I looked up to see the girls were both out, and Zane and I smiled at each other before we crept out of their room. Zane nodded before heading to his bedroom, but I stopped at the large window overlooking the grounds. About a quarter-mile away was the square already decorated for the memorial, its pa
Zane POVThere were no members of the press at the Erinose summer place “social” after the long day’s memorial services. How callous we would all look downing drinks and laughing after what we’d been through, but the day’s toll was precisely why we all needed this downtime. We were all exhausted and
“Just ask the girls, and you’ll see them twenty times in a row,” Sarah said with a mock-weary tone, and we laughed as a human waiter passed by. Sarah turned to stop him, which he did with a smile, and exchanged her old martini glass for a new one.Melissa caught her eyes in a challenge and stopped a
Sarah POVFilming my seventh episode of Let’s Talk! was remarkably easier than filming the first, but it was still a chore, and that was with a paid film crew. I couldn’t imagine the pain the whole thing must be for people who did it all themselves.Lainey and I had sat down together the day before
Zane POVI could feel Sarah backing away from me. It wasn’t complicated. She was pushing Melissa at me and pulling away.All I needed to figure out was why.I knew it was a little desperate, but I arranged for us to take another picnic at the park.It was a little chilly, but the sun was bright and
Sarah POV“A pattern?” I asked.Agent Travis nodded and then looked over to Zane, who nodded in understanding. We were sitting in Zane’s study, with Zane behind the desk and Travis and I in the large chairs before the desk. Travis’s report was spread out on the desk so we could all see it.“Yes, the
“I have to be able to live my life, Zane, and that means not staying inside the villa 24/7. I can promise you I’ll be as careful as possible, but we have no way of knowing what these people want.”“I suggest we use this meeting to employ a new tool,” Wetmore said from the couch, a tablet open in her
Zane POVAfter Travis and Wetmore left, I wanted to demand to see all of Scott’s emails, though I didn’t. They were Sarah’s property.Fortunately, I didn’t even have to ask. She retrieved her laptop and showed them to me. I noticed right away she hadn’t answered a single one of them.Reading the wor
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