Falcon

We all took a trip to visit the wolves two weeks after the war had ended. I had to be questioned by the police about Norton’s death. They didn’t have any proof other than the swords he’d stolen from me, but they had no idea I knew about it. That was the thing. And for all, they knew at the time of his death I’d been in Lombardy working on the castle.

This time for our trip Nora and I decided to bring Dante because he hadn’t been able to see the world in the light and wished to experience it. Mary tagged along to see his joy. Charlotte stayed back with Draco and babysat Speranza who had grown like a weed last week and no longer wanted breast milk. It worked well for Nora because it drained her energy and I wondered how much more she could handle before she collapsed.

“I’ll be back in a little while,” I said to them, taking Nora inside the station while they waited in the car.

We had plans to go to a fancy meal, but those were tossed out the window three minutes after we walked into the police station. A large explosion shook the building and a pain struck me in my chest. I looked up to see that Jones had stabbed me in the middle of the chaos, catching me off guard and his thoughts hidden from me. I looked around and everyone else had gone to see the commotion. I pulled the blade out, tossing it onto the table. Nora gasped, but I just smiled at him. “Next time try a little harder.”

“I already did. You’ll see,” he muttered. He was a dead man as soon as he got out of here. Luckily, I’d been wearing a coat and took it off after I got into the interrogation room. I slid on my leather jacket and led Nora out of the door. Dante shook violently with rage. His clothes partially burnt, and his face covered in dirt. “Someone bombed the car,” I heard him grunt.

“They ran off,” a bystander said.

“Did you get a look at the person and the way they went?” one of the cops asked. I had the most terrible feeling.

“What happened? Where’s Mary?” I asked him, gripping his shoulders.

“She’d been in the car. I stepped out to look at the pets in the store across the street, but mother didn’t want to get out.”

“We’ll get them for this,” I uttered just loud enough for Nora and Dante to hear.

“You all have cameras around here. Find out who did this. We just rented this damn car on the way here.” I looked right past the cop I was talking to and directly at Jones. “I’d check all the cameras. Maybe even those inside.” I had a feeling they would have malfunctioned.

“You truly have someone who hates you, Dr. Lombardi.”

“Yes, and yet the only ones who knew I was coming here was your people. If I was you I’d look for Norton’s killer much closer to home. I will not be coming back for an interview again.” I held my mate as she cried her heart out.

Is that blood on his shirt? How did he get that? I just walked him into the interrogation room, then Jones followed him in for the interview. He gave Jones a death glare. Maybe there was something to it; I needed to look at the cameras when Jones left for the night.

“Come, Dante, let’s go find a way to the hotel,” I told him. He followed, but it was clear that he was in shock.

“Does he need a doctor?” another cop asked.

“I am a doctor. I’ll tend to my nephew.” I wiped the stray tear that I shed for Dante. I didn’t have any tears for Mary. She wanted to go. No amount of babies was going to heal the pain of losing Alessio. The heartache got to her more than she let on. A part of me thinks she knew it was going to happen and sent Dante to check out the place across the street. I had to ask Charlotte about it another time. Right now, I had to console my nephew and wife.

We walked down the street getting away from the scene, then jumped into a cab. I had it drop us off two miles away in front of a Hilton; just in case we were followed by Jones or his helper. I already had a feeling that Stavros’s wife was the one who did it. As soon as we made it inside the hotel, I requested a room and the moment we got in there, I hugged my nephew. “She’s where she wants to be, Dante.”

“I know, but it still hurts. I’m sorry for being weak, Uncle.”

“You’re not weak, Dante. I cried more times than I could remember when my mother died. I wanted her back so badly. She had been my confidant and the loving woman I needed to shield me away from the ugly in the world, but it wasn’t to be. They are together and happy.”

“Thank you, Uncle. I suppose we should tell everyone.”

“I will if you aren’t willing to do so. Do you wish to stay here or return home?”

“I want to go home.”

“We’ll go with you,” I said. We got downstairs to leave and that was when miracles happened. My nephew had lost his mind. In front of us stood a young lady with red hair staring at him. She had been about to check out of the hotel.

“Mine.”

Nora stepped away from us and to the woman. I dragged my nephew away for a moment. His temperament was fragile at the moment and we couldn’t scare the girl away. Damn if that was what I looked like when Nora saw me, I was lucky she stayed. He looked like he was ready to tear apart someone just to get to her.

“Calm down, nephew. I’ve been here before. We’ll take this somewhere private.” He nodded, and Nora smiled kindly walking up with the woman who couldn’t stop staring at Dante. Fate had its ways of working things out.