Page 4 of Driftwood Daffodil
I sucked back the sorrow burning a hole in my heart, “Yes it is. We just move through it one day at a time.”
His nostrils flared with a quiet snicker. “Who taught you to be so optimistic?”
“My brother.” I smiled. “He’s a good guy. You should meet him sometime.”
“Sounds like a chump to me.”
“Nah,” I waved my hand dismissively. “He just got a raw deal.”
We all did.
Shadows crept across Kato’s face, darkening his expression. I knew what he was going to ask before he spoke. “How’s Veda?”
Even now he was worried about her. Kato always protected us. It was our turn to protect him.
“Better. Maw Maw is with her. She’s starting to walk again.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that one of her attackers left behind a little piece of himself that was currently growing in her belly. That was mostly because I didn’t want to try and explain her decision to keep it.
Kato nodded as if that piece of information made everything alright.
For a split second I could pretend that things were normal. That Kato and I were having a conversation instead of waiting for the world to be ripped out from under us.
Then the bailiff spoke. “All rise.”
Everyone stood up causing a loud scuttle to ring through the room.
“The honorable Judge Kenneth Lamont presiding. God save the state and this honorable court.”
“Pfft, honorable,” I snorted.
Kato shot me a warning glare.
I rolled my eyes back at him as the Judge took his seat and clacked his gavel.
“Be seated.”
My stomach dropped as I sat back down. This was it. Judgment hour had come.
“Kato Levi Ford…”
Don’t throw up… don’t throw up…
“You’ve been convicted of manslaughter in the first degree…”
His words were cut off by a loud bang.
It took me a second to realize that the door was thrown open and the judge had stopped talking. I kept staring at him waiting for the word years to come out of his mouth. Fate was about to rain down on us in heavy pellets of dread. I couldn’t move or breathe. Until I saw the look on Kato’s face.
That’s when I heard the hushed murmurs and footsteps that made me turn my head.
My anxiety instantly morphed into anger.
Three men in suits were strutting through the door. The older one I recognized as Cesare Mancini – father to Atlas aka rapist asshole. The other two I assumed were members of the ‘family’.
Cesare waltzed past and my fists balled, causing my nails to dig into my palms.
Why were they here? They didn’t bother to show up for the trial. So why now? Did they just want to revel in my brother’s fate? Watch as my family fell apart?
