Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
F eeling as if she’d been hit by a Mack truck, Scarlett kept dabbing at her eyes and couldn’t stop sniffling. Her face throbbed, exhaustion weighed her down like a two-ton boulder, and her nerves were raw. This had been the worst day of her life, and she couldn’t wait until it was over.
With an arm around Bella’s shoulder, they sat together on a bench in the mall’s security room with their shopping bags at their feet. The space was small, and thankfully, the security guy keeping an eye on them stood outside the door instead of inside the room.
Scarlett appreciated the time alone, though she couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d just gone through. Everything happened so fast, and each time she remembered the way that man snatched Bella, she started crying all over again. Her throat was sore, her voice was hoarse, and her tear ducts should be dry. Yet every few minutes a rogue tear slid down her cheek.
God, I just want to go home .
They’d been in the room for a few minutes, but it felt like hours. They’d answered questions one right after another until Scarlett told the security guy that she was done talking. She didn’t want to see anybody. She didn’t want to answer any more questions. She didn’t even want to be there. All she wanted was for her husband to arrive and take them home.
She kissed the top of Bella’s head, and her daughter burrowed deeper into Scarlett’s side. She hadn’t said a word since they walked into the room. They both had experienced something that Scarlett wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy, and she prayed they could move past it.
“Where’s my wife and daughter?” Antonio’s anxious voice filtered into the room, and Scarlett and Bella popped up from their seats.
When Antonio appeared in the doorway, Bella took off running and leaped into his arms. Scarlett, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to get her feet to move. Her heart split wide open, and her pulse pounded loudly in her ears at the sight of the man who consumed her thoughts. The man who had loved her unconditionally from day one. The man who had given up his life for her and her daughter.
Her husband.
The first person she thought to call after the incident. The only person she wanted to see or be with, and the man she loved with all her heart.
Oh. My. God. I’m in love with my husband.
The thought paralyzed her. She couldn’t move. Her thoughts were jumbled, and her emotions were all over the place, but the one thing she was sure of was that she was deeply and madly in love with Antonio Jenkins.
“Tony.” Scarlett rushed to him and yielded to the uncontrollable sobs that shook her to her core. She thought all her tears had dried up, but apparently not. But she hated that, with her crying, Bella started back crying.
“Oh, baby,” Antonio said, his voice raspy as he held her and Bella close.
Being in the safety of his strong arms felt like home. This was where she was meant to be. Nowhere else but with him.
Scarlett had lost all track of time and had no idea how long they stood together in that spot. Voices could be heard nearby, and there was some commotion around them, but she kept her face buried in Antonio’s chest. His strong and protective presence soothed her like nothing else ever could.
“That—that man tri—tried to take me,” Bella said. “I hit him, but he wouldn’t let me go.”
Fear and anger returned to Scarlett. She could have lost her baby… her heart.
“He—he hit Mommy,” Bella said in a small voice, and Antonio stiffened. His grip didn’t loosen, but it was as if he was frozen in place. Though her ear was against his chest, she couldn’t even hear his heart beating anymore.
“Come here, sweetheart,” someone said, and Bella was taken out of Antonio’s arms.
It sounded like Mr. Jenkins, and that was confirmed when Bella said, “Hi, Papa.”
After a few minutes, the room went quiet, and Antonio loosened his hold but didn’t release Scarlett. She was grateful. She just wanted to be held.
“You scared me to death,” he mumbled against her hair. His voice was gravelly as if he’d been yelling a lot. “It would’ve killed me if I lost you two.” He kissed the side of her head and Scarlett melted into him.
“I love you, Tony. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.” The words spilled from her mouth until he pulled back slightly.
Still sniffling, she lifted her head and dabbed at her tears with the heel of her palm. Her cheek and just below her right eye throbbed, but she was too grateful to be there in one piece to really care.
“I love you, too, baby. You’re everything to me.” He placed a tender kiss on her lips, then lifted her chin with the pad of his finger. Scarlett closed her eyes when he cursed. She didn’t know what he saw, but his anger was palpable.
“Your cheek is swelling. Why the hell didn’t they give you some ice,” he grumbled, but she didn’t respond. She just wanted to go home.
As if reading her mind, he said, “Let’s get you out of here.”
When he started to lead her away, Scarlett noticed the room had indeed cleared out, including her shopping bags. Her anxiety picked up when she thought they’d be going back to the parking garage. But she settled down when Antonio led her outside where an SUV sat idling at the curb.
Antonio opened the back door, and as Scarlett climbed in, she laid eyes on Bella.
“Hi, Mommy. Papa bought me Twizzlers,” she said, holding up the licorice.
“I see.” Scarlett couldn’t help but smile.
Kids. They were so resilient.
She glanced in the front seat. Liam was their driver and Mr. Jenkins was on the passenger side. They both gave her a nod, but neither spoke. Thank goodness. She was all talked out.
Scarlett rested her hand on her daughter’s thigh, needing to touch her. Apparently, Antonio needed something similar. He linked his fingers with Scarlett’s and held on tight.
She glanced at him, but he didn’t smile. Worry filled his eyes, and she sighed before laying her head on his shoulder.
Later. There’d be plenty of time to talk later.
* * *
I love you, Tony. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.
Those words played through Antonio’s mind as he paced his living room like a caged animal. Scarlett had finally told him what he’d been wanting to hear but on one of the worst days of his life. Still, he loved hearing them.
But right now, emotions warred within him. Every few minutes, he felt as if he was going to explode. Or hit something. Yeah, he definitely wanted to hit something. Better yet, he wanted to hit somebody, like the asshole who thought it was okay to hit his wife and try to take his daughter.
Just the thought had him gritting his teeth and balling his fists at his side.
“Son, have a seat before you wear a hole in the carpet,” his dad said.
He’d been shocked when his father walked into the security office at the mall. Apparently, Luke had called him.
Antonio shook his head as he thought about how the afternoon had played out. He and Liam had met Luke at the gym and were getting ready to play basketball, but then Scarlett called. When he heard her voice and she started crying hysterically, he hadn’t known what to think. He thought for sure she’d been in an accident or something serious had happened to Bella.
He was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating while the room around him spun. One minute he was standing with the phone pasted to his ear and the next, the guys were helping him into a nearby chair. Antonio had never been so scared in his life.
It wasn’t until some unknown woman got on Scarlett’s phone, filled him in on what little she knew, that he’d been able to breathe again—a little. After hearing Scarlett crying, he’d been in no condition to drive. Liam drove him and Luke to the mall. Once they got there, Antonio had run to the security office, anxious to get to his girls.
He had been glad to see his father, especially when he’d been able to distract Bella for a while. It all worked out in the end. While Liam drove them home, Luke had driven Scarlett’s car to the house.
Bella’s laughter floated up the stairs from the basement, and it made Antonio feel a little better. When they arrived home, several people were there including Ben Jr., Mahogany, and Jayden, as well as Mrs. Amelia and Makena. Now, the women were upstairs, and Ben Jr. was downstairs entertaining the kids.
Antonio sat on the sofa next to his dad and felt as if he had run a marathon. For the last hour, his emotions had been all over the place.
“Does Craig know anything yet?” he asked of his cousin-in-law, Toni’s husband. The former Cincinnati police detective was a law enforcement consultant and still had contacts at the police department.
“Not yet, but he’s working with the mall’s security, as well as the cops to figure out what happened. He’s going to do everything he can to find the guy.”
What type of person was brazened enough to snatch a kid from her mother like that? From a mall parking garage. Antonio knew human trafficking was real, but this? Trying to snatch his kid? This was a little too close to home.
Ben, Bella, and Jayden appeared in the living room.
“You need to hear this,” his brother said, his tone serious, which made Antonio straighten. “Sweetheart, tell your dad what you told us.”
When Bella didn’t speak or move from her spot, Antonio inched to the edge of the sofa cushion.
“Come here, Baby Doll. What do you want to tell me?” He stretched his hand out to her, and she hurried over, throwing herself into his arms. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
“That man said he was a friend of my dad, Ezra. I told him that Ezra wasn’t my real daddy.”
Shock blasted through Antonio, and he glanced at his father whose eyebrows were raised. They all had to be thinking the same thing. The guy had targeted Scarlett and Bella.
“What happened after that?” He watched her carefully. She was eight, and he wasn’t sure if she was remembering correctly, but what if she was? What if this person intentionally went after them?
“He…” she choked out, tears suddenly filling her eyes. Antonio’s heart was breaking, but he encouraged her to keep talking. “He got mad at me and grabbed my arm really hard.”
When a tear slipped down her cheek, Antonio wiped it away with the pad of his thumb and kissed her. “Thank you for telling me. I’m not going to let anything else happen to you. You’re my baby, and I’m going to always protect you. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay, but I’m not a baby,” she said with a little attitude, and a small smile spread across her adorable face.
He chuckled, loving that she could be tough while also being sweet. “Yeah, but you’re my baby. Remember that.”
“All right, shall we go back down and finish shooting pool?” Ben Jr. asked, and Antonio mouthed a thank you to him.
“Can we play a video game instead?” Jayden asked. “Bella’s not good at shooting pool.”
“Yeah, but I’m getting better, and one day I’m going to beat you,” she retorted and followed them back down the stairs.
Antonio glanced at his dad. “You caught that?”
“I did, and I think you’re going to need to get Scarlett talking.”
Just then, Makena and Mrs. Amelia came down the stairs, and Antonio and his dad stood.
“Is she okay?” Antonio asked.
“She’s tired, and I think she’s getting a little hungry though she insists she can’t eat anything,” Mrs. Amelia said.
“I’ll take care of that,” Antonio said.
“Good. I’m gonna catch a ride with your mom and dad. Call me if you guys need me for anything.”
“I will.” He hugged her, then kissed her cheek. “Thanks for being here for us.”
“Always,” she said.
When they left, Antonio fixed Scarlett a plate from the leftovers in the refrigerator. He also poured her a glass of wine and took it upstairs.
When he reached the bedroom, Mahogany was at the door. She held up the ice pack that he’d given Scarlett when they arrived home.
“Hey, I was about to head downstairs to put this back in the freezer. Also, I told Scarlett if you guys need me to keep Bella for the night, just—”
“No,” Antonio said, the word coming out harsher than intended, but he wasn’t letting Scarlett or Bella go anywhere without him. At least not until he got his nerves under control. “I mean, I need her home tonight.”
Mahogany nodded. “I understand. I’ll be downstairs. Holler if you guys need anything.”
She closed the door behind her, and Antonio set the tray of food down. He made quick work of kicking off his shoes, then climbed onto the bed.
“How do you feel?” he asked, scooting next to Scarlett while holding the tray on his lap.
“Tired, but I can’t shut my brain off. It’s like the whole thing keeps playing through my mind every time I close my eyes.”
“Okay. Well, how about we eat while you fill me in on what happened, and then we’ll get in bed so you can get some sleep.”
He cut a piece of the grilled salmon and fed it to her. Then some brown rice. “Bella said the guy who tried to take her mentioned Ezra’s name. Is that true?”
Scarlett wiped her mouth with a napkin and nodded. “Yeah, he knew us.”
He listened as she told him everything the guy had said and the moment she realized something wasn’t right. Antonio tried to keep his emotions at bay and his expression neutral, but inside, he was freaking out. His family could’ve been killed or seriously hurt.
“Tony, there’s only one way he could’ve known about me and Ezra… and Bella,” Scarlett said, her voice shaking.
He put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to assume Theodore and Alberta know about Bella. But what they don’t know is they’ve messed with the wrong family.”