Page 135 of Bling

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Isabelle,” Garrett whispered.

She was trembling at the sight of him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

‘I wanted to ask your sister a few questions.”

“I would say she’s answered enough of your questions.”

Garrett sighed and stood. “I’ll go.”

“No,” Carmen croaked out. “I want him to stay, Izzy. And I want you to stay too. You both need to hear this.”

Isabelle scowled at her sister. “You just came out of a coma. It’s important that you rest.”

“I’m resting just fine. Sit down and stop being so stubborn.”

“Fine,” she said, plopping into one of the bedside chairs with a little too much force.

Carmen turned to Garrett. “I don’t know what you did to piss her off, but I feel sorry for you.”

Isabelle felt her blood pressure creeping up as Garrett flashed her sister his signature grin.

“I’m attempting to get back into her good graces if you have any pointers. Now, what were you about to tell me?”

Carmen lifted a weak hand to her face and brushed some hair away.

“How I got here, right? A couple days after you came to see me the second time, my attorney came to visit and said that another lawyer had filed a formal request for my immediate release with a judge and with the governor of Colorado. I couldn’t believe it. I knew you said that when this was all over, we could talk about getting me out early, but this was beyond my wildest imagination.”

Isabelle leaned forward to take in her sister’s story.

“The next day, a guard said I was being moved. Instead, it turned out I was being released, and they had arranged a halfway house for me. I was so grateful to you for pulling strings to get me out.”

“I didn’t, by the way,” Garrett said. He was staring at Isabelle as he said it, and for the first time, she thought she might believe him.

Carmen nodded. “It didn’t take me long to figure that out. Darren Gunn picked me up.”

Isabelle felt her eyes growing wide. “He what? How? I thought he was in jail.”

Garrett answered instead of Carmen. “He made bail a few hours before they released your sister.”

“So, you’re saying Darren Gunn pulled strings?” Isabelle asked incredulously.

Carmen laughed. “Will you just shut up and let me finish?”

Isabelle sighed and nodded. “Sorry, go ahead.”

“Right. Anyway, I knew as soon as I saw him outside the prison gate I was in trouble and that you weren’t the one who pulled the strings to get me out. I actually tried to go back inside, but they wouldn’t let me. I got in his car, and he took me to what is supposedly a halfway house, but when I went inside, I was attacked, and someone jammed a needle in my arm.”

Isabelle felt sick to her stomach. “Jesus, Carmen,” she breathed.

“Yeah.”

“Now for the tough question,” Garrett said. “Why did he want you dead?”

Carmen shook her head. “It’s too dangerous.”

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