Forbidden - Karla Sorensen Page 0,65

I barked. “And you haven’t heard back from her?”

“No, I’m so sorry. And I don’t want to distract her by trying to call if she’s right in the middle of climbing down with Anya.”

I jogged back to my office and snagged my keys and cell phone. “Unfortunately this doesn’t surprise me. My daughter has a tendency to do this whenever she wants a little extra attention.”

“I’m sure she’s okay,” Molly insisted. “Isabel would never let anything happen to her.”

Words stuck in my throat, because even if I knew Molly was probably right, and the likelihood that Anya was hurt was slim, even the idea of it had my body going cold with terror.

Losing Beth had been awful. Exhausting. Heartbreaking.

But if anything happened to Anya … I wasn’t sure I could survive it.

“I’m leaving the gym now, but this is my cell,” I rattled off my number and Molly repeated it. “Call me if you hear anything.”

“I promise, I will.” Molly said my name quietly. “Just take a deep breath, okay? Especially before you get behind the wheel.”

I clenched my teeth, but somehow her voice was comforting enough, kind enough, that I was able to do as she said.

Disconnecting the call after thanking Molly, I shoved my phone in my pocket and yelled for one of the trainers. He looked exactly like one of the other guys, and they were both in college, and I still couldn’t remember their fucking names.

“I need you to stay and help Emily close up. If you can’t, ask the other one.” I snapped my fingers. “What’s his name again?”

He grinned. “He’s Grady, I’m Gavin.”

“No fucking wonder,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing. You can stay?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

I jogged out of the building with a shove to the front door, my feet pounding on the pavement.

The peel of my tires drew a few dirty looks as I turned out of the parking lot, as did my driving abilities as I broke just about every land speed record from the gym back to the house.

She was probably fine. My daughter, the little shit, climbed everywhere. This was hardly the first time she’d bitten off more than she could chew. But I was used to it. My family was used to it.

Isabel wasn’t.

And that was probably why Anya did it in the first place, to gain her notice. My hands tightened uselessly on the steering wheel. Of course she’d want Isabel’s notice.

I was no better than my daughter because Isabel’s notice was turning me into an animal. At least in my head.

That was something to deal with later, as my foot pressed just a little bit harder on the gas, the roar of the engine matching the energy under my skin.

By the time I pulled onto their street, I felt the same kind of tense, rolling motion in my stomach that I used to get before my fights. It wasn’t nerves, not exactly. It was not knowing the outcome of a short, specific window of time. No outlet of the energy making my feet bounce, no way to take control of the situation yet.

That’s when I saw the red and white of the ambulance in the driveway.

“Oh, God,” I breathed. I wasn’t sure if it was a plea or a prayer or a way to prepare myself for the absolute worst.

The back of the ambulance was open, no one was in sight. I saw a few neighbors standing in their front yard trying to get a glimpse of what was happening.

I yanked the truck up onto the curb and threw the gear shift into park, sprinting around the side of the house into the backyard.

I saw the back of the paramedics first, Emmett standing to the side next. He was wiping tears.

“Anya?” I shouted.

A male paramedic turned and I saw Isabel reclining on the gurney, her arm in the hand of the other medic, blood on her temple, and my daughter wrapped tight in her arms. Anya turned her face to me with a smile, and my panic eased immediately. Her grip never lessened on Isabel.

“What happened?” I asked, running my hand over Anya’s back.

“We fell,” Anya said.

My heart stopped when I saw the broken branch on the grass.

“Your daughter is fine,” the paramedic assured me.

Isabel’s eyes finally met mine, and I saw her apology before she even opened her mouth. “I should’ve been watching them more closely.”

I held up my hand to stop her. “It’s okay, I promise.”

The sight of the cut at her hairline, the way she winced when the