Chapter 13
“Hey, John. What can I get for you?” The deputy strolled into the bakery the next morning and smiled at Emma.
“Hey, Em. Can I just get a large hazelnut cappuccino to go?”
“Sure thing. It’ll just be a minute.”
“Wait. I mean, shit Em…“ he removed his hat and ran his hand through his hair. “How are you doing after everything? Is your leg okay?”
“Yeah, it’s okay. Sebastian didn’t let me put any weight on it that first day, so it’s been healing great. Barely even remember that it’s there.”
“Good.” His eyes scanned the bakery, landing on Stone sitting with his eyes glued on Emma. “And I see you’ve got better security in here now.”
“Another one of Seb’s demands. New cameras and locks, not just here but in my apartment, too. Oh, and that good looking stud over in that booth that keeps staring at me, he’s one of my new security guards.”
“Wow. Sebastian’s really going all out. Looks like you’ve snagged a billionaire’s heart.”
“I don’t know about that, John.” Emma laughed. “I think I’m just a pain in his ass and he doesn’t want anyone thinking he’s behind the attack.”
John stared at her, his expression blank. “Uh, no Emma. Men don’t think like that. He’s protecting you. You obviously mean something to him.”
She handed the cup of coffee to him, along with two double chocolate cookies.
“What’s this for?”
“For you and Katy. Don’t tell me that sweet girl of yours doesn’t need a treat. I take my auntie-status seriously.”
“Auntie, huh?”
“Well, as Daisy’s best friend, her baby is my niece or nephew. Daisy is Grace’s cousin, so that means Jack is my nephew. And Katy is Jackson and Grace’s niece, which means she’s my niece, too.”
John laughed. “It makes perfect sense when you say it like that. I’ll let her know her Aunt Emma is trying to spoil her rotten.”
“Perfect. See you later, John.”
Emma took a few minutes to wipe down the display case and wash up some dishes in the back before heading back out front. The bakery was in its midday lull, and Emma was thankful for the break. She took a chocolate cookie out of the display case and grabbed a glass of water, already knowing a certain someone at the corner table needed a pick-me-up.
“Alright. Here’s a water and triple chocolate cookie, which should be able to turn that frown upside down.” Emma placed the items in front of Stone. The poor man was living up to his nickname with his face stuck in a deep scowl. “Jeepers, what’s got you in such a bad mood?”
“Unfortunately, nothing I can discuss with you, beautiful.”
“Ahh, mysterious contracting work with the government not all it’s cut out to be?”
“Something like that. What did that deputy want?”
“Who? Oh, John? He wasn’t here for anything more than a coffee. Don’t worry, I’m safe.”
“Well that’s good, especially seeing as how I grabbed coffee from Seb’s office today and it’s terrible. Natalie seems like a great assistant, but she cannot make a good cup of coffee. Tasted like melted rubber bands.”
“Stone! Why didn’t you just stop in here earlier?” Movement on the sidewalk caught her eye. Ugh, Alan was on the sidewalk talking to someone she couldn’t see. “I cannot believe you would—” Alan moved, walking away from the shop and she couldn’t breathe. It was as if the world stopped turning, her eyes laser focused on the man he was talking to, now peering in at her as he began to turn and walk away. They locked eyes, and every fiber of her being ripped apart from fear. Those dark amber eyes pierced through her, making her stomach clench with dread.
Her body froze, and she couldn’t do anything except stare out the window. A noise in the distance jolted her mind. Was someone screaming? Was it her?
Her world was fading away. She tried to grab a hold of something before the floor came out from under her, and her hands desperately reached for the table that Stone was sitting at. Cold metal touched her skin and she snatched the utensil up, wrapping her fingers around it so tightly that she felt the sting of the metal digging into her skin.
“Emma?” Stone’s voice drifted in front of her but her vision was blurry. “Emma! What’s wrong?”
It wasn’t her step-father. She’d known this whole time, felt it deep within her bones, but was too afraid to believe it could be true.
Marco was there. She would never escape him now.
What she wouldn’t give for her world to go back to just a few minutes before, when she let herself live in delusion and prayed the big bad wolf was coming after her, not the devil himself. No, she wasn’t that lucky. His bald head was covered by a baseball cap, but there was no missing that disgusting sneer he had plastered across his face as he locked eyes with her.
She had to run. She needed to force her body to move. Run, Emma! Run because you’re life depends on it. Her chest hurt. Why? Why wasn’t her body moving like she needed it to? The old scar on her stomach ached, searing with a warning of what was to come. Her feet slid out from underneath her, knees failing to catch her before she crashed to the ground.
“You’re my wife, Imogene. You’ll do as I say. There will be no talking back, there will be no refusals. You are mine to do with as I see fit. And I say open that nasty, pouty mouth of yours and suck me off.”
“Emma. What’s wrong?”
“Fuck you, Marco. Y-you can’t force yourself on me. I can say no.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I can. And I will. You will fulfill the role of wife, in every way I demand you to.”
“I’ll bite you. I fucking will.”
“Is she okay? Should we call 9-1-1?”
“Such a nasty mouth for such a pretty little thing. I’d think with a mouth like that you’d have no problem doing what I’m telling you to do.”
Her world faded to black as the first punch landed on her face.
“You are nothing. You are no one now. There is not a single person in this world who cares about you. The last person in your broken family sold you to get out from your dead mother’s medical debts, and you almost weren’t worth enough to cover that.”
“I think we need to get her help. Emma dear? Can you hear me?”
“Get back here you bitch. You think you get to leave just because I’ve taken everything from you? I’ve broken you, Imogene, and your mine. You don’t get to leave me. I bought you and you are mine.”
“Sprinkles? Can you hear me? I need you to come back to me. Come back, you’re safe.”
Why was Marco telling her she was safe? He was never kind, or gentle. Had she gotten away? No, she couldn’t get away. She couldn’t escape. He’d always find her. He had found her.
“I don’t understand Marco, where is she? Where is my baby?”
“She’s with her mother.”
“She’s not. They haven’t brought her in here to see me. I’ve been asking, begging. Please, Marco, I’m in pain and I just want my baby.”
“No, you misunderstood me, Imogene. She’s with her new mother. The woman who will raise her. The woman who will get to watch her meet every milestone and make all the memories with her. You are not that woman.”
“W-what do you mean? You have them bring my baby to me, Marco. You can’t take her from me. I won’t let you take my baby.”
“She’s not your baby. She’s mine. You’re nothing but trash. Your whole family was nothing but trash. You don’t deserve to raise my baby.”
“B-but you let me s-set up her nursery. You let m-me name her.”
“So as not to upset you, and thus potentially hurt her, yes. I let you live in a fantasy for a while.”
“Emma? It’s Sebastian. You’re safe. Come back to me now, Sprinkles. It’s just you and me in your bakery. Stone and Hawk are outside, they’re protecting you too, but it’s just you and me in the bakery now.”
“W-where is s-she? W-what did you do?”
“Who? Where’s who?”
Emma recognized the baritone voice. It wasn’t Marco. Her mind was confused. This wasn’t the hospital. He hadn’t just taken her baby from her. She blinked the room back into focus and let out a sob as she looked into the safety of her favorite gray eyes.
“Sebastian? What happened?” The blood rushing between her ears made her head ache.
“Em. You’re okay. Just breathe, sweetheart.” Sebastian was down on his haunches in front of her, palms up as if he was trying to show he wasn’t a physical threat to her. Glass was scattered across the floor, a distant memory of her frantically swiping at Stone’s table shot through her memory. “I need to take that knife out of your hand and check the cut, okay?”
“I didn’t know…”
“No, it’s not your fault. You’re okay. You’re safe. Is it okay if I touch you?”
“Y-yes.”
His hand gently skimmed across hers, urging her to release the grip she had on the knife. Her brain registered the blood and her head swam.
“I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t look at your hand. Just close your eyes and take some nice deep breaths for me, okay? I promise I’ll get your hand cleaned up fast.”
“I’m safe. I’m safe with Seb.” She mumbled the words in between breaths, placating her racing heart.
“That’s right, Sprinkles. You’re safe with me. I’m going to help you over to a table and have the guys come back in, okay? I want you to just sit and take some deep breaths.”
“N-no, Seb. I can’t sit by the windows. M-my office, okay?”
“Okay. Let’s get you back there.”
He held her close to his body, and she leaned into him more than she wanted to. Her body was completely drained from her panic attack. She hadn’t had one in years, and some hopeful part of her heart had thought she never would again. How naive could she be?
“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked as he helped her sit down on the small sofa in her office.
“How did you even get here? Weren’t you in a meeting?”
“Stone called me. Said you turned deathly pale and swiped the knife off his table. You backed up, saying ‘it can’t be him, he can’t be here’. Did you see your step-father?”
“N-no,” she couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Okay…” his voice held a thousand questions and she buried her face in her hands, knowing she didn’t have the strength to share what she needed to next.
“I haven’t told you everything.”
His sharp inhale made her flinch.
“Will you tell me now?”
“No.”
“Why not, Em? If it’s something more, something worse, than what you’ve already told me about your step-father, I need to know.”
“I don’t want to talk about it more than once. So, if you think the guys need to hear it too, then you should call them. Because I’m not going to relive it more than once. It’s too much.”
“Sprinkles. Whatever it is, whoever you saw, I won’t let them hurt you.”
“Call them, Seb,” her voice was robotic and cold, but she didn’t care. He needed to know she was serious about this being the one and only time she relived everything. She’d chosen to stay and fight if her step-father was there. Now she needed to be brave enough to do the same. She needed to stay and fight Marco.
* * *
“Okay, Em. The guys are going to meet us over in the conference room in twenty minutes. Will that be okay?” He watched her eyes move to the door in her office and nod gently.
“I just need to lock up here. Melissa won’t be in to start her shift until school lets out this afternoon. I need to call Mrs. Simon too and let her know to pick up her order later. And the cookies for Addie’s dance class still need to be made. If I can be back here by?—”
“Sprinkles, all those things can wait, okay? You need to be resting.”
Her eyes snapped to his. Oh boy, there was fire in them, and a tightness in his chest eased knowing she was coming back from her panic attack.
“Excuse me? I don’t need rest. I need to make sure my business is operating so that I continue to have income to support myself. I won’t let anyone take that away from me…you, of all people, should know that by now.”
“I do know that, trust me. I can still feel the verbal slap you gave me a few weeks ago when I offered to buy this building.” He laughed and saw her eyes sparkle with just a little infusion of her prideful sass.
“I’m not weak, Seb. I was before, but never again.”
“No one thinks you’re weak. Hell, I think you might be the most incredibly strong woman I’ve ever met.”
She wiped her hands across her thighs, and Sebastian couldn’t help but sit down next to her and wrap his hands around hers to stop the nervous motion. “Do you think you could give me just one small clue as to what happened? I’m feeling very out of sorts trying to put things together in my mind.”
She shook her head, and for a moment he thought she really wouldn’t say anything before they were in his conference room, but then he heard her inhale sharply.
“I saw him Seb. On the sidewalk outside the shop,” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure at first. But he turned and I saw his face. He looked right at me, and I knew it was him. Those eyes…I could never forget how much hatred they held in them.”
“Who, Em? Who did you see?”
He couldn’t have imagined the words that would come out of her mouth next. They burned an ache into his chest that he feared might be permanently there.
“His name is Marco Santoro. He’s my husband.”