Page 48 of Zombie

I sent her a thumbs-up emoji, not allowing for her to misinterpret any emotions I was having. I’d finally thought I was going to be able to tell my team about Cassie and Ryann and my involvement in the Ricci operation. Yet fate had other plans. I only hoped that I could keep this charade up with Lennie being in my space.

Lennie and I were lying in bed with Georgy when she gave me a sad expression.

I put my finger under her chin and made her eyes meet mine. “What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours, kitten?”

Lennie gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I feel like I haven’t been honest with you. And I feel like as your girlfriend, I need to be.”

I liked it way too much that she was calling herself my girlfriend. I didn’t correct her. I shook my head as if I didn’t hear her correctly. “What do you mean?” I asked, now on high alert.

“I’ve been really struggling lately, and haven’t told you,” she said while brushing Georgy’s head.

“Struggling with what, angel?” I cupped her cheek and rubbed the pad of my thumb over her soft skin.

Lennie took a breath before meeting my eyes. “I’ve been really struggling with anxiety after the kidnapping. But I’ve noticed that when I am with you, I don’t carry as much anxiety or fears.”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That is completely understandable. That was a very traumatic thing to go through. Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head no. “Not right now. But in time I will. I just wanted to let you know. I don’t want there to be secrets between us.”

And when she said that, I felt like the biggest asshole of them all.

I pressed a kiss to her lips. “No secrets, my love. Thank you for telling me.”

THIRTY-SIX

LENNIE

Something was off. And it wasn’t the puppy. It had been a month since I brought Georgy over to Dante’s, and even though the pup had had a couple of accidents, everything with him seemed to be going fine. But Dante was acting strange. I had stayed at his place every night so I could help out with the dog and because I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from my boys longer than I needed to. I even moved more of my stuff in. It seemed like Dante didn’t mind seeing my belongings mixed in with his.

At night, when Dante thought I was asleep, he would leave the bed and not come back for hours. I always knew when he was back because Georgy would let out a whine or a little yip.

After the first week, I noticed that he kept looking at his phone as if he were waiting for something. When I tried asking him about it, he’d just say he was waiting to hear back from Toby if some forensics had come back or something else work-related.

I could tell by the way his eyes moved and the way he fidgeted with his fingers that he was lying to me. He was lying to me after he told me he loved me not even a month ago.

I decided that tonight I would follow him wherever he went. Tomorrow was Evelyn and Kade’s wedding, and I had to be up early to get ready since I was in the bridal party. However, I needed to know what was going on with him. I needed to make sure that my gut was wrong.

After we completed our evening routine and got Georgy settled on his bed, we went upstairs. Dante was quiet tonight, but I also knew he had worked a long day and clearly hadn't been sleeping well, being out every night. Was it another woman? Surely not. But I couldn’t be certain.

We got into bed and I pretended to fall asleep. After an hour of waiting, Dante finally left the bed and tiptoed out of the room.

I waited a few moments before putting on my sweatpants and a sweatshirt and creeping down the stairs.

When I got downstairs, I heard the garage door open and cursed myself for not having my car here today. But thankfully Dante had another vehicle in the garage. Moving as quickly as I could, I took the keys off the hook and waited until I heard the garage door close to go out and jump in the Subaru.

It didn’t take long for me to catch up to Dante in the Jeep. I made sure to stay far enough away that he wouldn’t notice me as I followed him to the outskirts of the city to a warehouse district. My heart began to pound in my chest as he pulled into an area of dilapidated buildings. I idled, waiting until I saw him get out of the car and walk into one of the buildings before I parked in an alley. I was thankful that the Subaru was black so it blended into the darkness. After taking a deep breath, I climbed out of the vehicle and walked toward the building Dante had entered, sticking to the shadows.

My chest felt tight as I approached the warehouse, anxious about what I might discover. If he was in this area at this time of night, he was most likely doing something illegal. Which wasn’t foreign to me due to who my best friends were, but still. My polished boyfriend was not someone I would expect to be involved with illicit affairs.

I peeked through a cracked window and saw the main entry was clear, and Dante was headed toward the furthest wall of the building. I crept inside and tiptoed along the decaying walls. I followed through the threshold and down the long hallway. When Dante stopped abruptly, I covered my mouth and hid behind a beam. After a few seconds, he continued down toward a more well-lit area.

I tried to calm my racing heart and found the strength to keep walking. Finally, I mustered up the courage and continued down the dim hallway. From the next threshold, I could hear Dante talking to someone.

“Someone needs to clean up your and dear ol’ Dad’s fuck-ups,” I heard him say as I noticed the medical bed in front of him and a woman lying there. From my vantage point, I could see messy brown hair, and I knew in that moment who he was talking to.

It was Sarah.

I turned around, not needing to see more, and returned to Dante’s home as quickly as possible. I couldn’t be gone when he got back, and I certainly couldn’t leave Georgy home by himself for who knew how long.