She licks her trembling lips but gives me a nod.
“Good girl,” I murmur, then kiss the uninjured side of her forehead. Ella comes back into the room with my requested items and sits beside Jules.
I stand and turn to face Theo, making sure I’m in front of Jules so she doesn’t have to look at him or have him see her. Only iron will and the woman behind me keeps me from pouncing on him again. His eyes are trained on me, and the sinister ire he’s feeling is palpable.
“Vicki, call the cops,” I say without moving my eyes from Theo. She pulls out her phone to do what I asked.
“Tell me, brother,” Theo sneers tauntingly, “is her pussy as good as you remember? Or was it only good when you had to force her? You’re just as fucked-up as I am.”
I ignore his jabs to provoke me. Jules is more important that fucking up his face further.
My voice is calm despite the fire raging through my body. “You ever fucking touch her again, you mark my words, Theo, there’s nothing on the face of the planet that will keep me from killing you.”
He throws the rag on the coffee table and gets to his feet. His wince of pain is satisfying but not nearly enough. An evil grin spreads across his face and his teeth gleam with blood. “You think you’ve won, but you have no fucking clue.”
I ignore his provocation and cross my arms over my chest.
“Aria,” he yells.
“She’s not going with you.”
“Fuck you, Luca. She’s my kid, and I’m taking her with me or I’ll have you arrested for kidnapping.”
“Give it a try, you motherfucker. We can stand here until the cops get here and let them decide, but you know damn good and well they won’t allow that child to leave with you after seeing what you did to Jules.”
His hands bunch into fists at his sides. He’s pissed because he knows I’m right. No cop in their right mind, whether from this side of the tracks or the other, would allow a kid to go with someone capable of the things he’s done.
His eyes shoot daggers at me. When they move behind me to the couch, I take a step forward, my arms dropping in preparation to take him down if I need to.
We glare at each other with loathing for several tense seconds, until a small voice captures everyone’s attention.
“Daddy?” Aria says croakily. I look toward the back door and see Aria standing in the doorway, her eyes filling with tears and her face crumpled in pain. Mom’s standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder, her own pain evident on her face as her eyes move from me to Theo. When they land on Jules, her hand flies to her mouth in horror and her eyes glisten.
Theo completely ignores his daughter, not even sparing her a glance. After curling his lip up into a sneer, he turns and stalks to the door. Once he has it open, he turns back. “This isn’t over,” he says with venom. The door slams behind him.
My eyes slide over to Dad to see his jaw jumping as he looks at the closed door. I turn around and get to my knees in front of Jules. Ella is lightly swabbing at the cuts on her face.
Gently, I grab her chin. “Let me see,” I murmur.
There are several small cuts on her forehead, one on the bridge of her nose, and several more on her cheek and chin. The damage looks worse than what it is because they’re head wounds and tend to bleed like a bitch.
“After the police leave, I’m taking you to the hospital,” I tell Jules.
She shakes her head then winces with the movement. She’s no longer crying, but her eyes are swollen and red. “No.”
“What do you mean no? Baby, we need to have your head looked at.”
“I don’t want to go back there.” Her voice cracks. “Please, Luca. I don’t want to go back there.” She grabs my hand and if I were a lesser man, I’d cringe at the crushing grip she has on it. Her eyes are wide and anxious as she pleads.
I unwrap her fingers from mine and bring the tips to my mouth where I lay a kiss against them.
“We’ll let Vicki look over them and see what she thinks.” Relief fills her face. I hate to make the look fade away, but I add, “But, if she thinks you need to go, I’m taking you.” My voice is stern, while still soft.
After a moment, she nods.
Ella scoots over so Vicki can sit beside Jules. She takes over the task of wiping away the blood and cleaning the cuts, looking at each one carefully to make sure there’s no glass embedded in the wounds. I keep Jules’s hand in mine and every few seconds she squeezes my fingers against the stinging pain.
“She should be fine,” Vicki says as she applies ointment over each wound. “They’re superficial so none of them need stitches. Just watch over her tonight. If she shows signs of sluggishness or disorientation, take her to the emergency room.”
“Thank you,” Jules tells Vicki.
Vicki’s eyes turn hard for a brief moment before softening. “You’re welcome.” She leans closer and lowers her voice. “He should have paid more for what he did to you.”
Before Jules has a chance to respond, Vicki gets up, collects the trash, and walks away. I could not agree more with her assessment.
“I don’t want to press charges,” Jules says quietly.
Ella, who has moved back beside her, freezes at the same time my body goes rigid.
“Why?” I ask through a tight throat.
Her gaze stays steady on mine. “Because he’s your brother.” Her eyes flick to Ella. “And he’s your brother.” She looks back to me. “And he’s their son.” Her voice lowers even more. “He’s her father.”
“Jules—”
“No, Luca,” she interrupts. “I can’t do that to her.” Tears fill her eyes and one sneaks down her cheek, sliding over one of the bandages. “I’m not saying she should go back to him. I don’t think she should, but I won’t be the reason she loses her father.”
Everything in me says she’s wrong. Theo needs to pay for what he’s done to Jules, and if I can’t deliver that punishment, then the law should, but the anguish in her eyes, the pure misery at Aria no longer having her dad in her life…. I can’t force her to press charges, even if my mind screams she should.
With a tight jaw, I give her a single nod, and she once again relaxes against the couch.
“Please, Gamma! I wanna see Jules!” Aria cries across the room. I lift my eyes over the couch and see Aria trying to break away from Mom, tears rushing down her red cheeks.
I look at Mom and give her a chin lift. “Come here, Aria.”
Mom lets her go and she runs over to me. She stands by my side but faces Jules, and I wrap an arm around her upper legs. Her little chin wobbles as she looks over Jules’s face.
“What happened to your face, Jules?”
Jules leans forward and smiles, but I can tell it hurts from the slight grimace she tries to hide. She cups the side of Aria’s face.
“I just had an accident with the bathroom mirror, but I’m okay.”
I can feel Aria’s body shaking beside me as she tries to be strong. I tighten my arm around her, offering the comfort she so desperately needs.
“It was my dad, wasn’t it?”
Her question hits every person in the room. Aria knows way too much for a girl her age, and it pisses me the fuck off that Theo doesn’t seem to care that he’s damaging his child’s view of him. Every single person has been impacted by his actions, and Jules and Aria have taken the brunt of it.
I can tell that Jules is having a hard time coming up with a response to Aria’s question. She doesn’t want to flat-out lie, but what else can she say but the truth, and the truth would be too much for Aria to handle.
I turn Aria toward me and make sure I have her eyes. Her little hands grab my biceps. “I need you to do me a huge favor, boo.” She gives me her acceptance with a nod. “Can you go into Gamma and Pa’s room for a bit and watch cartoons? I know it’s a scary time right now and you’re worried, but I need to talk with the adults. Only for a few minutes. Can you do that for me?”