Page 14 of Timeless Pages

Chapter fourteen

Nathan

“ C ome on! Let’s go!” I yelled as Evan and Dom rushed from the building. When Evan got the phone call from Dave that something had happened with Isa, fear gripped my heart like an iron fist, and it hadn’t let go yet. It wouldn’t until I saw with my own eyes that she was ok.

We piled into the car, and the driver sped off.

I had already told him to break all road laws to get us there.

I didn’t care. I’d pay the fines. Dom pulled out his phone and put it to his ear.

“Daniel, something happened to Isa at the shop. We’re on our way there now.

You should probably meet us there.” He hung up the phone and anxiously tapped it against his knee as he stared out the window.

Evan was also lost in his thoughts. If something happened to her, I’m not sure we would ever be the same again.

We slammed to a stop when we turned onto her street. Police cars were blocking the way. We rushed from the car just as Daniel pulled up beside us.

“Let me do the talking,” he advised us as we jogged to the bookstore. I took the lead and tried to run inside when we were almost there, but an officer blocked my path.

“You can’t come in here! It’s a crime scene!” the officer yelled, placing his hand on my chest to block me.

“If you don’t let us through, I’ll—” I growled.

“Let me handle this,” Daniel ordered, pulling me back. “I’m Miss Wilcox’s attorney, and they are with me. Let us in. I demand to see my client.”

“Let them through,” I heard an officer inside order, “If you piss them off too much, they might buy the bank that holds the loan on your house and call it in.”

“He isn’t wrong,” I growled. The officer moved out of our way, and we ran inside.

My eyes quickly zeroed in on Isa, and while she was alive, the terror didn’t ease.

Her face was bruised and swollen, she had purple bruising around her neck where she had been strangled, and blood was smeared across her body and clothes.

The robe she wore was in near tatters, just barely covering her intimate parts.

Her eyes met mine, and I saw them fill with relief.

“Isa!” I yelled as I rushed to her. She stood and fell into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. As soon as I wrapped mine around her, I felt her relax and start to shake.

“I’ve got you, Little Bell. You’re safe,” I whispered. When her entire body went slack, I scooped her into my arms.

“Is she ok?” Evan asked as he brushed the hair from her face.

“She’s fine. She just passed out,” I replied.

“Her daddy did it,” Dave said, moving to stand in front of her. “I got here just in time. He’d nearly strangled her to death.

“Look what he fucking did to her,” Dom croaked.

Seeing her injuries up close was even worse than from across the room, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat. Morris had nearly killed her. There was no doubt in my mind that it had been his intent. “Are you done with her?” I asked the detective standing nearby.

“We haven’t been able to get her statement yet,” he replied, “So she will have to come down to the station when she’s able.”

“You can come to her. I’m not dragging her to the police station,” I informed the detective.

“Either way, I’m done with her for now. As long as the paramedics clear her and forensics don’t need anything else, she can go.”

“She needs to go to the hospital for her injuries,” the paramedic stated.

“Is there anything wrong with her that a regular doctor can’t tend to?” Evan asked.

“Well, no, but—”

“Then she won’t be going to the hospital,” Dom told him. “We have a doctor who can make house calls. He will treat her.”

The forensics tech, a tiny mouse of a woman in her forties, cleared her throat. “I still need her robe, pictures, and fingernail clippings,” she informed me.

I nodded. “Follow us to Isa’s bedroom, then,” I replied, not waiting for an answer. Like hell were we doing all of that where everyone could watch.

“I’ll handle this out here,” Daniel assured us as we passed.

I carried Isa to her room and gently laid her down on the bed. Evan helped me remove her robe and put it into a paper bag that the tech held, while Dom found clothes for her to redress in.

He handed me the baggy hoodie and basketball shorts.

“I’m going to pack up some of Isa’s things as well,” he said.

The tech clipped her nails into a little baggie and pulled out her camera.

Evan and I helped reposition Isa so that the tech could get pictures of her injuries, and then we dressed her.

“I’m all done here,” she said as she packed her kit. “She can leave.”

“I’m going to clean up the bathroom,” Evan said. “It looks like she was in the middle of a bath when Morris came. Explains the robe.”

I nodded. “I’m taking Isa to the car.” I carefully picked Isa up from the bed again and walked back through the store.

“We’re taking her home,” I told Daniel. “Anyone who wants to talk to her can go through you at your office or our penthouse. I’d prefer the penthouse.

And not until she’s ready. We already know who did this; they just need to catch the bastard before I do. ”

I looked at Dave. “Thank you,” I said, feeling my throat tighten again. “If it weren’t for you, she would have died. Whether you want it or not, we owe you a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay.”

“Dave, when they clear the scene, can you put a sign in the window saying the store is closed until further notice and lock up?” Evan asked. “You are more than welcome to stay here every night if you want to, but I’d love it if you let me put you up in a hotel. It’s the least we can do.”

“Stores just fine for me,” Dave replied gruffly. “But I appreciate the offer.” As if remembering himself, he scowled at us. “That don’t mean I like you.”

“Understood,” Dom replied. “If you need anything, you know how to reach us.”

“You just worry about takin’ care of my Belle,” he replied, his eyes softening as he looked at Isa. “You take care of her, and you can consider that debt paid.”

“We will,” I promised.

We left the store in Dave and Daniel’s capable hands and walked to where we had left our car. “Take us home slowly,” Evan ordered as we got in.

I held Isa close on the drive home, thanking every God in existence that she was alive and safe.

“That was too close,” Evan said.

“Way too close,” I agreed.

“Never again,” Dom vowed.

No. Never again. Never again would we let Isa be in a position for Morris Wilcox to lay a finger on her. I carried Isa upstairs and straight to my bed when we got home.

“I know now isn’t the time, but why your bed?” Dom asked.

“Because I was the one carrying her,” I replied.

I arranged Isa on the bed. When I went to stand, she made a small moan, and her hand fisted my shirt to hold me in place while her breathing became rapid and shallow.

“One of you call the Doc and get him over here right away,” I ordered as I climbed into bed beside her. Evan left the room to make the call.

As soon as Isa felt me beside her, she started to calm down. Her reaction also helped calm me down. She wasn’t just here and safe, but she felt safe with me.

“You know we’ve never officially discussed a relationship with Isa,” Dom said as he climbed onto the bed on her other side.

“Do we need to?” I asked. “I think we’ve all decided that we want her. Hopefully, she wants us, too.”

“Are you ready for a commitment like this?” Dom asked. “You haven’t been interested before.”

I looked at my friend and rolled my eyes. “I’ve always been ready for this kind of commitment, just not with the girls you and Evan bring around,” I teased. “Isa is different.”

“The doctor will be here in fifteen minutes,” Evan reported when he returned. “What are we talking about?”

He sat on the foot of the bed facing us, his worried eyes never leaving Isa.

I was concerned, too. While her breathing had calmed when I lay beside her, it still sounded labored.

There were only small spots of blood soaking through the shirt we had put on her, which meant they had stopped bleeding, but her face…

fuck, he did a number on her face. It didn’t look like Morris had broken any bones, but we wouldn't know for sure until the doctor examined her.

“We were talking about whether we needed to have a conversation about our relationship with Isa,” Dom told him.

“If there is a relationship with Isa,” Evan replied. “We still don’t know how she feels about it. Though the fact that she held on and stayed conscious until we got there says plenty.”

“I don’t plan on giving her a choice,” I said.

“You know that’s not how to handle this,” Evan groaned. “The last thing she needs is another man telling her what to do. She has to want us, too.”

“I’m not going to force myself on her, asshole,” I replied, kicking him. “But I’m also not going anywhere. I’m in this, and I’ll make that known.”

The intercom by the elevator buzzed, and Evan went to answer it. “That’s the doc,” he said as he left the room.

Minutes later, Doctor Smith entered the room, carrying a black medical bag and pulling a tank of oxygen behind him. “Ok, move along. Give me room to work on the poor girl,” he ordered.

Reluctantly, Dom and I got off the bed, and immediately, Isa began to breathe heavier again. “She gets agitated if I’m not touching her,” I told him.

“Then you can come back, but leave me room to work,” the doc agreed.

I sat on the bed and took Isa’s hand. “I’m here, Little Bell. So is the doctor. He’s going to take care of you. We can trust him, I promise.” Isa calmed down again, and the doctor started his exam.

He listened to her lungs with his stethoscope.

“Can we remove the shirt, please?” A growl sounded in my chest against my will, and he gave me an amused look.

“I’m a doctor, son. I’ve seen more lady parts than you’ve dreamed of.

I need to see her other wounds. You can get a towel to cover her for modesty. ”