Page 52 of Diary from an Inked Throne

I stared into the lens and wished I’d prepared a speech. But I hadn’t. I’d organized this entire thing in a hot-headed rage and hadn’t given much thought to the details.

It wasn’t hard to get that anger back though. I felt it in the way Nyah took my hand and squeezed my fingers. In the way Dax stood stoically beside her, a man who’d already lost his mother and couldn’t live through the pain of losing a child as well. In Lynx outing himself to the world, if it meant people understood that James was ours.

And someone had taken him.

“I’m Luca Guerra, and I’m asking for your help. Six weeks ago, my uncle, Enzo Guerra, took my newborn son, and he’s been on the run ever since. We’ve tracked him through multiple states, getting close but never close enough.

“Our son’s name is James, and he needs his mother.” I fought the lump rising in my throat. “And we need him home.” I hardened something inside me before it could consume me and I couldn’t talk. “So, Enzo, I’m asking you to give yourself up. To walk into the nearest police or fire station and hand over the baby unharmed. You have twenty-four hours to do that.”

Randall lifted his gaze from his notepad, surprise in his expression. “Sounds like there might be more to that ultimatum. What happens if he doesn’t?”

My jaw clenched. “If he doesn’t, then I ask everyone watching this to help us. I’ll pay a million dollars to any person who brings my uncle and my child back to me.”

Randall blinked and then faced the camera. “A huge, desperate call from millionaire owner of the Saint View Vipers, Luca Guerra, tonight. But one I get the impression he’s good for. And who could blame him? Wouldn’t we all pay a million dollars for our children if we had it? And the Guerra family definitely has it. All I can say is, if I was Enzo Guerra right now, I’d be pretty damn scared.”

17

NYAH

Dear Diary,

I can never look at a fruit bowl the same way again.

The reporters didn’t waste a minute. Within an hour of Luca staring down the camera and putting a bounty on his uncle’s head, one that would ensure the entire world knew Enzo’s face, the press had the story plastered everywhere.

Each one had a slightly different spin on it. Randall had almost completely avoided mentioning the four of us were in a relationship, instead focusing on Luca’s family and the bad blood between them.

Other sources had homed in on the team aspect and how all of this would affect the Vipers for the rest of the season.

But most were delighted to spill all our family business to the world. The twenty-four hours we’d given Enzo to turn himself in came and went, as we’d expected it would, but the headlines went on for days. Lynx dropped one on the kitchen table over breakfast, with a laugh that had only come after days of living this nightmare.

“Look, I’m the star of this one.”

I peered over his shoulder and read it out loud for Luca and Dax to hear. “Saint View Vipers in Crisis after Coach Admits: The Baby is Mine too.”

Dax smiled around his coffee mug. “My personal favorite is still, Team Owner ‘Back from the Dead’ Reveals He’s Raising a Child with Coach, Tattoo Artist, and Mafia Princess.”

“Still dirty they stole my nickname,” Luca muttered.

Lynx patted him on the back. “It’s not like it was very original to begin with.”

It was only funny because if it wasn’t, I’d cry. “I like that they dug a little deeper on my background for that one, you know? Shows they aren’t lazy. What’s your favorite, Luca?”

He sipped his coffee. “I’m partial to the simple, yet biting, Vipers Season Still Not as Messy as the Owner’s Personal Life.”

Dax laughed and leaned back on his chair. “I like the snark in that one. But I think it’s working. The store has been busier than ever this week, and every person who’s come in has asked about James.”

I poked at a piece of toast I’d slathered with jam. “There’s a massive pile of flowers and balloons and baskets with teddies outside the gates now. I had Viktor bring some of the cards in, and they all say lovely things, hoping James is home soon.”

Luca had brought home a skeleton crew of his men, including Viktor and Bruno, to help manage the new attention focused on us since the press conference.

Lynx rubbed the back of his neck distractedly. “Liam getting involved as our lawyer and releasing that video of Enzo and James and that woman at the gas station was a good move. You can see James crying, and that’s really tugged at people’s heartstrings.”

Liam Banks, Hayden’s brother, and the lawyer everyone at the Slayers used for any legal problems, had called us as soon as he’d seen the footage from our press conference. He’d offered some free legal advice, and we’d all quickly agreed that sharing the video we had of James and Enzo and the woman was a smart move.

We needed the public to put faces to the names. And even though we had other footage, where James looked well cared for and content, Liam had ruled out using those. He explained we were trying to sell emotion and needed every mother out there to feel like James was her baby. Mothers knew the pain it caused when your child was hurt or scared or injured.

And so I’d agreed to release the footage where James looked distressed.