Page 50 of Ma Belle Marguerite
Josh watches Bella’s tracker on his phone as I race us through town towards my house. One of the perks of my position in this town is that no cop will dare pull me over.
Once we reach my place, I jump out to check on D, who is sitting on the tailgate of his truck. He isn’t looking so great, his face is pale and his eyes half closed. I can see blood dripping down the back of his head.
“Josh check on him. I am going to look for Bella.” I run into the house searching every room for her.Fuck! Where the hell is she?
I run back out to see the guys are still by the truck.
“I’m sorry, boss. I should have kept driving and come straight here.” He won’t meet my eyes as he talks and stares at the ground as if he is waiting for me to punish him.
Is D seriously apologizing right now?“Stop that. You did what any decent person would do. You stopped to help someone in need. How were you supposed to know they’d attack you?” I pat his shoulder, avoiding the blood in case it’s another injury. “Did she take your wallet or anything?”
“No, I still have everything, which is what I don’t get.” D grimaces as he shakes his head.
“Do you want to see the Doc?” D is ex-military and tough as they come, but head wounds can really mess you up.
“I’m good. I’ll just take some ibuprofen and walk it off.” He tries to wave me away while I try and see how bad the back of his head looks.
I hear a door slam and turn to see Josh walking towards us from the passenger side of the truck. “Let’s go inside and check out what is on here, shall we?” He waves the dash cam in the air in front of him.
Nodding, I turn and walk towards the front doors as D jumps off the back of the truck and follows behind me.
“Let’s set up in the kitchen so I can get someone to check out the back of your head, D,” I say as I pull my phone out to text one of the housekeepers, who used to be a nurse. I don’t care if he thinks he is fine, we need to make sure.
While Josh is setting up and looking through the footage, D is getting his head looked at. Of course he is grunting his disapproval and saying this isn’t necessary.
I decide to text Bella again while I wait. I know Josh said her phone was here but what if that was wrong?
Me: I’m getting worried,Ma Belle. Where are you? I’m home, and you’re not here. Please answer me.
“Boss, you’re going to want to see this.” Josh looks at me with squinted eyes.
I walk over to him, “Show me.” My voice comes out as more of a growl than words, but I can’t find it in myself to care.
He hits play on the video from the camera. I see D walking towards a brunette with her back to him. She’s fighting with the tire on her car.
Wait, that car looks familiar, but I can’t place where I know it from.As D bends down to help her, a man runs out from the bushes in the ditch and hits him over the head with a tire iron.
What the hell?The girl gets up and turns around to look at the man with a smirk. Seeing her face shocks me and I am stuck staring at the screen like an idiot.It can’t be!
Chapter 21
Isabella
We are obviously not going to my house, but I don’t want him to realize I know. I shouldn’t have left with Cole. Time to play dumb. “How much longer?” I ask, “I need to go pee.”
“We are almost there. You’re worse than a kid.” Cole says to me with a roll of his eyes.
“Well, excuse me for wanting to know where you’re taking me and having a small bladder!” He is still as infuriating as ever. Fuck this shit!
“Just sit there and be quiet. You will see where we are going soon.” Still as grumpy as ever, I see.
I guess we’re almost there. I don’t recognize these roads to make my way back if I can escape.I don’t know what Cole is up to, but I can see now that he didn’t make amends with his brother like I had hoped.
I doubt he’s bringing me to Rex. He has always wanted Rex out of the way so he could take over the family business. My right leg starts to bounce up and down and I try to hide it from Cole and disguise it as a chill.
I should have gone back in the house when I had the chance. Rex is going to be furious with me when he figures out what happened. He’s always told me that I’m too trusting. Hopefully he will be wherever we are going and I am just overreacting.
We pull up to a random spot in the woods that I’ve never seen before. It’s a small clearing with a bush in the middle of it. Why we are here in the middle of nowhere makes no sense to me, unless he brought me here to kill me. My stomach drops and I want to throw up all over the front seat. I can’t let him see that I am scared. My hands are clammy and shaking as I shove them in my pockets.
