CHAPTER 5
Belle
“No, Mom, seriously, I’m fine. I got rescued before the car was crushed. It’s all in the insurance company’s hands now.” I keep my voice light and reassuring. My mother worries about me...but she always worries about the wrong things.
Like a threat that is now over and done with while I’m still exiled from my home town for my own safety.
“But sweetie, you could have been killed. Of course I’m worried.” She sounds so kind, so concerned. Like she used to be, before growing her Blake-sized blind spot.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m at the hotel, and everything important is here except my car—and my laptop.” This was a serious loss. I have everything backed up, but the laptop was new, and I can’t replace it. “That’s why I asked for help.”
“Oh, that’s too bad about your laptop.” I h
