Or maybe he’s just waiting for the bus. Except he’s on the wrong side of the street for the bus stop.
He could be watching anyone or just standing awkwardly for the past few minutes, but it sends a tingle down my spine, a chill.
And the sunglasses with it growing dark feels off.
I hurry to swoop Zeke up, and we head across the street in the opposite direction, for the grocery store.
I grab a grocery cart, let Zeke sit in it while I push him, and collect the couple of items we need for dinner.
As I’m wandering down the cereal aisle, wanting to grab Zeke’s favorite for breakfast, the man stops at the end of the aisle and stares at me.
He’s not anyone I recognize.
Is it one of Dante’s men, sent to spy on me?
Send me a warning?
He’s sure as hell intimidating.
Is this some type of revenge because I ran off on our wedding day? That was months ago; Luca and I have been fine ever since. We’ve grown closer.
We haven’t visited his family as much, we’ve shared a couple of dinners, but with Luca’s injuries, he’s been home recovering on weekends, which is fine with me.
I opt to ditch the groceries and grab Zeke out of the grocery cart, exiting the store without buying anything.
Zeke doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. I keep my car keys in one hand and Zeke against my hip. I glance over my shoulder, and there’s no one around.
Okay, good.
As I approach the car, I open the back door, and Zeke wiggles in my arms. “Car seat time, buddy.” I smile and try to put on the happy, chipper face that Luca had, which seemed to work for him.
Zeke climbs into the car but then wiggles around. The kid won’t hold still for me.
“Zeke, I need you to sit in your car seat.”
“Don’t want to!” he protests.
I lean into the car, trying to strap him in with the seatbelt on his car seat, but he wiggles and dances his butt, pushing off, refusing to listen.
A shadow dances over the car, and I feel the stranger’s presence behind me. The fine hairs on my arm stand on end, and I involuntarily shiver.
His breath is on my neck, leaning in, trapping me between my car and the white van that parked next to us sometime after we stopped at the park.
“You really should buckle your son in, to be safe.”
I pull back slightly, his sunglasses reflecting my expression right back at me.
“Anyone ever told you to mind your own business?” I growl and forcefully stomp on his foot. “Back the fuck up.”
He smells of gasoline and something else oddly sour and acrid.
There’s not much space between the lanes, thanks to whoever parked next to me. He backs up against the white van, and the door slides open.
He’s not alone.
For a flash of a second, I can see myself or my son getting kidnapped, and I jump into my car with Zeke, slamming the door shut and locking all the doors with the key fob.
The strange man with the sunglasses smiles and laughs. He’s got two gold caps on his front teeth. He lifts his sunglasses and winks at me.