For the first time in a long time, I felt content. I had Collin to thank for that.
I wondered when everyone else would realize he wasn't the villain in this story.
She looked at me, her brown eyes shining. “I cannot give him children, Ms. Austen. If he knew that, he would run far away from me.”
Anger boiled in my blood at her statement. “That shouldn’t matter. There are other ways to have children, Bella. This is the 21stcentury, after all.”
She shook her head, leaving me by the giant island as she walked to the fridge. “My body can’t do what it was made to do, Ms. Austen—”
“—Haley,” I said. I considered her a friend. She earned the right to address me by my first name.
“Haley,” she said, pausing for a moment. “A man like that wants a woman whose body actually functions right.”
“Bella,” I snapped. She looked back at me, her kind eyes holding mine.
“You are beautiful. You are kind. You are intelligent. That man is lucky to fucking breathe around you, and if he doesn’t want you because of your infertility, then he isn’t the one for you!”
Suddenly, the man in question was running back into the room, sweeping me off my feet and grabbing Bella. I let out a “What the hell?” while she yelped. He dragged us into the pantry, sitting me down gently on a bag of flour before he turned to Bella. She was leaning against the wall, staring up at Mr. Waller with wide eyes.
He looked at me and then back to her. “The redhead has a point. I would be an idiot not to want you,” he said to her quickly before turning serious. “Stay here until I come get you. Don’t open that door.”
The panic already shooting through me turned up a notch. “What’s wrong?”
Mr. Waller’s green eyes pierced mine.
“There is a boat approaching the island. It’s not Mr. Stevens or Mr. Romano’s.”
Bella put her hand to her mouth. He took a step closer to her, bringing the back of his finger to stroke her cheek. “You are safe with me, darling.”
Then, he was gone.
It was silent for a moment, and then gunshots rang out as I stood. No, no, no.
Not again.
Memories of that night came rushing up from the depths. Men grabbing me, pulling at me. Me running, firing a gun that wasn’t mine. Fighting for my life.
The sound of something crashing outside the door caused Bella to scream before I covered her mouth with my hand.
“Shh,” I soothed, pushing aside my own PTSD to help her. “It’s okay. We are going to be okay.”
“Cameron,” she cried, her voice muffled against my mouth. Tears filled her eyes.
“Mr. Waller?”
She nodded frantically.
More gunshots. More crashes.
I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her. “He's a big boy. I know he can handle himself. Collin wouldn’t have left him to protect us if he couldn’t do his job,” I said softly, trying to calm her.
The truth was, I was terrified.
What if Romano’s men had come for me? To finish the fucking job? Would Bella and I be sold like cattle? Would I ever see my family again? James?
Tears began to form, but I blinked them away. There was a time for tears and a time for fists. This was a time for fists.
A male voice shouted, causing us to jump.
