Page 56 of Stolen Kisses
So fast I could have questioned the occurrence on whether or not I really saw what I thought I saw. But I’d been around danger long enough to know when I was being followed and when I should take heed of a threat.
I practically ran to Vira’s house. I got inside, moved to the curtain and carefully pulled it back so I could look outside.
My heart leapt into my throat when I saw him standing by the park. He was looking around. He looked around and then walked away.
Jesus …
Who’d want to follow me?
Foolish question.
What if it was someone Franco sent?
God what if he’d sent someone here and they found me. That man, he could be from him.
What if he was?
Damn it … what if I was just acting crazy and paranoid because I was on the run?
I wanted to believe the paranoid part more, because I really didn’t want to run to anywhere else. Not now, not when I had this thing with Dante.
I knew there was so much I would have to tell him eventually just as I promised.
I didn’t want to run now. I didn’t have the strength.
Vira stomped out of the kitchen with her pink fluffy dressing gown tied in a big bow in front of her. She scowled when she saw me.
“What’s wrong with you?” she huffed.
“Nothing.” I shook my head.
“Better not be. I don’t want any trouble.” She frowned, turned on her heels and walked away.
Trouble …
I didn’t want trouble either.
* * *
I was hoping to move the little we had into the apartment at lunch time, but I didn’t want to spend any longer than I needed to here.
Sophia came back with her boyfriend early the next morning and I figured it was a chance to have someone to watch Flynn while I took the stuff to the apartment. She’d offered to take Flynn to the park and look after him.
I left straight away and got to the apartment just after nine to find the fucking place still had mice and rats.
Damn it, the only reason we delayed moving was because the landlady promised to take care of that. The place was filthy with rat shit everywhere.
It was so bad I had to start cleaning. There were some bottles of bleach, cleaning sponges and disinfectant in the kitchen cupboards so I used those. I couldn’t allow Flynn to come here and get sick. I got sick once when Vira had mice and it was horrible. I was sick for the whole week, vomiting and completely unable to keep any food down
It was just after midday when I finished cleaning. I was putting back all the bleach bottles when I got a phone call.
First, I froze up when I saw the no caller ID come up, because this could be one of those incidents where it could be Franco.
What if it was?
I allowed the phone to ring out to voicemail. When a message pinged through, I answered that. I called the mailbox and waited with anxiety filling my soul with every second that passed until the person spoke.
“Hello this is Officer Damson from the Chicago State Police, we’ve just picked up your cousin and her boyfriend for possession and we have your son. Can you either call us back or come down to the station when you get this message?”
