Emma
Emma woke out of a dead sleep, and panic seized her stiff as she straightened upright in the bed, glancing from one side of her to the other in search of baby Cross. He had been having trouble getting to sleep, and so, she thought bringing him into her bed might help.
It obviously had, as they both fell asleep soon after.
But where was he now?
Emma quickly realized her son was no longer in the bed with her, and clearly he hadn’t fallen on the floor, or he would be crying. Bleary eyed, she reached for the soft blue blanket that Cross loved to be swaddled in. Even two and a half months after his birth, the boy still enjoyed being tucked safely and warmly in his blankets when he slept.
The swaddling blanket had just been tossed over the end of the bed, like someone had unwrapped the baby and then left it behind, uncaring. It was only then that she noticed her bedroom door—as she still slept in a separate room from her husband—was opened a few inches.
Emma’s mind immediately screamed Affonso.
She had been tired, sure. Cross still wasn’t sleeping through the night, and her worry for Calisto and whatever plans he had for Affonso kept her up all the time in between. When she did sleep, she slept like the fucking dead.
Emma tried not to let her simmering anxiety grow any worse as she tossed the blankets off, and reached for the silk robe she had left hanging off the bedpost. Maybe Cross had just been whining, Emma hadn’t stirred at the baby’s fussing, and Affonso decided to act like a man and care for the child.
As unlikely as that situation was, it was better than where her mind wanted to go.
Why else would Affonso sneak into her room?
Why would he take Cross and not wake her up?
Why would he do anything like that at all if he didn’t have bad intentions?
Emma shook the sinking feeling off, knowing it would do her no damn good at the moment. She noticed the cell phone blinking on her nightstand, probably with a message from Calisto. It was one of the only things keeping her sane most days lately. His sporadic, cryptic messages were like private, saving graces for Emma.
After his show at the dinner, she knew he was getting close to putting his final plan into motion where Affonso was concerned. Why else would he come out of hiding if he wasn’t ready for the consequences of doing so? He’d blatantly challenged Affonso, and his position as the boss.
That, in itself, said everything.
Calisto barely had to say a word.
So … Emma was left waiting for whenever it may be that Calisto finally acted.
Emma stuffed the cell phone in the pocket of her robe, and padded across the hallway to Affonso’s bedroom. She walked in through the opened doorway, finding the bedroom lit up and no one inside. Her gaze fell on the pulled out drawers of the dresser, and the few items that had been left scattered on top of Affonso’s nightstand.
The man was not messy.
He was clean and organized to a fault.
Emma’s panic picked up a notch.
“Affonso?” she called, taking a step further into the bedroom.
Silence answered her back.
She quickly checked Affonso’s attached master-bath, and his walk-in closet. All she found there was more stuff missing and scattered, including one of his larger pieces of luggage.
Emma’s heart practically jumped into her throat. She turned on her heel fast, running out of the bedroom and down the hall to where Cross’s nursery was situated. Like the master-bedroom, she found the door open, lights turned on, and dresser drawers empty of baby clothes. Even the stacks of diapers and the box of wipes were missing from the cheery oak changing table.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her eyes stung as tears gathered.
Emma clenched her fists so tight at her sides that her fingernails broke the sensitive skin of her palm.
No.
He wouldn’t take her baby, surely.
Affonso wasn’t equipped to handle Cross, and all the things the two and a half month old needed on a daily basis. He couldn’t even stand to listen to the child cry for longer than a minute.
Maybe he was just—
Emma couldn’t even finish that thought. There was nothing she could tell herself that would make sense for why Affonso’s and baby Cross’s belongings were gone in the middle of the fucking night. Nothing.
She damn near tripped over her own two feet as she scrambled back down the hallway, her tears starting to fall as she realized what Affonso had done to her. He’d threatened it more than once—promised to take Cross from her if he deemed it necessary, or should he think that she wasn’t worthy of the child.
Yet, somewhere deep inside, Emma had never really taken those threats all too seriously. It frightened her, sure, but she didn’t believe that Affonso had the balls to take her baby while he was still as young as he was.
Her heart shattered over the staircase as she took the steps two at a time, not even trying to hide her noise. It wasn’t like there was anyone in the house to wake up.
She flew around the banister, heading for the front door of the home, and finally froze in her steps. Resting against the wall of the entryway was a familiar piece of black leather luggage, and a baby’s diaper bag right beside it.
He was still there.
He hadn’t left yet.
Emma took her first real breath in minutes. The fear that had previously taken over her was gone in a blink. A deep, burning anger took its place.
There was only one place left in the house that Affonso would bother with before he left, she knew. One place where he might keep things that he would want to take with him.
His office.
Uncaring about what might be waiting for her in Affonso’s office, she went in that direction, determined to get her son away from her bastard husband. Affonso could leave if he wanted to—the asshole was a coward, anyway. But he was not taking her baby with him when he went.
No way.
Emma slid her hand into the pocket of her robe, and pulled out the phone. Knowing the night could end badly, or she just might need someone else’s help, she sent off one single text to the number Calisto always texted her from.
It only read, Help.
That was it. Nothing else.
She didn’t have time for more, and quickly hid the phone back into the pocket of her robe. From just down the hallway, Emma could already hear the mutterings of Affonso. That wasn’t unusual for the man when he was drinking, and she noticed that he had been drunk a lot more often since the dinner.
Almost every night, actually.
She mostly tried to stay out of his way. It was easier.
And safer.
Affonso tended to get louder and more menacing when he was drunk. He had no issue with waving his arms and tossing around his weight to frighten someone else. His cold smiles turned into ice.
The man was evil all over.
If he was drunk, or drinking at all, Emma knew she would have to tread extra carefully. Sure, her husband hadn’t put his hands on her since the night in her walk-in closet when he found out she was pregnant with Calisto’s child—other than the moment in the hospital—but it had been enough for her.
Enough to know the man was capable of it.
That he could—and would—hurt her.
Or kill her, even.
Emma’s heart started beating again when she stood in the doorway of Affonso’s office. There, in his car seat all buckled up and dressed in his winter bunting suit, was a wide-eyed baby Cross. His gaze found his mother the moment she was in his line of sights. She went straight to him, ignoring the mumbling Affonso across the room who was bent down searching for something in his desk.
“Knew that bastard was up to something,” Affonso said to himself. “Can’t be trusted—none of them.”
Emma’s brow furrowed as she listened to his mutterings. She knew Ray had gone missing a while ago, and had yet to show back up. That was two men down for the Donati family, or at least, that’s how it seemed with both Calisto and Ray gone. It probably didn’t help that she had left those letters for Affonso to find, like Calisto had asked her to. They only added to her husband’s drunkenness and his paranoia.
She quickly unbuckled Cross from his car seat, and scooped her baby up into her embrace. She felt better the moment he was snug and safe in her arms.
“Probably got Ray for getting him,” Affonso continued on, in his own little world. “I overlooked that, you know. I overlooked Ray’s mistake because he’s a friend, and you have to keep your friends. Calisto should have understood that—I spoiled him too much. Well, he’s not getting me. I did nothing but love him.”
Emma stared at Affonso, more confused than she had ever been.
She didn’t understand a word of what he was saying, but she figured it wasn’t important. What she needed to do right then was get her son away from Affonso Donati before the asshole took him from her for good.
Spinning around, Emma headed toward the door, hoping Affonso was too lost in his own head to even notice she had been in his office, took the baby, and was gone again before he’d looked back up.
She’d hoped for too much.
Emma heard his heavy footsteps behind her, and she held tighter to Cross when Affonso reached out and fisted a handful of her hair, yanking her backward.
Shit.
That hurt.
Letting out a quiet yelp, Emma stumbled to keep upright as Affonso pulled her back into the office. She didn’t let go of Cross for a second.
“Fucking useless bitch,” Affonso snarled. “What do you think you’re doing, huh?”
He didn’t even let her get upright before his hand cracked her hard across the face, and sent her falling to the floor. Somehow, Emma managed to wrap her arms around her baby, keeping him protected from the fall.
“You can’t take what doesn’t belong to you, whore.”
Emma blinked up at Affonso, seeing his wild, bloodshot black eyes boring down into hers. He was reaching out for Cross, but she rolled away from him and quickly got to her unsteady feet
“No,” she said, hearing Cross’s tiny sniffles start up. “You’re not taking him.”
“Give me my fucking son.”
“He’s not your—”
She didn’t get the chance to finish her words. His fist—not his open palm this time—came flying out of nowhere. Emma’s vision blackened at the corners when the punch connected with the side of her face. Blood bloomed in her mouth at the same time.
Her grip on her son loosened.
Affonso reached for the baby as he hit her again, taking the child from her arms as she instinctively tried to raise one hand to protect her face. Without Cross in her arms, all Emma could do was ward off the blows from Affonso’s one hand as he rained punch after slap down on her without pause.
When she was on the floor, trying to cover her head and push away the blackness seeping into her vision, Affonso started kicking her.
Through his attack, she heard his words.
His names.
His taunting.
They were worse than anything else.
Whore.
Slut.
Useless.
Bitch.
Cunt.
You deserve this.
I should have done this months ago.
My fucking son—mine, Emma.
Mine.
The baby wasn’t his.
Cross would never be his.
But it was the last thing she heard before her world went dark.
Emma wasn’t entirely sure when the awareness began to seep into her consciousness, but she knew it didn’t come all at once. It started with a tingling in her fingertips, and then light behind her eyes. Yet, even with those sensations prickling at the blackness of her mind, she still couldn’t seem to wake up.
She wanted to, though.
Mostly for the murmurs she could hear whispering around her. The ragged breaths, catching every so often, and the apologies slipping from his lips.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry, Emmy.
This shouldn’t have happened.
Not again.
I’m sorry, baby.
More than anything, Emma wanted to reach out through the haze of darkness and the invisible weight keeping her down, and grab onto him. She wanted to pull him close, tell him it was okay, and that she would be okay.
She could hear it in his voice.
The guilt.
His blame.
This wasn’t his fault—he’d promised to fix things, and she knew he would.
He hadn’t done this.
“I’m so sorry,” she heard him say again as the blackness slipped back into her mind.
She was pretty sure she managed to tell him, “It’s okay, Cal.”
It wasn’t—but it would be.
Emma winced as Calisto ran the pads of his fingers over her bruised cheekbone. She couldn’t seem to get the taste of her blood out of her damn mouth. It didn’t matter all that much, anyway. She ignored the sting of her split lip, and the throbbing behind her eyes. The ache in her ribs would go away eventually.
What she really wanted to fix the most, what she hated seeing more than anything else, was the guilt and the wetness filling Calisto’s gaze as he looked her over.
He’d gotten her awake, though she had been mostly confused at first. The pain had come in swift and harsh, reminding her of every single little detail that had alluded her for those first few blissful seconds of awareness.
Her son was gone.
She’d failed to protect him.
Affonso took him.
But he beat her like a dog first.
“I’m so—”
“Stop,” Emma said hoarsely, ignoring Calisto’s wince. “Please, just stop.”
“I waited too long. I thought I was doing this right—fucking with him. But it became more about me than him. It turned into a game for me, and I shouldn’t have let that happen when I knew what was on the line. I put you in danger, and I’m so sor—”
“Cal,” Emma interjected softly. “You didn’t do this.”
Calisto sighed. “I might as well have.”
“But you didn’t. It was his fists. His kicks. His words.”
Jesus.
She wished it didn’t hurt to breathe.
His thumb swept over her cheekbone again, and Emma smiled, despite the pain it caused. Another trickle of blood seeped onto her tongue, but she swallowed the tangy metallic taste back without saying a word about it. Clearly, Calisto was having enough trouble about all of this as it was. She wouldn’t feed into his guilt.
But her own guilt?
That was a killer.
“I tried,” she told him.
Calisto’s brow furrowed, and he dropped lower on his knees so that he was below her and she had to look down at him. His hands never once left her face. “Tried what, dolcezza?”
“I tried to keep him from taking Cross, but it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t strong enough or—”
“Emmy, stop.”
She wished she could. While her words quieted, her feelings just exploded until tears were streaming down her cheeks and sobs caught hard in her throat.
From the moment she knew she was pregnant with Calisto’s child, she had done all she could to keep that baby boy safe. She’d done everything that was asked of her, and lived alongside a monster in hopes that Calisto would remember, and she wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. After, when Cross was born, she continued doing what she had to for his sake—his life—and nothing more.
Where had it gotten her?
She was without her son.
She was battered.
Weak.
Stupid.
“Emma!”
Emma’s gaze flew wide, and she found herself staring straight into one of her favorite sights. Calisto’s soul-black eyes.
“Not weak, not stupid,” he murmured.
Had she said that out loud?
Wonderful.
“I let him take my baby,” she mumbled.
Calisto wiped away her tears quickly and gently. “I’ll get him back, Emmy.”
“He just took him from me, Cal.”
“I’ll get him back, I promise.”
She wasn’t really hearing him, though. The panic swelled in her throat until she was gasping for breath and struggling to see straight.
All of the sudden, Emma’s world got a little smaller as Calisto wrapped her in his embrace, and held tight. Her scattered, shattered pieces were held together for a single, quiet moment in her tattered life when he was holding her together. She felt his lips brush the top of her head, his apologies whispered over her hair, and then he was tipping her back a little to kiss her.
Emma needed that—every hard, rough caress of his lips and the demanding strikes of his tongue against her own. She didn’t mind how tightly he grabbed her, even though she was sore and probably needed a fucking doctor. All she cared about was for those few moments, her world was quiet and right.
“I will get him back,” Calisto said against her trembling lips.
More tears slipped from her eyes.
She didn’t wipe them away.
Neither did he.
Instead, Emma let them fall as she focused in on the truth in Calisto’s hard, cold stare.
“I just want him back, Cal.”
“I will,” he promised. “Thank you for keeping my son safe, but now you have to trust me to do what needs to be done, Emma. You can’t do this like I can. You need to stop feeling like you didn’t do enough—you did everything for that baby when I didn’t even know he was mine. Please, trust me right now.”
She nodded.
It was the best she could do.