Page 26 of Her Dark Lies

I reach down and stroke a finger lightly between the cat’s ears. “Hello, Rosa. Is this your normal home? I’m sorry I locked you inside.” The cat purrs in answer and snuggles into my hand. She doesn’t seem upset at all to be stuck with me instead of Ana.

I hear a keening wail, high-pitched and eerie. Like a woman crying, but it’s just the wind, gusting, rushing along the cliffside. The terrace doors blow open, the curtains flapping into the room, flinging splashes of water onto the Aubusson carpets. I hurry to the doors, slamming them shut before the rain ruins the drapery and rugs. A massive flash of lightning breaks the darkened sky, disappearing behind the edge of the cliff. Thunder rumbles on the strike’s heels, so close I can feel it in my bones. I don’t even have time to count it off. The cat, tail fluffed, dives under the bed with a sharpchirp.

What I wouldn’t give for the freedom to hide under the bed, cowering in the face of a threat. I have to face this, face everything, with or without Jack by my side.

Jack, Jack, Jack.

The center of my universe. The yin to my yang.

Our new life together is getting off to a rocky start.

Jack sticks his head back inside the suite a little before five. “Darling? Are you up? They’re expecting us in the library. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

“Finally. I’ve been texting you. Where have you been?”

He glances at his Patek Philippe, the only outward trapping of wealth he allows himself. It is sleek and unobtrusive, water-resistant, a college graduation gift from his parents. Jack, and his brothers, went to Yale, where Brice studied. Another huge difference between us. I’m a Nashville Watkins School of Art alum. There was no reason for me to go to a traditional college—I wanted to be in the arts. But Jack, he’s Skull and Bones all the way.

I have a regular Apple Watch like the rest of the world, though Jack hates it. “I don’t know why you want to be so connected. Anyone could track you down. They aren’t secure.”

But I insist. I like it. I may have changed myself from the skin out for Jack, but I can’t give up everything that gives me joy.

“Sorry, darling. Henna said you were doing a fitting, so I stayed out of the way so I wouldn’t see the dress.”

“Did she tell you?”

“Tell me what? Are you okay? You look upset.”

“Someone ruined my dress. Someone painted the wordWHOREon it in blood.”

Jack goes utterly still, his face a blank mask, but I can feel the rage roiling inside of him. I fight back threatening tears. I can’t fall apart again.

“Who would do such a thing?” Jack asks quietly, so quietly I wonder if he’s talking to me or himself.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s an awful, terrible trick. Can Henna fix it?”

“No, I don’t think so. I have the dress I was going to wear to the rehearsal. I can try that instead.”

“I don’t care if you wear your jeans and Converse, my love. It’s not what you’re wearing that matters. But I know you loved the dress. I don’t know what to say. If I had any idea who did it... I am so, so sorry.”

He wraps me in his arms and I sigh in relief. I can handle anything with him by my side.

“Darling. I’ll make it up to you, I swear it.”

“We’ll figure it out. I’m sure Henna has told Ana by now, and the whole place will be in a kerfuffle soon enough. I take it it’s time to sign the prenup?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.

“The lawyers have been very patient this afternoon. Shall we?”

“Let’s go. Take my mind off things. I don’t want to be cooped up with my thoughts anymore.”

I follow Jack back down the hallway to the grand staircase, this time trying to memorize the path. I don’t want to get lost if I’m on my own.

When we got engaged, everyone warned me I’d have to sign an iron-clad prenup if I wanted to go through with it. No problem on my end, I have no intention of needing it. Leaving Jack is unthinkable; he feels the same, I know. We are meant for each other. We balance each other. We complete each other. And now that we’ve been to death’s door together, nothing will tear us apart. I mean, he could be implicated, right? Hiding the truth about a crime?

No, we’re in this together, for better or worse.

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