Page 59 of Fierce Love
“You think I’ll just take that? I’m not you, Hollyn. I don’t take shit like that fromanyone.If you don’t give me my stuff back, Iwillkill you.” There’s venom in her voice.
Bluster, probably, but her threat still causes my heart to kick.
“And if I can’t get to you,” she says, her voice pitched low against the door, “I’ll pay you back through Kinsley instead.”
My eyes widen, and my stomach drops out.
One last boom of a fist resounds on the door, and then their step retreat, my mother cursing loudly and yelling more threats as she leaves.
Instead of going to the set like I’m supposed to, I grab my keys and head for Kinsley’s school. Looks like she’s getting a day off until I figure out how to fix the mess I created.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Nathaniel
“Ifeel like I need to tell you to sit down,” Posey says when I answer the phone.
“I’m driving, so I suppose I already am,” I say, signaling a lane change.
“Hollyn just called and said she’s going to be late getting to set because she’s going to pick up Kinsley from school.”
“Okay,” I say, my mind working. “Is Kinsley sick?”
“No,” Posey says, and she takes a deep breath. “Hollyn was crying. She said her parents came to the apartment and threatened to kill her and Kinsley. I just… is that like, hypothetical? Or real? I know the Davis-Thompson family is rough, but are they murderers?”
I skid onto the shoulder of the road, wheeling around to do a U-turn in the middle of the highway. Other cars honk at me, but I’ve been going the wrong fucking way if Hollyn needs me.
“Where was she last time you talked to her?”
“Is this a real thing?” Posey asks, a hint of panic in her voice. “Do I need to call Stephen?”
“Just tell me where she is!” I burst out.
“She was just picking up Kinsley—had just pulled up to the school.”
I press my foot down harder on the gas, confident I’m headed the right way. “I’ll call Stephen, and you let Tariq know Hollyn won’t be filming today. Hollyn and Kin will be with me until I can get a restraining order and some security measures in place.” Without waiting for a response from Posey, I hang up on her and immediately dial Stephen.
“You working?” I ask when he picks up. I’m never sure if my mother has a deal with Stephen, if Ava has a deal with Stephen, or if the chief of police has a deal with my mother, but Stephen is our family’s go-to for all police-related matters.
“What do you need?” he asks, alert.
“Mickie and Nial Davis threatened to kill Hollyn and Kinsley. I need an immediate police escort in Tucker’s Town.”
“You’ll have one. I’m in Rockdown, but I’ll get some people to respond. Location?”
“East Pembroke Academy,” I say, weaving in and out of traffic. On the outside, I probably seem collected, but on the inside, fear and anger are at war. First, I need Hollyn and Kinsley safe, and then I’ll make Mickie regret ever having that threat cross her lips.
When I pull into the school’s parking lot, two police vehicles with officers are already there talking to Hollyn and Kinsley. Before I’m out of the car, I notice the red, swollen mark on Hollyn’s cheek.
The inclination to commit murder has never been so strong.
“We need a restraining order,” I say, coming up beside Hollyn and the male officer.
“Nate, what are you doing here?” Hollyn’s surprise is evident. Her eyes are puffy and swollen, but it’s the red mark on her cheek that I can’t stop seeing.
“Posey called me.” I stare at her for a beat. “Youshould have called me.” I’m not going to like her response, so I turn to the officers. “Restraining order? Warrant for Mickie and Niall’s arrest?”
“We’ve documented the evidence,” the one officer says—I think his name is Marcus, “and Ms. Davis is welcome to come down to the station to press charges.”
