Page 52 of Poisoned Promise
“She’s in the garden.” Caterina’s doorman greets me before I’ve even lifted my hand to knock, and my brows twitch together.
“The garden?” I repeat slowly.
He nods and steps aside, sweeping one arm down the long corridor leading all the way through the Salamone Manor to the garden at the end. I tip my head and step past him.
What the hell is Caterina doing out in the garden at two in the morning?
It’s bad enough she’s summoned me here while I’m in the middle of what is either the best or worst decision of my life, but the last time I found her in the garden, it was extremely unpleasant.
When she gets a drink in her, she’s incredibly handsy.
I walk the familiar floors and slip outside via the conservatory, then follow the inconspicuous line of guards that dot around the garden keeping an eye on their Dona without breaking her likely request to be alone.
The paved path melts into woodchip and within minutes, I’m walking across a familiar grass clearing to Caterina.
She stands over Nico’s headstone with her head bowed and her hands clutched to her chest, eyes closed and lips moving in words I can’t hear but imagine are dedications of love to her son.
I hate being out here.
It reminds me of the hole he left in my life and how the months following his death were the hardest of my life.
Losing him and Dove in the span of four days almost killed me.
For a long time, I wished it had.
“Caterina?”
She doesn’t respond to my voice, nor is there any indication that she even heard me.
Her head remains bowed with her hair swept over one shoulder and her eyes stay closed.
An owl hoots overhead, and the very distant hum of traffic carries through the night air while I wait.
Every second here is a second away from Dove and I hate it. I want to be there when she wakes up so I can explain everything without her freaking out.
“You’re late,” Caterina says eventually as she opens her eyes. She touches her fingertips to her chest, her forehead, and then her lips. “I summoned you an hour ago.”
“I was in the middle of something. My apologies.”
“What was it?” She finally lifts her head. “Was it catching the cunt that killed Tee? Was it hunting down that wretch of a kid? Or was it finding out why the cops even went to the hospital in the first place, hmm?”
“The cops were dirty,” I reply. “Both of them. One ended up dead with Tee. The one who interrogated Alex and his mother. The other is missing.”
“Missing?” She refuses to look at me and walks forward until her fingertips brush Nico’s headstone.
“Yes. His Captain is looking for him. He never turned up to work a few days ago but he has a habit of such things. A drug problem. Still hasn’t shown up.” And he won’t because as soon as I found him and learned he knew what Dove looked like, I sent his body to the bottom of the river. He won’t ever be found.
“Do you think he ran?” Caterina asks.
“Maybe. Drugs make him pliable. Easily manipulated. Someone killed Tee and his crew, and given how he was involved with you, it could be a setup or jealousy. He killed and ran.” I lift one shoulder. “Won’t know until I find him.”
“Hm.” She shakes her head and sniffles slightly. “The cop evades you. That blasted woman and her kid evaded you, too. How is that possible?” Caterina turns to face me, one hand still lingering on the headstone.
The real question lingers in her eyes, unspoken. An accusation to my loyalty.
“That woman and her kid are civilians, Caterina. They don’t act or react like we expect. They’re like wild animals and when scared, they act even more irrationally. It’s easier to track people in our world because we know how their mind works but a lion has a hard time tracking a goldfish.”
“And that’s what you are?” She blinks slowly. “A lion?”
