I haven’t had a drink since the day Mum died.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.

How easy would it be just to drink my problems away … But I’m stronger than that. I have to be.

I’m on the couch in front of the television. It’s the easiest place to be right now, and requires no effort.

I don’t want to answer the door when someone hammers on it. “Who is it?”

“Graham.”

I roll my eyes. I suppose I should go, because hopefully he’s here to tell me their investigation’s over and they’re leaving my property. Cutting all ties to Constance for good can only help me move on with my life.

Making my way to the door, I glare at him. “What do you want?”

“I want you to come with me. Constance needs you.”

He doesn’t have to say anything more. I’m out the door before he can say anything else.

“The gate’s open,” he yells as I pull down the driveway in my truck.

Sure enough, the gates to the commune are wide open, and I swing between them. There are police cars everywhere. It’s not a common sight around here. Graham has two constables as far as I know, so they must’ve brought in the big guns.

I park a little back from the row of black and white cars, and jump out. Seconds later, Graham pulls up beside me.

“In a hurry?” He narrows his eyes at me.

“You told me she needed help. Where is she?”

He places his hand on my arm. “Ash has her as a hostage. Along with his little harem.”

I swallow. “So, what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. I just thought it might be good for her if she knew you were here.” He tilts his head. “Corey, I need to tell you—”

“What the hell is going on. Why haven’t you got them out of there yet?” A ruddy-faced man is heading straight for Graham. Graham turns to face him.

“The negotiator’s trying to get through. And we’ve got snipers in place. This is going to take some time.”

The man turns to me. “My fiancé is in there.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I say, my gaze focusing on the building. My stomach aches with worry. Maybe Constance doesn’t want to be with me, but I’ll never stop caring.

And she can’t deny what we had was special—what I want again.

“John Parsons.”

I shift my gaze back to him. This is the man Constance ran from. He’s short, and a lot older than her just as she described, and my anger builds at the memory of her stories about what he did to his first wife.

Looking around, I see the police are focused on the building. They don’t need me causing a scene or anything that might put Constance in further danger.

I ignore the hand the man’s holding out.

But I do have my eye on the cop standing in front of me. The one who’s just put down the megaphone they must have been using to try and communicate.

I can’t handle this anymore.

Knowing Constance is in there while these arseholes sit around watching the building is driving me crazy.

I take the two strides to the nearest car, grab the megaphone, and turn.

“What the …?” Graham says.

“Harris, you pussy. Come out here and face me.”

“What are you doing?” Graham glares at me.

“Calling him out.” I raise it to my lips again. “Face me like a man, Harris. Stop hiding behind the women.”

“Who the hell is this?” An armed cop walks up to me.

“Corey, you can’t—” Graham says.

I ignore Graham and turn to the officer. “My girlfriend’s in there.”

He holds up his palms. “I understand this is an emotional situation, but you need to step back.”

From the right, another uniformed policeman approaches. “Sir, we can’t get back through on the phone. He’s not taking any more calls.”

“Your plan’s not working. Ash has those women in there, and he’s not coming out without a fight. He’s far too arrogant for that.”

The first officer turns to Graham. “Your call. What do you think?”

He fixes his gaze on me. “You think calling him out will work?”

“The guy’s a dick. I had dealings with him when he erected that damn fence, and he’s not one to give up.” I lick my lips. “Look. I don’t know much when it comes to all this psychological mumbo-jumbo you lot use, but I do know that Ash has a temper. He needs a target to take that out on, and not any of those women. Let me be your target.”

Graham says nothing. I swear I can see the smoke being generated by his thought processes. He knows not everyone is going to survive this. We just need to make sure that if anyone dies, it’s Ash.

“Try his phone again,” Graham eventually says.

“You’re wasting time,” I say.

“Corey, I can’t just hand this over to you. You would make a great police officer, but not today.”

“And if he doesn’t answer his phone? If he starts killing those women? When are you going to take action, Graham?”

John clears his throat, and I shoot him an irritable look. “For what it’s worth, I think he’s right.” He points at me.

“Has he answered the phone?” Graham fixes his gaze on the cop who’s trying to get through.

“No.”

“Sir, he’s moving.” The sniper positioned behind the cop car speaks. Graham frowns, and I shrug.

“Is he in position?”

“Negative. He’s by the window, but to one side. I can’t get a clear shot.”

Graham looks at me. “One more time. If it draws him out, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, but what you did might just be working.”

I grin, holding the megaphone up and facing the building once more. “Stop being a pussy, Harris. You had to try and drug Hayley to get her to want you, and even that didn’t work.”

Hayley, almost lifeless in Kane’s arms. I’ll never forgive Ash for that.

“Pussyyyyy.” I take a breath. “Do you know what, Harris? I bet you had to drug all the women in your life to sleep with you. Who would want to have sex with a man who hides behind them at the first sign of trouble?”

There’s so much more I want to say, but the last thing I want is for Ash to target Constance.

Please don’t hurt her.

“Come on, Harris. You and me. Forget these guys.” I drop the megaphone down and look at the building. Please let her be okay.

Graham glares at me. “That’s enough. I told you to come here because I thought Constance might need all the emotional support she could get when she came out. Not to stir shit.”

I shrug. “Stirring shit is what I’m good at.”

Silence replaces our bitching. The seconds seem like hours with Constance trapped inside.

“I’m going in,” I say.

“The hell you are. There are women and at least one child in there. Do you want to make things worse?”

John Parsons grabs me by the arm. “My fiancé is in there.”

“Would you just shut the fuck up?” I yell, pulling away from his grip. This is really the man Constance chose over me?

Ignoring John and Graham, I storm past the police cars. There’s yelling behind me, but I don’t care. Constance is in danger.

“Ash Harris. Get your arse out here. I’m finishing this if no one else will.”

Silence falls as I grow closer to the house. I’m sure any second I’ll be tackled to the ground, but I’m not turning back to look.

She needs me.