A/N: Thanks goes to my ladies, Sherry, Paige, Tiffany & Cristina.

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Chapter 15

Kate and I sat for hours and hours, talking. I was struggling to come to terms with my father's choices. I didn't understand why he hadn't just told me they were in trouble or that I was in trouble. I was sure I would have handled the entire situation a lot better if he had. I would have probably given Edward an easier time of it too, and I certainly wouldn't have worn the black dress to my wedding.

Sure, I would have been scared and worried, but I wouldn't have been planning my escape every two seconds. What if I had gotten away? What if his enemies had caught up to me when I had escaped? I shuddered at the thought. No wonder Edward was stressed out with me.

I wish Edward had just told me. I don't care if he is a man of his word or not. He is my husband. God, that word sounded so strange. I'm seventeen. I shouldn't have a husband. I should be out having fun with my friends. Not married… But he should have thought more of our marriage than a promise he had made to my father. If he had, things would have been so different.

"He was ashamed, Isabella," Kate sighed. "Embarrassed. It was hard enough for him to know that his men thought less of him. He didn't want his daughters to think less of him, too. That was why he chose to hide it from us. He wanted to fix everything before he told us, but when I was attacked, he had no choice other than to tell Garrett and me."

"Attacked?" I said, glancing up at her. "What happened?" I remembered her saying before that Garrett had only allowed her to come to the wedding because Edward had assured him it was safe, but at the time I had been too angry about being kept in the dark to really worry about what had happened to her.

Kate looked down at her hands, they were shaking. Clearly, whatever had happened to her was still very raw for her to think about. I reached over and squeezed her hand, showing her that I was there for her. She looked up at me and smiled, but her eyes were full of sadness. "Garrett and I were out, having dinner in one of our favorite restaurants. We were sitting at our table talking and enjoying each other's company. When all of a sudden, Garrett grabbed me and shoved me to the floor, shielding me with his body. I've never been so scared in all my life, Izzy. I had no idea what was going on and by the time we hit the floor, the sound of gunfire filled the air. I thought we were going to die."

I couldn't begin to understand what my sister had been through. The closest I had come to trouble was pissing Edward off, and to be honest, I was kind of thankful that was all I had to worry about. Edward had kept me safe from the moment he took me into his care, even if that meant protecting me from myself.

"When the gunfire finally stopped, I called out to Garrett, but he never answered me. I tried to move, but he was still on top of me. I could feel something wet on my back. I knew something was wrong. It took me a good few minutes, but I finally managed to slide out from underneath him and turn him over. He had taken two bullets in his abdomen and was in a lot of pain, passing in and out of consciousness." Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at me. "I thought I was going to lose him," she sobbed, losing all composure.

"I'm sorry, Kate," I said, pulling her into my arms and holding her tight. I felt like a shitty sister for giving her such a hard time of it after everything she had been through.

It took her several minutes before Kate was calm enough to talk again. "We were lucky an associate of Garrett's was at the restaurant. He helped me get him to a doctor, if we hadn't gotten there as soon as we did, Garrett may not have made it. God, I don't know what I would do without him."

"I'm glad you are both okay," I said, because I was really unsure what else to say. I didn't particularly know Garrett all that well, but he seemed nice. Well, when he wasn't pissing me off, and I would have been heartbroken if anything were to happen to my sister. Although, I didn't see her as much now as I used to when we lived together, I still loved her, even if she did piss me off ninety-five percent of the time.

"Yeah, me too," Kate sniffled. "I love him. I don't know what I would do without him. Listen, I know you are angry for me not telling you what was going on, but I honestly didn't know this was going to happen or I would have told you whether it was my place to tell you or not. When I found out that you didn't know, I asked Garrett about it and he said you weren't to know and I accepted that. I called Papa, he said he planned to come up after the wedding to make amends with you and fill you in on everything that happened. He was sorry that he couldn't see you get married. He didn't mean to hurt you, Izzy, only protect you. I know it may not seem like that, but he loved you. He loved us both."

I nodded. I knew my father loved me, even if it had been hard to believe these past two weeks. I was relieved in a way, to find out that he had been protecting me and that he hadn't disowned me. Not that it made it any easier to bear.

We both sat in silence for some time, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to make the pain easier, but it didn't help. I wondered what was going to happen next. I must have asked the thought out loud because Kate replied.

"We wait," she sighed. "We wait until the cops release the bodies and then we organized their funeral. We give them the best send-off we can."

"What about the Russians and Billy?" I asked, wondering if they would be brought to justice for what they had done to our parents.

Kate reached over and touched my arm. "The men will take care of it."

It wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for, but I knew it was the best that I was going to get. We weren't supposed to be involved in the inner workings of the family. We weren't supposed to know. "I still can't believe that Billy would betray our father. They were always so close. It just doesn't make sense."

"I know," Kate sighed. "I'm not sure what I believe anymore."

Edward and Garrett walked into the room several minutes later. They both looked extremely worn out. I wasn't sure how Edward was still standing after staying up all night, especially after the stresses of the past two days.

"Kate, it's time to go," Garrett said, walking over to my sister and pulling her to her feet.

"Go," I said, looking between them both, wondering where it was that they were going.

"It's late," Garrett stated. "We should head back to our hotel and get some rest. I think we could do with a good night's sleep."

"Hotel?" I said, looking at Edward. "Why can't they stay here? I mean it's not like you don't have room."

Edward shrugged. "I offered, but Garrett wants to go to the hotel."

I looked at Kate, my eyes pleading with her to stay here. I didn't like the idea of her leaving. I wanted her close. I wanted her in my line of sight. So I would know that she was okay.

"We'll be back in the morning," Kate said, offering me a sympathetic smile. "Garrett's right, we could all do with a rest. Take time to let the news sink in."

I stood up and pulled her into my arms, my eyes filling with tears. "Promise you will call me if anything happens," I said, though I was unsure what I would do if she needed my help. Ask Edward to help her?

"I promise," she said, pulling back and smiling at me. She wiped the tears away from my eyes. "Go and get some rest, Izzy."

After they left, I stayed in the living room, sitting on the couch. I knew I should probably try to rest, but I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep, not with everything running through my mind. Edward joined me. He sat down beside me, but never spoke. I think he just wanted me to know that he was there for me if I needed him. I appreciated that.