Page 47 of Little Deer
“Thank God, I was going crazy,” Sofia huffs. “Not that you ladies aren’t lovely company, but being cooped up in one place for so long has me antsy.”
“I know the feeling,” Kida agrees. She gets to her feet and they all help each other up, but I get to Lucy first.
I reach down and help her, supporting her as she tries to soothe Soren. She gives me a tired smile, and I murmur, “Would you like me to take him to give you a break?”
“Not unless you have a pair of boobs,” she jokes softly. “He’s been sleeping a lot of the time, and he’s probably getting hungry. And his diaper needs changing. Once we’re out of here, I can get him settled hopefully.”
“We can accomplish that quickly.” I turn and lead them back to the exit that leads into my walk-in closet. All of them quickly climb out.
“Where is Alessio and the others?” Sienna asks.
Before I can answer, the bedroom door opens, and I see Alessio, Lazaro, and Nico all hurry in. Gia, Sienna, and Amara move to their men, leaving the room without a backwards glance.
“I need to get down to the kitchen and see to the staff,” Sofia tells me. “Have they been secured?”
“All good.” She gives me a grateful look, tells Lucy to let her know if she needs anything, and then hurries out.
“Well, I guess I better go and see what I can do,” Rori sighs. “Even though no one trusts me, I don’t like to be idle.” I catch the bitter note in her tone.
“Rori, Nico was being an ass and you know he doesn’t trust easily. It’s not an excuse, but we’ve already taken him to task for it. Or rather, Alonzo did.”
She doesn’t react to that, but when she leaves with Hades, her shoulders aren’t as stiff. Hopefully my best friend doesn’t screw that the hell up.
That leaves me with Kida and Lucy.
“Do we get to know what’s going on?” Kida asks me, brow arched.
“We’re still figuring it out ourselves, but the threat is gone, so we figured that you didn’t want to be left in there too muchlonger.” I see Lucy head for the bathroom out of the corner of my eye, trying to calm Soren down. I want to go after her, but I force myself to stay where I am.
“You’d be right.” Kida looks at the now shut bathroom door and then back up at me. Her eyes take on a warning look. “Don’t think I don’t notice the way you look at her. She’s not going to be some temporary fling while this entire shit is going down. She’s been through so much more than you know, and I won’t see her hurt again. It’s the only warning I’m going to give you. Hurt her, make her question herself even a little bit because she trusts you, and I don’t care who or what you are. I will gut you and leave you for your father to find.”
Then she turns and stalks out of the closet. I stare after her a moment. I’ll give the woman props, she’s got a big set of balls to be threatening me so openly. I also understand it. If I thought Sienna was fucking over Alessio, I wouldn’t hesitate to warn her about what would happen.
I push that thought aside and head to the bathroom door, knocking, and hoping she can hear me over Soren’s angry cries.
“Soren, it’s alright,” Lucy says desperately. “Shhh, it’s okay.” I frown. “I know, I know, you’re all out of sorts now, aren’t you? Me too, baby, me too.” She sounds so frazzled and sad that it hurts my heart.
“Lucy?” I really want to just walk in, but I doubt she’d welcome me with open arms.
Lucy makes a sound. “I need another diaper. Can you have Kida grab me one out of the bag in the back of the closet?”
I look around, and head for the bag, grabbing what she asked for. I knock again, and when it opens this time, I see Lucy holding a naked, screaming baby in her arms, and a desperate look on her face. “Let me help,” I tell her, stepping in. “What do you need?”
“I need to get him in a new diaper, fed, and then hopefully back to sleep,” Lucy answers, tone strained. “But I need to pee so bad that I’m not sure how I’m going to do both.” Her eyes are a little wild and desperate. “And I need a shower because I’m pretty sure I’ve bled through the pad because I’ve been wearing it so long.” She sounds like she’s going to cry. “And I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.”
“Hand him over,” I order. She shakes her head. “Lucy, hand me Soren and go and look after yourself,” I say, hardening my tone so she understands I mean it. Her lips quiver, but she must see that I’m not going to budge because she hands him over to me carefully.
“Is Kida still around? She can help you?—”
“Lucy,” I interrupt. “We’ll be fine. I’ll grab everything Kida tells me and we’ll get him settled. When you’re freshened up, then we’ll get him fed, yes? Now, I want you to shut this door, and do what you need to do. I don’t want you to leave this bathroom until you’re feeling better. Do you understand?”
I see the same reaction that she gave me in the passage. That submissive downcast of her eyes and the way she replies, “Yes, Massimo.” Then she turns away, shutting the door behind her.
My blood heats, but I force myself to ignore it. I have a screaming baby to attend to first. I grab the items from the back of the closet that I’ll need, and a new sleeper outfit for Soren, before I head back into the bedroom. I look around for Kida, but the bedroom door is open. Guess she decided to leave after that little confrontation.
I look at Soren’s red, angry face, streaked with tears. “Ometto, you and I are going to have to make this work, alright? Your mama needs a break. So, let’s get this figured out and then we’ll get you fed.”
Trial by fire. Good thing I don’t mind a challenge.
