10. Chapter 10
O nce lunch was over, I was nice and full, and a little more used to the noise and people.
We headed back to Layla, who, hopefully, had some answers for me.
But I was nervous, too. What if my family gave me up on purpose, and I wasn’t kidnapped?
I didn’t remember much about them, but if they hated me and sold me, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I wish I could remember.
As if reading my mind, Angel said, “They better not have sold you. While we need information from them, I’ll probably kill them very slowly.”
I bit my bottom lip and turned my smile into his arm.
“Thank you.” The slaughter of my parents didn’t bother me as much as it should, probably because I had always been surrounded by violence and pain.
But if I was stolen from them, then it wasn’t their fault.
I could forgive them for not being able to find me.
We entered Layla’s office area and sat down as she clicked away on her computer, not even noticing us, or so I thought, before she suddenly turned and handed me several pieces of paper with faces on them.
“Okay, so I have a few leads. There were too many abductions over those years in this area. It’s fucking insane.
But out of those three years, there were four abductions with the child’s name as Luca, believe it or not.
Those images are of the parents who reported their kids missing.
But only one withdrew their report. I’m not saying it’s Luca’s parents.
It could mean their kid was found. Or it could mean they reported to have a record, then withdrew it.
They were also in Maryland. Two were in Virginia, and one I discovered in West Virginia.
Take a look at their faces and see if you recognize anyone. ”
“Do you think these kids you found missing could be part of a larger trafficking ring? Like Luca here?” Angel asked her.
“It’s possible. In the three years I researched, most abductions fell between 2011 and 2012. Then they slowed down in 2013. There are always abductions, but they rose between those years. I haven’t looked earlier, though, since we’re just focusing on Luca.”
“Well, I guess we’ll see how far down the rabbit hole this all goes.”
Angel rested a hand on my shoulder, and I looked at him.
How did he know I needed his strength? It had been so long, I wasn’t sure I could recognize anyone.
I wondered if I lost most of my memories of when I was younger because the longer I was in training from all the pain and abuse, the more I lost bits of my childhood.
I’d spent a lot of time in those early years getting lost in my mind.
A place that was safe from my tormentors.
The first couple from Virginia didn’t look familiar at all.
The man and woman both had really dark hair.
The only thing from my memories was the woman had blond waves like me.
The man’s hair was a darker brown, but not black-brown.
In the photo of the second couple, the woman had red hair.
That wasn’t them, either. There were no flickers of memories or recognition.
Last one .
With a deep breath, I looked closely at the man and woman.
The blanked-out faces from my mind were suddenly filled in by the faces in front of me.
The man had brown, wavy hair. Mine was wavy but lighter like hers.
He had brown eyes, and she had blue ones like me.
Even if I didn’t find them familiar, I’d know it was them because I looked like her.
“This is them,” I said, sliding the papers back to Layla with a trembling hand. “I think. They look familiar.”
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, but sadness wasn’t expected, especially learning they’d withdrawn my abduction. With a glance at Angel, I begged him with my eyes to let me hold his hand or touch him or something. I needed his angel wings around me right now.
His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were concerned, but he made no move toward me. I whimpered and shoved it back, as I was trained to do. Not here. Angel wouldn’t like it.
If Layla noticed, she said nothing about it.
“Okay, so we have Geoffrey and Margaret Davenport. That would make you Luca Albrecht Davenport. Albrecht is your mother’s maiden name, and damn if she’s not full of old money.
Geoffrey Davenport owns a prestigious bank in the Capital area. Your parents are wealthy as fuck.”
“If they are as wealthy as you say, they could have used their extensive resources to find Luca. Why didn’t they?”
“That’s a very good question. And it makes me assume something shady is going on since they withdrew their son’s abduction. Well, we don’t know one hundred percent if they’re your parents, Luca. Only a DNA test will verify it. But I’d bet my favorite dessert they’re your parents.”
I should’ve been happy she found them, and my gut was telling me they were.
But I didn’t know them. There were no lingering emotions toward them, and if they really did get rid of me or did not care to find me, then I didn’t want to know them.
My mood only soured. I didn’t expect to be happy, but I didn’t expect to be hurt as much as I was.
She went back to her computer and started typing away.
“There’s one more thing you should know, which makes me suspect of their involvement with Luca’s disappearance.
Mr. Davenport is the owner of Federal Bank Group.
It hit a major financial snag back in 2011 from some piss-poor investments.
It lost millions, and people were suddenly starting to pull all their money from the bank.
But here’s the weird thing. Suddenly, any information about the bank was gone, and the FDIC never investigated it.
And they most definitely would’ve investigated.
Apparently, the bank sorted out its financial woes, and it’s still in business.
It could be nothing. It could be everything.
I won’t know for sure until I do a deep dive.
“Dive as deep as you can.”
“Will do.”
“Give me their address. We’ll have a little chat with them. See if we can’t straighten this out,” Angel said.
Layla smirked, “Chat or torture?”
“If I find out they sold him or gave up on him because they didn’t care, they’re going to physically feel how much that pisses me off.”
“Ooo, I like it when you get all protective caveman.”
“I’m not… never mind.”
Layla snorted a laugh. The joke was completely lost on me.
“Let’s go, Luca. I’ll make you some dinner.”
He helped me to stand, and we said our goodbyes to Layla.
“A ngel?”
I whimpered, staring at myself, dripping wet in the mirror as I bled from my groin area.
I had to be shaved all over. The hair was bugging me and making me itch.
Shaving my face was one thing, but my body took much more work, and I kept cutting myself while I was showering.
I couldn’t see what I was doing for most of it.
Plus, Nanny usually waxed me. It was always done for me, and now I knew why they wouldn’t give me a razor.
I could have used it as a weapon, judging by the amount of blood pouring from me.
“Angel!”
He came barging into the bathroom like I was being murdered. Well, I was murdering my skin with this stupid razor.
He quickly scanned my body before looking away. “Jesus, get some clothes on, then tell me what’s the matter.”
“I can’t. I need to shave my body.”
“Why? Just grow it out. I don’t shave my body.”
“But I have to be smooth?”
His eyes finally met mine in the mirror. Angry eyes. “Why? Did that fucking pervert keep you smooth to keep looking like a boy?”
I simply nodded.
“Grow it out. You’re a man. Not a boy.”
“But it itches!”
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Once it’s grown out to where it needs to be, it won’t itch anymore.”
“Can’t you shave it for me? I’m bleeding. Nanny used to do it for me.”
His eyes drifted down, but quickly looked up again. He pointed at me and scowled. “Bandaids are in the drawer. I’m not fucking shaving you. Jesus…”
With that, he turned and slammed the door behind him, making me jump, and my eyes leak. I threw the razor on the counter and dug around the drawers for some bandaids. I had no choice now but to let it all grow out.
Angel was right. I needed to be a man and stop crying over stupid things like shaving.
Then again, I almost enjoyed being able to cry openly or get angry without being punished.
It was frustrating having these feelings, but at least I could get them out and not hold them all in.
Like every time I got angry, a huge weight was lifted off me, and I could breathe.
Still, I didn’t like the hair, though. I wasn’t used to it.
With a sigh and a sniffle, I cleaned up the blood and tears, then got dressed for bed, wearing a T-shirt and pajama bottoms.
I kind of felt bad for allowing Angel to buy me all that stuff for my room that I hadn’t slept in for the past four nights.
I didn’t exactly spend much time there at all because I had to keep being near Angel with that lingering fear he’d leave me, or someone would take him away. The nightmares didn’t help.
Stepping out into the living room, I found him on the couch, drinking that amber stuff and clicking through the TV.
As much as I wanted to, I sat next to him instead of on him.
I curled up my legs and tucked my body against his.
Cleo lifted a paw to jump up on the sofa, but Angel gave her angry eyes and a hand signal.
“She used to be so well-behaved.”
“She’s a baby and needs love, too.”
“No, she’s my guard dog. Besides, I do give her love. She’s just not allowed on the furniture.”
Cleo sat in front of me and rested her heavy head on my leg, looking up with sad, dark, soulful eyes. I petted her head as she exhaled a loud, rumbling sigh.
“Drama queen,” he muttered, then handed me the remote. “I don’t even watch TV unless absolutely necessary. You choose.”