Page 107 of Kneeling for Them

I doubt it.

“You are such a bitch,” she says.“And I’ll make sure that youneverfind an agent or sign a record deal.”

I shrug.I don’t care if she likes me.I don’t care if she thinks she has some kind of weird professional hold over me.Finally, with the truth, Sebastian will be free.

And I’m not wasting another second in this woman’s presence, so I turn around and walk toward the street.Garth should be here any second, and if I’m lucky, Kingston will be in the back seat.I stop at the curb to wait.The street is still crowded with cars rushing past.

Before I forget, I send the recording of Trina’s and my conversation to both Sebastian and Kingston.If something happens to my phone, I don’t want to lose the only copy.

“Ella, look out!”a man shouts from behind me.It sounds like Sebastian.

I turn around just in time to see Trina lunge at me, her arms outstretched, her eyes full of rage.

She pushes me.My heel catches on the corner of a bench.I start to fall backward, my arms flailing, searching for something to grab.

But there’s nothing.

Nothing but approaching vehicles.

Twenty-Five

Sebastian

I see Trina, her mouth twisted in rage, her arms outstretched.

I see Ella, her eyes widening in shock and fear.

And behind Ella, the street full of speeding cars.

I’ve never run as fast as I do now.It’s like my feet don’t even touch the ground.Iflyto my little princess, and when she stumbles toward the street, my heart climbs up my throat.I can’t breathe.

But I reach out anyway.My hand closes around her wrist and I yank her back to the sidewalk.

A car speeds by, horn blaring.The force of its movement causes me to rock on my heels.

As soon as Ella is safe in my arms, I spin around and face Trina.“What thefuck?”

The force of my rage has me worried about my reactions.It’s all I can do to hold myself still and not completely explode at Trina.

She comes toward us, looking like she’ll push us both into the street.But Rick runs from the Kitty Cat and grabs her by the shoulders.

“I saw everything,” he says to me.

“No, it was an accident!”Trina screams.“I was trying to help you!”

Ella is shaking, huddled against my side.

“Are you okay, baby?”I whisper.

“Yeah.”But her hands grip my shirt tightly and her teeth are chattering.

Keeping my eyes on Trina, who’s still held back by Rick, I pull my phone from my pocket and dial one-handed.Trina’s shrieks and the noisy street makes it harder to hear, but I report everything to the police dispatcher.I nearly take them up on the offer to send an ambulance, but Ella insists she doesn’t need it.

“It would be scarier to go to the hospital, than not,” she says.

Remembering her trauma over her father’s death, I decide to heed her wishes on the matter.She won’t even have a bruise, and if she’s in shock, I’ll hold her until she calms down.To be honest, it’s going to be hard to let my little girl out of my sight after this.

As soon as that call is done, I call Kingston.