reddening of leaves, causing some plants to look like a collection of flames and jewels.
I found a quiet spot, manor still in sight, but otherwise hidden from all. With a deep sigh, I lay down on the ground, ignoring the threat of dirtying the blanket.
My thoughts and breathing slowed, allowing me to sort through them.
Tatiana had received the tonic I’d made her really well. Well enough that I was certain she was exaggerating a little, pushing herself to make it seem she was better than she was. Her frustration at not being able to play with her son or be with her husband must’ve been tough.
It wasn’t a cure—I still had no idea what was wrong with her, what poison she had injected or snorted or absorbed. Instead it was more like an antihistamine on steroids. It slowed down the movement of the poison, how fast her body absorbed it.
Tatiana being pregnant had reduced the ingredients I could use.
On top of Tatiana, there was also Konstantin.
He’s just playing with you, Elena, I told myself. You’re the new, shiny mouse and he’s the bored cat.
I was right. Konstantin had no interest in me outside of what I could offer Tatiana, of what I could offer him. He had killed my husband in front of me and wanted the Falcone’s key. I was nothing but a means to an end, an unexpected source of secrets.
But my body’s reaction...
I rubbed my face, feeling my muscles tense once again.
My body was overreacting, betraying me in the worst way imaginable. Never before had my cheeks flushed, my heart raced, my mouth watered—
It’s fear, I tried to reason. You’re scared of him. Nothing more.
Even my inner consciousness sounded doubtful.
Willing myself to think about something else, my thoughts somehow ended up on the dead women.
Annabella Benéitez was a child and had been a casualty in the world of the mafia. It made me oddly angry, even if I was certain justice would be served. Children were off limits, and whoever was doing this needed to watch their fucking back.
Letizia Zetticci, Eithne McDermott, Mallory Nicollier and now Annabella Benéitez.
All killed differently but all had their teeth removed after their deaths.
I had enough on my plate, but the mystery had my attention. Who would have been able to get to all these different places and near all these women within the same few months? All four of the women would’ve had guards, people protecting them. They wouldn’t have let just anyone get close to them.
Maybe it was domestic issues made to look like an outsider, I thought. But on four separate occasions?
And a child?
And if that was so, then why had Eleazar Benéitez reacted the way he had?
I wasn’t going to worry about that. Justice would be served and I had other things to concern myself with. I had a pregnant woman to cure or risk being sent back into the embrace of my family.
I must have fallen asleep because the warm rays of the sun peeking over the top of the trees caused me to open my eyes.
My stomach gurgled, warning me that it was almost breakfast time. I cringed at the thought of being stuck in the same room as Konstantin and his family.
Their familiarity with each other made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. All the nicknames and inside jokes, the efforts they made to accommodate each other.
Most breakfasts I sat in silence between Roksana and Danika, only speaking to ask for something or jab at Roman.
I twisted my head to the side, making out the manor’s roof over the top of the bushes.
Everyone would be waking up now, preparing for their day.
To my right, a branch snapped, and I turned my head. One of the dogs had seen me and come to investigate, their huge snout sniffing the ground around me.
I leaned on my elbow, reaching out my palm. The dog licked it before disappearing back into the underbrush.
The dog had the right idea.
I abandoned my blanket, not bothered by the early morning chill any longer, despite being dressed in my pajamas.
Over the past few days, I had gotten a better lay of the land. I could navigate around the estate easily now, from the front gate to Rifat’s little cottage. If you paid attention, you could spot the worn unofficial paths through the trees and plants.
I ran my hands along the tree trunks as I delved deeper into the wood. A few of the dogs poked their heads out of