Page 77 of Bling

“Nine. We’ve got some time. I need to get the girls to school.”

“I’ll be in the living room then.”

Isabelle opened her mouth, intent on objecting, but he silenced her with a finger to her lips. “Not a word, Isabelle. I’m not leaving you alone, end of discussion.”

She sighed and nodded her head toward the living room. “I’ll be upstairs getting ready.”

He stared at her, caressing her cheek gently before turning toward the living room.

Instead of going upstairs, she went to the kitchen and filled the coffeemaker with water and grounds. Soon, the hot dark liquid was filling the pot while she rummaged through the kitchen, which had been stocked with groceries before they moved in, and came up with some toaster pastries for the girls and a frozen breakfast sandwich for herself.

She took down two mugs and filled them both, making one the way Garrett liked.

When she brought it to him, he smiled kindly at her. “Thank you, Doll. You didn’t have to do that,” he murmured as he took a sip. “Excellent memory.”

“What anything to eat?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable with his praise.

He shook his head. “I’m fine, thank you, though. Go get ready for work.”

He leaned over and picked up the remote on the coffee table. The news came on as she walked back up the stairs.

“Everything OK, Aunt Izzy?” Catarina asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Isabelle gave her a tight smile. “Yeah. All good. I set some toaster pastries on the counter for you guys.”

The teen started to walk down the stairs in her pajamas.

“Mr. Oliver is in the living room waiting to take me to work, so you might want to get dressed and comb your hair,” Isabelle said with a smirk.

Catarina’s mouth dropped open, but she ducked back into her bedroom to change.

In her own room, Isabelle dug through the closet in search of something to wear that wouldn’t be too flashy for prison. All the clothes Garrett purchased for her were tasteful but clearly expensive. In the end, she went with a simple black dress from a secondhand store.

She brushed her hair and ran a mascara wand over her lashes before checking on Sarah.

Garrett was still watching the news when she came back into the living room to check on him. Her father had joined him.

She could feel the awkward tension in the air as the men sat silently staring at the screen.

“Good morning, Daddy,” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “Can you get the girls to school? Mr. Oliver and I are going to see Carmen this morning and I haven’t figured out where to put them on a bus from here.”

Garrett turned his head toward her. “I’ll send them with my driver and call a car service for us.”

She shook her head. “That’s really unnecessary.”

“It’s the safest option. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. We still don’t know who might be watching you. It would be best not to put your father or the girls in any additional danger.”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging. “You’re right. Thank you.”

He smiled at her as he lifted his phone to his ear to talk to his driver. While Garrett wasn’t paying attention, Jacob leaned forward and picked up the remote, switching the channel to the news station he preferred.

Isabelle stifled a giggle as she went to the kitchen to check on her nieces.

An hour later, she was in the back of a car with Garrett, content to lay her head on his shoulder while he typed into his phone. He’d been preoccupied for most of the drive, but Isabelle was fine being left with her own thoughts.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the prison, Isabelle told him to take off his belt and jacket.

“You should leave your phone in the car too.”

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