Page 105 of Love and Memories

That had been the case today when they’d been called to a residence along with local law enforcement for a domestic disturbance.

An adult female was in critical condition after a heroin overdose, but there was a chance she’d make it.

The adult male was pronounced dead on the scene. Travis wasn’t an investigator, but all signs pointed to suicide.

Neither of those cases were the cause of the somber mood amongst the medical professionals. It was the little boy that had everyone choked up.

Matt lifted his chin as he approached Travis. “Are you ready to head out?”

“Yeah.” Every minute they stayed at the hospital offered more chances they’d hear the bad news about the boy. With a dead dad and a drug addict for a mother, what chance did the kid have if he did survive the night?

Matt took the driver’s seat in the ambulance, and Travis settled into the passenger seat for the long trip back to Blackwater.

The sun was too bright. The air was too crisp and clean. None of it reflected the storm swirling inside him. A defenseless little boy was fighting for his life, and Travis had the luxury of enjoying a perfectly good day.

He closed his eyes and prayed. When the darkness threatened to strangle him, prayer was the only thing that settled his nerves. He’d done all he physically could for the boy, but he could still ask God to heal the kid, or at least guide the medical professionals trying to help him.

“It’s out of our hands,” Matt said after they’d driven for a while.

Travis lifted his chin. “I know.” That fact didn’t make the bitter pill any easier to swallow.

The phone in his chest pocket vibrated and he pulled it out. The screen was filled with notifications of missed calls and messages.

Shoot. How long had it been since he’d checked his phone? Hours. They’d been on the nightmare call for a while, and it had been his sole focus.

He scanned the notifications for anything from Bella or Nathan. Nothing.

The relief was short-lived when he read the other messages.

Asa: Call me.

Anna: Travis! Call me ASAP.

Camille: Don’t worry. I’m with her.

The cause for alarm definitely involved Bella, but none of the messages were detailed enough to tell him what was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I might need you to drive faster,” Travis said as he pressed the button to call Asa.

His friend answered on the second ring. “Officer Scott.”

“What happened? Is she okay?” The words tore through his throat like jagged rocks, and his lungs tightened.

“Bella is at the station. She’s under investigation.”

“For what?” Travis spat.

“What do you know about Justin White?” Asa asked.

Travis’s hand clenched into a fist. “I don’t have a clue who that is. Tell me about Bella.”

“What do you know about his alias, Gunner?”

No. He couldn’t have found her. Travis promised to protect her. Nathan was with her. The man knew how to do his job.

“You know everything I know. He was Bella’s ex–the VP of the Iron Fist MC,” Travis stated. “What did he do? Did he find her?”

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