Reign Of Vengeance

Chapter 3

Emilia

I find a quiet parking lot to rest for a while so we can continue to Maine, where I can buy us plane tickets to Florence, Italy where my friend Theo lives. Seth knows nothing of Theo so I will hopefully be safe there until I can get on my feet. Tomorrow, I will go to a library so I can get Theo's information and contact him, let him know I am coming. I finally get a look at my face in the mirror. I have a swollen black eye and a busted lip, I am sure my wrist is sprained, and I know some of my ribs are broken, or at least fractured. I am in agony, but I will worry about myself once I know we are safe. With a plan formed I let myself shut my eyes and relax for a moment.

I wake to small fingers running over my busted lip and I open my eyes to see Alessia with tears in her eyes as she signs "I am sorry, Mama. You are hurt because of me."

"No baby girl, don't you be sorry. It should be me that is sorry that I didn't get us out of there sooner." I tell her as I hug her close to me and kiss her head.

"Mama, you took all of those beatings to keep me safe. Why Mama?" She signs while looking up at me.

I push her hair behind her ears, gently rubbing my fingers over her bruised cheek. "I want you to listen to me, Alessia. And I want you to listen to me well. It is my job as your Mama to protect you and I will do so until the day I die. You are my world and I am sorry we had to live there so long, but after we eat, we are going to go to a library so Mama can contact her old friend and we will live with him for a while."

"OK Mama" she signs for me and I kiss her forehead. I am lucky to have her as my daughter. We get out of the truck; and, after locking it; we walk into this cute diner. We are greeted warmly by a beautiful woman. I smile shyly at her as I take in her features. She has a heart shaped face with soft features and gorgeous hazel eyes. She has her brown hair in a messy bun on top of her hair with a pen sticking out of it.

When she sees mine and Alessia's appearance, she leads us to a booth in the back of the diner and grabs my hand with an encouraging smile on her face.

"What do you need, Hun?" I start to order us pancakes and she shakes her head no. "I will take your order in a minute, but what can I do to help get you both somewhere safe?"

"Can I use a phone and computer to look up my friend's number so I can get his address in Italy, please?"

She nods to me "Of course sweetie. My name is Aurora. What is your name?"

"My name is Emilia, and this is my daughter Alessia."

"Welcome, this is my café. I will place your order on the house, and you will eat, then I will take you to the office. My husband will be done on the computer by then." She takes our order and then leaves.

She leaves, and I look over at Alessia who is enjoying coloring in the coloring book Aurora gave her. "The nice lady Aurora is going to let us use her phone and computer, instead of going to the library but you still need to be on her best behavior."

"I like her Mama. She is really nice." she smiles as she signs to me.

"Yeah, she is." I agree as Aurora comes back to our table with our food. I thank her and we dig in, enjoying the taste of something besides sandwiches. Once we finish, I go to pay for the bill, and she insists that it is on the house, which I am so appreciative of.

She leads us back to her office and we are met with a man with huge muscles and broad shoulders who is covered with tattoos. His brown hair is styled in a comb over. Even though he seems rugged when he looks over at us with his green eyes, his rough exterior seems to melt at the sight of his wife.

"Mi amor, is this who you were talking about?" He asks Aurora. "Yes Ace, this is Emilia and Alessia," she says. He bends down to talk to Alessia, but she tenses up and hides behind me. (My Love)