Page 19 of Timeless Pages
Daniel?
“Let them through,” an officer near me ordered. “If you piss them off too much, they might buy the bank that holds the loan on your house and call it in.”
Why would Daniel buy a bank?
Daniel rushed into the store, followed by the last three people I had ever expected to see. Nate, Evan, and Dom.
“Isa!” Nathan yelled, rushing toward me.
I used the last bit of strength in my reserves to stand as he reached me and wrapped my arms around his neck. Now, I felt safe. Now, I knew nobody could hurt me as long as I was with them. I was too exhausted to question why that was.
Nate’s arms wrapped around me, and my eyes closed as I gave in to exhaustion.
“I’ve got you, Little Bell. You’re safe,” he whispered.
Chapter fourteen
Nathan
“Come on! Let’s go!” I yelled as Evan and Dom rushed from the building. When Evan got the phone call from Dave that something had happened with Isa, fear gripped my heart like an iron fist, and it hadn’t let go yet. It wouldn’t until I saw with my own eyes that she was ok.
We piled into the car, and the driver sped off. I had already told him to break all road laws to get us there. I didn’t care. I’d pay the fines. Dom pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. “Daniel, something happened to Isa at the shop. We’re on our way there now. You should probably meet us there.” He hung up the phone and anxiously tapped it against his knee as he stared out the window. Evan was also lost in his thoughts. If something happened to her, I’m not sure we would ever be the same again.
We slammed to a stop when we turned onto her street. Police cars were blocking the way. We rushed from the car just as Daniel pulled up beside us.
“Let me do the talking,” he advised us as we jogged to the bookstore. I took the lead and tried to run inside when we were almost there, but an officer blocked my path.
“You can’t come in here! It’s a crime scene!” the officer yelled, placing his hand on my chest to block me.
“If you don’t let us through, I’ll—” I growled.
“Let me handle this,” Daniel ordered, pulling me back. “I’m Miss Wilcox’s attorney, and they are with me. Let us in. I demand to see my client.”
“Let them through,” I heard an officer inside order, “If you piss them off too much, they might buy the bank that holds the loan on your house and call it in.”
“He isn’t wrong,” I growled. The officer moved out of our way, and we ran inside. My eyes quickly zeroed in on Isa, and while she was alive, the terror didn’t ease. Her face was bruised and swollen, she had purple bruising around her neck where she had been strangled, and blood was smeared across her body and clothes. The robe she wore was in near tatters, just barely covering her intimate parts. Her eyes met mine, and I saw them fill with relief.
“Isa!” I yelled as I rushed to her. She stood and fell into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. As soon as I wrapped mine around her, I felt her relax and start to shake.
“I’ve got you, Little Bell. You’re safe,” I whispered. When her entire body went slack, I scooped her into my arms.
“Is she ok?” Evan asked as he brushed the hair from her face.
“She’s fine. She just passed out,” I replied.
“Her daddy did it,” Dave said, moving to stand in front of her. “I got here just in time. He’d nearly strangled her to death.
“Look what he fucking did to her,” Dom croaked.
Seeing her injuries up close was even worse than from across the room, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat. Morris had nearly killed her. There was no doubt in my mind that it hadbeen his intent. “Are you done with her?” I asked the detective standing nearby.
“We haven’t been able to get her statement yet,” he replied, “So she will have to come down to the station when she’s able.”
“You can come to her. I’m not dragging her to the police station,” I informed the detective.
“Either way, I’m done with her for now. As long as the paramedics clear her and forensics don’t need anything else, she can go.”
“She needs to go to the hospital for her injuries,” the paramedic stated.
