My Mafia Babysitter

twenty-six

It had been almost four hours since we had left New York. The private flight was a little less than two and a half hours and when we had landed and drove back to Hale Manor, the first thing I made sure to do was safely place Violet in my bed. It took me twenty minutes, just sitting there looking at her, to realize I had gotten her back. I had gone several weeks without seeing this woman and I had gone mad in the process. Without her voice, without her smile... It was hard to wrap my head around her returning presence. 

She's here.

There was a knock at the door and Archor popped his head in, his brow furrowed in worry. I gave a nod, knowing he was referring to my bullet wound. Pulling the door shut behind myself, Archor leaned against me and wrapped his arm around my waist. 

"I'm fine." I grit, my hands involuntarily clenching onto him for support. 

"The fuck you are, I don't know how you made it this long and to carry Violet all this way? Man, you've probably fucked something up in there. You couldn't set her down for a second?" He shook his head at me as we turned down the hallway to the small hospital we had within Hale Manor. It was easier having trained professionals on payroll as opposed to going to a public hospital where questions would be asked. 

"No." I answered simply. He pushed open the door and helped me onto a gurney. It was a couple hours before the physician let me leave, doing x-rays to make there weren't any piece of the bullet left inside of me, pumping me with antibiotics to prevent infection, and stitching up the wound. I have a lot to do before Violet wakes up. 

Violet

My head pounded softly with with a dull ache at the front of my skull. Lifting my palm to my forehead, I rubbed the sore spot in homes of relieving some of the tension. My eyes flit across the room, something familiar about it but foreign in the fact I was in my childhood home in New York. This bedroom seemed eerily close Hale Man-

My heart hammered in my chest as I made the connections in my brain. Was I truly in New York. I slid from the silky confines of the satin sheets and when my feet hit the luxury carpeted floor, my palms began to perspire with anticipation. Reaching for the door handle, I slowly turned it and peered outside. Against all reason, my sight was met with the familiar halls of Hale Manor. My naked feet padded against the floor quietly, afraid that if I made a noise, I would wake up from this dream. It had to be a dream. I wanted to find Nik, I needed to find him. I needed to tell him I loved him and I missed him, even if this was all a figment of my imagination. Turning the corner to the hallway that lead to my old bedroom, I let my fingers trail down the walls, remembering my first day at Hale Manor. 

"I'm nineteen, not nine and I may be spoiled but I'm thankful for everything I have. I don't know what I did to offend you, but I do not deserve this!" I folded my arms across my chest. He was quiet for a moment before he slammed me against the wall, his warm breath fanned over my lips as he spoke.

"Little girl, do not push me." He laughed manically, "I may be in charge of keeping you safe, but I can make anything look like an accident."

My cheeks reddened at the remembrance of how embarrassingly turned on I was by Niklaus, even with his open threat floating in the air. My fingertips slipped across the keypad that allowed access into my room and the door's pressurized system lifted, opening the steel door for my entrance. Slipping into the room, the first thing I noted was that it was dimly lit throughout, the lights were not on but instead hundreds of candles lined the floor and furniture of my bedroom. Rose petals were sprinkled across the floor, along my vanity, dresser and bed, however right in the middle of the room, red petals were formed into four words.