Page 44 of Bling

Chapter Twelve

Isabelle shuddered on the plane as the cool air blew over her.

“Need a blanket?” Garrett asked.

She shook her head. “It won’t help. I think this chill is from the inside.”

Garrett nodded. “I understand. I’ve got the hospital on the phone and your dad is with him. The older girl—I’m sorry I’ve forgotten her name—is home with Sarah.”

Isabelle smiled. It was sweet that he would even want to remember their names.

“Catarina,” she said. “Catarina after my grandmother. I always wanted to name a girl that if I had one, but my sister beat me to it. She’s much older than I am though.”

Garrett slid an arm around her. “He’s going to be fine, Isabelle. It sounds like he’s got some broken bones but no internal bleeding or anything like that.”

She was grateful she had him here. It felt difficult to function at the moment, let alone get information from doctors when she was on an airplane home.

Garrett’s commanding tone and his reputation got him more detailed answers than she could have gotten anyway.

Weariness overtook her and she let her head fell back against the seat.

“Do you think this was the same person who slashed my tires?”

Garrett ran a hand through his hair. “It’s crossed my mind. I’ve already got my people looking at the security footage and they’ve made copies for the police.”

Isabelle nodded.

“I want you and the girls and your dad to stay somewhere else,” he said after a moment of silence.

“Why?”

“Because, if this is one of the former employees such as Darren or Jason, they would have had access to your personnel records and would know where you live. I can set you guys up in a house.”

Isabelle shook her head. “I don’t think my family would go for that.”

Garrett clenched his fist and Isabelle frowned. “I don’t understand this stubborn pride and resistance to help, Isabelle. It’s about keeping you and your family safe, nothing more.”

Her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with her father in the kitchen. Was it really that simple, or was her father right that Garrett would eventually come to want something for all that he’d done for her?

“The apartment complex seems to be installing gates,” she said. “Won’t that be enough?”

Garrett sighed. “I did that, and now I’m not so sure it is.”

She frowned. “What do you mean, you did that?”

“I mean, I went to the complex and paid to have gates installed.”

She huffed as her face warmed with anger, and she turned her head toward the window. “Damn it, Garrett. Why must you meddle this way? I’ve lived in that complex off and on for most of my life. It’s never been an issue.”

Garrett was quiet for a moment. But when he spoke, his tone held a hint of anger, and a threat. “You may only be my submissive inside the walls of Solitaire, but I’m sure as hell not going to stand by and do nothing when I have the resources to keep you safe. I take care of my subs, Isabelle. Deal with it.”

“Well, maybe I want to be your sub more than just in the club,” she blurted before clasping her hand over her mouth.

“I would love to explore that conversation sometime when you’re not pissed off at me and you don’t have a family member in the hospital,” he said evenly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s an accurate statement, but you’ve always made it clear that this is only for inside the club.”

Garrett picked up her hand and pressed it to his lips. “Shut up, Isabelle, before you dig yourself into a hole you can’t get out of. We’ll talk about it later.”

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