Page 40 of Veil of Vengeance

“No, I was never able to get into them. You need to go back inside.” He stands up and dusts the dirt off his hands before he turns back to me.

“Right, well, thanks for letting me plant something,” I say. He nods once, before we silently make our way back inside the house.

* * *

Emiliano had takenme back up to the room I’m staying in. He silently passed me a copy ofPride and Prejudicebefore he walked out. I sit by the coffee table, reading, when a knock at the door startles me. Mara stands on the other side. Her eyes widen as she bites her lip, trying to brush her side bangs out of her eyes.

“Uh…hi. I’m Mara,” she says. I puff out a small sigh before I smile.

“I know, you told me already.”

A blush creeps up her neck and she looks like she wants to book it out of here. I speak up again before she does, “Do you want to come in?” I widen the door to show that I’m being sincere, but she shakes her head.

“No, thank you. Um…I was actually here to see if you’d like to come help me bake some cookies?” she asks. My eyebrows reach my hairline. I must look reluctant because she quickly adds, “If you want to, of course. I’m not like my brothers, who think that they can order around everyone.”

I press my lips together to hold in a laugh.

“Sure, I’d love to help you, but are you sure that it’s okay?” I ask.

She hesitates for only a second. “Yep, it’s fine, I asked my mom about it, and she agreed.”

Her hesitation makes me wonder if she’s just doing this to spite her brothers. I shrug it off and shut the door behind me. My shoulders bunch up when I feel the gaze of the guard burn into the side of my face, but I don’t look at him. I ignore the uneasiness that has taken root in the pit of my stomach.

Mara loops her arm through mine and tugs me slightly toward the stairs. We walk in silence until we reach the second floor.

“Have you ever been in love?” Her question catches me off guard, and I nearly miss a step, stumbling.

“No. No, I don’t think so.”

She purses her lips together before turning to look at me, her gray eyes darkening into molten black.

“But you’re so pretty. Have you never had a guy ask you out?”

I nearly laugh at how ridiculous her question sounds, but then I remember that she knows nothing about what my Dad does if we don’t behave.

“No, I went to an all-girls school and my dad would probably chop a man into the smallest pieces possible before disposing of him in the ocean, if any man in the vicinity showed an interest,” I explain, and her lips form an O.

“Have you ever been in love?” I turn the question onto her.

“Yes, at least, I think so, but he’s so much older than me and doesn’t really see me like that.”

I narrow my eyes at the way she insinuates that he is someone she isn’t meant to look at, let alone have a crush on.

“How much older exactly?” I ask as we enter the kitchen.

She sighs dreamily before she replies, “He’s twenty-five years older.”

Jesus. I’m not saying that their age gap is a problem, but the fact that she’s barely legal is. I’m thankful he has no interest in her. I look around the kitchen; the walls are painted an eggshell white and the floors are a black marble with swirls of gold in them. Mara stands near the granite kitchen counters, fixing her hair.

“Mara, you know it’s a good thing he isn’t interested in you. You’re really young and you’re still developing as a young woman.”

Her eyebrows pull together before she waves me off.

“I know, I know. I just wish he wouldn’t treat me like I’m a piece of gum stuck beneath his shoes.” Her shoulders deflate as she moves around the kitchen, tying an apron around her waist before handing a navy-blue one to me with eggshells on them.

“Do you have a hair tie I can borrow?” I ask, and she pulls the one around her wrist off and hands it to me, before heading toward the cupboards to take out the ingredients we’ll need.

“We’re making cookie s’mores.” Her moves are graceful as she moves the flour, sugar, and other dry ingredients onto the counter.

---