"Ella get moving or I'm calling in Gwen and her band," Erik Marley shouted as he stocked the cooler under the bar with bottles of domestic beer.

"Shut up," Ella Marley frowned. "I'm ready. I just need to change."

Erik shoved the last bottle in and let the door slide shut. He rested his elbows on the bar and grinned a crooked smile at his sister. "Then go do it, twerp, or I'm really calling Gwen."

"You wouldn't dare put that …girl…on before your own flesh and blood!" Ella glared. She crossed her arms over her chest and didn't wait for his answer. "Because I'll disinherit you."

He snorted and straightened. "You don't even have anything, let alone do you have a will." A tiny smile toyed around his mouth. "Besides, I'm the older one. I'd think I'd go before you."

She crumpled up a bar napkin and threw it at his head. "You're not going anywhere any time soon so shut up and get to work. I gotta go change." She giggled as she walked down the dingy hall to the makeshift dressing room, which also served as an employee bathroom. She shuddered a little at the topic of their latest conversation. He knew she hated to talk about death, no matter what, and she couldn't believe she'd been the one to bring it up this time. She expelled a loud breath and changed into her favorite jeans and a Plain White T's t-shirt. She pulled her favorite boots on, the ones her brother said looked like something their dad would have worn on the farm. She frowned as she inspected her footwear. They absolutely did not. They barely came above her ankle to begin with and they definitely weren't covered with dried mud and cow dung.

A knock on the door returned her attention to the present. "Yeah?" she called out.

Erik peered around the door at her. "The guys are all set up and Buddy opened the doors. The place is filling up already." He stepped inside and grinned at his sister. "Dad's boots, huh?"

She slapped him playfully. "No. They look nothing like his."

He pulled her into an impulsive hug. "You know I love you Ella," he said, shocking her with his sentimentality. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm proud of you. Someday I'm going to hear you singing on the radio."

She hugged him back and took in his fresh scent. His cologne reminded her of a cowboy walking through a pine forest. In a few hours, his fresh scent would be replaced by the smell of stale tobacco and alcohol as he worked his magic behind the bar. She pulled away to study him. He stood just over six feet tall with gorgeous brown eyes, so like her own, and sandy brown hair. He had his favorite baseball cap turned backwards on his head. His reckless grin charmed most of the woman who happened to take a seat at the bar and his personality was unmatched. He was the guy who everyone liked. He was a friend to everyone and an enemy to none. And the time she needed him the absolute most in her life, he stepped up and took it all upon his broad shoulders. She loved him more than anyone and often thanked God she was lucky enough to have him as a big brother.

"I love you, too, Erik," she said. "What's with all the emotions tonight?"

He shrugged as a bit of red painted his cheeks. "Just never tell you anymore now that you're all grown up."

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You don't need to tell me. I already know."

"Good," he said, still slightly embarrassed. "Get your short ass out on that stage and get those people out there dancing. Make them good and thirsty." He winked and exited the room.

She turned and studied her image in the mirror. She saw a lot of Erik's features in her own. Their eye and hair color were the same as well as the shape of their noses. But she had a light dusting of freckles on her cheeks and he towered over her by about a foot. He inherited their father's tall height while she inherited their mother's petite frame.

She took a deep breath and left the room to search for the guys that played in her ragtag band. The building consisted of two sides. The main side consisted of a huge horseshoe shaped bar with about two dozen tables littering the rest of the area, a small kitchen area and restrooms. That side was open Monday through Saturday. A door cut in the wall led to the smaller part. This section consisted of a stage, a smaller bar, a couple dozen more tables and a dance floor. The dance side, which it was affectionately known, was only open Friday and Saturday nights.

"You ready, El?" Pete, her guitarist and her best friend, asked. She nodded and he gave her a quick hug. "Let's go." He signaled to Erik who jumped on the stage and announced them. They rushed on after him and started in on the cover songs they'd practiced all week.

The crowd got into the music, singing along and dancing in their chairs. A few brave women ran to the dance floor and strutted their stuff, enticing the men in the audience to approach them and buy them a drink. Ella watched the dancers nonchalantly as she played her guitar and belted out tune after tune. She marveled at how music affected people, sometimes taking the shyest people and turning them into dancing machines.

Music moved her also. She learned to play the guitar at a young age. She enrolled in guitar and piano lessons while the other girls in her class were taking ballet and gymnastics. Her mother often sighed wistfully when they went to town to shop, looking at dresses and ballet slippers while Ella perused the music department. She loved to write her own lyrics and add the music to them. Her heart would pound dangerously when everything seemed to click and she knew she had something good.

In high school, she befriended Pete who was a fellow social outcast and they tentatively formed a band. He laughed with her when other girls would approach her in an overly friendly manner, only wanting to get to know her because of her attractive older brother. Of course, Erik had already graduated and was working sixty hours a week at his full time job and had no time for silly high school girls. At least that's what Ella always told them.

They finished their first set and she announced that they would be taking a short break. She jumped down from the stage and made her way to the bar through the hordes of people patting her back and complimenting her performance. She smiled and thanked them and finally plopped on a stool.

"Great set, El," Erik smiled and set a dripping water bottle in front of her. She opened it and sucked down the cold water slowly, relishing the refreshing feel on her raspy throat. She pulled the bottle away and wiped her lips on the hem of her shirt. He laughed. "Such grace."

"Bite me," she teased. She swiveled in her stool and took in the crowd. "Pretty packed tonight," she observed. She turned back to him. "Do you get a bonus or something when things get this crazy?"

He smirked. "Something like that." He looked over her shoulder at the crowd. "I don't see Patrick tonight. Are you two tiffing?" She rolled her eyes, finished her water and ran to the bathroom.

As she washed her hands, she checked to make sure her hair was still in the pony tail she threw it in before she got on stage. She noticed Patrick's absence also. He told her he might have to work overtime at the paper factory tonight but she didn't think he'd be this long. He never failed to show up during at least one of her sets.

She sighed and pulled on her pony tail to tighten it up and left the bathroom. She signaled the guys and they hopped back on the stage and got going once more. She got into the music, jumping around on the stage with Pete and Jordan, the guitarists while Daniel pounded away on the drums. Finally, when they finished for the night, they all stood together and took a bow before jumping down and racing to the bar. Erik passed out cold drinks to all four of them and beamed proudly at his sister.

"Benny called," he said to her over the noisy din of the crowd. "He's thrilled you guys managed to pack the house tonight."

"Tell him you booked us so you deserve a huge bonus," she grinned good-naturedly. "And split it with me."

He tossed a bottle cap at her. "You wish. We pay you guys well."

She snorted and took a drink of her beer. She didn't drink very often, usually only nights she played and even then she kept it to a minimum.

The crowd started to thin out once they finished playing and she relaxed. As closing time neared, she waved good-bye to her band mates and ambled down to the bathroom to freshen up before grabbing her bag and heading for her home. She pulled the tired ponytail holder out of her hair and shook it loose. She turned on the taps and splashed water on her face, hoping to wash a thin layer of the smoky atmosphere away, when she heard fire crackers explode in the bar. Startled, she yanked a few sheets of paper towel out of the holder and swiped at her face before opening the door. She rushed out in the hall as she heard her brother yell and more loud pops.

"ERIK!" she screamed.

"Where the hell did she come from?" a hooded figure shouted.

Her blood stilled and her feet froze as terror gripped her heart with an iron fist, squeezing mercilessly. A tremble started in her toes and raced up her spine.

Another tall, hooded figure approached her, pointing the barrel of a gun in her face. Her trembling increased as her feet finally realized what they were meant to do. She took a step back, then another until something attacked her from behind. A red veil fell over her eyes only to be replaced by a black nothingness. The world paused and she was powerless to start it again.

A/N: Here's the new story.

For all of you reading 'Of Apples and Trees' and 'Dancing to Your Song', those two stories are on temporary hiatus. I feel like I've just been writing chapters to write chapters and I need to take a break from all those characters, even though they are so dear to me. I have not given up on them and I may even update them while I work on this story, but I've been trying to force myself to write for them and I don't think that's fair to the characters.

ANYWAY, this story will probably be a little different from my others and it will have nothing whatsoever to do with any of my other stories. The usual new story warning applies: If it starts to suck, I'll take it down.

Thanks so much for your reviews.