Page 121 of Whiskey Wednesdays

Looking down at my feet, I realized I didn’t have shoes on. Luckily, Elodie was still wearing hers.

“We snuck outside when they started screaming at each other. I don’t have shoes on, or my purse. I don’t know where to go.” I had to fight down the panic rising in my throat.

“Putain de bordel de merde,”Titus muttered. “Do you have the Uber or Lyft app on your phone? I’m texting you the address to my apartment in downtown Vancouver. You can go there until we track Connor down.”

“Yes.” I thought about calling the police, but I didn’t know if nine-one-one even worked in Canada. I choked down a sob and tried to stay calm.

Titus let out a relieved sigh. “Okay. Get away from the house before those two come after you. Go to my apartment, and I’ll let the doorman know you’re coming.”

“I’m so glad you answered.” My voice broke a little so I cleared my throat. “Thank you. How are Stella and Abby doing?”

Elodie and I made it to the property gate.

He grunted. “They’re safe. We’ll talk when you get back. Now go. I’ll call the police, but text me when you’re clear.”

Chapter 35

My face throbbed and my heart pounded. I was afraid I’d lose the internet, so we paused at the gate and pulled up the Uber app, then plugged in Titus’s condo address. It looked like the closest ride was six minutes away. Elodie and I were going through the gate when Amelia yanked open the front door.

“Where do you think you’re going withmydaughter?” she screamed. “You’re trying to be her mother. You’re trying to take her away from me.” She stalked toward us.

It was cold outside, and my toes were going numb. I hustled Elodie out the gate and we started running up the road. I didn’t see Noah anywhere, and I wondered if he was inside the house looking for things to steal.

I stepped on something sharp and felt a sting on the pad of my foot. I grunted but kept moving.

Elodie looked up at me with wide, panicked eyes. “Where are we going?”

“Someone’s going to pick us up and take us to Titus’s apartment. I couldn’t get ahold of your dad, and I don’t have a car or my purse.” Or shoes, I thought.

“I’m scared,” she whimpered.

“Me too,” I admitted. “But if we can get away, we’ll be okay.”

My feet felt scraped and raw, and my toes started to tingle. Amelia ran after us, screaming and swearing. Luckily, her boots weren’t made for running, and we had a head start. But she was gaining on us.

When I saw the black sedan matching the Uber app driving toward us, I waved frantically. The man pulled over, and I opened the back passenger door and hustled Elodie into the back seat.

“Are you Ahmed?” I asked as I got in beside Elodie and slammed the door.

He looked at my face and his eyes went wide. “Yes. Are you Isabella?”

“Yeah. Please drive. A crazy woman is chasing us.”

To Ahmed’s credit, he nodded and put the car in drive. As we passed Amelia, she lunged at the car and screamed at us. I leaned over and buckled Elodie up, then buckled myself in. Elodie panted next to me, and I put my arm around her.

“We’re okay, sweetheart. I’ll keep you safe.”

She started crying softly.

I looked at Ahmed, who glanced back at me and silently pointed to my nose. Then he rummaged around and pulled out a packet of wet wipes.

“You’ve got blood on your face, ma’am. Are you and the child alright?”

Taking the packet, I pulled a few out and dabbed at my nose. “We’ll be fine now. You’ve already helped more than you know by being early.”

I tried to hand the wet wipes back to him, but he glanced down at my feet. “I think your foot is also bleeding.”

Sighing, I pulled a few more wet wipes out and tried to clean the cut on my foot. I texted Titus to let him know we were clear. Just then my phone rang, and I saw Connor’s name on my screen.

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