“You were in Madrid?” I asked.“Oh yes, after Paris and then the Riviera and then Florence.” She laughed. “I’ve sold more makeup in the last few months than Macy’s. I needed a little break, and Alexander’s home is always open to me.”“It’s a nice place,” I said somewhat wryly. It had once been a kin
Sarah POVI lay alone in bed that night, and along with my usual preoccupation with Zane’s hands and eyes and mouth and my desire for him to be with me, I was dwelling on those few minutes I had spent with Grace, Chloe, and Jordan.The girls had immediately been taken by their cute cousin, greeting
Grace shrugged. “OK.”“For my part,” Zane said, coming in right when he was needed, as always, “I like that you girls have different hairdos. I would hate to mix you up.”That drew some smiles. “Silly Daddy,” Grace murmured.Breakfast went on as normal after that, and then the girls went to the car
Sarah POV“I don’t want him to come back here,” I said to Zane the next morning in his study. “I know that sounds harsh, but Jordan is a nasty little shit-stirrer first class, and he’s got no business being around Grace and Chloe.”“Growl, growl,” Zane remarked. It was teasing, but I could tell from
Sarah POVI woke up deeply content, happily warm and incredibly comfortable, breathing my favorite smell in the world and ready to just spend eternity right where I was. Then I realized “where I was” was Zane’s bed.My eyes flew open. I was lying over his (muscled with a soft down of hair) chest, an
Sarah POVThe shouts of delight, laughter, and barking brought Zane out of his study. He was in time to see his daughters literally rolling on the floor with the puppy, which seemed to have doubled in size since we sent it for basic house training a few days ago, though its paws were still huge.The
Sarah POVStunned, I watched Jordan cry for several seconds before my training kicked in.“Are you all right?” I asked, kneeling down next to him as he sobbed. Goddess, it sounded like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest and spat on it.He just cried some more.“Jordan,” I said as gently a
“Miss Astor!” came a voice from our right. We turned to see Shotz running up to us.I was happy to see he looked a little less dusty than he’d seemed the last time we met, and the vague look of helplessness in his eyes had gone.Zane, however, seemed less than welcoming as Shotz joined us.“I hear y
Sarah POVAfter the onsite security personnel and police had come, taken Ella’s body along with our statements, and then left, it was early morning. I worried about the girls, but they were as keyed up as I, and finally we all just piled on Zane’s bed, which was now my bed as well. Zane had his arms
Sarah POVGinnyWolf: Sarah is a MOON WOLF??!! Are you KIDDING ME?WhiteKnuckling: This is a hoax. Total bullshit.PPPPJohnP: I knew it.ShangHairSurprise: Will she be reforming the Luna Temple again?Rosemary&Sage: Hey now, PPPPJohn, THAT’S bullshit.With a laugh, I put the phone in the purse Lainey
Sarah POV“We all fear death,” Zane said.That wasn’t what I meant at all, and I told him so. My dress turned to silver in the moonlight, and I held his warm hands in mine.“If you seek the truth, stop seeking enemies and find the moon,” I and the statue and someone else said, speaking as one.He lo
Zane POVIt was thallium poisoning.“The treatment is proceeding with Prussian blue, which traps thallium to keep it from being further absorbed, as well as activated charcoal and forced diuresis,” the doctor, whose name I learned was Vassles, told me.Sitting by Sarah’s bedside, I was trying hard n
Zane POV“Alpha Zane!”Never, in all the years he had been working for me, had I heard such a sound of panic in Hans’s voice.I looked up and out my window. Hans wasn’t in the house. I saw him frantically waving at me over by the poppy garden almost a mile away.I ran down the stairs and out of the
Sarah POVThe day was lovely—perfect, even. The girls were back in school and making up for lost time, Zane was in his office and waved to me as I walked past the villa, and all the “lieutenants” had gone home.It was odd to look back on the past year. Had there ever been more than a day here and th
Ella POVMy contact at the prison told me Hayes followed his script exactly, and for the moment, I decided to put the wolf out of my mind. Few things had ever worked out as nicely as discovering the good doctor’s gambling addiction, and Hayes had several million reasons to do as he was told.When th
Sarah POVThe second Zane and I were in the car, I raised the partition for some privacy, turned to Zane, and asked the question burning acid in my stomach.“Do you think he actually hurt the girls?”Zane shook his head, but his eyes were haunted. “Not physically, but we’ll have to talk to them, see
“We found your money,” I said.“I thought you would.”We sat another few minutes in silence. “So, who was paying you? Who got you to betray my household?”Hayes smiled to himself.“Something funny?”“Do you think I’m some lackey doing someone’s bidding for a few dollars?” he asked, meeting my gaze n