Page 9 of Sweet Dominion

“Good because. . .I may spill something.”

His expression went stern. “You will not spill anything.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “O-kay.”

Then, he returned to smiling. “But the biggest gift of all will be my grandchild.”

“Oh.” I inched back. “Well. . .I’m not pregnant—”

“You will be.”

What the fuck?

Leo laughed and then tapped the gift. “But we should focus. My son will soon be here and I willtrulyhave to behave.”

I looked at the big gift, wondering what could be inside of the box and/or what craziness would come out of it.

Was it a precious heirloom from their family?

Was it some sort of symbolic gift to honor the tea ceremony?

Or was it something. . .terrifying?

It could be anything, but I hoped for the best as I reached out to undo the bow. The blue ribbon slid off easily.

That was when I realized Song had not come over to the table with him. Instead, he remained several feet away.

O-kay. . .Song is acting weird. . .that may not be a good sign.

Meanwhile, the other man placed his briefcase on the table and began taking out tons of papers and pens.

Is he a lawyer? What the hell is really going on?

I hesitated for a moment before lifting the top of the box.

As soon as I did, the metallic scent of blood hit my nose, reminding me of the day when Lei and I walked into that bloodied hotel room discovering the torture scene before us. A scene that Leo and Song had orchestrated.

Oh no. I’m not doing this today.

My stomach churned.

A sense of dread washed over me and I quickly placed the top back on, not even checking to see what was in the box.

My hands shook.

“Leo. . .” I shivered and took a step back. “What’s in there? Seriously.”

Leo’s smile remained but his eyes darkened slightly. “Open it, Monique.”

The sickening smell lingered in the space, making it hard to breathe. No more did the kitchen have the fragrance of tea. The scent of death was immediate in the space.

I swallowed. “No disrespect, but. . .it smells like something died inside of there.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“I feel like it does. . .”

His tone remained calm but firm. “Open it. You need to see your present.”

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