Chapter 317

• Vegas is hot and dusty, and I’m still grumpy and tired. The day is tiring, and my hair has endlessly stuck to my face in this humidity. We flew out here right after Sophie was taken away by the care worker and Jake’s mother, Sylvana Carrero, the beautiful, kind goddess with stunning green eyes who looks so alarmingly like her son but very feminine. I love her in every way; anytime I meet her, she has this easy charm and the ability to put one at ease, much like he does.
• I fought back the tears when hugging Sophie goodbye; our time together was so short, yet she had come to mean so much to me. Jake bought her a new cell and pre-set both our numbers and emails into it as a parting gift; we can always stay in touch, and she knows we will be there if she needs us. We have a bond like no other. We understand each other. We’ll be like her eternal guardian angels, and I know I will always be in Sophie’s story from this day on.
• “Want to try the casinos, tiny?” Jake’s voice comes up behind me as I empty my suitcase onto my bed, looking for a change of clothes or anything to relieve the stickiness of my suit. We arrived in such a rush that neither of us had unpacked yet; usually, housekeeping does such things in our absence, but this time they haven’t. I'm not too fond of incompetence in one’s job.