Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
“I’ve got you, Gio,” I whispered against his temple. “Daddy’s got you.”
My words set off another round of terrible screams. I heard the distinct sound of glass hitting the floor and then my son was pressing his face against my chest as his fingers gripped my shirt. I held him close as I lowered myself fully to the floor. I let out a thousand silent screams as I comforted my child and promised him over and over that everything would be okay.
And when he finally fell silent what could have been minutes or hours later, I once again made my son the same promise I’d been making since the day he’d been taken from me.
That I would bring him home.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Remy
"Remy," Ronan said in genuine surprise when he opened the door. I figured it was probably pretty hard to surprise someone like Ronan, but I couldn't say that was something I'd been going for when I’d impulsively decided to have Stan drive me to the surgeon's house.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," I said. "Stan was just driving me to my apartment so I could get some more of my things since I'm still staying with Luca…" I let my words drop off as I realized how much information I’d shared with the man who probably couldn't care less about any of it.
"No, of course not, Seth and the kids are at the store. They like to make this big deal out of making my birthday cake every year. It's usually more about what theme they can surprise me with. Last year it was unicorns." The man stepped aside and motioned me into the house. I couldn't help but smile at the idea of the big, tough guy being presented with a cake covered in unicorns and rainbows.
"Unicorns, huh?" I said.
"Yep. There was even a little hat with a horn on it. Just for me," he added. I would've smiled at that too, if the family’s huge German shepherd hadn’t chosen that moment to come trotting around the corner from the back of the house. The large animal came to a stop when it saw me, but the little dog with it let out a yip and raced in my direction.
"Bella," Ronan said and the little dog came to a sudden stop, dropped down to the floor and began wagging her tail and whining. All of my muscles were locked in place as Ronan moved past me and went to pick up the little dog. I saw him make some kind of signal with his hand and then the German shepherd also dropped down to the ground.
"Let me just put them outside," Ronan began to say.
"No!" I called, my voice sounding sharp. "No," I repeated, trying to keep my voice more even. "Are they… are they friendly?" I pretty much already knew the answer to that, but I needed a reason to stall so I could work up the nerve to move closer to the animals.
"They are," Ronan said gently. Since I doubted Luca had told him about my fear of dogs, it meant the man had probably picked up on it the last time I’d been there. It seemed like a lifetime ago when Luca and I had taken Violet to his house. The reminder of Violet had tears threatening the backs of my eyes. She was leaving in a couple of days and while I did my best not to think about what that meant, any little memory of her was enough to bring me to my knees. I had no idea how I was going to deal with the actual moment when she walked out of my life for good.
I took a few steps toward Ronan who was still holding the little white dog. "Her name is Bella?" I asked. The bundle of fur was wiggling happily in Ronan's arms.
"Yeah, short for Isabella. Nicole won the opportunity to name her when we got her, and she was and still is rather obsessed with a certain brooding vampire and the beautiful new girl in town who wins his heart."
"Hi, Bella," I said as I reached out to let the little dog sniff my hand. She immediately licked it and wriggled in her owner's arms. I cautiously petted her head and when she didn't snap at me, I gave her a scratch behind the ears. "Um, you can put her down, if you want to, I mean."
Ronan eased the dog to the ground and while she happily rubbed herself against my legs, she didn't jump up or nip at me. I bent down to pet her some more and was rewarded with more doggy kisses. My eyes shifted to the German shepherd who was quietly watching us from the end of the hall. The animal thumped his tail when I looked at him, but it was still difficult to force myself to move toward him. "What's that one's name?"