Page 91 of Merciless Monster

“Thanks, Julie.”

“You bet, sugar.”

I get up as soon as I’m confident enough that I won’t fall down again and knock out my teeth. I have to get to Angelo. The man scared the living shit out of me. I have to make sure my son is safe.

It takes me a few minutes of speed walking to get to my car. I’m all sweaty by the time I start the engine and race off to Angelo’s school. He’s in class when I get there. The school secretary looks at me oddly. I must look like a mess.

“Hello, Mia. It’s lovely to see you,” she smiles.

“Hi, Jacqui. I wonder if I could take Angelo a little early today?”

“Of course. Please, take a seat, I’ll get him for you.”

“Thank you.”

I sit down on one of the chairs outside the office while she fetches my boy. I have no idea what I’m going to tell him but I’ll cross that bridge later. All I know is that I want him with me now.

“Mom?”

“Hi, baby.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ll tell you in the car. Thank you, Jacqui.”

“No problem.”

“I thought I was going to stay at aftercare today.”

“I got off work early, so I thought we’d go on an adventure,” I smile.

“Like what?”

“Well, how does a pizza and ice cream followed by a movie sound?”

“Wow! Awesome.”

Thank God he’s only six. It’s so easy to bribe them at this age.

“Great. Let’s go. Buckle up.”

I wasn’t paying too much attention before but I won’t make that mistake again. I keep a close eye on the traffic around me, making sure that I don’t see anyone following us. Damn it! They probably know where I live too. I feel like an idiot for having been so naive.

I spend the rest of the afternoon looking about like a criminal. The sinking feeling in my stomach that started at lunch is now a permanent fixture. It seems that all the eyes around me are on me. Paranoid much?

I’m utterly shattered by the time Angelo and I get home. All I want to do is crawl into bed and stay under the covers until all this blows over. But it isn’t going to blow over, is it? Oh, no. Dante De Luca has made some powerful enemies and I’m going to pay for it. Either by losing my child or losing my lover. Fuck!

“Bedtime, tiger. Did you have a good afternoon?”

“Yeah, thanks, Mom. That was so much fun.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

“Mom.”

“Yes, my love?”

“When are we going home? I miss Max.”

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