“You’re doing it again,” she said.
“What?”
“Looking as if you’re solving the world’s problems.”
He rubbed her arm. “I’m not. It’s all good, Violet.”
She nodded, then put her plate in the ink. “Take me to bed, Amedeo.”
***
Violet had been so careful and had done what Amedeo had wanted, but she got tired of the driver as her constant companion. He was also a bodyguard and not inconspicuous because the man was huge.
Sometimes when she was out for a walk, she’d run into him when she turned around. She was sure he was good at his job, but she became frustrated when he was in the way. Weren’t they trained not to be in the way?
She didn’t try to get away from him when she was shopping. She knew better than that, but suddenly he wasn’t there. As much as she’d bitched to herself that he was in the way, her heart fluttered in her chest when she couldn’t see him.
She spun around in the store but Jeff her driver was not to be found. Shit. She didn’t know what to do. Had he gone to use the restroom? Had he gone outside? He’d never left her without telling her where he was going.
The whole situation was odd.
The saleswoman approached her. She must look like a wild-eyed freak.
“Can I help you?”
“I came in here with that big guy. I can’t find him.”
“Husbands often wander off.”
She chose not to explain that he wasn’t her husband. Too complicated. “Did you see which way he went?”
“I think he went out the front door. Text him. I’m sure he’s close. Was there any merchandise I could help you with?”
Violet eyed her for a moment. “No. I need to find him. Thank you.”
She returned the dress she’d been looking at to the rack then hurried outside. Once on the sidewalk, she still couldn’t find Jeff. She reached for her phone when a hand grasped her arm, guiding her along the sidewalk.
“Just keep walking.”
It wasn’t Jeff. Violet moved to turn around, but the hand tightened. “Just walk.”
“Who are you? What do you want? My wallet’s in my purse.”
“This isn’t a robbery. Now shut up and do what I say. Or I’ll kill you.”
Violet’s heart went into her throat. Her breath became ragged. “Okay.”
If she weren’t pregnant, she might have punched the guy. Life was approached every differently when you have another human you had to think about. The man dragged her into an alley then into a car. She braced her feet. If she got in the car, no one would see her again.
“Bitch.”
He punched her in the head. While she was recovering from a daze, he shoved her into the car. She landed on her side on the seat. He climbed in after her and closed the door. He shoved a hood over her head and the smell of smoke overwhelmed her.
She hadn’t had any morning sickness during the whole pregnancy, but now she was nauseated by the smell. She willed the bile not to come up into her throat. She doubted the guy who had manhandled her would feel any remorse about her vomiting in the hood.
She strained to listen to what was going on around her, but the car might have been soundproof. No one in the car spoke and she had no idea who was here and where she was going. She wished she could get to her phone. She could text blind, but her purse was in the other foot well as far as she could tell.
Damn. She’d been so good about her bodyguard.
She wanted to cry, but refused to give into the fear. Finally the car stopped. She was yanked to her feet then led into a door. Someone slammed her into a chair then tied her hands to the arms. The hood was ripped off of her head and she took a few gulps of air.
A tall, thin man stood behind a desk, observing her.
“Do you know who I am?” he said.
“No,” she croaked out.
She coughed the cleared her throat.
“I’m Papa Juliano. You hacked into my system and now you’re going to do me a favor.”
“Why would I?”
“Because the alternative is having that baby in jail.”
He wasn’t wrong. What she’d done was illegal even if she didn’t change anything. She had hacked into his system.
“I didn’t see anything.”
He came around the desk, making her strain to look up at him. “I don’t care. You’re going to help me with something.”
“What?”
“There’s a bill in front of Congress that I don’t like. You’re going to hack into several senator’s emails and find incriminating evidence that I’m sure is there.”
“Those are on government servers,” she said.
A capital offense if she got caught.