Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“All right, why don’t you hop in the back of my car and I’ll talk to the guy at the gate now?”
“I don’t . . . I don’t want to. I want to wait here.”
“I can’t let you do that, miss. What’s your name?”
“Maeve,” she whispered. She started shaking.
“Maeve, you’re not looking too well.” He eyed the side of her face. “Someone hurt you?”
“I . . . I . . . yes. I just want to find my friends.”
“You can tell me who hurt you.”
She shook her head. Then winced as pain slashed through it.
“Was it your boyfriend?”
“No,” she whispered, thinking of Gray. He’d never touch her.
Also he wasn’t her boyfriend.
“Where do you live, Maeve?”
“Please. I just want Sampson.”
“Come on. Come with me.” He reached for her and she felt the panic break free from the box she’d held it loosely in.
“No! No!” She stumbled back into the tree. “Stay away! Stay away from me!”
She was barely aware of the sound of an approaching motorcycle. All she could see was a man in a uniform coming toward her.
She slid onto her ass, her arms rising to protect herself as sobs wracked her poor, sore body.
The motorcycle went past, but then seemed to return.
“Maeve? Maeve, listen to me.”
“Hey! What’s going on here?”
The deep voice was one she recognized instantly. But was she dreaming? Was it wistful thinking?
“Nothing to worry about, sir,” the police officer said calmly. “She’s just a bit upset. I’m getting her somewhere safe.”
“She doesn’t look like she wants to go with you.”
She raised her head up. Her eyes met his bright blue ones.
“Maeve!”
With a sob, she climbed to her feet and launched herself at Isaiah. He caught her up, pulling her close.
“What the fuck? Maeve, what are you doing out here?” He drew her back, staring down at her bruised face. His eyes darkened and he turned to look at the cop. “Who the fuck hit her?”
“That’s what I was trying to find out. Someone called and said she was sitting out here, looking distressed. I’m just here to help.”
“Well, you’re not helping,” Isaiah told him. “Maeve is scared of cops. You need to leave.”
“I can’t leave. Someone hurt her.”
“Yeah, and then you fucking terrified her. Don’t worry, we’ll look after her.” Isaiah held her to him with one arm, then drew his phone out.
“Maeve, are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” the cop asked.
Maybe he was a good guy. Just doing his job. But she wasn’t going anywhere with him.
“Sampson, Maeve’s out here . . . on the roadside.”
She could hear Sampson yelling something. Isaiah sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know why she missed check-in, but she’s outside the gate. Some cop was trying to force her into his car.”
More yelling. Isaiah pulled his phone from his ear.
“I suggest you leave, man,” he said to the officer. “He’s not happy.”
The officer frowned. “I wasn’t forcing her. She should come and make a statement about who hurt her.”
She made a small, scared noise. She hated being like this.
“She’s not going with you.” Isaiah glanced down at her. “But if she needs to make a statement, then we’ll be in contact.”
The cop didn’t look happy. But then a huge, red truck pulled up. She sagged in relief as Sampson climbed out. He was enormous. Tall and muscular with a savage look on his face.
She slid from Isaiah’s embrace and threw herself at Sampson.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Sampson said in his deep voice.
She buried her face in his chest. She was shaking so hard that she couldn’t even speak.
She could hear the cop relaying what he knew.
“What the fuck? Your phone is broken?” Sampson drew her gently back. Seemed crazy that a man so big could be gentle, but he could be. He studied her, his face tightening with rage. “Who the fuck hit you? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No. Just my face.” Well, her whole body kind of ached but that was probably due to what she’d put it through the last few days.
“I’m going to call Eric and have him come by the house to check on her,” Isaiah said. “Unless you think the hospital would be best?”
“It would,” the officer said.
Sampson looked over at him with a frown. “You were trying to force her into your car?”
“I was going to take her to get checked out and take her statement about who hit her.”
“Why didn’t you tell him to take you to us?” Sampson asked her.
“I tried. He didn’t think I knew Jenner. Just like the guy at the gate.”
“What?” Sampson snapped. “Who’s on the gate?”
“Fred,” Isaiah replied.
“That fucker. You went to the gate and he didn’t let you through?”
“He didn’t believe me when I said I knew Jenner. You can’t blame him.”
“Like fuck I can’t blame him. Least the fucker could do was call through,” Sampson said. “What did he do?”