“I shouldn’t be gone long, Dad, I’m working tonight,” Sierra said as she pushed down the ever present fear of being in her father’s presence. She was angry that he was able to invoke the emotion after being away from him for months. She’d felt she had made such great progress on her new independence, too.

“You’ll stay as long as I want you to. Have you forgotten who I am! Just because you have a new man in your life doesn’t mean jack to me. I can yank you back to my house anytime I feel like it,” he snarled as his fingers tightened around her arm.

Years of abuse welled up inside her, until she was boiling. She was sick of his threats, sick of his abuse. She was done. She’d much rather he carried out his threat and killed her than for her to ever live under his roof again. Damien had told her about the deal he’d made. She’d been sickened that her father had basically sold her, but she was also grateful for it. The time away from him, her growth as a woman, and falling in love with Damien had all added up to her no longer being that cowering little girl in the corner.

“No, Douglas, I haven’t forgotten anything. The many years of your fist smashing into my face, the threats, the accusations, the slander against my mother, all of it is still fresh in my mind! Do you want to know something, though? I really don’t care whether you want to know or not, because I’m going to tell you. I’ve had enough. I’m not afraid of you anymore. You can’t control me. After this little meeting, I never want to speak to you again. You’re a miserable man who compensates for short-comings by threatening and harming others. You treat your employees like crap, and what you’ve done to me is criminal. Release my arm this minute or I’ll –”

“You’ll what, Sierra!” he interrupted her before lifting his hand and slapping her so hard across the face she became dizzy. She shook her head, trying to clear it, planning on fighting him back for the first time ever. She didn’t care if she lost. She’d get a few good kicks in, at least.

Before she could react, though, he was thrown back from her. Her head finally cleared and she looked down, seeing her father lying on the cold floor with blood oozing from his nose as he released a stream of swear words.

She looked up and saw Damien gazing at her, his eyes flashing with fury. He lifted his hand and she flinched, not knowing why, he’d never done anything to harm her – but that look in his eyes was frightening.

“I’m so sorry, Sierra. He should’ve never been allowed to do that,” he whispered as his hand gently caressed her cheek. His fingers shook as they held her face, his eyes still stormed, but his tone was gentle, pained.

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered as the first tear fell.

“I should’ve put the puzzle together by now. I knew something was wrong, that your life wasn’t what I’d first assumed, but I never thought he was abusing you. I should have figured it out because my mom did the same to me. I, above anyone, should’ve seen the signs. It’s just a part of my life I’ve blocked out.”

His confession shocked her. Even though she’d grown up with an abusive parent, she had a hard time comprehending how anyone who was supposed to be your biggest protector could instead be your worst nightmare. A parent’s hands were supposed to be strong, caring, and lift you up, not strike you down and inspire fear.

Douglas had his handkerchief in hand as he attempted to wipe up the blood still oozing from his nose. He was making feeble attempts at standing. She was so focused on Damien she barely noticed her pathetic father.

“Oh, Damien, I’m sorry you went through that,” Sierra said as she wrapped her arms around him. How could he want to avenge a parent who’d hurt him so badly.

“I’ll make you pay for this, Whitfield, just you wait,” Douglas spluttered as he finally managed to rise to his feet.

“You’ll leave this porch, and then continue out the front doors. If I ever see you come anywhere near Sierra again, I’ll bankrupt what little you have left and make sure you spend the rest of your life on the streets. You’ve already proven you’re an untrustworthy business partner; it wouldn’t even take more than a phone call. Make the choice, Monroe,” Damien said, never letting go of his grip on Sierra.

Her father looked at her in shock, then back at Damien before he scurried off like the rat he was. Sierra wanted to fall to her knees, thanking Damien. She had a feeling that her father was truly out of her life for good.

“Thank you,” she offered as her sobs began. She couldn’t say anything more than that.

Damien held her, brushing the back of her head with his hand, making gentle hushing sounds. Sierra couldn’t believe what had just happened and that Damien had come to her rescue. All her life she’d wished for someone to deliver her. It was almost too much of a fairytale to believe. As her sobs subsided, Damien led her back inside, straight to a private restroom where he washed away her tears. Her cheek was red with a slight bruise beginning to form. Out of old habits, she always carried thick cover up to mask her father’s abuse. She grabbed the compact and applied it, and only upon close inspection would a person see the results of her father’s hand.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked.

“No. I want to forget all about Douglas Monroe and just focus on the fundraiser.

With that, Damien gave her a gentle kiss and led her back to the ballroom where the party was in full-swing. A couple hours passed and Sierra forgot about her worries and started enjoying herself.

Damien disappeared with a group of men who wanted to discuss business, promising he’d come back soon. Sierra wandered around, looking at the items up for auction. She found a beautiful sculpture and decided to bid.

“Are you seriously going to outbid me, Sierra Monroe!”

Sierra finished filling out the bidding paperwork, then turned with a huge smile on her face.

“Every chance I get,” she responded before she leaned forward and gave her best friend a hug.

“Well, I was buying it for you anyway. The second I saw the figurine, it reminded me of our weekend in Canada. That was when I knew we’d be friends the rest of our lives. When you abandoned me on the dance floor with three guys trying to get down my pants –”

“I was drunk, and I’ve apologized a million times,” Sierra said with a laugh.

“Okay, I guess I can forgive you, but really, that weekend was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had. I honestly did know I wanted to be friends forever after that trip,” Bree said.

“Bree, I have to talk to you,” Sierra told her as her eyes welled. She’d put it off because she didn’t want to betray either of them, but if Damien did actually follow through on his threats, and Bree was harmed, Sierra could never forgive herself.

Sierra also knew that once the Anderson’s found out that Damien was their lost relative, they’d embrace him with open arms. He needed them – he just had to realize that. The first step was talking to Bree.

“What is it? You’ve turned as white as a ghost. Let’s go sit down,” Bree said as she took charge, like she always did. Their friendship had worked on so many levels because Bree had been the only person, until Damien, capable of bringing Sierra out of her shell, allowing her to have fun without guilt.

Bree led her to a quiet den and before Sierra could lose her nerve she told her the whole story of how Damien was her relative and what he thought had happened, and what he planned to do.

“I love him, Bree, really love him, and I don’t want to betray him, but I could never betray you, either, because I love you. I’ve been so torn over this whole situation or I would’ve come to you sooner,” Sierra said. She was so afraid Bree would be disappointed in her.

“Hey, stop that! You’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t feel guilt over it. I can’t believe Damien is Neilson’s son. Seriously. Not very long ago, remember me telling you about my Aunt Katherine telling us the story of how she and Joseph met. She also told us about Neilson. Damien’s got it all wrong. His mother wasn’t rejected. She showed up on the front porch, yes, and Aunt Katherine was there all alone. She invited her in, fed her, and gave her a bed. The next morning when she went to find her, she was gone. They searched for years, until they finally had to accept she didn’t want to be found,” Bree said.

“I don’t know if he’ll believe you, Bree.”

“We’ll make him believe – he’s family.” Right there was why Sierra loved Bree so much. She didn’t focus on the fact that Damien wanted to destroy them, take away everything they had. She focused on the happiness of finding a lost relative she never thought she’d find. “I have to tell my dad. Come on,” Bree said with excitement as she pulled Sierra to her feet and the two of them rushed from the room.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Damien’s eyes scanned the crowd for the twentieth time in twenty minutes. He hadn’t seen Sierra since she’d been looking over the auction items, and he was getting ready to seek her out. He knew he didn’t have to be with her twenty-four-seven, but he was concerned her father may have snuck back in. There was strong security present, but still, he felt better having her in his site.

He excused himself from the conversation, then turned around to find Joseph and George Anderson approaching. Years of hatred brewed instantly to life as he eyed the men walking so casually toward him.

This is what you want, he reminded himself as they neared. You want them to feel safe around you. In reality, he’d nearly forgotten all about his vendetta against them during the last few months. Something inside him was shifting the longer he was with Sierra. She was so full of life, and filled his days with laughter and his nights with unbelievable passion. She was changing him, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to change.

“Hello, Damien,” Joseph said as the two men stopped in front of him. Damien was surprised for a moment that Joseph was acting so casual with him. Normally, people speaking for the first time had the courtesy to use last names.

“Joseph,” Damien replied, his voice coming out a little too cold.

“We’re very happy to meet you. Would you like to come with us – there’s something we’d like to discuss that I think would be much better done in private,” Joseph said.

Damien’s mind whirled as he wondered if they’d somehow found out about his plans. He’d been very careful. He didn’t want them knowing until it was too late for them to do anything about it. He felt confident as he nodded his head and followed the men through the crowd.

He was a little annoyed at how people seemed to part for both of them as if they were royalty. If the men and women in the room knew who they truly were, they wouldn’t act with such deference to them. They didn’t deserve it.

Joseph stepped into a private office with George on his heels, and Damien, taking a deep breath, followed. He stopped in the doorway when he saw the other occupants. His eyes narrowed when they connected with Sierra.

As he looked at the faces around him, Joseph, George, Lucas, Trenton, Bree, Sierra, and a couple people he didn’t recognize, his stomach turned.