behind for her. The building glistened like all the other shops. Laser protection bars striped the windows and encrusted silver lined the intricately carved signs. It wouldn’t be wise to take their weapons in, so Violette decided to wait. There was only one public exit, and she was staring straight at it.
“Jo found the ship,” Isaac answered, keeping behind her. “Gil went to place a tracking beacon on it, just in case.”
She nodded. “Good.”
Violette’s eyes narrowed as she saw her target. Josselyn wore a lightweight pink two-piece dress. The skirt moved with the breeze, but the tight bodice molded to her, forming a cocoon of hard material. The woman looked deceptively normal, but there she was, the murderer who killed a great man.
Evan was with her. That undoubtedly meant the others were close. She glanced over the crowd but didn’t see the Bevlon. It was probably for the best. The last time she’d locked eyes with him she’d gone brain numb.
Violette’s stomach clenched, and her heartbeat quickened as she approached Josselyn.
“Vengeance,” she whispered. It was as if that one word drew Josselyn’s eyes to her though there was no way the woman heard what she said. “We follow her.”
To Violette’s surprise, Josselyn didn’t run. Instead, she calmly moved forward, clutching a black bag to her chest. Unbidden, Violette’s gaze moved to it, curious as to what her father would have left for the woman. A wave of grief hit her, but she swallowed it down. She glanced around the busy street only to catch a glimpse of Isaac working his way through the crowd to keep an eye on the situation.
“You’re braver than I thought,” Violette said when the woman was close enough to hear her. Her breathing deepened. Oh, how she wanted to scream, to hit. She kept calm. “Or more stupid.”
“I won’t speak ill of your father to you, but the man you knew is not the Jack I did.” Josselyn stopped walking, keeping distance between them. Evan stayed protectively close to her.
“I think I knew him much better than you.” Violette set her jaw, her eyes narrowing. Inside she trembled with rage and grief, but beneath that stirred a tiny thread of curiosity. Isaac was right. Part of her wanted to know why, needed to know the truth. That thread grew, twisting its way into her psyche. It kept her from reaching beneath the hem of her shirt and drawing her weapon.
“Before your mother—” Josselyn began.
“My mother died when I was born.” How dare this woman speak of her mother?
“Before she married Jack…” Josselyn didn’t move as she hesitated. “She was my mother.”
A half-sister? Violette snorted in disbelief. “Is that what this is? Mommy left you and so you sought revenge on the man who won her heart?”
Josselyn didn’t rise to the bait. Violette wished she would. She wanted any excuse to justify pulling her gun to scare the woman. Sacre! She’d even take a good old-fashioned fistfight.
So, was that why her father felt guilty? He fell in love with another man’s wife? So what? Marriages ended every day.
Josselyn reached into the black bag and pulled out a holo-box. “You are my sister and I don’t wish you any harm. Long ago, when your father was a young man, he knew me and was protected by my father, Lord Craven. We grew up together in my castle home on Florencia’s Fifth Moon. Jack betrayed us and was part of the invasion that took our homes, our lives and imprisoned me in stone. I’m sure your father was a changed man, but he knew he had to pay for his past sins. Because of him, thousands of our people died, your mother’s people.”
“My father was a humanitarian. Because of him millions lived,” Violette said. “My mother was a lady, a fine lady he’d saved. I did not interfere before because I promised him I wouldn’t, but that promise is fulfilled, and I will not stop until you pay for what you have done.”
“I didn’t expect you to believe me, but before you ruin your life chasing revenge and trying to get to me, watch this.” Josselyn tossed the holo-box at her. “Perhaps your father’s words will convince you to find a better path.”
Violette caught the holo-box but didn’t look at it as Josselyn backed away from her. Evan’s hand glided onto the woman’s arm, and he escorted her into the crowd. Violette slipped behind a group of women to disappear from sight while keeping an eye on her.