Page 16 of An Unexpected Everything
Weston:
I told you. You never have to.
I didn’t know if that meant he would take care of it, or I could just hire someone. And I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t sure why we were even texting in the first place.
Me:
Enjoy your work. I should get back to mine.
Weston:
Have a good day, Bella.
Tears pricked my eyes as I set down my phone. I didn’t want to think about the past. Because when I thought about Weston, I thought about my heart breaking in a thousand pieces, and then I thought about William.
I shuddered at the memory, telling myself that I was safe.
William might be out of jail, but he wasn’t anywhere near me. Kyler knew about it at least, but Kyler wasn’t even in the state. I didn’t want to worry the rest of my family, and it wasn’t like the other Cage brothers knew about what had happened.
Bile crawled up my throat as my palms went damp, and I immediately made my way to the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face and let out a deep breath.
“He’s not going to find me. He doesn’t want to find me.”
“Everything okay?” a woman asked, and I nodded.
“Yes, Ruby, right?” I asked, remembering this woman was on Blakely’s team.
Ruby smiled. “That’s right. It’s nice to see you, Isabella. But are you sure you’re okay?”
I put on a fake smile, hoping it at least reached my eyes. “Yes. I guess I’m just hungry. I skipped breakfast but had too much coffee.”
“That will do you. You should take your lunch. In fact, we’re ordering from that salad place. You know, the one that has tons of protein and veggies and fats on it so it will taste like something rather than rabbit food.”
I laughed at that and washed my hands. “That does sound nice. Sure, let me think of my order.”
“Come on, and we’ll get it done.”
I pushed all thoughts of William and Weston out of my mind and followed Ruby to her desk.
I was slowly making friends, slowly weaving my way into the company. I might not be the Cage of Cage Enterprises, but I still worked here. I still had a place.
I was safe.
By the end of the day I was tired, but still a little full of pep. Maybe I would go to dinner at Aston’s. Or try to see if Sophia and Emily were around. Phoebe was out of town with her boyfriend, the two of them finally taking a break after everything that had happened. So maybe it was time just to have a night with my family. I didn’t have many friends outside of Blakley, and I hadn’t noticed the lack until now.
I walked to the parking garage and pulled out my phone, ready to text the group chat, when someone put their hand around my mouth. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, I kicked out, my purse falling. My phone clattered to the floor, and warm breath flew against my neck.
“Stay still.”
I froze, my body stiffening. I didn’t know that voice. It wasn’t William’s. Right? But maybe I couldn’t remember. Who else could it be? All of my self-defense training went out the window, and I couldn’t do a thing.
My chest tightened and my vision began to gray. Bile pooled in my mouth and suddenly I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Everything from my nightmares was coming true again. But this time William wouldn’t stop. He’d finally take what he wanted and kill me when he couldn’t before. Because I hadn’t wanted to date him and he’d beaten me to make his case known. Then he threated so much worse.
He was back.
And I knew I was going to die.
“Hey. What the hell?” a voice called out, and then the man let me go, his gloved hand falling from my lips, and I fell to the ground, my knees bruising at the impact.
