Her hand fell away from my back. “That should be the slogan for motherhood.”
I giggled softly. “You’re telling me.”
This Ella girl seemed capable of reading my mind, too. “She’s strong. If they were attacked, that meant she had to run to get away from them. I know we don’t want to think about that kind of stuff, but she survived. She got away, and that makes her strong. You guys will get through this.”
“It sounds like you speak from experience.”
She shrugged. “It’s been a journey, that’s for certain. But, these men? They are men of their words, and if they say they’re going to do something, then they simply do it. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t bumps in the road from time to time. However, it’s nothing they can’t navigate.”
I blinked back tears. “Sorry, it’s just—Natty and I went from having no one but Chloe to having everyone but Chloe. It’s just taking some time.”
Ella stepped in front of me as the movie cued up on the flatscreen television mounted to the wall. And when she took my hands, I felt the warmth of her comfort radiating through me. “You’re family now, and family looks out for family. We’re all here for you, no matter what you guys need. All right? You take care of that little girl of yours, and we’ll take care of you. That’s how it works around here.”
I wanted to throw my arms around her. I wanted to hug her until I cried. I wanted to sob against her shoulder and have her soft sweater soak up all of my tears so that Natty didn’t have to see them dying upon my cheeks. But, the sound of something I never expected to hear caught my ear.
And when I heard it again, I ripped my phone back out of my bra.
“What?” Ella asked. “What is it?”
My eyes widened. “It’s a text.”
The girls gathered around me before Hayley spoke. “From who?”
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes as I opened it up. “It’s from… Chloe.”
Ella cupped my cheek. “Get it to the guys. We’ve got your daughter. We’ll make sure she’s okay and safe.”
“Thank you so much,” I said breathlessly.
“Go on,” Hayley said as the girls barricaded around me, “sneak out while she’s distracted. We’ll make sure it stays that way.”
And I couldn’t sprint back toward the living room quickly enough.
“What in the absolute hell is going on right now!?” I shrieked as I burst into the living room.
The guys jumped and turned toward me with widened eyes, and I knew something had happened. Something had to have happened if Chloe, of all people, was trying to find a way to text me.
“What’s that?” Dean asked as he nodded toward my phone.
I tossed it to him. “I just got a text from Chloe, and you’re never going to believe what the hell it is.”
And as he caught it midair, he motioned for me to come closer so that we could all watch the video together.
I just never expected to see what we were witnessing.
Unfolding right before my very eyes was the entire car accident from front to back. Chloe had managed to get her phone out, and I could hear my daughter crying in the background. She video-recorded the entire attack, from the time they rolled up to them on either side of the car all the way until they shoved the car onto the side of the road beneath an overpass.
“Auntie Chloe, what’s happening?” my daughter asked with tears in her voice.
Chloe’s voice was strong, and resounding. “On my count, I want you to run, okay? Run as quickly as you can.”
“B-b-but—but what about you?”
Chloe dried my daughter’s tears as the camera wiggled around. “You don’t worry about me, okay? I’ve got this. On my count, okay? On three.”
Natty sniffled. “O-o-okay.”
“How did she get you this?” Stone asked.
