“You hit him with what?”
“My ceramic gnome, Wulbren.” She cried and limped further into my apartment.
“Oh.” I stared at her shellshocked. We weren’t close at all, but I would feel this amount of compassion for any woman.
I couldn’t say how long I stared at her, totally numb and overwhelmed by fear, but it had clearly been too long, when I remembered I hadn’t closed the door completely.
My door slammed open, hitting my shoulder and making me bump into the wall. Roy’s wild eyes landed on Elsie. She screamed as he charged toward her but in my tiny apartment, there wasn’t anywhere for her to run.
“I will kill you if you ever try to leave me!” He backhanded her hard, knocking her into my small dining table.
Where was Paolo? Why wasn’t he beating Roy to a pulp?
Terror like I’d never felt before crashed through me. Pippa and I needed help, but no one was around to deal with Roy.
Panic burst inside my chest, fearing the worst, that Roy had killed Paolo.
Elsie cowered, covering her face.
Roy grabbed her arm in one hand and slapped her with the other. “Don’t ever!”Slap. “Leave!”Slap. “Me!” Another backhand across the jaw sent Elsie crumpling to the floor.
Finding my voice, I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Stop! Stop hitting her!” Hopefully a neighbor called the cops. I went to Elsie and fell to my knees. Tears streamed down my face as I touched her arm. “Elsie? Oh, God. She’s unconscious.”
“She’s faking it like she fakes everything,” he said.
“You asshole! Look at what you’ve done to her.” I studied Elsie’s limp body and pressed my fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. Where was the right spot? I moved my fingers searching for the gentle pulsing that would reassure me that my sister was alive.
I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off Roy.
I should’ve swooped up Pippa and ran for help when he was beating up my sister.
I should’ve obeyed Ciro when he’d implored me to stay at the hotel to keep Pippa and me safe.
A burning pain shot through the back of my scalp as Roy grabbed a fistful of my hair and flung me back.
“Get away from her!”
I screamed, experiencing the worst kind of pain when my head hit the end table. Dots of light clouded my vision and I heard ringing.
“Mind your own fucking business, bitch!” Roy kicked me in the stomach.
I dialed into my Pippa crying while Roy continued to kick me and yell. My body jerked with each powerful hit. I slowly blinked, trying to stay awake. I needed to stay alive for my baby.
Dark globs burst into the room. Roy stopped assaulting me. Finally, I had a moment to catch my breath.
Pippa’s crying grew louder. It was like she was close enough for me to touch her.
I’m coming, lovebug. Mommy’s coming…
I tried to crawl and make my way to her. Please, God. Please help me get to my baby. I tried with all my might, but I couldn’t tell if I was even moving.
Suddenly, I couldn’t hear my lovebug anymore and my head hit the floor…
39
PAOLO
Three Hours Ago
