Chapter Three

Bella woke up with a headache and stomachache. She knew her headache stemmed from hitting the table the night before, and her stomach hurt because she forgot to eat again and hadn't had any food for the last twenty or more hours since she was at the diner.

She took her time sitting up and making sure she was steady before standing and walking into the bathroom. She cringed when she saw her forehead. It was still a bit swollen, but the dark bruise would be hard to hide. There was nothing she could do but cover it the best she could and get moving, or she'd be late to the diner. She thought about the long day ahead and couldn't help but feel dread.

Was this what her life was going to be like? She never imagined it would get so messed up.

She stared at herself in the mirror and said to herself, "No one can change my life except myself. The first step I needed to take was getting away from my brother." She knew she had very little time and wouldn't be able to take any of her things, so she planned on taking what she could.

Bella quickly dressed in her waitress outfit, pushed the bed away from the door, and carefully opened it. So far, she hadn't seen or heard anyone, but she wanted to make sure before she tried to leave.

She crept over to her brother's bedroom door and listened. When she didn't hear anything, she slowly and carefully cracked open the door. The air whooshed from her lungs when she saw the bed was empty.

It didn't surprise her that he wasn't there. He was gone a lot. Now, she had to rush to get her things packed so she'd be able to leave for good sooner then she thought.

She filled a huge duffle bag with the clothing she wanted. She pried the board up in the closet, took all the money she had saved, and stuffed some of it in the duffle and some in her purse. She grabbed her toiletries and looked around one more time. This would be the last time she ever saw this room, and she felt lighter just taking that step. She wondered why she hadn't done this sooner.

Bella left enough clothes to make her brother think she was coming back. The last thing she did was grab a pillow and blanket from the closet. She wanted her bed to look like it had been slept in.

It took some doing, but she dragged her duffle out with one hand, and she used her other arm to hold the bedding and her purse. She stuffed everything into her trunk and locked it.

The feeling of urgency filled her. She needed to get as far away from the place as possible. She didn't think her brother would be home for several hours, but she didn't want to take the chance of being caught.

She decided to stop at the sheriff's office and make a report just to have it on record. She knew she should have done it a long time ago, but she'd held off in hopes her brother would grow up. Bella had plenty of time since she had a little over an hour before work.

Pulling up in front of the building made her anxiety rise. She'd never been in trouble with the law or had anything or anyone to see there. Not even a speeding or parking ticket. So, seeing the building up close made her anxious.

Bella took a breath, got out of her car, and walked into the building. The door closed behind her with a thump, making her jump. She felt herself blush when a few people looked her way.

"May I help you?" a young, pretty woman behind a desk asked her.

"Yes. I need to talk to a policeman about an abusive situation." She knew the woman saw the bruise on her forehead. She had tried to hide it, but it was too dark and swollen.

"I'll call someone up. Take a seat. It shouldn't be long."

"Thank you," Bella said. She walked over to one of the walls and studied all the posters of wanted people. She was curious to see if she knew any of them.

"Miss."

Bella turned to see the sheriff. She'd never met him, but she did know him by sight. "Hi."

"Do you want to come with me?"

Her brows puckered. "I didn't know the sheriff took statements."

He smiled down at her. "They do when it's busy. Come this way."

He led her to an office she guessed was his. He took a minute to move stacks of papers out of the way before grabbing a pen and piece of paper.

"Let's start with your full name."

"Isabella Rose Wentworth."

"Age and address?" Daniel asked.

They went through a few more basic questions before he looked at her. His face darkened when he caught sight of the injury on her forehead.

"How did that happen?"

"It was my brother, Randy. He's becoming more and more violent every day. I suspect he's doing some drugs, but I'm not sure."

"You live together?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. We have our whole lives. Our mother died when I was eighteen, and Randy was fifteen. Since I had a full-time job and was done with school, the city let him stay with me instead of putting him in a foster home."

"Hell, you were just a baby yourself and had just lost your mother. That's a lot of responsibility put on your shoulders."

She shrugged. "I couldn't let him go into foster care."

"So, how old is he now?"

"Nineteen," Bella said.

"And he is still staying with you?"

She watched the man scribble things down as he asked her questions. "Yes. I can't get him to leave. I've been trying since he turned eighteen."

"What does he do?"

"Nothing. He sits around with his buddies and gets stoned. He's never had a job or responsibility, and he likes it that way."

Daniel grunted. "I bet he does. Where do you work?"

She told him about the diner and an office building that she cleans.

"That's a lot," he said.

"Yes, but I needed the money because I was supporting two adults instead of one." She could tell he wasn't pleased by the answer, but he moved on.

"Has your brother ever hurt you before?"

Bella nodded. "Yes. But this was the worst," she said and pointed at her forehead.

"I'd like to get a picture of that for the record. Do you have anything else?"

"A few bruises," she said. She hadn't wanted to admit to the sheriff that most of her body had bruises her brother caused. She felt ashamed that she'd let the situation go on so long without doing something about it.

"I'll have my front assistant, Tamera, take the pictures."

Bella relaxed. She hadn't been looking forward to him seeing her without clothing on.

"You need to find another place to stay until we can get him taken care of," Daniel said.

"I already left. I packed what I needed and left things I didn't care about. It looks like I'll be coming back, so it will give me a little bit of time."

"I assume he knows where you work?"

"Yes."

"We'll have to get you something else because he will try to find you."

She nodded. "I know. I haven't gotten that far yet. I'll look at the paper during my break."

"I have an idea, but I'll have to talk to someone first. I'll make the call while you're getting your pictures taken."

"All right."

The sheriff's receptionist came back to get her and took her to a private room. Bella was surprised she wasn't more self-conscious, but the woman, Tamera, made it less embarrassing.

Bella stood with her shirt off. "Have you had to do this a lot?"

Tamera smiled. "A few times, but I've only worked here three months."

"You didn't grow up here?" Bella asked as she buttoned up her shirt.

"No."

Bella could detect the stiffness of the other woman's tone even with her back to her and decided not to ask her any more questions.

It didn't take long before she was sitting in the chair in Daniel's office again and waiting for him to hang up.

The sheriff set down his phone and looked at her intently. "How would you like to work and live in the new club out on the highway?"

Her mouth dropped open. "You mean the kink club?" She'd driven past it so many times and was curious to see what it was like inside but hadn't had the time or the guts to check it out.

"Yes, but listen. The four owners are very protective of the women around them. And think about the fact your brother can't get to you, if he's even able to find you."

"But I'm not … you know … like that," she said.

Daniel grinned. "You don't have to be, but I do think you're a submissive woman. You don't have to be into anything in the club to work there. They would never force you to do anything. The four owners are great guys, or I wouldn't have asked them."

"What did you ask them?"

"If there was a job opening and a place you could live for the time being. I told them about your brother."

"What did they say?" she asked.

"The one I talked to said he didn't think there would be a problem, and they sure could use you, but he has to get the okay from the other three. He won't be able to get back to me until later."

Bella nodded. "I understand that." She checked the time. "I've got to go to work."

"I'll have a deputy hang around and watch over you. I think it would be a good idea to stay at a friend's house or find a motel for the night."

"I never had time for friends."

"I'll give you a few places. How about a phone?"

She dug through her purse and lifted it out. "I do have one, but I rarely use it."

"Does your brother have your number?"

She nodded.

"We need to get you a burner phone for the time being."

"I can do that after work."

"Good. Then call me with the number and where you'll be."

"I will." She stood and held out her hand. "Thank you, Sheriff."

"Call me Daniel, and you're welcome. If it doesn't work out at the club, we'll find another place for you."

She drove away more lightheartedly than she had been since before her mother died. Oh, she knew there were a lot more things to get done, but as of that moment, she never had to see her brother again.