Chapter 4
Four
ROMAN
“We can't wait around for the police to find her! We have to—"
"To what?" Felix cuts Jared off with a look of pure frustration. He has no idea what to do, and neither do the rest of us. "We aren't special fucking ops or tech geeks, Jared!"
Declan watches them with wide eyes, but my focus is drawn to the small crying form on the couch. Violet's tucked into the corner, looking like she hasn't slept in eight years.
In reality, it's only been eight hours since we realized Blue wasn't going to follow through on their Halloween tradition. Violet has rotated between crying and prolonged half hours of silence.
She's in shock. We all are, so maybe that's why I haven't quite registered the way she's gripping her cell phone so hard.
Is she waiting for Blue to contact her?
"I might not be able to track her, Felix, but we should at least be out looking!" Jared shouts, tugging on his black ringlets while pacing the length of Blue and Violet's living room.
It's weird to be in their home without our woman here. Just last month, the guys and I camped out on the floor here. Blue's birthday feels far away now, but remembering the smile she wore as we all danced the next morning warms my heart even as it stings my eyes.
Violet flinches at Felix's loud reply and pulls the blanket up to her chin. These assholes are making everything worse.
I sit beside Blue's kid and offer her my hand. She doesn't hesitate and grabs me. Her small hand makes mine look fucking huge, which is a great reminder that we need to protect her. Now more than ever.
Declan steps forward and grabs the back of Felix's waistband. "Shh, stop. Both of you. This isn't helping," he declares.
I'm a bit surprised Declan has been so cool and collected since everything went down. That's not to say I didn't hear him throwing up in the bathroom an hour ago. He's a stress puker.
If I'm honest, I'm a bit worried. This seemingly calm reaction is out of character for him, but I do appreciate his levelheadedness. I can't be the only one keeping us from flying off the rails and Violet from dehydrating herself with continual tears.
Felix deflates ever so slightly. Thankfully, it's enough for Jared to slump on the couch and give up the fight.
The silence is deafening, but it finally gives me a chance to think. We all spoke to the police last night and gave them our statements and any other information that could be helpful.
"What do we know that could give us something to do?" I ask, eyeing my family in hopes someone blurts an answer that could help.
"Fuck, I don't know," Jared growls into his hands. "They asked me if she had any enemies, but there are so many assholes that I'm sure are pissed at our hot bartender."
Felix scowls and crosses his arms. "Men who couldn't get into her pants are not considered enemies."
"Unless they have some serious fucking anger issues. Use your damn brain, you—"
"Alright!" I snap, getting annoyed with their constant arguing. "Enough. Both of you are pissing me off."
Felix continues to glare at Jared until Declan pushes him a little. Jared rolls his eyes and keeps them fixed on the ceiling as I turn to Violet.
When we were all being questioned outside of the movie theater, Violet was pulled away by a female officer. I didn't love the way the officer watched us like we might be a problem. Initially I was angry, but I got over it because I'm glad someone would check in with a girl like that.
Does she have any idea what could have happened?
"What was your conversation like with the police, Violet?" I keep my voice soft and squeeze her hand a little. A tear falls from her lashes as she glances up at me and away from her cell phone. "Violet, kid, you can trust us."
I'm getting the feeling there's more going on with her. She's avoidant and incredibly locked in her head. Like Declan, I feel like this isn't a normal response she might have, but I don't know her very well.
Her lip wobbles, and she breaks eye contact. Declan leaves Felix standing on his own to crouch in front of Violet. "V, do you know something?"
Thankfully his tone isn't accusatory, yet Violet still flinches. "It's all my fault," she whimpers so quietly I have to strain to hear her.
We haven't pressured her to talk to us because she's struggling, but we have to know. Whatever she's carrying doesn't need to be on her shoulders alone. There was a reason Blue didn't come inside with Violet, and it's time we knew why.
"Why did Blue have your phone? Please, Violet," I beg, pulling her hand to my chest. I need her to know we mean well and we care. I feel like we're still battling against everyone’s uncertainty over whether we're really in this with Blue.
"I needed—" Violet gulps and tugs her palm out of mine. "I needed her help. There's this person—"
"It's okay," Declan coos when she hesitates. His patience is a breath of fresh air considering the increasing feel of feral alpha vibes in the room.
Violet blows out a big breath. As if she's shaking off the heaviness of the situation, she shimmies upright and furiously wipes her tears away. "Someone has been harassing me on my social media. I've been blocking them, but they keep making new accounts."
"Why don't you have your settings on private?" Felix growls, his jaw clenching with barely restrained anger.
Defiance flares in Violet's gaze and, I shit you not, I feel so much better because of it. "I have a lot of followers. There's no time to go through and handpick them."
Apparently it's Felix's turn to be a dick. "That's stupid. There are so many creeps out there!"
Violet rolls her eyes and ignores Felix's exasperation. "Whoever it was started scaring me a little, so I asked Mom to—"
I rear back. Linda's in town?! "Mom?"
Violet's eyes fill with tears before she blinks them away and nods. "Blue. I—she-she's been more of a mother to me than the one that gave birth...I want to call her Mom. Do you—do you think she would be okay with that?"
Fuck, my heart splits in two. It's so easy to forget Violet is actually an adult by law.
Her heart and worries remind me of a young kid sometimes. She's a vulnerable young woman with so much love for her Ma. Mom.
My God, Blue Bennett really is a mom.
"Blue would love that, V," Declan croaks, studying the hope in Violet's face. She gives him a watery smile before huffing away the emotion again.
"So I finally told her on the way to the theater. I figured she might have some advice, but then she asked for my phone and sent me inside. I thought—ugh, I thought she would follow me in just a few minutes!"
I'm frowning, trying to put all the pieces together. Did this person kidnap Blue? And if so, I thought they were harassing Violet. Is it just a coincidence?
"Show me the messages," Felix demands, stepping forward with his hand outstretched.
Violet blinks up at him and chews the inside of her cheek. "You don't think..."
Fortunately, Felix has the sense to soften his voice and relax his face before addressing Violet's fear. "I won't know anything for sure until you show me. Most of your content is about Blue, so it's likely."
"Oh god..." she gasps and all but tosses her cellphone at Felix. With free hands, she covers her face and huddles further into the cushions.
He mumbles a thank you and leaves the room, but not before giving me a pointed look. I know what that means; look after Violet.
As much as I would like to stare over my friend’s shoulder as he looks through the messages, I refuse to leave Blue's sweet kid alone. There's a reason she came to me for a hug at the theater. I'll be damned if I let her down now.