Page 108 of Damaged Prince
I’m just down the road when my phone rings. Eli’s contact pops up on my car display, and I smile. I press answer, “Hey, I was just thinking about you. I’m actually just pulling onto the street now.”
“Laney.” Eli’s voice is hoarse, and my whole body fills with dread.
“Baby, what's wrong?" My heart starts to race as I break out into a nervous sweat.
“I– Kai... Daniel.. Fuck!” Eli breaks into deep, heavy sobs. I have no idea what’s going on.
“Eli, baby, breathe. Are you hurt? I’m almost there,” I tell him, pulling onto the street.
“Hurry,” is all he says before hanging up.
What the fuck is going on?
Eli is clearly upset. I hope he’s not hurt. Maybe he fell off the ladder while painting? Fuck.
“What the...” I whisper as I see a cop car parked across the street from the studio.
Pulling into a parking space, I frown when I see Kai’s car. He’s taking up two spots on a slant. And, holy shit, the car is still running and the door is open.
Fear that something is really wrong hits me, and I’m out of my car in seconds.
Frantically, I look around, wondering where Kai and Eli are.
That’s when I see Kai being shoved into the back of a cop car. “Wait!” I shout, running across the street. An officer stops me.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m going to have to ask you to back away from the scene.”
“What is going on?” I demand. “And why did my boyfriend just get taken away in the back of a police car?”
“I’m not at liberty to give you any details. My advice would be to go down to the station. They can help you there.”
An EMT pulls someone out of the building behind us. A man with a bloody face lies on a gurney, a hysterically crying woman following after them.
Did Kai do this? No. He wouldn’t do something like that. Kai isn’t a violent man.
He wouldn’t hurt anyone unless he... fuck! Eli.
Eyes wide, I spin around and take off back across the street and into the studio.
“Eli!” I shout. “Eli, baby, are you here?”
Eli stumbles out from the back room, a mess.
My hands fly to my mouth, tears springing to my eyes. “Oh my god,” I gasp out, rushing over to him. “Baby, what happened to you?”
He swallows hard, whole body trembling. His eyes are red and puffy, his cheeks covered in tears.
“Eli, talk to me, please.” I raise my shaky hands up to cup his face, heart breaking at the sight of him. “What’s wrong?”
Eli’s lip quivers before he pulls me into his arms, breaking down crying as he does.
Confusion and worry fill me as I hold my man.
“Are you hurt?” I ask him, and he shakes his head, still crying. I let out a small sigh of relief. “What is going on, baby? Please talk to me.”
“Where’s Kai?” Eli asks after he calms down a bit, pulling back to wipe at his nose.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I just watched him get shoved into the back of a cop car. Any idea why?”
