Little Sofie bit her bottom lip and looked over worriedly at Millie.
“My tummy talks to me,” she said. “Is it okay, Big Me?”
“Of course it is,” she replied. “Aunt Melanie will enjoy having breakfast with you.”
“Okay,” Little Sofie said. “As long as you say it’s okay.” She leaned towards Millie and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then slipped off of Danny’s lap and gave Millie’s little baby bump two kisses. It was the first time she ever did that and Millie was shocked and once again, on the verge of tears. She looked up at Danny who also had glistening eyes. He took Little Sofie’s hand, the one that wasn’t clutching Teddy or the picture, and led her out of the study. A few minutes later, he returned and sat back down.
“Little Sofie never ceases to amaze me as she gets better,” he said.
“I know. I just wish it was faster and more consistent. She’s sitting with Melanie now but I wonder what the step back will be.”
“Maybe this time there won’t be one,” Danny said. Over the last couple weeks, Little Sofie made some progress in one area but in another area, she would move backwards. She sat with Annie and watched The Wizard of Oz but then pooped in her diaper. A handful of times Millie could get her to use the toilet but it was still too much of a struggle not to put her in a diaper every morning. And now with her eating issues again Millie’s worry for her niece increased.
Danny poked at her arm. It stung and she shot him a nasty look.
“What was that for?” she demanded.
“I was trying to talk to you but you were a gazillion miles away.”
“Just thinking.”
“Anyway, as I was saying. Melanie said you were struggling with figuring out the day for the kids.”
“I don’t know what to do,” she replied and frowned into her mug. Taking a drink, she savored the rich mocha flavor. Danny was becoming quite the home barista when it came to emulating the popular, fancy, and pricey coffees. The only problem was that she was only allowed one caffeinated cup a day due to the pregnancy. “I just want the kids to be safe and happy and I feel this new, stupid development of no video is going to force me to be a mean auntie.” Danny took the calendar and looked it over.
“Let’s just let the kids have their Saturday. Sasha will be at the bookstore and that’s a public place so he’ll be safe and for tonight, we’ll just ask him to be vigilant and not to stay out too late. Maybe go to an early dinner and a movie and then he and Lauren could hang out here for a while. I spoke with Agent McLey and they’ve asked the local police to provide unmarked lookouts at each of the houses where the kids will be staying tonight,” explained Danny.
“That’s a lot of extra manpower.”
“It is but the FBI considers the issue of no video as a concern and for today and tonight, at least, they’re willing to pony up the extra money.” For the next few minutes, they figured out who would take which kid where and then emailed the information to Agent Reynolds who then decided who would get an FBI partner for the day. Agent Reynolds would tag along with Matty, Millie and Little Sofie to therapy and Agent McLey would head to Karie’s art class with Danny. Melanie was going to stay with the rest of the kids at the house for the morning and they were safe with the FBI van in front of the house and, of course, the fence. McLey and Reynolds would go with everyone to Leo’s soccer game and then they would be done for the day. The sleepover kids would have the local police and Danny and Melanie decided to not go to Dr. Shelly’s dinner party.
“You should go. Matty will be here and the FBI’s in the van,” Millie said.
“No, we weren’t really excited about going anyway. If you and Matty don’t mind, we’d like to just hang out here tonight with you guys and Little Sofie and Annie.”
“Of course, you never need to ask but I just don’t like it when any of us back away from living because of the kidnapping,” Millie explained.
“I know but honestly, I’d rather just be around the house in case something arises in the case. Not receiving a video in September really has me wound up and worried,” he confessed. “I just have a gut feeling something is going on with Jack and Penny.”
“I have that same gut feeling.” Millie hated what she was going to say next but maybe it was time. “We’ve never discussed a plan for when the time comes and we have to consider something has happened to Jack.”
“And we won’t,” Danny said. Millie heard anger in his voice. “Jack not coming back is not an option. If we discuss a plan, that’s the same as giving up.”
“I’m not giving up, I just…” Millie let her voice trail off.
“Millie, let’s just focus on the kids, focus on a positive ending. Yes, there was no video in September. I told the children the kidnappers were probably holding off on a video just to hurt us. I’m hoping it’s just that.”
“Maybe they’re having technical difficulties,” offered Millie with half a laugh.
“Yes, maybe they are having technical difficulties,” Danny repeated, trying not to laugh. After a few moments, both siblings busted out laughing until they both were laughing so hard they were crying.
“I can’t believe we’re laughing about this,” Millie said and wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her t-shirt.
“I guess sometimes that’s all we can do,” replied Danny with a sigh. Millie checked the time on her cell phone. It was 8:34.
“We need to get the day started,” she said as Danny’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his back pocket and Millie saw his shoulders slumped and she knew why – the hope was it was one of the FBI agents but the slump meant it wasn’t.
“Hello?” he said. He rolled his eyes after a few moments. “Thanks for letting us know,” he said before disconnecting the call. “That was Nick at the guard shack. He said he’s had to turn away three news trucks and there’s several unfamiliar cars grouped in the middle school’s parking lot.” Karie’s school was located near the front entrance to Hidden Hollow, the Petrov’s gated community.
“Great,” Millie grumbled. “I have a feeling this day is going to suck.”
And suck it did. Despite having Agent Reynolds tagging along, Matty, Millie and Little Sofie were followed into Philadelphia by two paparazzi. While Matty, Millie and Little Sofie had a fun therapy session, Agent Reynolds spent the time figuring out a back way out of Dr. Abraham’s office but there was none. When it came time to leave, Millie gently shielded Little Sofie from the now dozen paps that stood outside the building. The little girl was too frightened to react until they got to the car where she had such a crying meltdown she threw up her apple juice and Rice Krispie treat from therapy and wet herself. Millie got her quickly cleaned up and into a fresh diaper and clean clothes and then Matty began the drive back to Voorhees. Millie texted Danny to see how he was doing and he was also encountering the annoying “photojournalists.”
The situation came to a head at the soccer game. Millie and Danny were doing their best to focus on Leo but there were so many paparazzi swarming the sidelines and pushing innocent parents aside that Danny took matters into his own hands. Leaving Millie, Matty, Little Sofie, Natalya and Karie – Annie was with Melanie who would drop her niece off at the birthday party – Danny walked to the parking lot of the soccer complex in the hopes of luring some of the photographers away. Millie handed Little Sofie off to Matty and ran after her brother. About half of the paparazzi followed him but when Millie took off, the rest of them came rushing behind her.
“Don’t do anything,” Millie warned him as she caught up to him.
“I’ve had it, Millie,” he replied angrily as the paparazzi swarmed around them.
“They want you to explode. They’re just waiting for it.” She said as the swarm c
losed in tighter. Danny ignored her and looked at the aggressive photographers.
“Leave my family the fuck alone! You are ruining the day for my nieces and nephews! Do you not care that you are disturbing them?” he screamed. “You’re nothing but a bunch of asinine vultures!” This only egged on the maniacs who pushed in closer and closer and screamed back both insults and questions.
“What do you expect when you never speak to the press?!”
“Does no video mean your brother’s dead?!”
“He looks terrible in each video. What torture methods do you think they’re using on him?”
“Is it true Jack was screwing around with the nanny? How much do you think the kidnappers paid her to set your brother up?”
That question was the last straw and Millie saw Danny charge at the offensive paparazzo who started charging at Danny. She knew this was not going to make matters any better so she did the only thing she could think of – she put herself in between Danny and the photographer. The photographer, a wiry guy with a possum-like face and strawberry blonde hair that needed a trim, had not put down his camera that had a long lens on it. He held it at the correct height so when his body flew at Danny, the lens smacked Millie squarely in the left temple. This threw her off balance and she fell sideways. Danny tried to catch her but everything was happening so quickly he missed her. Pain exploded a second time in her head as her left temple came in hard contact with something. The pain then jumped to her left shoulder. The last thing she remembered was seeing Danny hover over her before everything went black.
Chapter 32
Danny stood by the window in the darkened hospital room. Matty sat next to the bed and held Millie’s hand. She was asleep thanks to the pain medication. The doctors were keeping her overnight for observation. In the paparazzi melee, during which several were arrested, Millie suffered a concussion, needed a total of eighteen stitches, and broke her left collarbone and bruised her ribs. The sonogram reassured them the babies were okay. Despite the horror of the day there was a little light as the sonogram confirmed what the family had been joking about for a week. Millie and Matty were going to have twins.
It was actually a good thing Millie was smacked by the paparazzo’s camera as that kept Danny from beating the crap out of him and getting arrested also. As soon as he saw the camera lens hit Millie, he went to catch her as she fell but he wasn’t fast enough. Her head hit the corner of an SUV and her collarbone broke when she tried to break her fall. She was unconscious for about a minute and as the paparazzi started turning on each other, Danny shielded his sister. Agents Reynolds and McLey, along with several police officers, rounded up the more aggressive and violent shutterbugs and the one that hit Millie was arrested along with several of his cohorts.
Millie was resting now thanks to a non-opioid pain reliever. The doctor took the risk and ordered a CT scan of Millie’s head. It showed no swelling or bleeding in her brain which was a relief after taking two knocks to the head. The camera lens had cut her temple and she needed seven stitches to close the laceration and eleven stitches to close the gash from hitting the bumper. She’d need to take things slow for several days and would need some extra help around the house as her left arm was confined to a sling. Danny was just happy the incident didn’t end up being any worse and so was Matty. Danny had known Matty for almost twenty-five years and it was the first time he saw his good friend, bandmate, and future brother-in-law angry. It took a while for Danny to calm him down and when he did, Matty was suddenly inconsolable at the thought he could have lost Millie or the babies.
Also inconsolable were the three younger Petrovas. Both Karie and Annie were crying when Melanie and Sasha brought them to the hospital. Danny was able to calm them down and explain that Millie was going to be okay and she would be home the next day. Little Sofie, however, was beyond inconsolable and was crying and screaming so hard she couldn’t get her breath and her lips started to turn blue. Thankfully, they were in the ER and the doctors gave her just a tiny enough amount of sedative to calm her down and she pinked back up. Since the incident, she was very droopy and was currently asleep on the couch. He knew there was no chance she would go home with Melanie so he kept her with him.
The two incidents rattled Danny to the bone. Both Millie and Little Sofie could have died and Danny had no idea if his brother was even alive anymore. As he looked out at the darkened night of Voorhees, he wondered when the hell they were currently living in would be over.
How much more can we all take? he thought.
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Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 35
