My brother-in-law tucked my head against his chest as he carried me away from my uncle’s dead body.
Twenty-Six
Arella
I didn’t understand what was going on around me, could barely hear the voices as people talked rapidly to one another, into their phones, or to me. I was sitting in the open doors of an ambulance as a nice female paramedic cleaned the blood and brain matter off my face. She’d already bandaged the wound on my belly and told me I was going to have to go to the hospital for stitches, but it wasn’t a life-and-death injury, so we had a little time.
At least that was what I’d heard through the continued ringing in my ears, so I wasn’t completely sure that was exactly what she’d said. But we weren’t rushing to the hospital.
Braxton stood close by, limping as he paced back and forth, talking into his cell phone. To whom, I had no idea, but the look on his face told me he wasn’t happy. Samuel stood beside the ambulance, his eyes constantly moving around the garage as if everyone was a threat.
The cops were standing by Garon’s dead body. A sheet had been thrown over him, and several people had lifted it a few times to inspect the damages.
Braxton had killed Garon.
How he’d even known I needed help, I had no idea, but I was thankfu
l.
“Arella!”
The roar of my name broke through the ringing in my ears, and I lifted my head to find Jordan running toward me.
His face was as pale as a ghost, his suit jacket missing, his tie hanging loose around his neck, and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. He looked ragged and scared, and I’d never seen a more wonderful sight in my life.
With a cry, I jumped from the back of the ambulance and threw myself into his arms. Sobbing, I buried my face in his chest and held on to him for dear life.
Jordan trembled as he ran his hands over me. “Thank God you’re okay,” he said as he tilted my head up so he could kiss me. “When your mom called me, I nearly had a heart attack.”
“My mom?” I repeated. “Not Samuel?”
“He did,” he confirmed, his quivering hands running up and down my body. “But Lana’s call came first.”
“I don’t understand. Why would she call you? How would she even know?”
“Arie!”
“Arella!”
At the unmistakable sound of my parents calling my name, I turned my head to find them both being led into the garage by one of Braxton’s men, Barrick right behind them. Both of them looked just as stressed as Jordan, and that was the last thing I’d wanted.
“Oh no,” I whimpered, and I felt the world begin to spin. “Brax must have told them.”
“Arella.” Jordan’s arms tightened around me just as my legs gave out. “Baby!” he roared. Lifting me into his arms, he carried me back to the ambulance that was thankfully a good distance away from my rapidly approaching parents. “Are you sure she’s okay? She’s pregnant.”
“She mentioned that,” the sweet paramedic said with a reassuring smile. “Other than needing a few stitches, she’s fine. But I think the adrenaline might finally be leaving her, so she’s quite possibly going to crash at any moment.”
My head rolled against Jordan’s chest, and then I felt my mother’s soft fingers touching my cheek. “Arella,” she murmured. “Honey, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”
I blinked my eyes and almost flinched when I met her gaze before remembering these honey-gold eyes belonged to the woman I loved most in the world. “Mommy,” I sobbed. “He…he was crazy.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. We had no clue it was Garon.” She pushed my hair back from my face but quickly pulled back her hand and stared down at her palm in a mixture of fascination and horror. “Is that…? Oh God.”
She began to sway, but my dad was there to steady her. Lifting her into his arms, he barked at the paramedic to get out of his way. The woman quickly did as he commanded, and he carried my mom into the back of the ambulance to lay her on the gurney. “Take it easy, Angel. It’s okay,” he soothed, stroking her hair back from her face. “Braxton took care of it. Garon isn’t a threat to her any longer. She’s safe, Angel. She’s safe.”
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to ease Mom’s fear or his own, but listening to them broke my heart. Putting them through something like this was what I’d wanted to avoid, yet there they were, trying to stay calm even though the danger was now gone.
“Dray, his brains are in her hair!” Mom cried. “We have to get her cleaned up. Let me up. I’ll take her to their apartment and help her shower. She can’t go around with his brains in her hair.”