After all, I’d already said his name… what the fuck would I say next?
It was Violet who managed to tear me from my daze because she scrunched up her face as fat, heavy tears began to collect on her thick lashes.
“You’re okay, Violet,” I somehow managed to choke out as I began bouncing her.
“Here, Princess,” Luca said as he suddenly handed Violet a small keychain with a soccer ball on it. The squishy toy quickly caught Violet’s interest and although a few tears slipped down her face, she didn’t make a sound as she examined the keychain. “Remy, is she who we came here for?” Luca asked again.
I nodded. “Y-Yes,” I whispered.
Luca’s hand was suddenly at my lower back as he began maneuvering me out of the room. I knew I should tell him not to touch me, but I kept my mouth shut. I told myself it was because I needed the physical support in case I stumbled over something with Violet in my arms.
I ignored my brain calling bullshit on me.
Violet gurgled happily as she played with the keychain. She showed it to me a few times. Her bubbly baby sounds helped ease the mysterious tension in my body and I was able to move more quickly.
“Meet us on the third floor,” I heard Luca say. I glanced at him and saw him hanging his phone up.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“My men,” Luca said. His eyes were darting all around us. His free hand was still at my back, but he quickly replaced his phone with the gun.
“Your men?” I asked dumbly until I remembered the guys from his car.
Bodyguards.
Why the hell did he need bodyguards?
“Most of these people are too fucked up to try and rob us,” I murmured.
“That asshole in the alley said Carla was trying to sell ‘her.’” Luca looked at Violet. “Not taking any chances that she didn’t find a buyer already.”
I nearly stopped walking, but Luca’s hand on my back kept me moving forward.
Luca was worried about the baby? He’d called his bodyguards for her? He was a selfish prick, so what did he care about a little girl he didn’t know?
No, he was lying. He was worried about getting his own ass out of there in one piece.
My throat felt tight and I suddenly found it hard to swallow. For the second time, I wondered what was going on with me. I’d found Violet. She was safe and I’d make sure she stayed that way.
Case closed.
So why was I so fucking shaky?
I stayed silent as Luca led me down the stairs. His bodyguards met us on the stairwell, and even though I knew they were there to protect Luca and not me and Violet, I still felt relieved.
Which just pissed me off even more because I didn’t need any of these guys to get me and Violet out of there. I would have been just fine on my own.
Once we were outside the building, I commanded my brain to step away from Luca so Violet and I could be on our way. I hadn’t come up with an exact plan of what to do next, but I would.
I always did.
But once again, my mind or my body—or both—refused the demand and I ended up letting Luca lead me to his car, then settling me and Violet in the back seat.
“Remy, where’s Violet’s mother?” I heard Luca ask.
The image of Jackie’s lifeless body flashed in my mind, stealing any promise of speech away. So I just shook my head and kept my eyes on Violet as she played with the keychain.
There were a few beats of silence before Luca gently asked, “Is she your child?”
I shook my head again and silently begged Luca not to ask me any more questions. I didn’t like that I was having so much fucking trouble answering them. I was glad when I managed to pull away when Luca touched my shoulder in what was probably supposed to have been a reassuring pat.
Good, at least something in my brain was working.
I could feel Luca’s eyes on me, and it took every ounce of self-awareness I had not to look at him. I didn’t give a shit if my distance bothered him.
I didn’t.
Luca made a phone call, but I tuned him out and tried to get my own thoughts in order. Violet kept thrusting the keychain at me, so I settled her on my lap and took it. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, but the ball was odd. It looked like any cheap novelty you could get at any kind of toy or sports store, but while most of the soccer ball was a spongy material, there was one part of it that was hard and shiny, almost like it was laminated.
I took a closer look at that part and noticed what looked like scribbles on the ball. It wasn’t until I turned it a certain way that I realized the scribbles were actually letters.