“Her parents aren’t around much,” Maya says softly.
“I gathered.”
“She’s a great kid. A little scary sometimes. It sucks they don’t realize how smart and passionate she is.”
I purse my lips, feeling that deeply.
There’s a contrast between showering a child with unconditional love and mindlessly gratifying all their desires. No amount of money or gifts can replace a child’s need for physical proximity and attention.
Arabella moves on to a lumpy sock puppet, gently draping it over a limb of the fake tree.
I pull my phone out. Why hasn’t Rosie gotten back to me? That’s not like her. I know service is bound to be spotty on the drive and in this kind of weather, but the woman practically requires Wi-Fi to survive. She’d plug herself in if she could.
Letting out a deep breath, I make a decision. If she doesn’t get back to me in two hours, I’ll call Liam. I don’t want to bug him if I don’t have to, and things aren’t all that dire here. But I have to leave with that painting tonight. No matter how much Arabella wants a family for Christmas, I can’t be that for her.
“There. Perfect.” Arabella steps back from the tree and gives it a nod of approval. It’s sparsely decorated, with only ten handmade ornaments, but she’s proud of it.
“It’s beautiful, Bella, but maybe it’s missing something. I thinkDerekreally wants to make a popcorn garland,” Maya says.
My head swivels slowly toward the woman who has tormented me from the first day we met.
“I just got a great idea!” Arabella runs from the room.
“Popcorn garland, really?”
Maya’s lips twitch. “I bet right now you’re thinking, ‘man I wish I hadn’t broken into this penthouse.’”
I almost smile. Almost. “You still think I won’t get away with this.”
She narrows her eyes. “Iknowyou won’t.”
“I’m a man of many talents, Maya.”
Her expression gets even colder. “That’s right. I seem to remember disappearing is something you’re exceptionally good at.”
We’re no longer talking about this heist. I guess if she’s going to bring up the past, it’s fair game. I’ve got a few questions myself.
“Should we talk about your talents as wel—”
“Found it!” Arabella runs into the room with a box bursting at the seams with items that are decidedly not Christmassy. Rubber bats, spiders, skulls, skeletons, and bloody knives. A large needle and yarn top it off.
The speed with which she found all those items—the freakishly large needle, to be exact—is terrifying.
“This is going to be an awesome garland.” She sets her stuff on the floor and gets to work, beckoning me with a bossy hand gesture to join her as she pokes a needle through the skull and strings it up.
“Be honest,” I whisper to Maya as I pass her. “Do you worry she’s going to be a serial killer and you’ll be her first victim?”
“All the time.”
Chapter 9
Maya
There’ssomethingendearinglypaternalabout the way Soren helps Arabella puncture little skulls and string them up. Also, a little sadistic.
Yes. Sadistic. That’s a much safer thought than finding the man whobroke inendearing. I have to get him out of here. But… I won’t lie and say I’m not enjoying the turn of events a little, if only because Arabella has been bossing him around and not me.
When Bella called a few hours ago and I rushed over from my barren apartment, I was sure the holiday was going to be terrible. Not just because I’d been robbed—I was determined to spend some time with Bella, showing her my favorite places around the city at Christmastime, taking her ice skating, anything to make the holiday memorable for her, but when I got here, she refused to getoff her video game. I don’t know what it was, but it was quite gruesome and seemed to be the only thing keeping her from torturing me.
