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Marnie's bodyguard escorts me out the back exit of her building. The guy is calmly directing me to a clear exit despite the anger consuming me -- I feel I could explode at any second.

It won't look good if the paps see me.

Damn. I didn't expect this to happen tonight.

Marnie wouldn't listen to me. She hates me.

I was going to explain everything to her before her bodyguard burst through the door and kicked me outside. I've never seen Marnie look so angry and it hurts that I'm the one who caused her so much pain. I could see it in her tear-filled eyes -- like broken glass.

I hated myself for breaking her.

I understood her frustration. I get it. She's sick of people letting her down, she had it all her life.

My rage only grew stronger. I keep failing her, I keep breaking her heart. But I don't want to do that anymore.

I won't.

I'm determined to speak to her whether she likes it or not. She has to hear me out. She needs to know I didn't fail her this time around.

It's always been Marnie, I've waited so long and I won't stop until she hears the truth from me.

I spin around to face Mike as he heads back up to Marnie's penthouse suite. I feel like I’ve just pulled up to a traffic light, and all the lights are lit up. Stop. Wait. Go. They’re all blurred together. I don’t know which choice is right.

Fuck it.

After a few short seconds, I start towards him, keeping a safe distance so he won't see me.

I'm aware there isn't much security in this building, that's why I found it incredibly easy to stroll into this place without any difficulty. Marnie has one bodyguard when her brother isn't around. Why? I have no idea.

She's a superstar now. She can't have two bodyguards. It's insane. I have at least three follow me around daily -- or more if needed. What if something bad happened to her? God, I can't even think about it right now.

I instructed my bodyguards to wait in the car downstairs. I pull out my phone and send a message, letting them know I'm okay and to hang back for a little while longer. I need to talk to Marnie. She needs to listen to me whether she likes it or not, even if Mike lunges for me this time.

Nothing is stopping me from getting away this time. This is my one shot and I'm fucking taking it. I'm getting into that apartment and this time I'm not letting her push me away.

As I stand outside her door, I take a deep, calming breath as my heart hammers in my chest. However, when I reach for the handle, I freeze. I hear a gunshot and a high-pitched scream.

"Marnie?" my blood runs cold. My mind races as I think about what this means, and horror and dread rip through my entire body when I think about what's happening behind that door.

Without hesitating, I kick through the door, frantically looking around the room and taking in the scene in front of me.

I see Mike laying on the floor, a hand to his chest and dark crimson blood oozing onto the marble floor. The room falls deadly silent, and I swear my heart stops beating.

My eyes sweep over the room looking for my girl. Oh, fuck! Is she okay?

Oh God, please, let her be okay.

I see two men dressed in security uniforms, one holds a gun in his right hand. He watches me with wide, shock-filled eyes. He clearly knows me and he doesn't seem to know what to make of this surprising turn of events.

The other man standing next to him holds onto Marnie from behind. A knife pressed to her throat. Tears stream down her flushed face as she stares at Mike laying on the floor.

Blood rushes through my veins and my heart rate increases.

Oh, Jesus. This can't be happening.

The first man gulps uneasily and it takes him a second before he rushes toward me. I clench my fists, ready for the attack. Instead of raising the gun at me, he goes to smash it against my skull.

With quick reflexes, I bring my hand up and dodge the gun away from me and grab his arm, twisting it in an odd direction. He cries out, dropping the gun and I take that opportunity to punch him in the face and then I keep landing punch after punch until blood stains my fists.

Running on adrenaline, I grab the metal weapon on the floor and I aim it up at the man who still holds onto Marnie. My stomach drops as I see the blade cutting deeper into her throat.

I glare at the blond-haired man, wanting to hurt him so badly but I can't move. A gasp falls from my lips, all air leaves my lungs and my face pales.

Recognition washes over me and suddenly I feel sick. Jaxon.

"It's been a long time Reese, huh?" his wicked navy eyes meet mine.

My heart is in my throat, I can't seem to speak.

I need to keep it together. She is my life.

"Let her go, now." I hiss, but on the inside, I feel fucking terrified.

I look at my blonde-haired Angel as she watches me with pain, horror and sadness in her eyes. I can’t breathe. I officially cannot breathe. It feels like someone has reached into my body and ripped out my heart.

"No, I don't think I will. I finally have her right where I want her." Jaxon sneers. Sweat drops down my face and my eyes narrow on him.

"If you hurt her, I swear, I'll kill you." the gun shakes in my hand, I've never even held a gun before. I know it's loaded and the safety is off but I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm just going with it.

"Not before I kill her first." he gives me a sadistic smirk that promised pain.

"What do you want? Money?" he laughs madly, shaking his head at me. He appears to be loving this situation. I always knew he'd turn out to be a psychopath. I only wish I could turn back the clock, to stop all this from happening. But now I fear it's already too late.

"Yeah, originally the plan was to break in and rob the place. Although, when I saw pretty little Marnie again, she looked too tempting to resist. I can't stop myself from taking a piece of her." he chuckles darkly, "Don't worry you can watch your girlfriend too. Unless of course... she doesn't want you to."

No. He wouldn't dare. "You won't fucking touch her."

"What do you think gorgeous, want him to watch?" he drawls.

"Fuck you!" she wiggles her body and a small sob comes from Marnie as the blade pierces her flesh. Jaxon leaves a small scratch just below her jaw and smirks at me, his eyes gleaming wildly. "Put the gun down or I start cutting her skin.'

I want to bash his face in. The vein at the side of my neck pulsed thickly. My vision starts to cloud over with rage. "Fucking sick bastard."

I get ready to pull the trigger but my hands are shaking so violently and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears.

"You know, you always managed to get the girls back in high school Reese and I always landed with your sad sloppy seconds. So when Marnie turned up on the first day of school, I thought I'd be the first to swoop in and claim little Miss Princess. You had every girl's attention -- even Marnie's." he snickers. "You weren't even rich or popular, you were nothing! I loathed you back then and look at you now, fucking rich and successful. Fuck. You!" His knife starts to glide across Marnie's neck and she cries out.

I see red.

Pulling the trigger, the bullet goes through his arm and he drops the blade out of his hand, groaning. I push forward and land a punch at his jaw. I can hear Marnie shrieking behind me as Jaxon and I struggled on the floor.

He lands a punch on my face and both of his hands wrap around my neck, choking me.

"No! Stop!" Marnie yells.

The air constricts in my throat, my lungs ache for oxygen. Fuck, I can't breathe.

"Say goodbye to your singing career without your voice."

I can see small black dots in my vision, my whole body burns though I still try to fight him.

"Though, I might as well kill you and then finally claim my prize." he cackles.

Blue eyes. Blonde hair. My Angel. My heaven.

She needs me.

I kick my knee into Jaxon's groin and he grunts, loosening his hands around me. That gives me enough time to breathe and continue my assault on him.

I'm not sure how long goes by before my bodyguards come rushing in and pull Jaxon away from me. His body slumps at his side, his face slack. I want to continue hurting him after he tried hurting my girl. I want to kill him.

That's when I hear my name being called.

Marnie.

My eyes snap to my girl kneeling next to Mike, crying uncontrollably. I scramble towards her without further hesitation and wrap my arms around her. She trembles in my arms, sobbing and hiccuping. I hold on to her as if my life depended on it.

"Are you okay?" she asks with tears streaming down her face.

I nod my head, my eyes trailing over her form, looking for any other injuries on her body. I think she'll be okay, though I still want her to get checked out in the hospital.

I hold her to my chest, kissing her forehead. My heart is pounding so hard, the thought of losing someone I love is worse than any pain inflicted on me.

"Oh God, your neck!" More tears slide down her face and I run my thumb across her cheeks and press a kiss to her temple. I don't care about my throat. Even if that asshole caused me to never sing again, at least my girl is safe and in my arms.

I hold Marnie tightly, inhaling her sweet scent and close my eyes. "I'm okay Angel, I'm okay. We're okay." she trembles when my voice comes out rough and broken.

I look over as my bodyguard stares down at Mike's frail body lying next to us. "He still has a pulse, we need that ambulance now."

Everything else is a blur. As the paramedics arrive, I remain clutching onto Marnie. She watches her bodyguard leave her apartment with the ambulance and then I make sure I get someone here to check her over.

More people begin to fill the room though I hardly notice because my attention is on the small blonde sitting next to me. A middle-aged man checks out the cut on her neck and begins disinfecting it. "Please, can you take a look at Reese, his neck is hurt."

"I'm fine Angel, don't worry." my neck is probably just bruised but hers is still bleeding. There's no way I'm getting looked at before she does.

She glances up at me, a sad smile touches her lips. "Reese, I'm so sorry." her body shakes uncontrollably and my heart slices. "It's not your fault."

Her eyes reflect so much guilt. "If you weren't here..."

"Shhh... it's okay." I whisper tenderly.

"Please, don't leave me." I pull her into my arms, holding on to her as she cries and cries.

"Everything is going to be okay." reassuring her. "I won't leave you."

"I love you, Reese," She whispers and my heart bursts with happiness.

"I love you too Angel. Always."

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