I held back my tears when James ended the call with Sean. Each time I heard his voice, it was like a knife to the heart. There was so much I wanted to say to him. Just in case. There were also things I shouldn't have said to him. Like when I asked him if he promised to bring me home. If this ended badly, I didn't want that on his conscious.

I know how he handled losing his parents. I know him, too. He already felt guilty; I could hear it in his voice. None of this was his fault. You can't control the actions of other people. The only people to blame for this are the ones standing in front of me currently arguing.

"I want to be there when you meet," Amy said for the tenth time.

James seemed to be losing his patience. "Listen to me, you CRAZY bitch. You will stay with the girl until it's done."

I knew why he wanted to keep her away from the meet. He was planning to kill Sean and Amy had no idea. I would have spilled his secret except he put duck tape over my mouth.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "Im coming with, or I blow the lid on this whole thing."

"You are threatening me? Don't forget who helped you escape jail."

She held his stare and seemed unafraid. She really was insane. The man was holding a fucking gun right now. Finger on the trigger. I wanted to warn Sean on the phone, but James was holding the gun to my head at the time. The only comfort I had was knowing Sean was smart enough to know it was a trap. He had to.

"Fine. You'll wait with the girl in the van so you can watch." He rubbed the back of his head. "That might actually work in our favor. He may want to see her in person before the exchange.

"Agreed," she said before looking at me.

"You don't deserve him. Whore."

Good thing I couldn't speak right now. I would have probably said something that would have gotten me killed. I really hate this CRAZY bitch.

She and James left through the side door and I was alone now. My mind went to Sean and everything that's happened since we met. The night that I met him on that bridge, I was ready to end all of the pain in my life. I never thought I would get to a point where I actually accepted who I was. I never thought I would understand that what happened in my childhood wasn't my fault. I absolutely never expected to fall in love with anyone in my life. Not to mention, have them love me back for who I was.

Like everyone else, we both had our faults. I thought about what he said that night on the beach.

"Lydia, what if there's a reason I was on the bridge that night?"

His question surprised me and made me feels things I didn't understand. Trying to keep it light, I said, "There was. You were running from PSYCHO Amy."

He chuckled at that. "Yeah, I was. But that just proves my point. I was supposed to go to the Hamptons that weekend. Instead, I decided to go to Atlantic City." He smiled at me before he added, "Then I met this beautiful, stubborn, funny brunette on that bridge."

"You forgot crazy," I said quietly.

"You aren't crazy, Lydia. You've had a hard life. Harder than most, in my opinion, and you didn't deserve that. But, you're still here. You're strong. A survivor."

"I-I don't know what to say," I replied.

I didn't know what to say to him that night. Before a few days ago, I never thought of myself as strong, let alone a survivor. But after the confrontation with my brother, then my father, I started to believe Sean's words.

I was so glad after I worked things out with my brother. When it came to my father, seeing him rotting away in that prison, made me realize that I was the survivor. I never felt stronger then when I stood up to my father. Walking away from him and leaving him in the prison was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever felt. If I had the chance to do these past few weeks over, I wouldn't change a thing.

The sound of the side door opening drew my attention. James and Amy came back in and started getting their things ready. I saw James making sure his gun had ammunition and he did a double check on the camera monitor. From what I could see, it looked like he set up surveillance at the parking garage where the meet was happening.

"Were you able to sync that up to your phone?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, we'll be able to see if he brings company with him."

"Do you think he will?"

James walked over to me and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, that depends. I know Sean. He wouldn't risk something happening to her. So, either he is bringing backup in hopes that will help. Which I'll see coming. Or he won't. Which will be a benefit for us."

"How's that?" Amy asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because, if he comes alone, once he transfers the money, we won't need her anymore. And he's never going to see her again."

Amy let out a dark chuckle. She probably thought that she was going to ride into the sunset with Sean if I was dead. Fucking. PSYCHO.

"Put her in the van," James ordered as he left the room.

Amy stepped behind me before she started untying my hands. "Time to go see my man."

***

Apparently we were very close to the meet. We got there twenty minutes early and James seemed convinced that there wasn't any cops around. Fucking idiot. I knew Sean would bring the cops. He was a lot smarter than James gave him credit for. James also made the mistake of tying my hands in front of me. My mouth was still duck taped, but that would be fixed at the right moment.

He had a laptop in the front of the van with video access. I was watching the screen and couldn't help the panic that flowed through me when I saw the Camaro pull into the garage.

"Here we go," James said as he grabbed the gun. "Keep her in here and keep her quiet. Under no circumstances do you leave this van. If I need you to do anything, I'll call you."

He slipped the gun under his shirt in the small of his back. I watched as he started walking towards Sean's car. My eyes went to the monitor. I really wish I could hear what they were saying. I watched as Sean got out of the car and walked over to James with his hands raised in front of his chest. God, I loved that man.

Amy's back was towards me and I figured this was my chance. I reached up and pulled the duct tape off my face. I winced as it pulled at my skin before whispering. "Amy? Amy!"

She turned towards me with an angry expression. "You aren't supposed to be talking."

"He's going to kill Sean, Amy! You need to do something."

She shook her head before looking back to the monitor. "No, he won't. He just wants money. We made a deal."

God, she would believe anything. "Listen, when he sent you out of the warehouse after the ransom call, he told me there was another part of the ransom. He said he was going to kill Sean. That's why he duck taped my mouth! He didn't want me to tell you!"

She ignored me and looked closer at the screen. "It looks like they are getting ready for the transfer," she said absently.

I needed her to run out there. She needed to stop James from shooting Sean. I couldn't believe it, but she was my only hope right now.

"Amy, please! If you love him--"

"I do love him!" She snapped and turned towards me.

Something on the monitor caught my attention and my heart started racing. "Look, Amy! Something's happening."

She looked at the screen and gasped. "James is-- He's reaching for the gun!"

"Go! Go stop him! Now, Amy!" I screamed.

She flew out of the van and ran towards the two men. I watched on the screen as Sean and James turned towards Amy. James appeared to yell something at her as he aimed the gun at Sean.

I got to my feet and opened the back of the van. I jumped down and started running towards Sean. Sean started backing away from James.

"Sean!" I screamed. He turned towards me...and then I heard it. Two gun shots.