I shook my head. “I’m scared to move.”
“Crap.” She glanced around frantically. “My parents are at a baseball tournament for my brothers this morning, and I broke my p
hone yesterday when I dropped it.” She twisted her hands together. “Please tell me Luca is home.”
“I-I don’t know,” I cried through another pain. “He’s probably already left for practice. But Jenner should be there.”
“Your bodyguard who runs by our house every day?” I nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just stay calm, Vi.” She hoisted herself back into the saddle and urged the horse into a gallop as she took off in the direction of Luca’s house.
Krush suddenly whined, running back to me. I hugged his neck, and he whined again, as if telling me he was sorry. “It’s okay, sweet boy,” I tried to soothe. “I’m okay.”
I hoped.
Chapter 52
Luca
I paced back and forth on the front porch, waiting for Violet to return from her walk. I’d told her I wanted to talk to her, but she’d gone for a walk instead of waiting for me to get out of the shower. If she thought she could avoid talking to me because I would leave for practice, she was going to be disappointed.
I would skip that day and any other day that followed until she told me what was wrong with her. I could see something was on her mind, but she was too damn stubborn to tell me what was going on with her. I’d sensed her growing further and further away from me over the past few days, and that morning I’d had a sick feeling in my stomach when she wouldn’t even meet my gaze.
It started raining, and I cursed. She was going to catch a cold if she wasn’t careful. And with the baby due in only a few short weeks, it could drain her before she gave birth.
I gave it another ten minutes before I started down the steps. When I found her, I was going to spank her ass.
As I reached the bottom step, Jenner came out of his apartment. I stopped and waited for him, not caring that I was getting drenched in the pouring rain. He was dressed in his usual suit, but when he saw me, his brows lifted. “I thought you left for practice already.”
“I’m waiting on Violet,” I explained. “Did you see which way she went for her walk?”
“She told me she was going in search of Krush. I think she went that way.” He lifted his chin in the direction over my shoulder. I turned, not wanting to waste any more time when Violet could already be getting sick, but his next words stopped me cold in my tracks. “She said she would fire me if I told you, but I don’t give a fuck. She told me we were going to Santa Monica once she got back with the dog.”
I jerked around to face him. “She what?” I whispered, but I didn’t know if he even heard me. Fuck. She’d lost her damn mind. I was going to find her and set her straight on whatever the hell was going through that head of hers. This was getting out of hand, and I was tired of this distance between us.
“Did you two have a fight?” Jenner asked.
Before I could form words, I heard a shout and then the hard gallop of a horse. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Wroth Niall’s only daughter coming toward us at full speed on the back of her favorite horse. I’d know Doe all her life. Her father was the lead guitarist for OtherWorld, so she was like any other cousin I had. Uncle Wroth was one of the few men who scared the hell out of me, and I respected him. But his daughter was sweet and gentle like her mom, making most of the world want to turn their hearts over to her just for a smile.
“Luca,” she gasped as she pulled the horse up beside us. “Thank goodness. Violet. She fell. I didn’t want to try to move her myself because I might have caused more damage than good. But she’s bleeding. And having contractions.”
The bottom fell out of my stomach, and I grabbed her leg in the stirrup. “Where?” I rasped.
“She needs an ambulance,” she panted, tears filling her soft blue eyes. “It’s just past your property line onto ours.”
“Doe, take me to her.” I pulled myself up behind her on the horse and glanced back at Jenner. “Call for an ambulance. Tell them I’ll meet them at the side road just off the Nialls’ property. Do you know which one I’m talking about?”
“I know it. Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
Doe urged the horse back to Violet, and I held on for dear life. It felt like it took forever to get to her, but soon I saw Krush’s big black body and then Violet’s blond head.
She was hugging the dog with one arm while the other rubbed her stomach. When she saw me, her tears turned into sobs. “Luca. I’m in labor.”
I jumped down and quickly assessed what was going on. She was sitting in a pool of her own blood that scared the living hell out of me. Her face was pale, her lips almost blue from how cold she was as rainwater dripped from her hair and the tip of her nose. She looked tiny, fragile, and broken.
Bending, I lifted her into my arms, called out for Doe to take care of Krush for us, and took off at a dead run for the side road. It was a good half mile from where we were, but thankfully I could hear sirens in the distance. By the time I got to the road, an ambulance was speeding toward us.
Stopping, I waited for them, and only minutes later, I was in the back of the emergency vehicle with Violet. While one paramedic drove, the other guy cut Violet’s pants off and cursed viciously.
“Drive faster,” he shouted to his partner. “We may have a placental abruption.”