"Elena, will you cover my shift tonight?"

Elena Gilbert glanced up from the small workstation in her bedroom where she made the leather goods she sold online and frowned at her older stepsister. "It is my one night off this week, Katherine. I'm trying to catch up on orders before the Christmas rush hits."

"I know it is your night off." Wearing a slim-fitting sleeveless halter dress, Katherine Pierce leaned against the door frame and blew on her freshly painted nails. Her dark brown curly hair was piled atop her head in fat hot rollers. "And I hate to ask…"

"But?"

"But Mason called and there is a last minute thing he can't miss tonight. He needs me with him." She did that batting her eyes thing that drove Elena crazy. "Please?"

Elena didn't want to ask what event couldn't be missed. Knowing Katherine's drug dealer boyfriend, he had probably received an invite to some athlete or hip-hop wannabe's mansion as a supplier of their recreational fun. "Katherine, I hate it when you go to these parties. You know I worry about you all night."

"We aren't going to a party. It is a concert at the Arena. And Elena?" Katherine rolled her eyes at her sister and huffed. "Seriously, you are going to give yourself an ulcer. You don't need to sit up all night waiting for me. I'm a big girl. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Elena put down the metal punch and the leather strip she had been working. "Katherine, you just got popped for being a dog fight! It has been less than two weeks since I bailed you out of jail. Mason is on the hook for a felony!"

"They can't prove anything against him. We were just there to watch the fights. That's it."

"You can pull that bullshit with your lawyer, Katherine, but I know better." Shaking her head, Elena expelled a frustrated breath. "If you get pulled over or picked up with Mason and he is carrying again, you could go to prison. Okay? Like for real prison and not the county lockup."

"That won't happen." Katherine said it so quickly and easily, brushing off Elena's concerns without a second thought. "He never carries weight on him. That s what the slingers are for obviously." She preened proudly. "He is very careful with me."

"But are you being careful?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Katherine," Elena said her sister's name in her no-bullshit tone. "I found your stash in your purse."

Katherine's stance turned aggressive. "Why were you digging around in my purse?"

"I wasn't! Your purse fell out of our locker at work and I was picking up everything that spilled on the floor. I found a rolled up twenty and that dinged up credit card, Katherine." Elena tightened and her stomach pitched with anxiety. "Are you snorting coke or molly?"

"Both. Sometimes." Katherine swallowed nervously but held Elena's gaze almost daringly. "Look, it is just a little bump here and there, Elena. I like to roll when we party. It is not a big deal. I know what I'm doing."

Elena had to give Katherine credit for not lying to her but her sister's nonchalance drove her crazy. "It is a big deal, Katherine. That is how it starts. A little llelo at a party, a bump on a long night at work and then the next thing you know you are a total junkie selling her ass on some dirty street corner for a fix."

"Oh my God!" Katherine snorted as if Elena was the most ridiculous person in the world. "Do you always have to be so dramatic?"

"I'm not being dramatic!"

"You are such a drama queen, and you are so out of touch with reality. So what if I like to cut loose on the weekends? I know what I'm doing, Elena. I know how to control it."

Irritated by the easy way Katherine justified her use of drugs, Elena insisted, "You promised me that you wouldn't use Mason's product. You promised," she repeated, her eyes burning as her fear for her sister's life hit her hard.

Katherine's jaw hardened and her eyes went cold. "You are not a little girl anymore, Elena, and I'm allowed to have a life. I'm allowed to party with my boyfriend and have a good time. We aren't hurting anyone."

"You are not hurting anyone?" Elena repeated incredulously. "Do you even watch the news, Katherine? Two months ago, there were cartel pushers dead in the streets, okay? Do you think that you are safe from that? If Mason screws up a deal, you could be collateral damage."

Katherine scoffed loudly. "You watch too much TV, Elena. That is not the way it works. Mason is protected. We are safe."

"Even after the dog fighting?"

Katherine glared at her. "You just have to keep bringing that up, don't you? You just have to rub it in my face that Mason made a mistake."

"A mistake?" Elena scoffed. "Katherine, he got busted and now the DA and the cops are digging around in his boss's business. Kai thinks he is a kingpin. He thinks he is some hotshot mob boss—and one of his soldiers just embarrassed him in front of the whole city."

"Shut up, Elena. Just shut your mouth," Katherine snarled. "Enough!"

Elena didn't know what else she could say. Her sister wasn't going to listen to her. She believed that Mason's connections to the cartel's top man in Mystic Falls would protect her. Elena wanted to believe it because she loved her sister and wanted her safe but she wasn't naïve. She knew the score—and she suspected Katherine did too.

Exhaling slowly, Elena counted back from four. "Just promise me that you aren't carrying anything in your purse. If you get popped with drugs in your possession, you are screwed. They will hit you with every charge they can to make your arrest painful, Katherine. They will hurt you so you will turn on Mason—"

"I would never turn on Mason. I love him. He is the love of my life, and I will go do my time before I betray him."

"Lord," Elena grumbled and sat back in a huff. She couldn't stand it when her sister called Mason the love of her life. "Will you listen to yourself, Katherine?"

"You know what, Elena? I didn't come in here for a lecture from my baby sister that I raised through junior high and high school. I came in here to ask you to work my damn cleaning shift. That's it."

Elena scowled. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you always have to throw it in my face that you had to raise me after mum bailed?"

"I don't!"

"Yes, you do." Elena hated fighting with Katherine, but she was getting tired of hearing how much her sister had sacrificed to keep me out of foster homes. "I love you, Elena, and I will never forget what you did for me, but I would really, really appreciate it if you would stop using it as a stick to beat me with whenever you are pissed or frustrated with me."

Katherine swallowed and glanced away from her. "I don't mean to do it, Elena. Sometimes it just comes out before I can stop it. I don't regret any of the choices I have made." For a moment, she met Elena's gaze, and Elena could see the sincerity reflected in her eyes. "You fought like hell to get into college. You started this business on no debt and you have done it your way. I'm proud of you, Elena. Even when I'm a jerk," she added with a lopsided smile.

Elena's frustration with her sister faded. She reached out and touched her sister's hand. "You are not a jerk."

"Softie," Katherine murmured and poked her arm. "Does this mean you are going to work for me?"

Elena rolled her eyes and poked right back at Katherine's. "Yes, I will work for you."

"Thank you." Katherine squeezed Elena's fingers as if to let her know that all was forgiven and bent down to noisily peck her cheek. "Bonnie is working tonight. At least you get to work with your best friend, right?"

Katherine had a point. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will. I'm going to be late so don't wait up for me."

"Okay."

Katherine took one step out the door before turning back towards Elena. "Can you give me a few hundred bucks?" She pressed her hands together. "Please?"

"You just got paid on Monday!"

"And I have got bills!"

"So do I, Katherine."

Katherine rolled her eyes at Elena again. "Oh please! What bills do you have?"

"Rent, utilities, groceries, cell phone, car insurance, health insurance," Elena said and ticked them off on her fingers. She didn't add that she had had to cover her sister's half of the household bills for the last four months. Katherine was going to snap at her, she was sure, but she still said, "The diner is hiring for the morning shift. The tips are good there."

"Not happening," Katherine replied and shot Elena a withering look. "I'm done cleaning offices and waiting tables."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm put in my notice yesterday."

That was the first Elena had heard of this so she sagged with shock. "When did you get a different job?"

"I didn't."

Elena bit her lip to stop herself from shouting at her sister. "Katherine, don't you think you should have had a better job lined up before you quit?"

"Elena," Katherine said with an exasperated exhale. "I have got this figured out, okay? Now are you going to loan me the money or not? I will pay you back next week."

Experience had taught Elena that Katherine wasn't going to listen to anything she had to say. She rose out of her chair, crossed her room to her purse and retrieved her wallet. She tugged the three crisply folded hundred dollar bills she kept tucked into a card slot and handed it to Katherine. "Here."

"Thank you." Katherine took the money but held onto Elena's hand a moment longer than she had expected. "I love you, Elena."

Bewildered by Katherine's unexpected show of emotion, Elena smiled at her. "I love you, too, Katherine."

Katherine stepped back and hovered in the doorway. "It is going to be okay, Elena. Things are going to change for us in a big way. A really big and wonderful way."

Before Elena could ask her sister what that meant, Katherine flitted away and disappeared. She decided not to chase after her sister for more information. Knowing her history, whatever scheme for fast cash she had planned would fizzle and burn. Elena just hoped that Katherine wouldn't drag me into this one.

Elena cleaned up her workstation and tried not to think about how far behind she was going to be on getting this purse and wallet order finished. Although she wanted nothing more than to focus on growing her handbag and wallet business from its online presence to a real brick-and-mortar store, she had to focus on paying the bills and saving up for a proper expansion first. She probably could have gotten a small business loan or tried to shoestring her plans on credit cards but the idea of debt had always made her nervous.

While Elena was pulling on a clean uniform for the janitorial company where they worked, she heard the front door open and close. The loud thumping bass of rock music from their short driveway rattled the windows as Mason's new and very shiny SUV idled in front of their home. Elena tried not to think about all the danger Katherine was in every time she went somewhere with Mason but Elena couldn't just flip off that switch from caring to not caring. Katherine was her big sister and Elena loved her and desperately wanted her to make better choices.

But Elena also had to acknowledge that what she considered a simple, black and white decision wasn't so simple for Katherine. Katherine had been in love with Mason Lockwood since they were both young teenagers. Elena could still remember the giggly fourteen-year-old version of her sister confessing to her that she loved Mason after sneaking back into their house from a party.

Back then, Mason had been flirting with the idea of jumping into the street gang. It wasn't long before he made the commitment and started rising through the ranks of dealers who helped push the cartel's products onto Mystic Falls' streets. Katherine had walked away from Mason for a short time after their mom bailed on them but that separation hadn't lasted long. Four months later, they were back together.

Convincing Katherine to give up on the man she had loved for twelve years? It wasn't going to happen. For better or worse, she had committed herself to Mason and the dangerous life he lived. Elena loved her sister and didn't want to lose her so she had been forced to accept Mason wasn't going anywhere. She didn't like it, and she worried that he was going to get Katherine in so much trouble, but her sister was an adult who could make her own choices.

Dressed in her pink scrub-style uniform and comfortable but ugly white shoes, Elena grabbed a light jacket and her purse before locking up and leaving the house. She had some time before she needed to leave so she decided to check the mailbox. She found only a handful of bills and the weekly batch of coupons and ads. She quickly sorted out the coupons she would use from the ones she wouldn't and threw the rest into the recycle bin located in front of the house.

While ripping into the electricity bill, Elena grimaced at the amount due and wondered if Katherine would be able to help with her half this month. If she had to cover the entire amount by herself, it was going to eat into her Christmas savings. It was hard not to be irritated with her sister about the bill when Katherine was the one who left lights on and ran the ceiling fan in her bedroom when they weren't home and kept the television in her room blaring all night long.

Elena heard a vehicle pull up behind her while she was putting the bill back inside her purse but didn't think much of it. This was a busy street, especially with Mrs Donovan and her big family a few houses down. Her children had friends over for dinner every single day. How she could afford to feed a dozen hungry mouths every night Elena would never understand but she did it and always with smile on her face. There had been many, many times over the years when Elena's hungry belly had been filled by her kindness.

"Katherine Pierce?"

Elena whirled around at the unknown male voice that called her sister's name. Three men she had never seen before were standing in front of a double cab black truck. She didn't like the look of them—or the tattoos she could see from this distance. Elena gulped nervously at the sight of all that ugly white supremacist ink. There weren't many things that scared her but facing off with these three monsters had her knees knocking together.

The tallest of the three stepped forward. He had meaty arms and massive hands that Elena was sure had done a lot of dirty, mean things. "Are you Katherine Pierce?"

Elena managed not to jump when he barked at her. "No."

"So you are the little sister then, huh? Elena, right?"

Elena nodded silently. What the hell were these men doing here? Why were they looking for her sister? Katherine, what have you done now? Elena thought.

Before she could muster the courage to ask what these guys wanted with her sister, the roar of motorcycles barrelling down the street drew her attention. Normally, Elena tried to steer clear of the motorcycle gang that their landlord, Spider, ran with but today? Today she wanted to drop to her knees and thank the heavens for the small crew of rough, leather-clad men riding to her rescue.

Spider killed his bike first, popped the kickstand and slowly slung his leg over the seat. He had recently cut his hair and somehow it made him look even scarier. The neighbourhood had become so quiet as people watched the faceoff in Elena's front yard. She could hear the leather of his vest creaking as he moved. His heavy boots crunched grass as he took deliberate steps between me and those terrifying men. "You boys lost?"

"We have business here, Spider."

"If you have business on my property and in my territory, your boss needs to lift the white sheet off his head, pick up a phone and ask me for permission."

"I will make sure to pass that message on," the man said. "But since we are already here, Marko wants to talk to her. I'm just here to pick her up for a little chat."

A little chat? A cold spear of terror lanced Elena's chest. If she got into that vehicle with those men, she wasn't going to come back whole or alive.

Spider glanced at Elena. "Elena, do you know these men?"

Feeling braver now, She shook her head. "No, sir."

"Do you want to go with them to meet with their boss?"

"No."

"Do you want these men to leave?"

"Yes, sir. Very much," Elena added forcefully.

He gestured to the truck. "You heard the lady. Get in your truck and get the hell off my property. You tell your boss that he needs to respect the boundaries—or else my boys and I are going to start making some visits of our own on your territory." Spider pointed to the truck again. "Go."

The three men glanced at Spider's backup, smartly ran the odds and retreated to their vehicle. The tall one shot Elena a warning smile before sliding behind the wheel. "We will be seeing you around, sugar."

His threat struck her cold. Elena gripped the handle of her purse and watched the truck disappear down the street. Two of Spider's men, the ones who hadn't dismounted from their bikes, followed the truck. She was relieved to lose sight of the tail lights but what would happen once she left her driveway? There was no way she could ask Spider or his men to tail her around Mystic Falls.

As soon as the truck disappeared from view, Spider turned towards Elena. Hands on hips, her stared at her and shook his head. He had always been something of a father figure to her. Elena had gone to school with his daughter Marley so it had been a natural role for him to assume after my own dad had been killed in a car accident. When the house she had shared with Katherine had been robbed, he had packed them up and moved them into this house so they would be safe.

"Well, honey, it looks like you have got some explaining to do." Spider waved his tattooed hand in the direction the truck of white supremacists had taken. Elena's gaze lingered on the heavy silver rings adorning his fingers. The skulls and letters were a language she didn't speak. "How do you know those men?"

"I don't."

"You are sure?" He narrowed his eyes in a way that warned Elena not to hide anything from him.

"Positive."

"What about your sister?" When she waited too long to answer, Spider exhaled roughly. "Were they here looking for Katherine?"

Reluctantly, Elena nodded. "I don't know why."

"Considering the company she keeps, I can think of ten different reasons they might show up here and none of them are good." He glanced towards the street and then back at Elena. "Those men won't bother you again, not here at least, but you need to be careful, Elena. You tell your sister to clean up whatever mess she has made and to do it fast. I'm not about to get tangled up in some nonsense with Marko's boys."

Marko? The name was familiar but Elena couldn't think why. Whoever Marko was, it was clear that he was powerful and dangerous, maybe even more powerful and dangerous than Spider and his club. That didn't bode well for her or Katherine.

Spider stepped closer and dropped his voice so only Elena could hear him. "I'm about to give you some fatherly advice, Elena. I would highly suggest you listen close and do what I tell you."

Elena swallowed nervously. "All right."

"Get out of here."

The words weren't spoken meanly or aggressively but she still shrank back with shock. "What?"

"Pack up your things and get out of here, Elena. It is time for you to cut ties with your sister and start your own life. Away from here," he added forcefully. "You are a smart girl. You have got drive and ambition. You need to get out of here and make something of yourself. Cut the dead weight, sugar." He made a snipping gesture with his fingers. "Go be somebody."

It was probably good advice, but how was she supposed to just walk away from her sister? From the only person who had always been there for her? From the woman who had given up her dreams of cosmetology school and her own salon to raise her little stepsister after mum left?

"You stay safe, Elena." Spider backed away slowly. "Be smart, honey."

His advice given, he returned to his bike and left the street as quickly as he had appeared. Elena hurried to her car and fished her cell phone out of her purse as she unlocked the door on her black sedan. The car was nearly fourteen years old but she had paid cash for it in high school and planned to drive it into the ground.

As Elena waited for her sister to answer, she slid behind the wheel and tried not to freak out totally. "Come on, Katherine. Pick up."

But Katherine didn't.

Her call went to voicemail and she drummed her fingers on her thigh as she waited for the greeting to end. "Katherine, call me. Like right now. It is important. Some skinhead creeps were looking for you. I think you should get out of town with Mason." Elena rubbed her forehead and hoped the swirling pit in her stomach would stop spinning. "I don't know what you have done, and I don't really care. Just call me, okay? I'm really worried about you."

She dropped her phone in the cup holder and tossed her purse onto the passenger seat. She cranked the engine. It turned over with a little whine. How many times would this old beast light up for her? If she made it through the end of the year, it would be a miracle.

Seatbelt secured, Elena backed out of the driveway and headed out of their neighbourhood. She didn't miss the nosy neighbours watching her car creep along the road or the way they pointed and shook their heads. There was always some sort of trouble in the area but she and Katherine had never been the source of it. She could only imagine what wild stories would be circulating the neighbourhood by sunrise.

As Elena headed for the town centre, she kept checking her rear-view mirror and expected to see that truck following her but it never appeared. Where were they? She didn't believe for one second that they weren't keeping an eye on her. Those men had come to her house to rattle her—and they had succeeded. Elena suspected they expected her to head straight for Katherine but the joke was on them. She was going straight to work, just as planned.

What had Katherine done to gain their attention? Her thought rolled back to Katherine's parting words to her. Yeah, things were changing all right but not for the better. She thought of all the little scams her sister used to run with Mason when she was still in high school. Stolen credit cards, fake lotteries, fake collection calls…

"Jesus, Katherine," Elena murmured as panic rolled through her again. "What have you done now?"

When Elena arrived in the small parking lot outside the commercial cleaning company where she had worked since graduating high school, she called her sister one more time and sent her a series of texts in all caps.

CALL ME. NOW. URGENT!

Katherine probably had her cell phone on silent or shoved down in the bottom of her handbag. Elena could practically hear her sister's response once she did see the missed calls. Katherine would probably laugh and tell her she was overreacting. She would insist that Mason would fix it.

"You had better fix this, Mason," Elena muttered while gathering up her things and leaving her car. By now, the sun had fully set and the early November chill had her shivering even with her jacket. She scurried inside the small, unremarkable building that served as the headquarters for CleanRite and quickly shut the heavy door behind her.

Even before Elena reached the main room that served as a meeting and locker room, she could hear the brassy wail and growling ba-da-ba-dum of banda music. When she walked into the room, she spotted a dozen or so of her fellow co-workers grabbing their assignment sheets from the night manager and co-owner Tanner.

Pushing aside her concern for Katherine, Elena smiled and waved at the friendly faces that greeted her. She was just about to swipe her ID to clock in when Tanner stopped her with a gentle tap on her shoulder and a confused expression. "Elena?"

"Hey, Tanner."

"Hey," he replied and started flipping through the sheets of paper on his clipboard. "You are not on the schedule tonight, Elena."

"I'm covering for Katherine." Elena held her ID ready to swipe but didn't finish the motion. Something in his voice made her nervous.

His eyebrows arched toward his forehead. "Katherine? She was fired yesterday. She doesn't work here anymore."

Now Elena was the one frowning with confusion. "She told me that she gave notice that she was going to quit."

Tanner's expression turned stony. "I'm sure she tells you all sorts of things, Elena. That doesn't mean that they are true." He shook his head. "After I split you two up and put you on different crews, there were too many complaints from our clients—and not just about her lax cleaning standards."

"What do you mean?"

He shot her an exasperated look. "What do you think I mean?"

There were all sorts of things Elena was thinking but she didn't want to believe any of them, especially not about her sister. Worried about her own position with the company that she had faithfully served for years, she asked, "Do I need to start looking for a new job, Tanner?"

Tanner seemed surprised by the question. "You are one of my best employees. If I didn't know about your plans to start your own business, I would push you into managerial training. No," he said emphatically. "Your job here is yours until you don't want it anymore."

Relief rushed through Elena. "Thank you, Tanner."

He waved away her gratitude and tapped his fingers on his clipboard. "Since you are here, would you like a few hours of overtime? I'm having hell filling a last minute cleaning call because of that concert tonight. No one is answering their phones."

You have no idea, Elena thought crossly while thinking of the way Katherine was dodging her calls.

"Sure, I will take it." Happy for some extra cash on her pay check, Elena swiped her ID and clocked in for work. "Where am I going?"

"Salvatore Luxury Autos."

The mere mention of the high-end dealership that sold outrageously expensive cars to Mystic Falls' movers and shakers sent a zip of delight down Elena's spine. An excited, tingling feeling settled in her lower belly. She couldn't help herself. She wanted to see him again.

Him.

Damon Salvatore.

x x x

Last Christmas, the dangerously sexy and overwhelmingly alpha businessman had rescued Elena from a run-in with Mystic Falls' most notorious drug dealer, Kai Parker. Damon had faced off with Mason, his crew and Katherine to save Elena from what had promised to be a forced double-date from hell. He had offered Elena his protection that night and a promise of safe harbor.

If you ever need anything, Elena, you come to me first. I will take care of you.

His sexy, deep voice echoed in her ears, even all these months later. Since that cold, wet night, they had developed an odd sort of friendship. They never interacted outside of his car dealership and her weekly cleaning visits, but Elena knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if she asked for his help, Damon would come through on that promise he had made to her.

"Hey, girl!" Bonnie, my best friend, greeted me by bumping her hip against mine. She flashed me one of her bubbly, sweet smiles while gathering her hair into a high ponytail. "You want to borrow some perfume and makeup from my kit? Because I know you want to look good for that sexy Italian fox you like to make eyes at," she mercilessly teased.

"Hush!" Elena laughed it off but her cheeks were burning hot. "I do not make eyes at him."

"Girl, please." Bonnie rolled her eyes at her. "You are over there blinking all pretty at him, and he is standing there brooding and staring at you like he wants to just eat you right up."

Elena squeezed her thighs together at the images Bonnie's words evoked. Sometimes she let herself imagine that maybe, just maybe, Damon was as infatuated with her as she had become with him. But those hopes died quickly when she considered how rich and powerful he was compared to her. He lived in a world that she would never understand. There was nothing good to come from crushing on a man who would never notice her.

"Do you want to come over tomorrow and see the new dresses I have designed?" Bonnie adjusted her employee lanyard. "I'm trying to decide which two or three I'm going to include in my end of year portfolio. I could use your help choosing."

"Sure."

"And maybe you could loan me some of your purses and accessories for the photos?"

"I still owe you big time for loaning me the outfits for my graduation project earlier this year so consider it done. You can have whatever you want."

"What I want is for us to finally scrape together enough money to open our own boutique," Bonnie said before giving Elena a rib-cracking hug. "Because I have had it up to here with scrubbing urinals and mopping floors!"

"Two more years," Elena reminded her. "We need two more years to save our capital, Bonnie."

Bonnie made a face but didn't argue. Like Elena, she was conservative with money and terrified of debt. After watching her parents go through a humiliating and painful bankruptcy, foreclosure and an SEC investigation that had driven her father to take his own life, Bonnie pinched her pennies really hard.

"Bonnie! Let's go!" Judy, one of the shift supervisors, stood in the doorway and waved her hand. "We have got a lot of stops to make before sunrise."

"I will see you around, friend." Bonnie playfully tugged Elena's ponytail. "Make sure you bat those thick eyelashes of yours when you tell that Italian fox do svedaniya."

Bonnie was too quick for Elena to whack as she scampered toward the door, her giggling lighting up the room. Elena stuck her tongue out at Bonnie's back. There was no way in the world she was going to flirt with Damon. The odds of embarrassing herself were too high, and she valued their friendship too much.

But as Elena climbed into the front seat of the work van Manny was driving, she wondered if tonight was the night she would finally break down and ask Damon for help.