Becca.The moment I screamed out, the man who had come up behind James hit him in the back of the head with the ass end of the gun he was carrying. James collapsed to his knees, his gun dropping to the floor as Sergei began to laugh."Was that honestly your poor, pathetic excuse of trying to save them?" Sergei asked as he stepped closer to where James was. "You're f*cking pathetic."He kicked James across the face. James' body fell to the floor completely as I cried out again. I couldn't watch this. Tally was begging for Sergei to stop, but it was as if nobody could get through to him."Please, please, just leave him alone. Don't hurt him!" I begged Sergei, who slowly looked over his shoulder at me with a smile on his face."Why do you even care what this man does, considering how he treated you? You are nothing to him. A piece of ass he happened to get f*cking pregnant."When Sergei said that, James's eyes connected with mine, and I saw the guilt lurking beneath. Just
Becca.Once upon a time, I would have considered myself to be absolutely blessed and extraordinary for the life I was fortunate to live. I didn't have to worry about the things that other people did. I grew up safe and away from the evils of the world.Yet, somehow that evil had managed to find me. Screams of terror escaped my throat as the sounds of gunfire, shattering glass, and chaos erupted around me. I wasn't sure if I was coming or going, but when I felt a tug at the confinements at my wrist I saw hope. Looking down, I saw Tally struggling with a knife to free me. Her panicked eyes widened as she ducked her head and flinched from the violence that consumed us."We have to get out of here," she said to me, trying to make her voice loud enough for me to hear but quiet enough that no one else could understand. Not that it helped.As soon as my hands were free, I reached down, freeing my ankles, but before I could stand, a firm grip on my hair had me yanked back. A c
James.Throughout my entire life, I thought I had known pain. However, when I saw my daughter die before my eyes, I realized I didn't even know what pain was. The pain of losing a child isn't something that I wish any parent to ever have to go through.The burning ache of losing my daughter was a feeling that would never be able to go away, a void in my chest that would forever remain empty. She was my pride and joy, my only child, my everything, and even though Becca was pregnant with my child, it was an idea that I still couldn't wrap my head around.How could I process anything when my sweet Taliana was gone?"James, I'm so sorry for your loss," Greg, the federal agent who had been working with me, said as he stood at the back of the open ambulance doors.I was angry with him. He was supposed to have been here. He was supposed to have been my back up, and had he shown up, perhaps my daughter wouldn't be dead. "You promised that you would protect her. Where the f8ck were
Becca.My life went in slow motion as I tried to grasp a handle on everything that had happened. I had been handed a newborn child that I was expected to take care of and a nanny who I was more than grateful for.But through it all, I was blindsided and confused.My entire world had been flipped upside down, and as I walked through the front doors of Allegra's house, I tried to understand how I was going to make it through everything."Why don't I go ahead and put the kettle on?" Allegra said softly as she made her way slowly towards the kitchen. "It's been a very hectic day, and we all need a rest."She wasn't wrong there, but the moment I thought about a cup of tea, it brought tears to my eyes again. That was the last thing Tally and I had done before hell broke out in her house, and I was left without my friend."Oh, Miss Becca, why don't I go ahead and get the baby settled in? It's been a long day, and you need rest," Sarah said as she held out her arms and allowed m
Becca.A week had passed since my grieving had begun. The moment that I had lost Tally, I thought the pain couldn't get worse, but later on, when I found out that I had also lost James, I completely shattered. Everything I once imagined was slowly fading away, and even though I had Neal by my side, I couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before I lost him.Staring at myself in the mirror, I contemplated how I would get through the day. The black dress that I wore hugged my figure, showing off my protruding bump. It reminded me of James, and with the black veil covering my red-rimmed eyes I tried to hide my emotions.To think that this was my life was not what I had expectedI still couldn't imagine the fact of James being gone. Yet, the reality didn't have to set in entirely in order for me to succumb to it. "I'll be strong for you," I whispered to myself as I rubbed a slow circle over my stomach. My child was my driving force to press forward.I was a hollow sh
James.What do you do when everything you have ever known has been taken from you?Do you shut yourself away, and pretend not to care? Is there a place that you can go mentally to help heal the internal heartache that makes you feel like you're on the verge of death? So many times I had watched others around me suffer, but never was able to understand the suffering because I had never been part of it. At least until now."Are you ready to go?" Greg called out from the open hospital room. The private room in one of their facilities had given me the time to heal while the rest of the world thought I was dead."Yeah," I replied as I shoved the last of my things into a duffel bag.Two weeks ago my daughter died, and from what Greg and the rest of his department told the world… I had died too. I wasn't going to have to go to jail due to everything that happened, but I wasn't going to have to go into protection. The way that Greg broke it down to me was that staying part o
Becca.When I arrived at James' company, I was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. Neal had been waiting for me outside the building, and as much as I wanted to find that happy moment, I didn't.Simply because I knew what was coming. "So the guy is willing to buy it from you without issues. He is an investor from Italy and actually knew James personally. He has importing and exporting businesses all over the world," Neal informed me as I stood in the elevator with him, watching the floors tick by."Okay." My shallow reply seemed to cause him to stop in his words as he gently grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him."Hey, if you're not ready for this—""It's okay," I quickly said, cutting him off. "It needs to be done, and I have to get through this. Afterward, I want to talk to you and Allegra about going somewhere.""Oh?" He smiled. "Where might that be?"Rolling my eyes with a soft smile, I shook my head at the same moment the doors of the elevator o
Becca.When I left James's office, millions of thoughts ran through my head about what was going to happen. But one thing was for sure, I needed to take my father's advice and change scenery. For too long, I had struggled and fought with everything that was going on, my emotions completely messed up and everything else in my life going a little haywire.I had to get myself together. I had to put my big girl panties on and take initiative for what was going on in my life. And I had to do it soon because before I knew it, a child would be born, and I would be responsible for that child.The soft knock at the front door let me know that Neal and Allegra had arrived, and as the door opened, I turned, looking over my shoulder to see their smiling faces enter through the doorway. "Hey, guys. I'm glad to see you could make it.""Well, of course, we would make it silly." Allegra laughed as she took off her coat and hung it on a nearby hook. Fluffing her blonde hair out, she stepped