Page 21 of Savage Throne
“Yes,” Leo grinned. “You don’t immediately decide the truth when you hear something, read something, see something. . .you wait. You be patient.”
“And what do I wait for?”
“The whole picture.” He placed the joint between his lips, inhaled and then pulled it away. “You take the journey.”
“The journey?”
“There’s always a journey to the truth. It's never just laid out for you.” He pointed at me with the joint. “And lucky for you, you’re the only one around the Diamond Syndicate withformaleducation although one could argue that Dima is a walking university.”
“He is smart.”
“Very much so.”
“So. . .”
“Yes, Monique?”
“Why did you kill the cat?”
Leo chuckled. “Why do you ask?”
“Well. . .” I considered everything he said. “If the truth is ajourneyand it isn’t just right in front of me, then. . .you didn’t just kill the cat to only make Dima remain there with Rose.”
Leo turned to Song. “Do you see that? I told you she was smart.”
Song didn’t seem impressed at all as he leaned over, grabbed the joint from Leo’s hand, and began smoking.
“I will get to your answer about the cat. Don’t worry.” Leo picked up his daughter’s finger and pointed it at his head. “But, not until you understand my first lesson.”
I widened my eyes. “Okay.”
“Remember this. The eyes and brain are easily fooled so one must make choices with their heart, gut, and flesh.”
“Flesh?”
“Nerves.” He tapped Yan’s finger against his chest. “Never make a decision based on what you see or think, focus on how youfeel. Always ask yourself, does it feel right? What does your heart say? What does your gut say?”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I dated this fraternity guy once in college, and… he had, you know, a nice family, a nice car, and he was good-looking. But something just… never felt right in my stomach whenever he came around.”
“Your body knew?”
“Yeah, so. . .I just never went out on another date with him. My friend thought I was insane.”
“Did you ever find out what was wrong with him?”
“Months later, it came out that he was raping women.” I shivered. “He had five victims. Apparently, he always did this on the third date, liked to bite them and. . .”
“He sounds disgusting. I wish I had time to kill him.”
“He’s in jail.”
“Jail wouldn’t stop my blade. If anything, it would make his death easier.”
I blinked.
