Page 123 of Bling

“Regina, can you get a pilot ready to be in the air in two hours, please? We have an emergency and need to get Isabelle and her family back to Colorado right away.”

He never took his eyes off her while he made the call and it enraged her.

“God damn it,” she yelled. “Can’t you ever just be a normal fucking human for once?”

“That’s enough, Isabelle. Sit your ass in that chair and don’t fucking move. I’m going to have your family rounded up and we’ll be out of here within the hour.”

“Fuck you,” she blurted as she looked around for an exit. She needed fresh air, or she was going to be sick. Spotting the front doors, she stalked toward them, but a firm hand gripped her arm.

“I. Said. Sit.” His voice was hard and his gaze steely as he stared down at her.

A small crowd had gathered, and her cousin Sabrina approached. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

Garrett stepped between her and her cousin. “There’s been an emergency and we need to get Isabelle and her family back home right away. Can you please sit here with her? I need to go round up her nieces, dad, and uncle.”

“I’ll get Cat and Sarah,” a young teenager said.

“Thank you,” Garrett said as he stalked off in another direction.

Isabelle’s stomach lurched and she searched for a trashcan.

“I’m gonna be sick,” she murmured as she tried to keep the tears at bay.

“Come on, honey. Bathroom is this way.”

After emptying her stomach and drinking a bottle of water, her head felt a little clearer, but none of it felt real. What the fuck had happened? How had her sister been released without her knowledge?

By the time she was cleaned up and out of the bathroom, Garrett was waiting for her by the exit. He had her purse and reached for her hand, but she refused. Her gut told her he was involved and that wasn’t OK.

“Isabelle please,” he murmured. “I swear I had nothing to do with this. I’m calling my attorney as soon as we have ourselves on the plane. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

“Please, Garrett. I just need to not talk to you,” she pleaded. “Thank you for getting me home but I need to focus on my family right now.”

She felt like a bitch, but if he was going to constantly meddle in her life by flashing his money and power around, then their relationship would never work.

The car ride to the private airport was somber. Garrett had sent someone to the beach house to collect their things and they would meet them at the plane.

The plane ride was even more somber and once they were in the air, Isabelle excused herself to the bedroom to sleep off as much of the alcohol as she could.

She would need to be there for her nieces like never before to get them through this. They were more confused than she was.

By the time she got to the hospital, she was sober and well hydrated at Garrett’s insistence.

“Can you take the girls and Uncle Henry home, please,” she said. “They’ll only allow two visitors over eighteen at this hour, so Daddy and I are going to stay.”

“OK. I’ll be back for you whenever you’re ready.”

She shook her head. “I’ll find my own way home. Please. I just need space away from you to take care of my family. I’ve not been doing a good enough job of that lately.”

“Don’t do this, Isabelle. Don’t blame yourself, or the time you’ve spent with me, for any of this.”

“Spending time with you is exactly why this fucking happened. Now please, take my family home and that’s the last favor I’ll be needing from you.”

Her heart broke as she unclasped the silver bracelet from her wrist and handed it to him. Without another word, she turned and joined her father in the hospital where he was already talking to a nurse about her sister’s condition.

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