Hide (Mommy's House 3)

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Cole took a few steps towards Bella, his footsteps careful and quiet against the floorboards. Her breath stopped until he was there, in front of her, their chests touching.

She so desperately wanted to throw her arms around him, but her hands were restricted by handcuffs behind her back. He was so close to her, she could feel his heartbeat against her - he was alive. Tears poured from her eyes, rolling into the slices embedded in her cheeks and lip, but there was nothing in the world that could hurt her in that moment.

She watched as Cole's eyes slowly moved over her face. His breathing picked up, she saw it in his chest and shoulders, as his icy gray irises glided over every wound. Then, they moved down to her body, and his focus landed on the large rip in the bottom of her nightgown.

Immediately panicked, he fixed his eyes back on hers, craving explanation, but at the same time, afraid for what it may be. His hand reached up and gently caressed the side of her face, careful to avoid the cuts in her skin as his thumb stroked her cheekbone.

"We need to get you out of here," he whispered, his voice urgent and gravelly, and his accent - the Italian twinge was so familiar and warm.

Bella was frozen in her place, sitting up on her knees on the mattress, her hands behind her back, as she continued to gape at him. She watched as he gently guided his backpack off of his shoulder onto the floor next to the bed Bella was on. He leaned down and unzipped it, making his movements quick as he pulled out a pair of bolt cutters.

He walked behind Bella. He fumbled with something, and then she felt his fingers gently stroke her bent arm. "Hold still," he instructed quietly, calmly, before she heard the jingle of metal colliding, and a snap.

Suddenly, her hands dropped down to her sides, her elbows burning from being twisted back for so long. The cuffs were still wrapped around her wrists like bracelets, but she was free.

She watched as Cole walked over to Darla, and Darla looked up at him, her doe eyes wide and grateful.

"Is it just the two of you?" he asked Darla in a frantic whisper, just before the bolt cutters snapped the short metal chain that connected her cuffs.

The sound was loud and echoed off the walls of the tiny room. Bella looked towards the door with wide eyes, terrified that footsteps would follow. They didn't, not yet.

Darla looked over her shoulder at him and nodded. "Yeah, just us," she matched his quiet tone.

He dropped the bolt cutters down onto Darla's mattress. Bella stood up and rushed over to Darla, who was sitting on the bed with her good leg tucked under her, and her bad leg stretched out. Tears were fresh on her cheeks.

Bella could tell that Darla was terrified, probably because her leg was in horrible shape. Starting from the knee, a deep purple bruise stretched all the way out to her upper thigh.

"She's gonna need help," Bella finally spoke, her throat scratchy and her words feeble, as she looked up at Cole. "Her leg is probably broken."

"Just go without me," Darla said, her voice faltering and shaking. "Please, just go."

Darla didn't mean those words, but it was clear she didn't want to slow them down - which she would. Bella knew that, but she refused to leave anyone behind.

"We're not leaving you here," Cole concluded as he grabbed onto one of Darla's arms and looked at Bella expectantly. Bella grabbed onto her other arm and they pulled forward to help Darla stand up from the bed.

Darla winced the second her toes tapped against the floor. They walked her over to the window as quickly as possible, with Darla whimpering under her breath every few seconds.