Page 10 of Bradford

Fear hits me like a sledgehammer. I jump to my feet and gasp in pain at the fire in my side. "Stay away from her!"

He laughs and heads out.

I try to follow him, but the pain in my side stops me in my tracks.

"Are you okay?" The server rushes to my side.

As I glance at her, I notice the two detectives from the hospital standing behind her. "You need to go after him," I snarl.

Smith and Walker glance at each other before focusing on me. "Who?"

Walker ushers the server away, frowning.

I clutch my side and slump back into the chair. "The asshole who was just sitting with me! He's going after Florence." I curse."At least, I think that's what he's doing. It all has something to do with my father. Talk to him after you've checked on her."

"Hold on a second. Are you saying that Florence received a threat?"

"Yes!" I push myself up, clenching my teeth. "I'm coming with you."

"No way," Smith says. "You need to go back to your room and stay there."

"Hell no! Talk to my father about who that asshole is but we need to go check on Florence. Please. I have a gut feeling that he's going after her."

Walker nods, cursing under his breath. “She’s on shift. You can get your stitches checked while we’re there.”

“Whatever,” I grumble, not really caring about my stitches. I just have a feeling that Florence needs help.

7

FLORENCE

My shift was cutshort because of a migraine. I make it home at dusk instead of at night. Bradford has been discharged, and I miss him. There's something about his sweet smile and the way his vivid blue eyes shine when he sees me. My heart flutters just thinking about him. However, he quickly leaves my mind when I find my apartment door unlocked and slightly ajar. My heart drops, and blood thunders in my ears. Is someone inside? I try to listen, but the only sound I hear is my own blood pounding in my ears, drowning out any other noise.

With trembling hands, I push open the door, hoping there is no one waiting for me. The hallway looks the same as when I left—a narrow table is up against the wall with a vase of artificial wildflowers, a picture of my parents on their wedding day, and my sneakers are neatly shoved beneath it. As I step inside, I hear a faint sound coming from the living room. My heart races as I cautiously make my way toward it, praying it's just my imagination. Either way, I need to know who broke the locks on my door to get inside. If it’s my ex, Daniel, the he is going to discover that I’m no longer a push over.

I quietly slip my purse from my shoulder and let it fall to the floor beside the table. A quick glance around tells me that theonly thing I have close by that I can use as a weapon is a vase. I wince as I grab it and remove the flowers. I'm not sure how much protection a vase will give me, but I move toward the living room anyway. My place isn't large. The living room and kitchen are open concept. There is also one bedroom and a bathroom.

Footsteps catch my attention—or rather, the squeak of a sneaker does. Before I can react, a large man wearing a face mask charges at me. I toss the vase which breaks into pieces on the guy’s raised arm as he swipes it away. I turn to run but the man catches me, wrapping his large hands around my throat from behind.

I can't breathe.

I reach up and try to pry his fingers off. Nothing works. He's too strong. I try to elbow him as I struggle for breath. Spots appear in front of my eyes as the fight slowly leaves me. As I feel myself losing consciousness, I hear male voices, and then everything goes black.

I openmy eyes and stare directly into a pair of vivid blue ones. They are so close that I can see the tiny flecks of gold in the irises. I close my eyes again, thinking I’m dreaming.

"Florence, open your eyes for me," a smooth, warm voice says. "Florrie, babe." I snap my eyes open at the name ‘Florrie’ and groan. My throat hurts and my neck is stiff. "Why am I on the floor?" I croak, then cough. "What happened?"

"Let me help you up," says Bradford, sliding an arm beneath me.

"No, wait! You're hurt. I can manage." I’m not so sure, but there is no way I am going to let Bradford help me.

"Smith, get over here!" Bradford shouts.

"What?" Smith.

"Can you help her up, please?"

Smith clears his throat. "I think she should stay down until the paramedics have checked her out."

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