Beautiful Disaster

Part Twenty

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone suspicious?" Officer Brigley leaned towards her as he questioned her for more information.

"I'm sure, Officer Brigley." Izzy shivered and clenched her hands tighter on her lap. "I wish I had, though."

The officer reached out and patted her fists. It was a sign of comfort and understanding. "It's alright, Izzy. We'll get that bugger if it's the last thing we do. You stay right here and try to distract yourself with something, okay?"

"Okay." The plan sounded nice and safe, something that she desperately needed right now.

Officer Brigley smiled and stood up. He made his way to the door and Hugh Grayson. The man nodded his head and asked calmly, "How did it go?"

"She's still a little in shock. Give her some breathing space, and she'll be right as rain in no time." Brigley put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. He knew the character of a person just by looking at them.

Grayson registered as the type of guy who took his responsibilities seriously and would beat himself up if he failed. "She's been through a lot, that one. But she's never almost taken a shot before."

"I know." Hugh cringed and ducked his head.

"Can I trust you to keep an eye on her?"

Grayson sucked in his breath and stood straighter. He valued everyone's trust in him, most especially those from people he'd just met. To have someone's trust after just a short time was an honor he would hate to destroy.

"I won't make the same mistake again, Sir," he promised.

Officer Brigley nodded and walked out of the apartment door, leaving Hugh to deal with Izzy. He approached her and kneeled in front of her, waiting until she raised her eyes to meet his. "Hey there. You want some coffee?"

"What time is it?" she asked softly.

"Nearly three-thirty."

"I need to go, or I'll be late for work."

She made to stand up from the sofa and leave as quickly as she could, but Hugh wouldn't allow it. He caught her forearm with his grip and pulled her back onto the couch, then placed his hands on her knees and stroked the fabric of her pajama. "Hey, hey, hey. Sit down for a while. I called Heather a bit earlier and asked her if she could let you skip a few work nights. After all, you've been through a scary experience earlier."

A frown appeared on her face. "You shouldn't have. I need to distract myself for a little while, and work seems like a good enough distraction."

"I don't want you out on the streets tonight, Izzy. I want you to stay here, and I want you to call your father."

The frown grew bigger as Izzy tensed in her seat.

No way was her father going to hear about what happened today. He'd have a heart attack, and God knows what would happen after that. "Daddy doesn't need to know."

"He does, Izzy. He's your father."

"No."

"Izzy, for once, just please swallow your pride and listen to me." Hugh was getting impatient.

Never had he had to battle with such a stubborn woman before. He'd allowed Izzy to relax and disappear from his sight, and look at the consequences. Hugh was going to firmly put his foot down until Izzy understood that he wasn't going to lift it up anytime soon.

"I can't call my father! I'll only worry him!"

"He'll be more worried if he doesn't receive any news about what's going on here. Or worse, he could get the bad news from Officer Brigley. We don't want that, do we?"

"Then you call him," Izzy snorted.

Hugh almost smiled. Izzy was starting to become her old self, and this pleased him. If making her angry was the only way to ease her out of her scary experience, then that was what he was going to do.

But he had to stop at some point and compromise with her. "I can do that, but once he hears about what I have to say, he's gonna want to talk to you too."

"Can't you just lie about what happened?"

It was Hugh's turn to frown. "Your father may be my co-worker, but he can fire me anytime. And I wouldn't have any right to go against his decision. We also shouldn't forget that Officer Brigley may call him tonight as well. And Brigley's gonna tell nothing but the truth. Besides, after what happened, I'm already expecting a tongue lashing, if not a demotion."

"Okay," Izzy said, "I'll call him." She had a conscience, no matter how stubborn she could get.

At this moment, her conscience demanded she helped Hugh out. He'd been there to comfort her and even defend her from Peter at the bar. She should return the favor.

♥

Continued

Please stay tuned for more parts. And please tell a friend if you think they might enjoy this type of story. Thank you for reading!