We all held our breath as Chloe thought that over.“I wanted to make you proud,” she said finally. “But I know you love me.”“Oh, thank the goddess,” he said, bending over then so he could take her up in his arm. “Oh, thank you, my darling girl. Yes, I love you, and whatever you do and whomever you
Sarah POV“S is definitely Scott,” Ted said, and we all knew enough by now not to question her. She didn’t like being questioned that way because, as I learned, she never said something that wasn’t backed up by a ridiculous amount of data, or meta-data, whichever was more important.Most of us were
She closed her eyes, took a breath, and opened them again. “All right, so, I wasn’t going to go into this, but if S is Scott, that means Scott has been closely monitored by you, and his access to your household has been limited, right?”Zane nodded. “Very.”“So, Scott couldn’t have seen the sketches
Ella POVIt had been quite a while since I’d been to Scott’s apartment, but not much had changed. It was the same pristine space with his two white leather couches and black-and-white Ansel Adams prints. He answered the door with the same calm smile he wore when Olivia died, and when I held up a bot
Sarah POVI sat in the circle of Zane’s arms and said nothing.I wanted to tell him everything would be OK. I wanted to say that Scott was his brother and nothing else really mattered. I wanted to say anything, really, if it could make him feel better.Travis had told us Scott had been dead for seve
Zane POVIt was getting to the point where I couldn’t sneeze without someone commenting about it online, so it was futile to hope that the art fair wasn’t going to be internet fodder.Officially, it was a showing of the work of first- and second-level students at Saradon Elementary. Unofficially, it
“That’s Mrs. Almyer,” she told me.“Your art teacher?”“Yeah. She’s really great.”I waved at her too, which made Mrs. Almyer smile.A man stood up from the row of chairs and made his way to the podium center-stage. The crowd quieted.“Thank you, you’re so kind” he said, which I thought was an odd w
Sarah POVI knew there would be press, but the avalanche of attention when we came out of the auditorium still almost knocked me to my knees.People were screaming our names. Someone had already somehow made a huge poster of Chloe’s work and was waving it up and down frantically.We managed to get i
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