Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
I see how he picks up his usual drink with his left hand. Whiskey with dinner. Whiskey with breakfast. Not to mention lunch. The right one is gloved and rests uselessly on the table beside his untouched plate. I shudder at the thought of why that is and glance to my husband, who is laughing at a joke someone makes. How many sides are there to this man? His violence is at his core. It’s etched out in his skin. If these people saw that, saw him bared, would they smile so easily? Would they want his approval? His feigned friendship?
Then there’s the other side. This one. Genial. Relaxed. Socially acceptable among Avarice’s high society. This one doesn’t matter because it’s not real. It’s put on for people who don’t matter.
The way he is with me is another side. As I think it, he wraps his hand around the back of my neck under my hair. He gives a gentle, warm squeeze. I catch his mother’s glance when he does it, and I see how her eyes narrow infinitesimally. I won’t let her get to me tonight, either, because this is the side of my husband I like best. This is the side that makes my heart skip a beat and has me wishing I was alone with him. Wishing I had his weight on me and the strength of his arms circling me.
Waiters come to clear our plates, and in the midst of it, Odin appears at the back of my chair, setting a hand on my shoulder.
“Maddy,” he says. There are drops of rain on the shoulders of his jacket, and his hair is damp.
“Odin.” I take his hand, feel how cold it is.
“Santos,” he greets my husband with a nod.
Santos pushes his chair back and stands. “Odin.” He extends his hand to shake, but it takes Odin a moment. He does, although his smile is forced.
“Were you outside?” I ask.
“Just getting a breath of fresh air.”
“In this weather?” Santos asks.
“I’ve lived in Avarice all my life. It doesn’t bother me. If you don’t mind, I’ll take my sister for a dance.” The orchestra is playing a waltz, and several couples are already on the dance floor.
I watch my brother. Something is up. He sounds strange, his body too stiff, and I have a sinking feeling it might be about the image I passed on to him—the one of Santos at Uncle Jax’s house the night Uncle Jax died.
Santos’s expression shifts. I think he’s going to say no, but Odin doesn’t wait for a response. He shifts his full attention to me and holds out his hand, palm up.
I take it and stand, worry settling like a brick in my stomach.
“Of course,” Santos says because what else can he say with all these people watching?
Odin keeps my hand in his as we walk solemnly toward the dance floor. We weave through dancing couples to take a spot at their center, and I’m very aware we’re putting plenty of space between us and the Augustines. We begin to dance.
“What is it?” I ask when Odin doesn’t speak right away but only looks at me, worry etching his face.
“I watched you with him throughout dinner. You seemed not unhappy.”
I shrug, trying to appear casual although I feel guilty. “I was just glad not to have to be near Caius and Ana. Not to mention his mother. She is a witch. It’s confirmed.” He gives me a pitying smile. “What is it, Odin? Tell me.”
“How has he been with you?”
“Fine,” I say, not wanting to go into it. Because I’m not unhappy, not right at this moment, and I should be. I should hate him. “He’s not unkind to me. Mostly. You’re scaring me. Tell me what you found out.”
Odin smiles at a couple whose arms brush ours as they spin. That smile remains on his face as he turns back to me. It’s not real though—not remotely so as he says, “There’s more security footage.”
My heart drops.
“I thought… The electrical issue…” The investigators had told us there had been an outage and there was no usable footage.
“It’s not good, Maddy,” he continues as if I haven’t spoken.
My throat goes dry, my chest tightening. “Tell me.”
“He was there for over an hour. I saw when he entered. Saw him out on the back terrace at one point.” There are cameras all over the exterior of the house. Our uncle was obsessed with security. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were cameras planted inside. “Time of death was consistent with when Santos was in the house.”
I stop dancing momentarily, the room blurring around me, the floor tilting beneath my feet. Odin gives me a nudge to keep me moving.
“No,” I say, shaking my head as I try to make sense of it. “No. He drowned.”