Behind me, I heard murmurs and gasps, and beside me Edward’s low chuckle, but I kept staring at the woman who’d I known as Shelley.

“Who are you?” I hissed, as my fear twisted into anger and began to rage through my bloodstream.

“I’m shocked you don't remember me.” Her fake gasp hit the air. “That is just going to make our reunion even more special.”

The more she spoke, the more out of control she became.

“I’ll give you a few hints. You were Cinderella, and I was Snow White. We shared Barbie’s and dolls. We made mud pies, and you’d cry when your skirt got dirty.”

I stared at her for a beat before memories of two little girls, giggling and chasing their brothers, swapping dolls clothes and having sleepovers rolled through my head. In disbelief, my eyes bounced between Edward and Shelley

There was no way this was possible.

She couldn't be.

Edward O’Leary’s sister, Holly?

“Holly?” I gasped, as I tried to find any similarities between the girl who'd been my friend and neighbor, to the woman holding a gun to me. Nineteen years had passed since I’d seen her. We were ten when she left for New York to attend boarding school, and I never saw her again. How could she think that I’d recognize her?

“Surprise!”

“Shelley, I don’t...”

I grimaced as she hit me again in the same spot, but this time a trickle of blood ran down the side of my face, and I swear I blacked out for a few seconds.

“My name is Holly,” she stated while glaring at me.

“Ease up, sis, we have plenty of time, well unless Drew bleeds out and then shit will really get real.”

I looked at Missy and found her staring at the scene in complete disbelief. Austin and Ben had taken a step toward us and were now watching closely and completely on guard and at the ready. I wanted to say so much to Ben, but the risk was too great. One flick of Holly’s wrist and I could either be shot or someone I cared about could be shot. This was about me protecting those that meant something to me. I was angry because I’d been played, and now I found myself here. But I was more angry at the fact that I’d just opened myself up to the best possible chance of happiness that has ever appeared to me, I was ready to give my all to Ben, and I find myself here with two maniacs with God only knows what vendetta against my family.

“Why?” I whispered. “Tell me why.”

“Your family took from us, so now it’s time for us to take from you. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

“We’ve taken nothing from you. Why the fuck would we want to?” Hostility rolled off Drew. “You’ve fucked yourself over one too many times, O’Leary. There is no fucking way you are walking out of here, and now you’ve dragged your sister into it? You’re an asshole.”

Edward’s glare locked on Drew, and in a flash, his fist connected with Drew’s his bleeding side, and his roar of pain bounced off the walls. “It’s about time you learned some respect.”

“Would you stop!” I cried out. “What could our family have possibly done?”

“For six years your slut of a mother was fucking our father. We had the perfect family until she opened her legs, then our family turned to shit. Everything began to revolve around the Hamilton’s. Every holiday, every birthday, every weekend was spent with you. Because they wanted to see each other. Edward had already left home, but I was still there. Then I became an inconvenience to their affair, so I was shifted off to boarding school on the other side of the country. Dad wanted to get mom out of town, so he used me as an excuse, and off we went.”

My gasp tore through the air, and I’m sure I also heard Missy’s.

“Then when I would call Dad, all he would talk about were the Hamilton kids. Sasha this, Sasha that, Sasha, Sasha, Sasha. Drew this, Drew that, Drew, Drew, Drew. I was ten! Mom wasn’t stupid though. She knew what was going on and she decided to heal her wounds with booze. So, thanks to your mother, my mother was taking out her frustrations on me behind closed doors, while my father was practically replacing me with you.”

I sucked in a broken breath as I tried to take in what she was saying.

“Then my father got your mom pregnant. Paid her to leave town, bought a house for her a few towns over, promised her the world, as long as she said goodbye to her life in Monroe, including the precious Hamilton kids. That’s got to be tough knowing that she could get paid enough money to leave? That money was worth more than you. Talk about rejection.” She stopped for a moment as if she wanted to twist the knife that was sticking out of my heart in a little bit further. “But daddy dearest wasn’t the only one to make promises. She promised him Hamilton’s if they left town together. She was going to talk with her lawyers because now that they would have a kid together, that kid would have claim because she was equal owner.”

I had another brother or a sister?

My mother left for money.

“You lying bitch!” I hissed, as anger pulsed through me. “You have no idea what you are saying.”

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Especially after all these years of trying to work out why she left, when all it came down to is money. It’s always money Sasha. I bet I could offer you enjoy money right now to make you drop to your knees and suck my cock. There is always a price.” Edward stepped forward and got in my personal space, and he was all I could see, then he dropped his voice, declaring, “But I think it would be more fun if I forced you and got to see that fight in you.”

“I swear to God O’Leary, step the fuck back.” Ben’s voice was lethal, and the threat was not hidden.

Edward swung around, and with venom in his tone, he declared war, “Would you shut the fuck up? I’ve been dealing with your bullshit for too many fucking years. Stole your cousin's woman, and now look where I find myself, getting ready to steal yours. You made it too easy when you started fucking her.” He looked between Ben and me. “I could deal with two pains in my ass in one go! Holly, if any one else talks or moves, silence them, I’m trying to tell a story, and I want no interruptions.”

He was insane.

It as a simple as that, and Drew and I, and every single person here was at his mercy.

“Now, where were we? Oh yes, that’s right, your mother. It was so easy getting her back to Monroe, again, money worked a treat, but in your mother’s case, I had money and blackmail on my side. Boy, she has some secrets. It’s almost disappointing how easy everything has been. Getting the contracts from Sass - a piece of cake. Holly got the key from your spare set, and she walked right on in, and no one even questioned why her fingerprints were in your office because you two were friends,” he said smugly. “And getting drugs in here. Now that was even easier. I fucked a couple of young pussy, gave them a taste of some free shit, and they brought it here. I got pussy, they got free drugs, Hamilton’s got yet another black mark against its name, and you two started falling from the pedestal. Brilliant all around.”

“Why the fuck did you need the contract?” Drew hissed from the floor. “It’s ironclad; you can’t do shit with it.”

“That, I’ll give you.” Edward sneered. “Got to say I was mighty pissed when I saw your Dad had removed your mother from staking any claim. Your Dad was a smart man. If she’d still be on the deeds, it would have meant that our sister would have claim to this place, just as much as you two. Fuck, I was pissed when I found out. I’d been grooming our sister, fighting with that sassy mouth she has, to get her on board. Promising her the world, telling her she could run it when she turned twenty-one, fuck; I’d promised to buy her an apartment, basically whatever she wanted. One thing her and Sasha share, they are both stubborn as fuck.” I had a sister? “Holly and I had big plans for this place. There would no longer be anything family-friendly about Hamilton’s once I got my hands on it. Monroe wouldn’t know what hit it. Our sister was the stepping-stone to getting it, and you two were in my way. So, I decided I’d get it another way, by chipping away slowly and bringing in the drugs, the women, and scandal. Fuck, the shit with the mayor’s daughter was just an added bonus. I didn’t even know that was going to happen, but it worked a treat.”

“You are a piece of shit.”

“You really need to get your anger in check, Drew.”

“You will never get this place,” I said confidently even though inside I was freaking out like never before. I had a sister. I couldn’t wrap my head around that. A sister I shared with the vilest people in the world. My mother left us because she got paid enough. I was so done. So fucking done. “There is no way Drew and I would ever sell this place, so how did you honestly think you’d get it?”

“I have my ways, Sasha. Look at what’s happening now. You’ve got a gun pointed at you, and I gotta say, Holly has some mega issues when it comes to you, so I’d be really fucking careful, and Drew here, well he’s bleeding pretty heavily, and your mother? She’s currently working out how she’ll spend her share of the sale of this place, so shit’s not looking good in respect to you two. Also, I’m also sure your cop boyfriend has told you all about poor Jacqueline,” His smirk twisted into an evil grin. “She said no to me once, and look where it got her. If you’d said no about this place, I would have made sure you never spoke, fucked, or walked again. Then your hero brother would have gone off seeking revenge on the men who brutalized you, and I would have come right on in and bought the place. The perfect plan really.”

I turned to Holly. “Did you just hear what he said? He organized a woman to be raped, and he just insinuated that he would get someone to rape me. You're okay with that? As a woman, as a human being, you are okay with that?” I screeched.

She rolled her eyes. “Paybacks a bitch, Sasha.”

“This is all because you want revenge on something neither one of us had any say in. You two are fucked.”

“Sasha, calm down,” Ben voice echoed through the room. “Do not react.”

“React? I’m not reacting. I’m pissed.” I had no idea where my strength had come from, but all I knew was that this was not how it was going to end. I refused to be a player in some screwed up game the O’Leary’s had come up with. “Tell me how this ends. What do you want?”

“Now you’re negotiating,” Holly scoffed. “This should be good.”

“Let Drew go, and I’ll stay,” I pleaded, begging to both of them to find some decency in their crazed heads. I had no idea if it would work, but I had to try everything because I knew there was no way Ben and Austin would let anything happen to me. That’s what I was holding on to. “I'll do whatever you want, as long as you let Drew go.”

“Sasha, no,” Drew muttered, his voice sounding distant although he was right near me. “I’m staying.”

“What do you want? Tell me,” I said, my voice getting louder, my desperation getting extreme. “Edward, what the fuck do you want?”

“Sasha, do not engage with him,” Ben yelled from the other side of the room. “Look at me.”

“Do not look at him,” Edward hissed, and the evil that flashed in his eyes caused me to shudder with fear, and it took all of my diminishing strength to keep hold of his gaze. “That's a good girl.”

“O’Leary, this is not going to end well for you, so step the fuck away.”

“Ben, stop talking,” I cried out as Edward’s face transformed to fury, and he took a step toward me.

“Listen to her, Hunt. You’ve really pissed me off now, so I’m going to enjoy every minute of this and when you hear her screaming, know that it’s because of you.” Edward grabbed at my arm and pulled me away from Holly and toward Drew’s office. “Holly, if anyone moves, shoot them. Oh and just a warning, if I hear anything out here, I will kill her. If I hear the slightest indication that you’ve moved, I will kill her. Now, I’ve been waiting years for this moment, so it’s time I took it.”

“What about Drew? That was the deal.” I said, my voice sounding stronger than I felt.

Edward scanned the room and focused on Missy. “You take him out.”

Missy rushed toward Drew who continued staring at me. All I could do was hope that he could see what I was trying to do. He had to know that I would do anything for him but it wouldn’t come to that. I was holding onto the hope that Ben and Austin would get us out of this. What was the point of living if you didn’t have hope?

“Sash, I’m not leaving.”

“You have to.”

“This is bullshit,” He growled, as Missy put her arm around his waist. “You are dead O’Leary.”

“Pretty sure you shouldn’t be making threats right now, Hamilton.”

My heart felt lighter knowing that two people I loved were getting out, and I knew the minute they were outside that help would be on its way.

Fear crawled up my spine when Edward pulled on my arm. With one final look at Ben, I found strength in the subtle chin lift he offered me. I hoped and prayed that it meant that somehow this was not going to turn out like Edward anticipated. I stumbled into the office, swaying on my heels, and Edward closed the door and stole away any thought of safety that I was clutching onto.

“Been waiting a long time for this Sasha.” I slammed my eyes closed at his words. “Going to enjoy every moment of this. Where should we begin? Pussy? Mouth? Or Ass? I’m claiming every part of you tonight, but I’m a gentleman, so I’ll give you the choice of where we start.”

How could he possibly believe he would get away with this? The look in his eyes as he mentally undressed me was an indication that he didn’t care about anything besides getting what he’d been trying to get since I was a teenager. He stalked toward me like a lion stalking his prey, and I backed up until the desk hit me and I was caged in.

“Kind of wish we could bring your boyfriend in here. I would have liked to show him what I planned on doing to you but we know he has a temper and he’d probably fuck it all up.”

There was no way I was handing over my body to Edward.

“Lay down on the ground,” he ordered, and after briefly hesitating, I obeyed. It was all part of a plan I didn’t quite know yet.

What I did know was that I brought him in here to fight.

He moved quickly.

His hand disappeared up my skirt, and I froze. I wasn’t wearing panties. This was meant to be Ben. My body went tight as he hovered over my body, his eyes narrowing onto my heaving chest. My sense of fight kicked in. His plan was to ruin me, so I was going to fight him. I clawed, scratched, kicked, elbowed and punched. I connected at times and missed at other times. This was not going to happen. The first time his fist connected with my face, I gasped. Even though anything was possible when it came to Edward, I was still shocked that he hit me. Pain radiated through my face, and my cheek burned. Then I attacked again. This time harder, and this time I screamed. His fist was harder this time, and it connected with my lower cheek, and the taste of blood swam through my mouth.

His hand kept edging up my skirt and disgust coursed through me. I couldn’t let him do this. He had strength, power, and weight over me, but I had to find something.

“Stop fucking moving,” he growled as I shook violently against him, trying desperately to remove his body from mine. “You keep moving, and I will tear your pussy to shreds once I get inside you. Do you want that? You want it rough?”

I screamed in his face, hitting his chest before he hit me again. I didn’t know how many blows I could take, but I’d take as many as I had to, in order to stop him from doing this.

The harder I fought, the more I prayed for my adrenaline to remain. I would not lose to him. As I pounded my fists on his chest, something out of the corner of my eye flashed and caught my attention. Desperate for Edward not to see, I took a chance and rolled onto my back, which allowed him to cover my body with his. He pressed his erection against me, and I swallowed back the bile that rose, and it enticed me to fight even harder. As he began to grind up against me, I twisted my face to the side and caught sight of David standing on the other side of the window with a finger to his lips.

I hadn’t seen him since he’d met Bitchy Sasha when I’d stormed into the police station after the break in at Sass, but right now, he was the greatest thing I’d ever seen.

At the same time as I heard ‘Go! Go! Go!’ being yelled by who I thought was Carson out in the bar, a piercing shriek tore through the office, after the window shattered and rained glass over me. Then everything stopped. Edward groaned, and rolled off me, and then there was silence. He was no longer moving, and when I looked at his lifeless body beside, I saw the blood leaking from his chest.

I couldn't look away. I’d never seen a dead body before, let alone the body of someone who was, without a doubt, going to rape me.

“Sasha, look at me, are you hurt?” David asked as he squatted in front of me wearing a bulletproof vest. The worry on his face made him look so much older than he was.

“My cheek hurts, and I think I have a cut. But I’m okay.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, offering him the smallest smile. “You are getting so many candles for this,” I whispered, and my body went slack as the tension floated away. “Whatever you want, for life.”

The door behind David burst open, and Ben rushed in, coming straight for me. He was the most beautiful sight in the world. Tears flooded my eyes as soon as he pulled me to my feet and crashed me against his body. Warmth, protection, and safety engulfed me, and I clutched onto his shirt. He was my lifeline.

“Fuck, sweetheart. Are you okay? Did he…?” He asked, his voice rushed and deathly low.

“I’m okay, and no,” I whispered, looking up at him. “What happened out there?”

Relief swarmed Ben’s face, and then he quickly turned to David. “I owe you.”

David shook his head. “She mentioned she was bringing me candles. Get her to forget the candles, and we are even.” David said, low.

Before I could say anything to David, Ben grabbed my hand and took me out of the office and away from O’Leary’s body. The shakes had started to overcome me. Shock was setting in. Silently, we walked through the main bar, and I kept my head down because I had no idea what had happened to Holly, and I didn’t want to see another body.

The cool night air smacked me in the face when we exited Hamilton’s. Police cars surrounded the building with their lights flashing. I clung onto Ben’s hand even harder.

“What happened in there?” I asked, repeating my earlier question. “Where’s Drew? Where’s Missy?”

We came to a stop, and Ben spoke low. “Carson was on break and was making a call outside when it went down. As soon as the lights went out, he got into a position where he could see but couldn’t be seen. He called in for back up and worked on the plan with David. Fuck, if David hadn’t got that shot…”

“He saved me,” I whispered. “But I went into the office knowing that you wouldn’t let anything happen to me. One way or another, I would be saved. I just had to get Drew out of there, and that’s the only way I could think of. Is he okay?”

“Drew’s okay. He was taken to the hospital. Fuck, you are the strongest fucking woman I’ve ever met.”

I gave him a weak smile. “I don’t feel very strong right now.”

“Sasha, Ben.” David’s greeted as with a weak smile.

I dropped Ben’s hand and crashed into David with such force that he stumbled back. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. “Thank you,” I whispered as fresh tears hit my eyes. “Thank you so much. But are you okay? That was…”

He squeezed me gently. “No need to thank me. And yeah, I’m okay.”

I pulled away and took a step back so I can look at him. “Remember what I said in there. Candles for life, even if you don’t want them.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. “And if you don’t stay being okay, please come and see me.”

His mouth twitched, and he nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

I pulled away and moved back to my favorite place.

Ben’s arms.