Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
As I watch the guys who did this pile into their car and peel away, my gut tells me to chase them down so I can torture the fuck out of them until they tell me why they were going after Ellie. Then, slowly and mercilessly, I would end their lives. But with Ellie lying on the ground unconscious, both her and our baby at risk, I have no choice but to focus on getting help.
“Ellie, baby, can you hear me?” I ask once I’ve reached her. “Ellie, please,” I beg, needing her beautiful eyes to open and look at me, for her to tell me she’s okay.
When she doesn’t respond, I pull my phone out and dial emergency. As I explain to the dispatcher our location and the situation, I run my hand along Ellie’s face and body, trying to check her out without moving her. Thankfully, when she fell, she landed on her back, but that also means she hit the back of her head.
Once I hang up with the dispatcher, who assures me that an ambulance is en route, I dial Micah’s number.
“Are you coming back—?”
“Ellie’s hurt!” I bark out. “Meet us at the hospital.”
There are a few different hospitals in Tesoro, but in this part of town, there’s only one they would take her to.
There’s a crowd forming around Ellie, who’s yet to wake up, but I ignore them, focusing on trying to comfort her until the ambulance arrives. I’ve never felt so damn helpless in my life.
When the paramedics finally show and check her out, her lids flutter, and I pray to whatever God is up there that Ellie and our baby will be okay. After placing a neck brace on her, they work together to lift her onto a gurney, while one of them asks me questions. I only know so much, but their main focus is on her pregnancy.
Since there isn’t enough room in the back of the ambulance, they offer to let me ride in the front, but I opt to drive myself instead, so I’m not at the hospital without a vehicle. I arrive right behind them, but I’m stopped from entering the emergency entrance, so I walk around to the front where Sienna and Micah—and Sienna’s bodyguard, Ricardo—are already waiting.
“What the fuck did you do to my sister?” Sienna shouts, tears streaming down her cheeks as she throws herself at me, punching my chest repeatedly until Micah pulls her away.
“Someone tried to take her,” I tell her honestly, not having the time or inclination to filter what I say to keep from scaring her. Between what transpired earlier this morning and having just witnessed Ellie’s near abduction, Sienna needs to know what we’re up against.
“If I hadn’t shown up...” I swallow hard, not wanting to think about what would’ve happened had I not gotten there in time. “When I called her name, they got spooked. The guy dragging her to the car, pushed her, and she lost her balance and fell.”
“Did you recognize them?” Micah asks, his face devoid of any emotion. He’s in boss-mode.
“No. There were three guys, all in black hoodies that hid their faces, driving a black town car. I was too focused on Ellie to chase them.”
Micah immediately pulls his phone out and starts barking orders, demanding the cameras to be accessed and to find the guys who did this. As he does, he holds Sienna, comforting her so she’ll calm down. With her only a couple of months away from giving birth, the last thing she should be is stressed.
Micah hangs up and dials again. “I need a team to go to my parents’ and stand guard. My kids go nowhere. I don’t know who is fucking with us, so we trust no one.”
“I don’t understand what is happening,” Sienna says once he’s hung up.
“I don’t know yet,” Micah says, lifting her chin and kissing her softly. “But we’ll figure it out.”
Sienna nods and then turns her attention on me. “She wouldn’t have left if you hadn’t upset her. What did you say to her?”
“Hellcat,” Micah begins, but I shake my head because she’s not wrong.
“No, she’s right. I fucked up, and if something’s happened to her or the baby...” I choke out, the reality of the situation hitting me like a tidal wave.
I did this.
I was so focused on right and wrong, on what my family would think, I kept her at arm’s length instead of embracing my feelings for her. I knew the moment I found out she was the woman from the club, I wanted her, but I was stuck on the fact that she was also the same teenage girl who once had a crush on me.
“What happened?” Sienna asks.
“I’m falling in love with her,” I admit out loud for the first time.