Even a Diamond can be shattered...
After the owner of a security company is murdered, his sharp-edged wife goes on the run. Forced to abandon everything she holds dear - her home, her friends, her job in special ops - she builds a new life for herse...
I lay with my head on Luke's chest, threading my fingers through the smattering of blond hair that led to the good bits. We'd had our workout for the afternoon—Luke had certainly put in an effort holding me up against the wall. I was debating whether I could muster up the energy to go down on him when "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold blared out from his phone.
He raised his head and groaned. "Shit."
"Just leave it."
"I can't. It's my mother."
Ah, yes. Mothers. In Lower Foxford, ignoring a call from one was probably punishable with a lifetime ban from the country club. He grabbed the phone from the nightstand and jabbed his finger at it.
"Yes, Mother?"
The woman's cut-glass accent and lack of a volume control meant I heard every word.
"I'm just going to drop Tia off with you. We'll be there in ten minutes."
Luke stiffened. "You can't. I've got company."
"I'm sure she'll be no trouble, darling."
"She's sixteen. Why can't she stay home on her own?"
"The gardener caught her smoking cigarettes behind the pool house again, so she's grounded. I don't trust her to stay put, so she'll have to spend the evening with you."
"She can't come here."
"Don't be silly. She's your sister. Ooh, got to go; Mabel's calling me. It'll be about bridge night."
She hung up, and Luke threw his phone down on the bed.
"I take it you heard all that?"
"I could hardly avoid it. Shall I go out for a while? It would be the easiest thing for everyone."
"No." Luke's tone left no room for argument. "I'm hoping you'll stick around, so Tia will have to get used to you."
Hmm, so he wanted to spend more than a few nights with me? A part of me was happy to hear that. For the first time in weeks, a chink of light shone through the fog in my mind. Today, the simple act of decorating a tree had been fun because he did it with me.
That—dare I say it—happiness competed with worry. My increasing strength meant the journey home loomed on the horizon. I was starting to care for Luke, and if he felt the same way, he'd end up getting hurt when I left. There was also the small matter of having lied to him about my entire existence, but with Tia on the way, I pushed that out of my mind.
"I'd better put some clothes on." I rolled out of bed. "And find my riot shield."
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Tia did indeed arrive in the promised ten minutes. By that time, I was in the kitchen, pulling out a casserole Nora had left in the oven.
The demon child stomped into the kitchen and stopped short when she saw me there. Even with my back turned, I knew that, because her footsteps came to an abrupt halt and it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
