Doing a quick scan of the tiny space, I still didn’t see the tablet. I lifted couch cushions but didn’t find it there either. My heart rate picked up as I saw one of the tiny drawers on the sideboard ajar. It wasn’t unease that slid through me this time. It was sickness. A nausea that had bile churning.
I hurried over and slid the drawer open. I didn’t have expensive jewelry. Anything Roman had ever given me had been sold long ago, either by him in a quest to ease his pain, or by me, trying to get back on my feet. Everything was costume now. Things I wore to look nice at my job.
The only thing of value I had left was a necklace that had been my grandmother’s. It wasn’t littered with precious stones, but itwasgold. A locket adorned with a bumble bee, a marker of the phrase she’d always said to my grandfather and me.“Love you more than a bee loves honey.”Inside it was a photo of her and my grandfather right before he left to serve in World War II. That photo was the real jewel. Because you could see the love they shared. The love I’d always dreamed of but never had.
My fingers stretched to the back of the drawer where the box lay. The second I felt it, I breathed deeper. Pulling it out, I quickly opened it, and the world fell away. There was no gold locket inside, no promise of a forever love. It was empty.
Pain sliced through me. Roman had been here for thirty minutes today. That was all. But apparently, that was enough time for him to do this. I didn’t let him have unsupervised visits with Luca. Not after everything. And I always checked his pupils when he arrived, a practice I’d never have thought to do before.
But he wasn’t high today, at least not as far as I could tell. He’d been happy to see Luca. Was cordial with me.
I ran over the visit in my mind. The snack I’d served them both as Luca chattered about school and showed Roman a hockey video on his tablet. But then my manager at the restaurant called, and I’d stepped into Luca’s room for five minutes to take it.
Five minutes, where Roman had free rein in my apartment.
I was so stupid. If the last few years had taught me anything, it was that I didn’t have the luxury of trusting anyone. Hot tears stung my eyes as my fingers tightened around the empty box. Apparently, it was a lesson I still needed to learn.
A knock sounded on my door, and I swiped at my face. Marilee was coming over to watch one of those teen dramas with a love triangle between a vampire, a werewolf, and a clueless human girl. But I was the real clueless one.
I hurried toward my door, trying to paint a mask of cheeriness because Marilee would lose it if she knew Roman had screwed me in yet another way. I unlocked the door without checking the peephole and quickly opened it. “Sorry, I?—”
My words cut off as I took in the two hulking men in the doorway. Living in…not the best part of town, I had a radar for who to avoid. If I’d seen these two on the street, I would’ve crossed to the other side. They were both stocky with thick necks, the muscles bulging off the sides and bleeding into their shoulders. They were also covered in tattoos that were an array of images and text in a language I couldn’t read.
“Is Roman home?” the slightly taller one asked, his accent Eastern European of some sort. Russian, maybe?
My stomach pitched at the question. “He doesn’t live here. He’s never lived here.”
The man’s mouth kicked up on one side. “Don’t lie. I hear it causes wrinkles, and you’re so pretty.”
Bile surged up my throat, but I squared my shoulders, refusing to show fear. “Check with the Baltimore County Court records. We’ve been divorced for over a year. He lives in Pulaski.”
The slightly shorter man’s eyes flared in surprise before he hid it. “He was evicted from that spot over three months ago. Said he was staying here now.”
Evicted?My mind raced at all the lies Roman had spun over the last month.
“As far as I knew, that’s where he was living. I don’t have anymoney to pay off whatever debt he probably owes you. If he was here, I’d shove him right out the door. He’s been lying to me for the last three years?—”
“We have a source who said he was here today,” the taller man said.
I stilled.Hell.Whoever these guys were, they weren’t messing around if they had eyes on my apartment. I prayed for a neighbor to open their door. Ideally, the twenty-something down the hall who was into mixed martial arts.
“He was. For about thirty minutes. And then he left,” I said, my hands beginning to tremble. “He’s not here, and I don’t know where he went.”
The larger one’s eyes narrowed on me. “Well, it’s a good thing we don’t need him here for this. You’re going to be a warning for your husband. And if he doesn’t hear this, we’ll go for the boy next.”
I moved faster than I ever had in my life, rushing to slam the door. But I wasn’t fast enough. The man’s booted foot stopped it from closing, and he gave me a hard shove into the apartment. I opened my mouth to scream, but it was cut off by a blow to my temple that had me seeing stars.
Before I could get my bearings, a punch landed in my ribs and stole my breath. But I didn’t even think about the pain. All I could think about was Luca sleeping twenty feet away. No one would fight for him but me. I was his only protector.
My palm came up in a strike, and the man cursed as his nose began to bleed. The second man laughed as he said something in a foreign language but quickly moved in with a hook that landed on my cheekbone.
White-hot pain flared in my face, but I still tried to land a blow on him, too. I wasn’t strong enough. The first man spat out blood in my hallway and then kicked me so hard that I crumpled to the floor.
They didn’t stop. Blow after blow landed until I knew I was fading, and all the while, there was only one name on my lips.
“Luca.”
1
