During the first part of the day, Tim, Angela, and Nyla spent a long time digging up leads on the investigation. The more the policeman discovered about the life Isabel had recently led, the more he was distressed to know that his little girl had grown up in such an environment. Towards the end of the morning, they put their finger on the name of a dealer with whom the former policewoman had the habit of dealing and who was known for his great violence.
The three police officers set out to go to his headquarters to interrogate him. When they arrived on the scene, they were poorly received by the members of the gang to which this criminal was affiliated and had to restrain a few of them before they could interrogate them.
Nevertheless, once that was done, they were able to realize that the man they were looking for was not there. They still set out to interrogate the other men to learn more. Of course, they were quite reluctant to talk to the police, but one of the criminals, who wanted to play smart, spilled the beans.
- Tell me where Carlos is?Nyla asked firmly, with the attitude she usually adopted with each suspect.
- Oh, well, sweetheart, if you think I'm going to tell you that easily, you're wrong. You'll have to give me something, you could drop the top, for example,he suggested impertinently. This immediately had the effect of angering Tim, who was already on edge.
- So, you're going to listen to me carefully and stop being a jerk. We have good reasons to think that Carlos killed a former policewoman and we won't let go until we can lock him up. A murder like that can be punishable by life imprisonment and any accomplice can be sentenced to the same penalty, so I strongly advise you to help us,Tim announced, pinning him to the wall brutally.
- What? That junkie slut was a cop. The fall is violent. Seriously, she was pitiful. If I had cared, I would have probably called social services for her kid because in the bad mother category, she was something else.
- The kid you didn't care about is mine, so there you're digging your own grave,Tim got angry, tightening his grip. However, he hadn't anticipated that his lack of restraint would give the criminal leverage.
- Oh, so I imagine mom didn't tell you about her. Cute little girl and she saw her mother's murder, from what I understand. That must be traumatic. Anyway, if we ever had anything to do with it, she wouldn't stay traumatized for long. After all, witnesses are dangerous,he smiled sordidly.
At this remark, the three police officers stiffened. He was too cocky not to have information. They didn't know how, but the gang had located Rose and they were going to kill her. Tim felt immense terror rising within him.
- Get to the safe house as fast as possible. We'll take care of him and call for backup,Angela announced, trying to stay as calm and efficient as possible. On these words, he rushed off to find his daughter, ready to do anything to protect her and terrified at the thought of losing her before he could really be a father.
On their side, Lucy, Thorsten, Rose, her grandparents, and her aunt spent a quiet morning in a calm house away from the center of Los Angeles, which regularly served as a hideout for the police.
Isabel's parents and Genty were playing in the living room with Rose who, even though she still didn't speak, was visibly starting to feel more comfortable with them. Meanwhile, the two police officers stayed in their corner, alert to the possibility of a threat.
- Cute little girl… I wouldn't have imagined Tim as a family man, but strangely I think he could be great. You, how are you handling this?Thorsten began, approaching his colleague with an idea in mind.
- It's true that she's adorable, and I'm absolutely certain that Tim will be an absolutely wonderful father… But, what do you mean by that? I don't see what there is to handle, the beautiful brunette wondered.
- I don't know, it's just that you and Tim are extremely close, Ashley is perfectly non-existent at the moment unlike you, so I was thinking that maybe…
- My God, I don't know how many times I'll have to repeat that we're just friends,she sighed without much conviction. The insistence of her loved ones troubled her more and more because the more her feelings for her superior grew, the more she thought their reciprocity was impossible.
Her friend was about to retort something when they heard a dull noise and saw two figures in the garden.
Immediately, the two police officers hurried to hide the four civilians in a closet. The three adults managed to stay calm, but Rose was visibly terrified. The similarities with her mother's assassination only reinforced her fears.
- You don't move from here under any circumstances, we'll come back to get you as soon as everything is over,Officer Chen announced before closing the door without thinking. The two police officers left to scan the entire house, ready to face at least two assailants.
While Lucy and Thorsten prepared to confront the intruders, they heard heavy footsteps and muffled murmurs coming from outside. They positioned themselves on either side of the front door, guns drawn, ready to intervene.
The door burst open, revealing two men armed with assault rifles. Thorsten, taken by surprise, tried to react quickly, but one of the assailants struck him violently on the head with the butt of his weapon. The policeman collapsed, unconscious.
Lucy, seeing her partner fall, did not hesitate for a second. She lunged forward, using her weapon to deflect the other assailant's blow. She managed to disarm the man by twisting his wrist, then delivered a knee to his face, sending him backward.
The first assailant, the one who had knocked out Thorsten, turned towards Lucy. He hit her with his rifle and she couldn't dodge the blow. He also gave her a violent punch in the stomach. Nevertheless, she didn't give up, got up, disarmed him as well, and gave him an elbow to the chin, knocking him out.
The second assailant, though dazed, got up and charged at Lucy. She managed to avoid his punches, but he succeeded in hitting her a second time in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Despite the pain, Lucy retaliated with an uppercut that sent him reeling. She followed up with a series of quick and precise blows, finally knocking him unconscious.
Lucy, though victorious, was exhausted and badly beaten. She had bruises on her face and a throbbing pain in her stomach. She took a moment to catch her breath, then tied up the two criminals. Then, she went to check on Thorsten's condition. He was still unconscious but breathing normally. He didn't seem seriously injured, just dazed.
She got up painfully and headed towards the closet where the Bradford family was hiding.
- Oh my God, Lucy, Genny cried out,seeing the state of her friend. She helped her to the couch while Robert, Isabel's father, went to take care of Aaron. Grace, for her part, took the little girl in her arms, covering her eyes, and took her to one of the bedrooms so she wouldn't have to witness the scene.
The latter began to regain consciousness slowly.
- He seems to be okay, but we need to call an ambulance to have you both examined.
Lucy went to grab her radio with difficulty to call for backup when Tim rushed through the door in a fury. The latter was more than surprised by what he discovered.
- My God, what happened here? Is everyone okay? Where is Rose?he panicked immediately, heading towards his family. Before anyone could even respond, a police unit arrived and took the two criminals away. Right after, he looked at Lucy and was horrified to see her in such bad shape, but at the same time, he was panicking because he didn't see his daughter.
- But… What… How? Rose,he stammered before being interrupted by his daughter who, quite surprisingly, had regained her speech.
- Daddy, Daddy, the bad guys are here, the bad guys are here,she cried, running to him. The policeman hugged her without hesitation, very surprised but also moved to hear her speak and even more so to hear her call him that. While she was nestled against him, he exchanged a glance with his sister and his colleague.
- Everything is fine, sweetheart, the bad guys are gone. They are very far away and will never come back,he reassured her tenderly, stroking her hair. Hearing that, the young girl calmed down and lifted her head. She looked at her father and seemed to feel more reassured, then she started to look around. When she saw Lucy, injured, on the couch, the little girl moved away from Tim and went towards her.
- The bad guys hurt you like Mommy. It's because of me, I'm sorry, Lucy,she apologized, seeming distraught. Tim was about to protest, but Officer Chen beat him to it.
- Oh but no, sweetheart, it's not your fault at all. These are very bad people who do very bad things and they will go to prison for a very long time. You must absolutely not think that all this is because of you,the beautiful brunette explained tenderly, leaning painfully towards the little girl as her body was so sore. It broke her heart to see how much this little angel seemed to have suffered.
- Did it hurt? The bad guys hit very hard, it must hurt very much, but you were very strong.
- That's true, you trained her very well, Tim,Robert stated, as a former military man, he was more than capable of recognizing how talented the young officer was.
- You should still go to the hospital and get examined by a doctor,Genny added, worried about her friend's health who looked like she had been run over by a bus. She was about to protest, but Tim spoke up.
- She's right, we need to make sure it's not worse than it looks… For the record, even though I'm a good teacher, the credit doesn't go to me,he explained, looking Lucy straight in the eyes with more pride and tenderness than he realized.
When their interlocutors turned away from this silent exchange, Bradford murmured "thank you" full of gratitude, realizing from the scene before his eyes that she must have fought with incredible intensity to protect his little girl. He was so grateful to have her in his life.
Just two minutes later, the paramedics who had taken care of Aaron took Lucy to the hospital. When she was about to leave, Rose got up without explanation and took her father's hand as if to take him somewhere.
- Do you want to go somewhere, sweetheart?he asked her.
- We're going to the hospital with Lucy. Lucy not stay alone,she simply stated. The beautiful brunette protested, but didn't do so when she saw her friend's look.
- That's an excellent idea and if you're looking to protest, tell yourself that we can also make sure Thorsten isn't too badly hurt, Tim interrupted, ending the conversation.
The young man got up from the couch, still a bit uncertain about how to behave with his daughter, not wanting to rush things for her. After all, she seemed to be starting to trust him, and he didn't want to push her.
But, without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck for him to pick her up. The policeman did so without hesitation and carried her to the police car. Grace, Robert, and Genny got in with them, and they rushed directly to the hospital.
They had indeed narrowly avoided disaster today, but finally, now that these criminals were in prison, they would all be able to resume a peaceful life. In any case, one thing was certain, after the events of the past few days, everything would be different.