Page 53 of Lone Wolf

“Let her go,” Scarlett says. “Take one of us instead.”

Katy’s laugh is hollow. “How noble. But no. She’s perfect leverage—and I can see how much you all care about her. Now back up,” Katy snaps. “Both of you.”

Scarlett and I look at each other. And then her face hardens, and I feel mine do the same.

My mother’s eyes find mine, her face pale but surprisingly calm. There’s something in her gaze I’ve never seen before—or perhaps never allowed myself to see. Not just love, but strength. Trust.

“It’s alright, Sarah,” she whispers, and I realize she’s speaking to me. Even now, with death’s fingers around her throat, she’s trying to comfort me.

And suddenly, with perfect clarity, I know what I have to do.

CHAPTER 19

Ariadne

My muscles are coiled tight,ready to spring. Time seems to slow as I take a step forward.

I keep my face expressionless. Showing fear will only make things worse.

“Back up!” Katy snaps.

I let my muscles relax, dropping the ready stance that Katy would instantly recognize as a threat. I modify my expression—not completely blank as Grandmother taught me, but with a hint of boredom, of frustration.

“Listen, Katy, not only will I help you get out of here,” I say, infusing my voice with casual dismissal, “I want to come with you.”

Katy’s eyes narrow, suspicion flashing across her face. “What game are you playing?”

“No game,” I reply with a casual shrug. “You think I’mhappyhere? Everyone treats me like I’m some kind of freak.” I gesture to the arranged chairs with open contempt. “This was the laststraw. Group therapy? As if talking about our feelings will change anything.”

Scarlett catches on immediately. I see the shift in her posture, the contempt and anger crossing her face as she turns to me. “You’re turning traitor?” she demands. “After all we’ve done for you?” She’s good—Grandmother would have been proud of her performance. Just as she would have been proud of mine.

“I don’t believe you,” Katy says, but I can see the first hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

“You should. I’ve got nothing left to lose,” I answer, letting bitterness creep into my voice. “They’ll never trust me here. Not really. I’m just someone they keep around because I’m useful. But the moment I’m not...” I draw a finger across my throat.

Scarlett’s face twists with perfectly orchestrated disgust. “I should have killed you long ago,” she spits. “Always knew you were still Grandmother’s creature.”

I laugh, channeling the coldness I’ve worked so hard to leave behind. “You’re probably right,” I agree, my voice light and deadly. “But you didn’t, and now here we are.” I turn back to Katy, moving a fraction closer. “So what do you say? The two of us could do some real damage out there.”

She’s wavering. I can see it in the way her eyes dart between us, calculating the odds. She wants to believe me—needsto believe me, really, if she wants any chance of making it out of here alive.

“Clear the way to the garage,” I bark at Scarlett, who glares daggers at me before stalking toward the main house.

I take another careful step toward Katy and my mother. “Don’t try anything,” Katy warns.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I reply.

And that’s when I feel it—that prickling sensation at the back of my neck. Someone is watching us.

I glance over my shoulder and my blood freezes.

Sunny.

She stands at the edge of the garden, her face a mask of shocked disbelief. My heart stutters in my chest. This wasn’t part of the plan. She wasn’t supposed to be here, wasn’t supposed to see this, to hear the terrible things I’m saying.

For a split second, panic threatens to overwhelm me. If Sunny gives us away, if she reacts with anything but absolute belief in this fiction we’re spinning, my mother is dead.

I need to bring her into the performance without missing a beat.

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