Ella snorted a laugh.“Not going to argue.I have no idea what Nico gave me.What a nightmare.”
“You’re my girl, you’re my good girl.”He gently set her down on her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Red and blue lights flashed, the ambulance and the police had arrived.
“I know he gave me drugs.He grabbed me from the garden, Zee but I didn’t know who he was until I returned to consciousness.”Her voice trailed off.
“Fuck,” Xander said behind them.“The neighbours called the police.”
“Couldn’t be avoided,” Zee said.
“What happened to River?”Ella’s voice cracked.
River was on a stretcher being loaded into the ambulance with Carter holding his hand.
“How is he?”Zee called.
“I’ll keep you updated,” Carter said.
Paramedics closed the ambulance door and the ambulance was off.
“Did he get hurt because of me?”
“No Ella, he got hurt because of Nico.You’re also hurt.We need to get you medical attention.”
“Dax and I got Nico just as the cops showed up, so that took a while to explain.He’s in custody now,” Logan said, through clenched teeth.
“Good job, Logan,” Xander said.“Let’s get home to our girl.Zee keep me informed and Ella, if there’s anything you need, let me know.”
“Thanks, Xander,” Zee fist bumped the guys.
“Sir, we need a statement.”Two police officers approached.
“Not now.Hospital first.”
“No, Zee I want to tell them what happened,” Ella said pushing off of him and the strength in her voice eased his anxiety.His Ella was strong.
“Okay, girl.”He stroked her hair and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“Where do I begin?”Ella asked.
“Tell us what you remember,” one of the police officers said.“And we’ll go from there.”
“I was in my garden…”
As she told the story and her voice strengthened, Zee felt immense relief.
He knew they were going to be okay.
21 ELLA
“Hey,that’smygirl.The doctor’s coming to talk to us at any moment.”Zee clasped her hand in his and Ella shifted, trying to ignore the flare of pain in her shoulder.
The noise of the hallway and the hum of the lights and the beep of the machines all bombarded her senses.
His touch calmed the racing thoughts in her mind and kept her grounded through the beeping of the machines.
Throughout the night, she tossed and turned, woken by routine checks and the memories that crept into her mind.
