Page 62 of Stolen Kisses
“Thank you, it means a lot.” It did. It told me I wasn’t as alone as I’d thought.
He was true to his words.
An hour later, the door pushed open and tears of joy rolled down my cheek when Dante came in carrying Flynn who was fast asleep in his arms. Claudius was with him.
I ran over to them.
“Thank you so much.” I was so choked up I could barely get the words out.
“Maria for the love of Christ, have as little as possible to do with that family of yours.” Claudius cautioned.
“I will.” I didn’t need to be told twice. I wasn’t going back to Vira’s ever again and as for Sophia that was it for me and her. I didn’t care what she had to say. There was no excuse. I could have lost Flynn.
I came here talking big like I could take care of myself. If I’d maintained that stubborn shit my boy wouldn’t be here now.
Luc came over and looked from Dante to me. “You good?”
“I’m cool,” Dante replied.
Luc glanced at me and offered a kind smile then left with Claudius, leaving us.
I instantly broke down and Dante pulled me into his arms.
“Jesus woman. I really wish I’d kidnapped the two of you last night.” He kissed the top of my forehead.
“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe what happened and I can’t believe you got him back.”
“Baby, thisI don’t need anybodyattitude has to stop. If we’d been anybody else, we wouldn’t have gotten him back. Sophia and her boyfriend were picked up in the park doing class A drugs. They weren’t even watching Flynn.”
I covered my mouth to keep from crying harder. It terrified me to think of what might have gone on when I wasn’t around.
Dante walked over to the sofa bed and set Flynn down. Curled up he looked so much younger reminding me of when he was born. He still had that baby look and sometimes I couldn’t believe how big he’d gotten, four years old. I was a mother to a four year old.
Dante shrugged out of his jacket and sat down on the wooden chair and pulled me to sit in his lap.
“I have to tell you a few things.” I thought I should just jump into it.
“I think there’s more than a few things we have to talk about.”
“There is, but this is the biggest thing.”
He slipped his arm around me and I rested my hands on his chest.
“I’m all ears Maria.”
“I got married to a monster. Flynn’s father was a monster.” That seemed like the best way to start.
I planned to just give him the rundown of what was going on. As in the recent stuff that sent us here, but I ended up telling him everything in details—all of it. Everything that happened to me with Franco, even stuff I suspected from his ties with the drug cartel.
All of it. Including that I thought I was being followed the other night and if that was true it would mean I’d have to leave Chicago again.
I talked until my eyes felt heavy and he set me down to sleep next to Flynn.
Being so drained wiped me right out. When I woke up it was morning and Dante and Flynn were talking about Ninja Warriors. He was eating cornflakes.
I straightened up to see all my bags packed. Everything I had unpacked from Vira’s yesterday were now back in the cases I’d travelled with.
Dante smiled when he saw I was awake and Flynn rushed over to me.
