Page 33 of A Seed Of Peril

No fucking way. There was absolutely no motherfucking way I didn’t see anyone. There was a man there running after us! I knew there was! Dominic had to be lying. They all had to be lying. But why would Sonny or Lucas lie? It couldn’t have been in the name of protection; that was an excuse Dominic would’ve used. No… I smelled bullshit.

“You’re lying.”

Making a face like he was taken aback by my accusation, Dominic said, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. There is no way there wasn’t anyone watching us. I saw him, Dominic.”

“No, Lilith, what you saw was a man minding his business. There was no threat.” He was calm, cool, and collected, as if we were chatting about the weather or congested traffic.

Shaking my head, I was ready to leap out of the chair. “What Isawwas a man, again, watching us on our walk and then running toward me like he was after me If they actually told you there wasn’t a man, they’re lying, too.”

“My men, especially those two, wouldn’t lie to me.”

“I want to see the cameras. The city must have them in the park.”

Shaking his head this time, Dominic dismissed my demand. “Not directly in the park, but the nearby businesses do, and we’re working on obtaining them for verification, but I believe them. They have no reason to lie.”

“No… They don’t, Dominic, which is why this makes no fucking sense.”

Dominic put his now empty drinking glass on the coffee table. “You still have Wyatt living in your head. Anyone acting like him probably comes off to you as a threat, so it makes perfect sense.”

I covered my face with my hands, letting them slowly fall, groaning in absolute frustration. Therewasa man after us. I saw him clear as day. I knew it wasn’t a hallucination or any kind of PTSD episode. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew he was staring right at me. His aura… It was unmistakable that he wasn’t in the park to see the sights or enjoy the fresh air. He was there for me. And when he began to turn… Then make his way towards me… Why would no one believe me?

“If there was anyone after us, I would’ve sensed it and shot him before Scioli or Deliso had the chance to. No one was getting within yards of you and our unborn on that walk. Trust me,Bellissima.”

Ididtrust him, which made all of this worse. I wanted to see that camera footage he talked about, then I could prove Dominic wrong, and he would’ve seen Lucas and Sonny were indeed lying. Something smelled seriously wrong, but the energy to keep stoking this fire wasn’t there, so I moved on. For now.

Sighing, I leaned back into the chair, staring at the ceiling, my arms stretched along the arms of the chair.

“What’s really going on, Lilith? The truth.”

“Katrina.”

“What about her?”

“She wonders why Maria never tries to see her… And she doesn’t think your mother loves her anymore.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“Why the hell does she think that?”

“Because she doesn’t come over and play with her anymore—her words.”

I heard Dominic pour himself a finger’s worth more Walker. Seconds later, I heard him set his glass down hard on the table. Yep, he poured a finger.

“Foolish logic,” was all he said. Then, he released a clipped, deep burp.

“She doesn’t understand, Dominic. I haven’t told her what’s going on, and I don’t plan to.”

“Good.”

I released a defeated breath, still leaning back in the chair. “I wanted to take her to see your mother as a birthday present, but I might set that up sooner. I hate seeing her so sad.”

“Fine. What did she say about Maria?”

“She’s just been confused on why Maria hasn’t tried calling her or coming over. I can’t tell her the reason behindthatone either.” I sighed again. It broke my heart to keep secrets from that poor girl.

She had endured so much so far that some small part of me wasn’t sure she could handle the truth of her mother ghosting her. Bianca ghosting her. Kids were resilient. They understood and processed ugly pieces of their lives far better than adults gave them credit for, but I was too selfish right now to put Katrina through further heartache. I could hold her through the tears and her fears and her confusion and anger. I just wasn’t strong enough to push past my anxiety and my feeling of being uncomfortable, nor defying Dominic’s or anyone else’s desire to hide the truth. Not yet.

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