Page 31 of A Seed Of Peril

Nodding, he inhaled another hit off his Marlboro Red, waiting until the smoke cleared before looking at me.

“Last night, he broke into a home out on the outskirts. As Dino put it, he fucked around and found out. Ended up being shot and killed.”

A sense of relief rushed through me. At leastthatson of a bitch was gone.

We pulled out onto the road, getting stuck at a red light with Sonny and Lucas behind us.

I readthe last sentence of the book Katrina chose for tonight, closing it shortly thereafter. There was irony in its cover—a bat in the night. Stellaluna, the bat, was her name. This was one of Katrina’s favorite books.

As we got through the story, what happened to Stellaluna sounded familiar to what Katrina had endured since her grandfather died. Both were taken from their mothers and eventually adapted to their new families. Like Stellaluna, Katrina had come to understand that she was worthy of love and acceptance. That blood didn’t define family.

Katrina missed her mother, but she didn’t understand why Maria hadn’t reached out to her. We couldn’t tell Katrina the truth, that her uncles threatened her mother to stay away. But a part of me wondered if Maria did indeed miss her daughter, but something told me no. I wasn’t sure how to explain to Katrina that a real mother, mothers who loved and cared about their children, never put their hands on them in anger, bullied them, or told them they weren’t loved. All I could continue to do was be there for my niece and keep her wrapped in the warmth of security and love and acceptance.

We would never make her feel the pain that Maria did.

“That’s one of my favorites,” Katrina said in reference to her book.

I looked at her. “I know. I’m surprised I don’t have this memorized by now.” I winked, smiling.

“Can you read it again tomorrow?”

Amused, I nodded. “Of course, sweetheart.” She then put her arm around my belly and laid her head against it. I gently grazed my nails along the top of her head, scratching her scalp.

“I can’t hear him,” she said.

“He can hear you, though.”

She lifted her head, looking at me. “Really?” I nodded. Wonderment in her eyes at the revelation, she instantly put her ear back against my belly and stayed still for a moment, soon feeling a spot where he kicked. “I love you.” She lifted her head just enough to kiss my belly, feeling it for a few more seconds before sitting up and leaning against me. I took her under my arm.

“He loves you, too.”

It was silent, both of us absorbing the moment. Katrina was going to be an amazing cousin.

“Lulu, does B love me, too?”

My heart cracked at the question and the hint of her heartbreak of missing Bianca behind it.

I looked down at Katrina, finding her staring at me, sadness in her eyes while I swept strands of hair over the shell of her ear.

“Of course, she does. Why do you think she doesn’t?”

Tears glimmered in Katrina’s eyes at my question.

“Because she doesn’t come over and play with me anymore.”

My stomach twisted, my heart heavy. I had to arrange a meetup for them. Bianca’s absence was hurting Katrina, and seeing Katrina’s tears filling her eyes, I needed to figure out a way they could resume visiting each other on the regular.

I took Katrina in for a hug, rubbing my hand up and down her back. “Bianca loves you very much. There are just things going on right now that I can’t talk about, but I promise you’ll see her again very soon.”

“I will?” she asked, voice muffled against my clothing.

“Yes.” I kissed her head, hugging her tighter. Wanting to steer her mind away from Bianca and cheer her up, I decided to let her in on another plan of mine. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m trying to convince your uncle, Dominic, to have a kitten in the house.”

She lifted her head, joy and excitement entering her eyes. I gently wiped her stray tears from her face.

“Really!? I can have one?”

“It’s not definite yet, but?—”

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