Page 51 of Ma Belle Marguerite
Fuck, my kids cannot lose another parent. Will Rex take care of them once I’m gone? My parents will take them and blame Rex…
“Get out and stay close to me,” Cole is suddenly beside me, opening my door with a gun in his hand, distracting me from my thoughts. I really should be paying more attention to my surroundings.
I just silently get out of the car and follow him towards what looks like a huge bush. If I appear compliant then maybe he won’t hurt me. He pulls them aside to reveal doors.
What the hell is this place?
As he pulls a door open, he pushes his gun against my back so hard that it will leave a bruise. “Get inside, now.”
“Yes, yes. Hold your damn horses.” Maybe I shouldn’t provoke him, but I can’t help what slips out when I am nervous.
As I walk inside through a tunnel, there is a guy and girl sitting with their backs to me at what appears to be a dining room table in the middle of a room.
It’s as if they feel me staring and turn to look back at me. They have wicked grins plastered to their faces. As if they’ve just won the biggest game of their lives.
I recognize the woman, it’s the woman who hated me in high school and my long lost half sister Amara.This fucking bitch!What the hell is she doing here? She tried to kill Rex, and now she is here with Cole and whoever this guy is.
“Hello, little sister. Did you have a nice ride here?” She asks me with an ugly smile on her face, like she is so proud of herself.
“Do not call me that.” I grit out. “We may share a father, but I know what you did to Rex. That is unforgivable.” I cannot stand her already and it has only been moments together. My father may have hidden her from us, but that is not a reason to come after Rex or myself.
“I will call you whatever I want. I mean, I have years of missed sibling tormenting to make up for.” She laughs as she gets up out of the chair and walks towards me slowly.
I subconsciously take a step back and hit a wall.Shit.I step forward a bit so I’m not pinned against a wall. At least some of the training from my father is coming to good use finally. I’m too outnumbered, but I can wait for the right moment to try and escape.
“Just wait a minute, Amara. You have no patience.” I jump as I hear Coles' voice beside me.
He really needs to wear a bell, so I know when he’s coming.He is way too sneaky for someone of his stocky size.
“What is going on here?” I ask, looking at Cole. “And where the hell are we?” If I can keep them talking that should give Rex more time to realize something is wrong and look for me.
“You won’t be the one asking questions here.” I hear Amara’s smug voice closer on the other side of me.
“Cole, why did you bring me here?” Maybe if I play nice with him, he will give me some answers. You know, if they try the whole good cop, bad cop skit.
“Isabella, you never were that bright. You fell for everything so easily.” Amara walks closer to me. She is practically breathing in my face. “I always knew father should have picked me to take over his business, but no. Instead, he picked his precious, legitimate daughter.” I feel spit hit my face as she makes air quotes around the word legitimate.
Backing away, she continues on her rampage while I’m at a loss for words. “All through high school, Rex came to meet me when he wasn’t with you. Then you left him. Who do you think he’s been with since?”She has to be making this up. I can’t let her get in my head. He acted like he barely knew who she was when Josh mentioned her. WTF!
“He crashed his car because he was upset that I told him I wanted nothing to do with him. He’s been after me for the last year or so. I’m with Cole now, though, and that made him go crazy.”
She’s the one who sounds delusional. Josh said she ran Rex off the road. Right?
Then again, I don’t know what was going on while I was gone. There could have been something between them. Was the conversation I thought I was overhearing last night just a plan so he could make me think he didn’t know her? No, he wouldn’t, I think.
I lean back against the wall and it feels like shelves pressing into my shoulder blades. I don’t know what to think right nowabout her rambling. If I spiral about this right now, I’m letting her win.
I need to be strong. I think of my kids and how I need to get back to them to distract myself. I still don’t even know why they brought me here.
Cole reaches behind me and pulls on a book. I feel the bookcase slowly pushing me forward. Against my better judgment, I turn my back to Amara and Cole to see what is going on.
It opens to a small room with just a cot and radio in it. Why would that be in there? None of this is making any sense. Maybe I never should have moved back home. It would have been safer.
Strong arms wrap around me as something is shoved over my mouth.Rex is going to kill me, if they don’t, for being stupid enough to trust Cole.I try to hold my breath but before I really have a chance to put up a fight, everything goes black.
Chapter 22
Alexander
