Page 100 of Cash

“With Livi and James in the backyard. James had to carry Lola out there. She wouldn’t stop kicking the guy. There they are!” Lottie says while pointing behind me.

I turn and see Livi walking toward us, arm around a very pale Bella. James is walking behind them with Lola. Neither appears injured, and my heart starts to beat a little slower.

Stepping out of the ambulance, I wrap Bella in a bear hug as soon as they reach me. Her entire body’s shaking, and I try to hug her tight enough to stop the shakes. Looking at Lola, I see anger on her face. Whatever the hell went down, Lola’s still spitting mad about it. Before I can ask the questions I have, Bella is pulled out of my arms by Axel. Bella disappears as Axel hunches over her. After a moment, Pooh’s had enough and pushes and pulls until Bella’s being hugged by him. Axel turns immediately to Lola and pulls her gently to him. When he places his chin on her head, Lola sags against him. All fight has left her, and the realization of what went down is sinking in.

“I suggest we take Ms. Lottie to the hospital. I think her arm may be broken, and she has a possible concussion,” the EMT says from behind me. “You should come too and be checked over just to be safe, ma’am,” she says while looking at Lola.

“I’ll go but only to keep an eye on Lottie. That cowardly bastard punched her a few times. Her brain’s probably scrambled a bit,” Lola says as I assist her into the back of the ambulance.

“I’ll follow,” I say.

“You stay and talk with Livi. She’ll explain everything. Come pick us up when you’re done,” Lola orders.

I nod in agreement and watch the other EMT close the door and walk to the front of it. They pull out slowly before turning toward the nearest hospital.

“Officer Moore. I need to speak with the young lady now. It’s best if we do it at the station. She can ride with you if she’s more comfortable with that,” a guy in a suit says as he stops near our group. I see a badge clipped to his belt, and I assume he’s a detective.

“The young lady’s name is Bella, and she’s not talking to anyone until someone tells me why you want my daughter brought to the cop shop!” snaps Petey as he pulls Bella away from Pooh.

Bella instantly wraps her arms around Petey’s waist and buries her face in his chest.

The detective sizes up Petey before speaking in a calm, professional tone.

“Your daughter is not in any trouble, sir. I need a statement from her about the incident that happened here today is all. From everything I’ve seen and heard so far, she did everything right. I know this is a difficult time for her, but I need to get her version of what happened while it’s still fresh in her mind. I’m not trying in any way to cause her pain by reliving it, but I have no choice. To protect her, I need to present the D.A. with the facts of the case. While I’m interviewing Bella, another detective will get complete statements from the two other ladies at the hospital.”

“Protect her? From what?” Pooh barks.

“From anyone thinking she did anything wrong today when she shot an intruder.”

“Shot an intruder? Someone broke in, and Bella shot him?” Axel asks incredulously.

“I want to ride with Livi and James if that’s alright, sir. I’ll tell you what happened because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Bella says with a stubborn look forming on her tiny face. She had pulled away from Petey and turned to the detective to say this, and I feel a hit of something that feels like pride.

“That’s fine, Bella and thank you. I know this is hard, but I’ll try to make it as easy as possible. I have a daughter a few years younger than you, and I would hope she’d do the same as you did today. Take a few minutes and talk with your family. I’ll meet you at the station when you’re ready,” the detective tells her in a compassionate voice before walking away.

“What the hell happened?” Petey asks but his eyes are on Livi, not Bella.

As Livi starts explaining what she knows, Bella rests against her dad but holds her head high. Several club members arrive and join our group. We listen quietly to Livi.

“Call came in that there had been a shooting at this address. Arriving first, we found Lottie and Bella standing to the side while Lola was kicking the shit out of some guy. He was down and unmoving. He had kicked in the back door, saw Lottie standing at the stove and punched her a few times. He ordered Lottie to hand over all her money and valuables. Lola heard Lottie scream and ran toward it. Bella was in Lola’s bedroom putting away laundry when she heard him threatening to kill the ladies if they didn’t get him money. Bella retrieved Lola’s handgun and went to the kitchen. The man had Lottie by the arm and was pointing a knife at her throat while demanding Lola to get their money or he’d kill Lottie first and then her. Bella told him to drop the knife and leave. He released Lottie but lunged toward Lola. Bella shot, and he went down. Lottie called 911, but the man didn’t stay down. He made another attempt to grab Lola, and Bella shot him a second time.”

“He’s dead. I killed him,” Bella says in a flat voice.

“You did what you had to do to survive. You did exactly what you should have done,” James tells her gently.

“He’s dead, but the Aunts aren’t. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that but right now, I know I don’t feel bad over it,” Bella states before turning to face Livi. “Can we go now? I want to get this done with so I can go home. I just want to hide out in my bedroom with Loki for a while.”

“You can ride with your dad if you want, Bella,” Livi tells her.

“No, I’ll ride with you. Dad needs to explain all of this to Mom and to do it in a way that she doesn’t lose her mind and try to kill the guy all over again.”

Bella gives her dad, brother and Pooh a hug then turns to me.

“I’m so sorry this happened, and I hope both the Aunts are okay. Do you think they’ll still want me to come over?”

“Yeah, they’re going to insist on it, I’m sure. You did good, little one. Love you,” I tell her before I get my own hug.

We watch her leave with Livi and James. After the patrol car pulls away, Petey says he needs to head to the bakery to talk with Trudy before they go pick Bella up from the cop shop.

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