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I begin to hyperventilate, realizing I’ve just jumped into the car with a cop and didn’t even think about how the mayor—an ex-cop—hates Carter. This detective could be driving me to my death! Why wouldn’t he just call an ambulance? I shouldn’t have gotten in here with him. I need to get out.
“Pull over, please,” I beg, my hands reaching for the door handle.
“No, Isabella. What are you doing? You’re okay. I swear I’m not going to…” He slows down enough to stop at the red light in the intersection. It’s just enough of a stop for me to jump out of the car and bolt down the sidewalk.
I don’t care that he chases after me—I need to get away from him and every other cop in this city!
I turn a few corners, but I can still hear him stomping on the sidewalk after me, nearing my shoulder with his hand so close that I can almost feel him reach for me! I hiccup in shock, my stomach turning while I force myself faster down the city streets.
“Whoa!”
I slam directly into a solid wall, my body tumbling sideways off the sidewalk, where I land with a hard, overwhelmingthud. I break into a fit of tears, my back sore as I try to sit up, only to see through blurry vision. A familiar face kneels before me, and I can’t help but throw myself into his arms in exhaustion and gratefulness.
“Thank you, thank you,” I pant between heavy, suffocating gasps for air.
Rich Donahue pulls me upright, his arms taking my weight out of courtesy, but I can tell he’s uncomfortable. “What’s going on, Isabella? Where’s Carter? And who is this guy?”
The detective looks at the hoard of men that surround me and Rich now. I’ve never been so happy to see members of the Lacey family before, but I’m certainly thrilled with it now. The detective gives up, holding his hands up while he backs away and retraces his steps along the sidewalk.
When he’s out of sight and behind the building nearby, Rich pushes my brunette hair back and runs a thumb under my nostrils, coming up with a hint of crimson. I realize now that whoever I ran into was hard enough for my face to slam into their shoulder, my nose bleeding and pained.
How ironic that I really might need to go to the hospital now…
“What is happening, Isabella? Are you okay? Where is Carter?”
I field his questions one by one, trying to catch him up about the intruder, the murder, the arrest, and the cop, who I can’t determine is a good guy or not. When I’m done, he shushes me to stop and slow down, but it’s not possible right now. I wipe my face clean of the blood that stains my shirt, and Rich gives me a pitiful look.
“You need help, Isabella. How can I help?”
I look at him, fighting back tears. “I don’t… I don’t know.”
He nods briefly and helps me stand up, his hands holding mine while I try to steady myself on shaky legs. I wipe my cheeks, needing the tears to disappear. They don’t. I’m too damn freaked out to catch my own breath, and I can hardly make sense of if we were even headed for the hospital.
I just know I can’t trust anyone.
Well, maybe I can trust one person who’s not a Blackthorne.
“Get my car back here,” Rich says, waving to one of his guys.
The man gives him an unsure look. “Boss, we have to get to this meeting, it’s very—”
“I need to make sure she’s safe first. Get me my damn car. We can stop by my place uptown and keep her there. Call Yuri and have him meet us at the penthouse instead, okay? We can just move the meeting there.”
Still, the man hesitates. “It’s not ideal.”
Rich looks annoyed, his hands balled into fists while he stares through his men. “I don’t give a damn. We have a duty to work with the Blackthornes now. They are our allies. I have to protect one of them the same as they would protect one of mine. Understood?”
His team nods.
One of them pulls out his phone, and another offers me an old-style handkerchief pulled from his breast pocket. I thank the man and dab at my cheeks and upper lip, trying to remove the blood and tears that stain my flustered appearance. I wipe my brow and watch as a car pulls up to the curb nearby.
I’m hesitant, but Rich gets in first, and I follow his lead for now. Sinking into the leather seat, I feel a million times safer, even if he is Jacob Lacey’s brother. At least he’s not trying to kill me or pin me to his desk. I have to be thankful for that much.
I bury my face in my hands with Rich and me alone in the backseat while the driver takes off down the road. I miss my car right now, still parked in hiding after the ordeal that resulted from the Lacey war. Carter doesn’t like me leaving alone, and I can’t imagine he would be okay with me just up and driving off into trouble.
“Are you okay, Isabella?”
“I still don’t know how to answer that. I just… I don’t know who to trust anymore.” I press my hands harder against my eyes, waiting until I see bright spots in the darkness behind my shut eyelids. “I feel so out of the loop right now. I don’t know who is on Carter’s side anymore.”
