“Why not?” I asked, but Silver ignored me.
“Take care of her,” he said to Caleb. He grabbed the door handle, but I slammed my hand against it to stop him from opening it.
“I can’t let you go out there,” I ground out.
“I know you don’t feel it yet, Jace,” Silver said softly as he turned to face me. “But you will.” His eyes shifted to Willa. “You’ll love her because your sister loved her and she’s proof of how strong your sister was. There will be a day you won’t see her as the reason your sister is dead and you’ll be glad you let this happen. Take her home, Jace. Take Willa home where she belongs.”
The fact that he’d known exactly what I was thinking had me stepping back.
“I’ll be okay,” Silver repeated. “Promise.”
I knew he was lying. I could see it in his pretty eyes. But when I shifted my gaze to the baby in Caleb’s arms, I knew it wasn’t a choice. I dropped my hand from the door and Silver took off out of it like a shot. I hurried to the window, making sure to stay out of view. I had no idea what the young man’s plan was, but my question was answered about a minute later when Silver rounded the corner from the alley. His hands were in his pockets and he began casually walking along the sidewalk away from the men, like he hadn’t even noticed them.
I heard one of the men call out to him in German and Silver looked over his shoulder. He pretended to be surprised, then he took off running. I expected some of the men to stay behind and search the building, but to my surprise, they all jumped into their cars andtook off after Silver. I could only assume that by him using the alley to get to the street, instead of the front door, the men hadn’t realized he’d been in this particular building.
Either way, I didn’t care.
The coast was clear.
“Let’s go,” I said as I grabbed Caleb’s arm.
I took the diaper bag from him and led him from the building. I took us out the very door we’d used to enter the building, but led Caleb toward the opposite street. It took just minutes to find a taxi, but I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until we were a good mile from the area.
I looked over at Caleb, who looked pale. His eyes met mine and I could see the same question in them that kept repeating on a loop in my head.
Now what?
Chapter 18
Caleb
I foundhim standing over the baby’s crib. I’d left one of the smaller lamps in the living room on, since I hadn’t been sure if the baby would be okay with sleeping in total darkness, so I could see the outline of Jace’s body as I approached him.
His back was to me. I could tell he had his arms crossed, and his stance looked rigid.
It was well past midnight. I was surprised I’d even managed to fall asleep, but between the lack of sleep while flying to Germany and the events of the day, I’d reached my breaking point. I had no doubt Jace had, too.
After getting into the taxi, Jace had spoken to the driver, but I hadn’t understood what he’d said. He’d revealed to me that he’d asked the driver to take us to one of the nicer hotels in the city. I hadn’t understood why he’d made the request until we’d reached the hotel. They’d spoken English so I’d heard all the requests Jace had made.
A suite with either two bedrooms or a living room.
A crib.
And someone to pick up some diapers and formula and bring them to the room.
We’d gotten all those things within twenty minutes of the bellman showing us to the room. Willa had woken up by the time we’d gotten to the room, so I’d spent a few minutes changing her diaper – a task I’d probably mangled since I’d never done it before – and feeding her again, since she’d seemed fussy. Jace had disappeared into the bedroom and I’d left him alone, because there’d been no doubt in my mind that he’d needed a few minutes to try and understand what the hell had happened.
He’d clearly been in shock from the moment Silver had confirmed Maggie was dead.
And there’d been nothing I could do for him.
It had been hard for him to look at the baby and know that his sister had died protecting the infant. I couldn’t blame him for the very thing Silver had brought to light – that he held some level of resentment toward the baby for being the reason his sister was dead. If Willa had been aborted or even sold, Maggie would still be alive. I knew the fact that Jace was even thinking those thoughts probably made him hurt almost nearly as badly as the fact that he’d lost his sister.
But I also knew him well enough to know that once he got past the shock, he’d fall in love with the baby as surely as I already had.
I’d never held a baby before, but from the moment Silver had handed her to me, I’d felt a sense of rightness go through me. I’d never known that feeling before, except maybe when Jace held me. The way Willa looked up at me with such trust…
Was that what Jace had felt when I’d given my trust so freely to him?
