Page 67 of Thorns of Death

She referred to the video from Reina’s fashion show. I shared it with her last week, wanting to show her my friends and Reina’s designs. She’d spotted him in the crowd straightaway, and now I was blushing all over again thinking of the way he’d stared at me.

“Goddamn it, you’re scary.” I jumped out of bed. “If only we knew you—” I cut myself off and averted my eyes from her. I was scared she’d see the secrets lurking within. But the truth of it was that I really wished we’d known her when we needed help getting rid of the body. And the man.

A shudder rolled down my spine. I didn’t like to think of it, never mind saying his name out loud. For Reina’s sake. For all of our sakes.

I was padding toward the bathroom when my sister-in-law’s voice stopped me. “Isla?”

Please don’t ask questions.Please don’t ask questions. The chant played over and over again in my mind.

I glanced over my shoulder to meet her eyes. “Hmmm?”

“If you’re ever in trouble or need anything,” she said softly, holding my gaze. “And I seriously mean anything, I’m always here. No matter what.”

The scary—and amazing—part was that I was certain she meant it.

I disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. It was so tempting to tell her. To ask for her help. We buried the body, but the knowledge of it being discovered hung over us every day.

“Tatiana?”

Her muffled voice came through the closed door. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“I’d burn the world down for you, sestra.”

I’d stake my life that she really meant those words. Literally and figuratively. She’d be a good mother to my nieces or nephews one day.

The backs of my eyes burned. Would my mother have burned the world down for me?

“Ditto,” was my reply.

And I meant it.

* * *

Later that morning, we stood in front of Enrico’s massive house in the heart of Paris. There was an actual iron gate surrounding it, looking every bit the mini-castle I remembered from that first night.

Tatiana was nervous. I was too, especially after that FaceTime sex last night. In the light of day, my plan didn’t seem so smart. But it couldn’t be changed. It happened. It was hot. And I was moving on.

Besides, how was I supposed to know the man would call me out on sending him “fuck you” emojis? Tatiana assumed I had him wrapped around my finger. She was so damn wrong.

“This is the house?” Tatiana asked, her tone incredulous. I nodded. “Who did it belong to? Marie Antoinette?”

I shrugged. “No fucking clue.” History wasn’t my forte. In fact, I was a lost cause when it came to pretty much anything and everything, except music. For a while, my teachers thought me dense, but they’d been too scared to say anything to my brothers.

I went over the plan we discussed again in my head. Tatiana would stick an empty gun to my back and threaten Enrico to get him to talk about her dead husband. The plan seemed kind of silly, considering Enrico and I barely knew each other. But if all else failed, I’d offer him another night of sex if he told my sister-in-law what she needed to know to move on.

It wasn’t a horrible sacrifice. The man was good in the sack—my principles were skewed at this point—and his wife fucked with me for the last time. Maybe I’d even get some information on my own mother. Two-for-one kind of deal. Great plan!

Tatiana started to shake her hands and loosen her legs. Almost as if she readied for a marathon or a fight. The latter was more likely.

“Nervous?” I asked her.

“Yeah.” She wasn’t scared to admit her weaknesses. It was what I liked about her. She gave it to you straight. “Let’s do this.”

She dug into her purse for the unloaded gun. We argued for an hour about that little fact. If shit hit the fan, an unloaded gun would be useless, but she stood firm on it. She was too worried about my safety.

“Okay, I’m gonna put it against your lower back. Hopefully, his guards don’t notice anything until we’re inside.”