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Frustrated and angry, I let out a growl and slammed my fists into the steering wheel.Damned be Hunter Knox! Was everything a lie? All the sweet moments we shared? The warmth I saw in his eyes when Sofi crawled to him and hugged his leg? The whispered beautiful words that he gifted me in the dead of the night? They had to be. He played me like a fucking toy. I believed with everything I had that he still had a heart and I fought like crazy to save it, but maybe I was too late. He was turning his back on everything we could’ve had.
A ravishing desire to turn around and scream in his face exploded inside me. What a fucking hypocrite he was—hurting and blaming himself because he wasn’t there for Elena, but choosing to walk away on her daughter. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me. I wanted to tell him that his sister would be ashamed to look at him right now.
He lost the person he loved most in the world and all that ugly sadness was destroying him. I tried my best to be there for him and guide him to the light, but it was useless. Hunter decided to sleep with his fear and anger at night.
And now I stole a baby.
The tiredness got the best of Sofi and she started to wiggle in her seat, screaming to get my attention. When it didn’t work, she took it one step further and began crying.
“Shh, little girl. It will be over soon.” I lied. I had no idea what I’d dragged myself into.
What was I doing? Poppy was right, this wasn’t just insane, it was also illegal. I could end up behind bars right next to Michael. Taking Sofi away was a knee-jerk reaction. All I wanted was to protect her.
After twenty more minutes of driving, I was back in Hunter’s neighborhood, close to the park where we took the baby out for a picnic. My only aim was to stay on the move, but Sofi’s cry grew louder and louder and eventually, I had to stop to attend to her. I pulled up into the closest parking lot and went to her, but it didn’t help. I tried giving her a bottle, but she pushed it a way. I tried a toy, I tried snacks, but all they did was anger her further. Not once since I became her nanny had I seen Sofi look so angry, with her little fists clenched and cheeks burning red. Maybe she could sense my distress and that was what triggered her.
“Ok, baby girl, I’ll take you out of the car. We’ll got for a walk, ok?”
She loved it every time we went for walks at night, even if it never happened outside Hunter’s yard. I picked up the car seat and walked her to the park, finding a bench under one of the lights. This place was completely creepy at night, but I had no time to worry about that. I was too focused on playing with Sofi’s feet so she’d forget her anger.
“I know you are tired, my lovely. I just…” I sighed and couldn’t stop my tears. She should have been in bed now, in her home, with me and her uncle looking over her.
The baby was exhausted and so was I. It must have been two hours since we left, maybe three, and with every passing minute things got worse. I was a fucking fugitive, hiding Sofi away from her uncle. Was he looking for us? Certainly. A flash of pain crossed my chest, thinking about what Hunter must have felt when he walked into the house and found it empty. Even now, when he’d broken me to shreds, I couldn’t stop worrying about him.
Poppy was right, I had to go back. This wasn’t helping anybody. Sofi was tired and I was terrified and alone. I would give an arm and a leg to get to keep her in my care but if I’ll be arrested for kidnaping, that will never happen. I had to call Hunter and try to plead my case.
With shaking hands, I pulled my phone out of my jeans and opened it. The screen violently lit up with messages and missed calls, most of them from Hunter, but there were also a bunch of calls from Poppy. She texted me, begging me to come to my senses and not wander through the streets with Sofi. Without thinking twice or risk losing my courage, I pressed the button and dialed Hunter. He answered after the second ring.
“Amelia?” He exhaled. The sound of his voice was petrifying. I couldn’t tell if he was livid or sick with worry.
“Yes,”—I swallowed.—“it’s me.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. Tell me you’re ok. Please, kitten, tell me you and Sofi are all right, so I won’t lose my fucking mind.” The desperation from his side of the phone was palpable.
Why had he sounded like he cared?
“We’re good. Hunter…don’t.” I was choked up by tears.
“Don’t? What are you saying, Amelia? I can’t understand. I came home and neither you nor Sofi were here. What the fuck happened? Where did you go? Why?”
“Don’t do this. I’m begging you don’t give her away.”
“Amelia, what did you do?”
“I…” I was caught off guard by someone else talking to Hunter.
“Wait a minute,” he told me and then I heard him saying I was on the phone. “Amelia, my house is filled with police, my security detail is going crazy looking for you. Why did you leave like that?”
“I couldn’t let you take her.”
“Take who?”
“Stop it, Hunter. The woman from the adoption agency came too late. I was home!” I screamed like a madwoman. “Why? This child needs…why can’t you love her?”
“Kitten,” he whispered like was talking to a cornered animal. “I need you to calm down. Whatever you did can be undone. All you have to do is take a deep breath and tell me where you are so I can come and bring you two home.”
“I’m…Please, Hunter, give her to me.”
“Amelia, I don’t know what you think—”
