Her phone buzzed. When Ella pulled it out and checked the notification from the security system. Intruder. Backyard. Her heart stopped as she started to look for Marissa’s number. If someone broke in, the system would automatically contact the police, but she didn’t want to wait for that possibility.
Shattering glass made her jump and drop the phone. Logan was close. She froze, holding her breath, knowing she was trapped in the attic with no way out other than down the stairs.
“Ella, don’t be afraid. I’m here to save you.”
Logan was in her room, directly below her. Tendrils of smoke made their way up to her location. Her heart thundered in her chest. Another fire.
His head appeared below. She kicked him in the face, sending him crashing to the floor. Ella continued down the stairs with the picture frame in hand. She slammed it into Logan’s face, breaking the glass and cutting his brow. He rolled to his side, clutching his bloodied forehead while she ran for the door.
Logan’s hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her down as an outer wall burst into flames. “I don’t want you,” she screamed, shoving at him as he climbed up her body.
He glared down at her, blood dripping off his face as she twisted to grab the closest thing she could find.
“Come quietly and I won’t have to hurt you again,” he hissed, wrapping his hand around her throat.
Ella grabbed one of the shoes she’d kicked off and slammed the heel into his arm. He rolled away, pulling at the stiletto while she darted out of the closet.
With brute force, he flung her into the dresser and pain spread through her back. His heavy body pinned her as he gripped her face and forced her to look at him. “You’re mine, Ella. You always have been. Stop fighting me.”
“Never yours.” She gripped his bicep as his hand connected with her face. Ella pressed her thumb into the wound her shoe had made, and pulled, tearing flesh and muscle.
He stumbled back with a roar and she slipped past him out the door.
Logan threw her against the rail at the top of the hall. He pressed in behind her, his hand clutching her throat as he trapped her.
“He can’t have you,” he growled in her ear. “I’ll kill him in front of you, burn his body, while you watch.”
Ella clawed at his hand while trying to stomp on his foot, but she couldn’t breathe and couldn’t break free. She jabbed him in the side with her elbow about the time his fist landed a kidney punch, knocking the wind out of her.
Pain exploded, her vision started to go gray. Logan started to loosen his hold and she struggled sucking in one breath after another as sirens drew closer.
A window downstairs shattered and she screamed. The heat was building, sweat slicked her skin. Logan covered her mouth but she grabbed his hand and bit his fingers.
“Fucking whore,” Logan snarled in her ear as a fireman stepped through the window and ran toward the stairs. She knew it was Trent, coming to save her.
Logan fisted her hair and yanked her head toward Trent. “That your fireman?” he hissed.
She didn’t answer as she watched Trent run up the stairs to save her, followed by two more men.
“If I can’t have you, no one can.” Logan picked her up and threw her over the railing to the ground floor. She landed with a thud, pain spreading everywhere… before blacking out.
* * * *
The trip to Ella’s tore Trent apart. The first thing he saw when he stepped into her home was that monster choking the life out of her while she fought.
Rage burned through his veins as he raced up the stairs. Fucker threw Ella and Trent landed on Logan, knocking him to the ground, slamming one fist into his face and then another.
Someone pulled him back. “Marissa’s outside. We’re taking this fucker to her. Go get Ella,” Isandro yelled.
Blood, there was so much damned blood, and he knew he didn’t cause it. Was it hers? Or Logan’s? What the hell did Logan do to Ella?
Fear and pure terror, shot through him when he dropped his attention to Ella lying sprawled in the living room. Her dress was torn, blood-soaked. Trent didn’t register running down the stairs or dropping to his knees beside the woman who held his whole heart.
A desperate plea was torn from him. “Ella, please, Ella. I can’t lose you.”
She didn’t move, didn’t stir. His heart started to splinter as he yanked off his glove and gently found her pulse. It was strong. There was hope.
Trent scooped her into his arms and carried her from the house to the ambulance waiting in the driveway. He laid her on the stretcher and glanced up at Marissa.
“Is she okay?” Marissa asked while joining them.
Trent shook his head. “Asshole threw her off the balcony. She’s unconscious.” He couldn’t think, didn’t have a clue what was wrong, but he was terrified he would really lose her for good this time.
Marissa started swearing under her breath as she brushed past him on the way to the house.
He glanced up to see Isandro dragging Logan down the stairs by his leg, like a large sack of potatoes, thumping Logan’s head one step at a time.
Kate, one of the paramedics who was working on Ella asked, “What happened?”
Trent nodded toward Logan. “He tried to strangle her. Then threw her off the balcony. She’s had head injuries before too. Please help her.”
“Don’t worry, Trent. We’ll take care of her.”
Trent wouldn’t let go of Ella’s hand.
Ramirez joined the group by the ambulance. “Shit, that’s your girlfriend, right?”
He nodded.
“Climb in back with her. Get to the hospital. I’ll have one of the guys bring your things. Just go.”
“He’s not family,” Kate pointed out. “I can’t let him ride in back.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Trent insisted. If he had to drive her to the hospital himself, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
Ramirez shook his head. “Fuck the rules. Let him ride with Ella. They’ve been through enough. And if she complains, blame me. Tell them I forced the issue.”
Kate took another look at Trent and rolled her eyes. “Fine, chief. It’s your ass, not mine.”
They had loaded Ella in the ambulance when Mila showed up, running to the emergency vehicle. Kyle intercepted her as Trent climbed in with Ella. He shot a backward glance to Isandro, who helped Marissa get Logan to her vehicle.
Rage threatened to engulf Trent, but he reined it in and caressed Ella’s bruised cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed she would pull through.
Time passed in a blur on the ride to the hospital. Trent followed the paramedics down to the room with Ella. Once there, he stepped out of the way and stood in the corner, watching.
Dr. Blake walked over with his brow pinched. “Are you pretending to be her family?” Trent had known the doctor most of his life.
“Close as she has right now. Don’t try to make me leave. Her stalker threw off the balcony. Ella has anxiety issues from the first time he imprisoned her. She needs someone she trusts with her when she wakes up. And I’m not leaving.”
“I guess this is our local star?”
Trent nodded.
“Okay, I’ll call the station, and have the police post a guard at her door. They’re going to need her statement sooner or later.”
Ella’s eyes fluttered open, her hand going to her throat.
Trent brushed by Dr. Blake and took her hand.
Fear darkened her eyes. “Is he… the police… tell me they locked him up.”
“Marissa has Logan in custody. I wish I’d done more than punch the fucker.”
A small smile pulled at her lips. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Hi, Ella. I’m Dr. Blake. I need to know what you remember, and where you have pain.”
She ran her fingers across the bruised handprint around her throat. “I’m sore everywhere. He banged me around, slapped my face, punched me in the kidney, and threw me from the second-floor rail
ing.”
“There’s blood. I need to determine the cause. Trent, if you would step outside.”
She winced. “Pretty sure it’s Logan’s.” She gripped Trent’s hand tighter. “Can Trent stay?” Ella asked in a shaky voice.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded and closed her eyes. “Unless he wants to leave.” Her blue-green eyes shimmered with tears when she met his gaze, silently pleading.
“Already told them I wasn’t leaving your side,” he promised.
* * * *
By the next day, Ella was on the edge of a panic attack. If it weren’t for Trent, she’d be a shivering, incoherent mess. The doctors had ordered x-rays, a CT scan, and blood tests and they hadn’t told her much of anything, although they weren’t acting as if her injuries were critical. The orderlies had moved her to a private room and allowed Trent to stay after she threatened to leave if they made him go.
She had already given Marissa and her partner all the details she could remember for their report, but she was exhausted. Logan was in custody. O’Neil had sent the video of the bastard starting the fire and the attack to the authorities.
The doctor finally came back to Ella’s room and said, “Isandro is here with your bag. The media is all over the waiting room, but we aren’t letting them anywhere else in the hospital.”
Ella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Dr. Blake assured. “We need to discuss your injuries. You were very lucky, Ms. Cross.”
“How so?” she asked, her throat still hurting from being strangled.
“You have several fractured ribs, a sprained wrist, and bruising.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t sustain worse damage falling from the second story, but if someone stays with you for the next few days, taking care of everything for you, I’ll release you.”
Trent gave her a stern look. “You don’t even have to ask. I want you in my home until yours can be repaired from the fire. Or maybe you could just move in. I don’t ever want to wake up without you in my arms.” Hope filled his gaze.
Ella smiled, not sure what to say since they had an audience. The thought of sleeping alone chilled her. “Trent will take care of me.”
Dr. Blake smiled. “Then I’ll discharge you, but if you experience any unusual symptoms, please call. Normally, I’d keep you at least another day for observation, but you just need rest and time to heal. All of which can be done at home.”
“Thank you,” Ella said.
Her doctor nodded, stepping toward the door “Once I finish the discharge paperwork and treatment instructions, you’re free to go.”
Trent nodded to the bathroom. “Let me change, then we’ll head out the back.” He took the bag of clothes to the bathroom.
“We’ll help you do an end-run from the press,” Marissa told Ella. “Isandro’s waiting for you. He’s taking you home. We’ll be along soon after to make sure there aren’t a million vans outside.”
Chapter 43
A month later, Trent lay beside Ella, watching her sleep soundly. She had nightmares the first couple nights after Logan’s attack, but since then, she’d slept peacefully.
Ella had healed. Her ribs were tender but she usually only felt it when she forgot to take regular doses of Advil. Logan had wound up with worse injuries than hers. She’d broken a picture frame on his face, slicing his head open. When he had pulled her to the floor, she’d stabbed him with a high heel, giving him a serious puncture would. Then she’d ripped the wound open, and later bit him.
Trent had knocked the fucker out before Isandro dragged him all the way down the stairs and out to the walkway where Marissa took over.
Logan was being held without bail for the hearing. He had pleaded guilty, and Ella insisted when the time came for his sentencing, she wanted to be there to make sure her side of the story was heard. Trent wasn’t letting her go alone, regardless of whatever media coverage there would be.
The evidence was piled against him. Videos, pictures, her clothing, various items. The investigators had found an entire room in his apartment turned into an altar to her. He admitted his mother had found a smaller version in his room and had threatened to have him committed. That’s when he started the fire when they were still in high school. Apparently, the doctor who’d come to take him to the facility had died in the fire and the authorities at the time thought the body was his.
Ella’s eyes fluttered, then opened. A smile lit her face as her fingers trailed up his chest. “Good morning.”
“Very good morning,” Trent murmured, pulling her closer. “Move in with me. I don’t want you leaving when your house is finished.
“Even though the media keeps poking around?”
“Told you, don’t give a damn about them. Have O’Neil set up my security system here like he did yours. As long as you stay here with me, I don’t care about the rest of the world.”
“Okay.” She leaned in and kissed him, taking his breath away as she rolled him onto his back and climbed onto his lap.
“Wait? That easily?” he asked with wide eyes.
“If you had asked me, I would have said yes sooner.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
She licked her lips and bit down on the bottom one. “I was worried about everything that happened. The doctor was standing there. And I knew the break-in, my assault, and Logan’s arrest was going to make the news, not just the tabloids. I needed to wait until you were sure you wanted everything that came from being with me, even the bad stuff.”
He skated his hand up her belly and ribs to cup one gorgeous breast. “Every part of you, Ella. How many times do I have to tell you, I’m not letting you go?”
“Just one more time.”
He rolled her onto her back, watching to make sure she didn’t wince in pain, but she didn’t. “I will never let you go, Ella. I don’t want to imagine life without you.”
“I can’t think about mine without you,” she whispered, blinking back tears.
He kissed her eyelids and slid into her depths before closing his mouth over hers. Trent broke the kiss once he filled her. “Love you, Ella.”
“Love you, too.”
* * * *
The country landscape whizzed by as Ella drove to Ryan’s ranch. She glanced over to find Trent watching her. “What?”
“Wanted to thank you for hiring Tina. And it seems Clarisse is doing well there too.”
She grinned. “They both are. And Tina wanted a way to prove to you she’s really through with drugs and alcohol.”
“I finally believe her. My sister had learned how to cope when she’s feeling down. She’s no longer turning to all of her old habits.” He rubbed his brow. “I still feel like hell anytime I think about that night, Ella.”
“Don’t. Just like Tina, you’re working through your own issues. And you haven’t done it since.”
He took her hand. “I never want to hurt you like I did.”
“You learned your lesson. Just like I learned mine about leaving without a word.” She shrugged. “But in the end, both those things pulled us closer together. So I can’t complain.”
“You have a point, although I could have done without Logan hurting you.”
“Did Isandro really drag him down the stairs?”
Trent snorted. “Yeah, then outside. If I hadn’t been so angry, I might have seen some humor in it. Thump. Thump. I wanted to do so much worse to him, but I needed to get you out of there.”
“My hero.” Her eyes sparkled as she glanced over. “So, Mila says you busted some asshole’s nose when he gave you shit about the video? What happened?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and stared out the windshield. “Mitch has since apologized for his bullshit. But it pissed me off when he called you a hot piece of ass and said something stupid about banging a star.”
She laughed. “He’s just jealous. He’ll never have a chance.”
Trent
laughed, leaning over to nibble her ear. “Nope, because I’m keeping you all to myself.”
She turned the car down a nearly invisible street and stopped at a steel gate. “So, he’s all the way out in the middle of nowhere?”
Ella grinned. “Yeah. Ryan couldn’t care less if the world knew about him and Shannon, but Shannon doesn’t want it to affect Ryan’s career. So Shannon plays bodyguard, which he’s great at, and security guru, also great at—while Ryan does his acting. And for some reason, no one has ever suspected they’re together. In fact, I’m surprised they told you.”
Trent smirked. “He wanted to make it clear he’d never been interested in you. I don’t think anything short of his sexuality choice would have convinced me otherwise, especially with his protective attitude toward you.”
“He’s one of my closest friends. I’ve seen him go through hard times. Ryan’s been there for me through a lot. He’s just a good guy who doesn’t want to drag his significant other through the mud with him.”
“I doubt Shannon would care.”
She shook her head. “No, but he doesn’t want Ryan’s fans to be disappointed. And he trusted me, which is why I went to so many events with him. Most people speculated we were together anyway. That way, neither of us had to try very hard to convince the fans otherwise.”
The gate opened and Ella drove up to the ranch. Sam was leaning against his car when they climbed out. He hurried over to greet his sister. “How are you feeling? Why are you driving? Are you sure you aren’t hurting?”
Ella laughed, pushing him back slightly. “I’m fine. Trent has taken excellent care of me.”
Sam turned to Trent and gave him an awkward one-armed bro hug. “Thank you for—loving Ella. I’m glad you two worked out. I wasn’t sure how a small-town fireman was going to handle my little sister.”
Falling Star (Combustible Book 2) Page 28
