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“No,” I said a little too quickly. “That’s okay. I’ll pick him up.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing. Stop worrying about me. Gotta run.” I headed toward Dillon, crouching down and spinning him away from his favorite red chair. “Are you going to be good for Mommy today?”
He nodded.
“Karen is going to take you to her place for a little while. Would you like that?”
“No. Wanna come home. I like the man.”
Heat crested on my jaw, Karen walking closer. Shit. The last thing I needed was for her to keep asking questions. “Baby. He’s leaving soon so don’t get too attached.”
“Maxie likes him.”
Yeah, he did, which should comfort me but it didn’t. The statement Sabatino had made about breaking the back of the guy who’d hurt me almost had me salivating. It also confirmed that he was dangerous.
When Karen walked closer, I tried not to stiffen. “By the way. Don’t forget we’re going to the carnival on Saturday.”
Shit. I’d almost forgotten about that. “I remember.”
“Yay! Rides. Rides. Rides,” Dillon clapped, his little eyes lighting up.
“Only if you’re a good boy,” I told him, pinching his cheek before standing, smiling as he giggled. The kid was happy and well adjusted. Having a stranger in his home hadn’t affected him in the least. “Okay, little man. I’ll see you later.” I started to walk away but Karen moved in front of me.
“I’m worried about you, Georgia. If you need to confide in anyone, you know I’m here.”
“Stop worrying. Okay? I’m good as gold.”
“Sure you are.”
I walked away from her before she continued asking questions. At this point, I wasn’t certain if I’d ever be alright.
As I headed for my car, I thought about what I could do in attempting to find out what had happened to Sabatino. The closest police office was in Rocky Mount, Virginia where Justin worked. If I hurried, I wouldn’t be gone that long. While the last thing I wanted to do was to draw unnecessary attention to the situation, possibly putting Sabatino’s life in further jeopardy, I couldn’t stand not knowing.
It was also extremely reckless to keep him in my house if the man was dangerous, a possible criminal. Drugs were just as bad as weapons, especially the people involved with them. I’d seen the way Sabatino had reacted to my near hysteria because Dillon had left the house. He’d been just as concerned about the reason I was in a panic as he was over the possibility that something might happen to my son. However, that didn’t mean in his real life he wasn’t a consummate liar.
I couldn’t risk my son’s life or mine any longer than necessary.
Even if my gut was telling me the man would never hurt us.
As I headed down the road, I constantly looked in my rearview mirror. There was no rhyme or reason, no one the wiser that I’d found and kept a strange man. Yet my skin continued to crawl, my pulse racing because he was inside my house, maybe touching my things, trying to discover who I was.
Just like you’re doing with him.
Yes, but I had every right to discover who he was. The truth was he did as well. For all he knew, I could be involved with the person or group that had tried to kill him. Oh, this was messy and ugly, everything I didn’t need in my life. I tapped my finger on the steering wheel, trying to ignore the strong vibes that I had about him, the need that had furrowed from almost minute one. I’d heard of things like lust at first sight. That’s what had gotten me into so much trouble in the first place, permanently scarring my life and my body.
Fear had been my constant companion for so long now that I’d forgotten what it was like to live without it. When I was a little girl, I’d been afraid of the dark as well as boogeymen hiding in my closet. I’d made certain my mother checked the small space, closing it tightly every night before I’d dare consider falling asleep. I’d slept with a light on until I was thirteen, goaded into ceasing the ridiculous habit after a sleepover at my house with what few friends I’d had.
I’d told myself there were no monsters hiding in the shadows and after a year or so, I’d no longer thought about them. I’d learned too late in life that the real boogeymen hid in plain sight, pretending to care until they’d managed to dig their poisonous claws into you.
At least now the constant fear helped keep me alive, allowing me to pay attention to my surroundings and to my instinct. In allowing the dark stranger to enter my life, I’d set myself up for disaster. Maybe I craved the darkness I’d fought so hard to erase from my life.
The drive didn’t take as long as I’d thought. As I pulled in, another pang of anxiety hit me hard. I sat with the engine idling, rolling my sweaty palms around the steering wheel for several minutes. I’d done everything in my power to stay away from any member of law enforcement. No speeding or parking tickets, always looking the other way if I noticed anything odd. Being a good citizen.
Now this.
“What the hell are you doing, Ch… Georgia?”
