Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“What are you getting at?”
“I just think you’ve found something worth fighting for,” Lexi whispers, then stands up and walks over to me, leaning down with David. “I also think Auntie Mia is going to hold little man while Mommy uses the bathroom.”
I try to tell her no, but it’s too late, and it’s a half-hearted no, anyway. When he’s in my arms, it’s like warmth is flowing through me. He looks up at me with his eyes blinking, his cheeks flushed and pink.
“You look like a little alien,” I tell him softly.
He smiles, then lets out a little sob.
“No, I’m sorry.”
He throws his head back and starts wailing. I rock him gently, singing. I’m not even sure what. I just sing softly, rocking him, acting on instinct.
Finally, he stops crying. I hold him to my chest, letting out a relieved breath when his eyes fall closed.
“See? You’re a natural.” Lexi almost makes me jump. She’s sitting on the bed behind me.
“How long have you been there?” I whispered.
“Just a minute. Or two. Or three. Nice singing voice, by the way. You and Scarlet should start a group.”
“Ha, ha,” I murmur, looking down at him. “I called him an alien. I don’t think he liked it.”
“He likes you, though, Mia. He loves you. He can sense you’re a good person.”
“I try to be,” I whisper, rocking him gently. “But sometimes, I want to… You know, Lex. Remember the screwdriver.”
I don’t have to explain what I mean. She knows what I’m talking about. Two years ago, Lexi was going to charge into a frat house armed with a screwdriver to avenge something that happened to her little sister, Ruby. It was Colt who stopped her in the end.
“I want a screwdriver,” I say, gritting my teeth while holding David gently.
“Do you think you could do it?” Lexi asks. “Your own dad?”
“He stopped being my dad a long time ago,” I tell her. “If I ever had a kid—”
“What?” Lexi says.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just be quiet. I don’t want to wake him.”
Lexi comes and sits next to me. She places her hand atop mine, both of us looking down at her son.
“If you need a cover story to meet your man, just let me know,” Lexi says.
“Thanks, Lexi. Seriously.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
David smiles sleepily up at us.
CHAPTER 20
Dante
In the end, Ritchie stays in the hotel. I’m tempted to spend all night here, but my cell phone starts ringing. It’s Ma. I’m shocked to see her number appear. I can’t remember the last time she used her phone. She’s been so isolated for so long, watching TV, too tired to read, just existing.
“Ma?”
“Are you still coming, Dante?”
Ah, crap. “Are they there? The people from the home?”
“Yes, the doctor thinks a tour might be a good idea, but if you’re busy…”
I swallow, looking across the street. I want to take him now, kill him now, but this is important. What, and Mia isn’t?
“Dante?”
“Where is it?” I say.
She gives me the address. “I’m closer than you,” I say, checking the GPS. “Why don’t you text me when you’re about ten minutes out?”
“Okay, dear. See you soon.”
I hang up the phone, drumming my fingers some more like it does a damn thing. By my best estimate, I’ve got twelve minutes before I need to start moving. Why am I hanging around? This war will give me another chance at this goon.
I keep waiting, watching, wondering what Mia’s talking about right now, how she’s sitting, or if she’s painting. She didn’t deserve any of the evil that happened to her. She didn’t deserve that pain.
When I’ve got about five minutes, Ritchie walks out. He stumbles a little with his hands in his pockets, looks at his car, sighs, and starts walking down the street. My heart beats a little quicker. He turns to the right, walking down a cut-through.
I climb from the car, thinking of Mia, an innocent little girl. He saw and bullied her because he wanted to impress Tony goddamn Marino, most likely. I jog after Ritchie. He turns, looking up at me. His eyes take a moment to register. Slowly, a smile spreads across his drunk face. “That was quite the day, eh, Dante?”
“Tell me more about this history you mentioned,” I say, walking closer to him, not exactly enjoying how he cringes but knowing how right it is and how deserved.
Ritchie laughs like he thinks he’s in charge. It’s dismissive and rude as hell. “What’d she tell you, some story? The old man’s right. You twisted her head, and now she’s yapping to you?”
“She told me you saw him… and her. You threatened her, an innocent child.”
“See?” Ritchie smirks, seeming more confident when a passerby walks by us. He looks at me like, See, we’re in public. Can’t do nothing, can you? “Does that sound realistic to you? Do you think I’d threaten a kid? Why would I?”