a statement from your wife later. Meanwhile, don't leave town." The officer said. "I am going to be right here." I told him.

Notes