Page 50 of Until Kendal
Cobi waved me over. “Kendal, you’re late.”
I glanced behind his head. The one stop hadn’t taken long. “It’s five after nine.”
He shook his head and waved for me to head into a room with him. “You shouldn’t have stopped for coffee. It’s not good news.”
My spine steeled, but I glanced around for signs of my father. “Why?”
He took the seat opposite me and folded his hands on the table. “Your father broke out of his holding cell. We have patrols looking for him, but you’re likely in danger.”
My heart tensed. “At least my mother is safe in New York.”
He didn’t even blink. “Good. Now we need your official statement on what happened.”
I swallowed and wished I had water. I hadn’t expected to be tense. “Sure. He threatened to come and kill me. Then when he was let out of prison, he showed up at my mother’s and tried to make good on that promise.”
I took a deep breath. My voice hadn’t cracked at all.
He wrote something down then asked, “And you’d testify to a jury what you said?”
I blinked. He was serious right now? I held myself in check and said, “Yes, absolutely.”
He closed his notes and shrugged. “Most family members won’t turn in a loved one.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” In Joel’s world, no one ever doubted me. His mother had been an angel. I stared into the officer’s eyes and said, “There is no love lost between us.”
He stood and put his hands in his pockets. “Very well. Thank you. We can now continue with the case against him, and hopefully, we pick him up fast.”
My heart sped up as I walked out. He would never get past the front desk in Manhattan, but here, my father was loose.
I ran to the Maserati and hopped in my seat. Joel started the engine and asked, “So what happened?”
I pointed toward the road. “My father’s escaped. Let’s get going.”
I locked my door. Joel took my hand and drove without a word toward the airport. The air around me was still. Except for Joel. His hold on me kept me steady.
We headed to his airport, and mile after mile made me hope we would get out. Then as I glanced at Joel, my body tensed. Outside his window, a truck sped at us. I squeezed my eyes, then boom! The old blue truck whammed into us.
And in slow motion, glass flew everywhere. My heart pounded as I needed to reach for Joel, to protect him. However, I jerked as the airbag pushed me backward. For a second, I saw nothing but white. When I could see past the airbag, adrenaline rushed in my veins.
Joel’s arm was still. I reached for him, then a hand went around my neck. I gasped for air, then my father asked, “Where is your mother?”
I scratched and tugged at him, but that didn’t help. “Safe from you.”
My door opened as my father said, “Your boyfriend can’t save you.”
No! My eyes watered, but I ripped his arm off my neck and shouted, “I don’t need him to.”
I couldn’t breathe. Then without warning, the car went backward.
My door thumped against him, knocking his hold. Then my father went to his knees. I pivoted, realizing Joel was driving.
"Joel." My heart soared as tears washed down my face.
Let’s not count me out just yet.” He had a little blood on his forehead, but he drove us away. “I’ll call the police and my brother, and you call Cobi and Jax,” Joel said as he wiped his brow.
I swallowed, then pressed buttons. Then I blinked as I saw him using his car to make a call. “Whose Jeff?”
He tossed his phone at me so I could see the number. “My brother and my lawyer.”
