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Would they believe the stupid text Mom had insisted I write before she’d confiscated my phone? I didn’t know whether I should hope that they did so they’d stay out of the danger or that they’d have more faith in me… and be even more worried about my safety.
Mom set her glass down again with a firm clink. “That expression doesn’t suit you. A good leader doesn’t show her emotions on her face. Anything you give away, our enemies can use to exploit you.”
That was rich, considering that my greatest enemy right now was the woman giving me advice. I bit my tongue against pointing that fact out to her and drew my posture up a little straighter before she could criticize it too, willing the tension out of my face.
Play along, figure out what she was up to, and then untangle myself from the mess ASAP. That was the plan. I could follow it.
Mom continued to appraise me for a moment that felt like an eternity, her attention making my skin prickle with discomfort. She let out a soft sigh. “I’ve dealt with our underlings who helped you in your little bid for adventure. You won’t be counting on them again.”
Despite her admonishment to hide my emotions, my forehead furrowed before I could stop it. Which was probably a good thing, because she should see my genuine confusion.
“What are you talking about? No one at the house helped me. Even—”
I snapped my mouth shut before I could mention that Rafael hadn’t either—he’d simply followed me and insisted on coming along. I could have taken off all on my own if I’d wanted to.
Mom hummed to herself as if my answer had given something away. I wasn’t sure there was anything to be gained by arguing with her.
Instead, I gave her a little prodding of my own. “How did you know where to find me? I wouldn’t think you’d listen to random tips.”
She let out a chuckle, but there was acid in the sound. “Oh, I wouldn’t call it ‘random’ when it came with video evidence attached. You should have known that with my connections, you couldn’t expect to stay in hiding. But I suppose I should be glad you’ve gotten your restlessness out of your system.”
Her tone carried a threat. I’dbetterhave gotten it out of my system, she was saying, or I’d regret it.
I forced a slightly wider smile. “Yeah, I guess you could see it that way. Just, really—relying on a former employee you kicked out for being too much of a psycho… That had to sting.”
I was taking a stab in the dark, but it landed. A muscle twitched in Mom’s jaw before she shook her head without answering.
It had been Haggard, then. That fucking asshole, screwing me over from beyond the grave.
At least I knew my truce with the Harvester’s people had theoretically held. I couldn’t imagine Mom would have collected me this peacefully if I’d brought her empire to the brink of war.
She took another sip from her Cosmo and kept the glass in her hand as a faint vibration rippled through the plane. “Let’s leave your mistakes behind us, Luciana. We have a lot of future to look forward to—and prepare for.”
My heart thumped a little faster. “Are you going to tell me what those preparations involve?”
Mom glanced around, confirming that the small crew on the jet was tucked away at the front where the thrum of the engine would make it difficult for them to eavesdrop. “Now that we’re on our way, we may as well go over our initial steps—and my expectations of you.”
Oh, joy. I kept my obedient smile plastered to my face while I seethed. I did need to find out what she wanted me to do. “Go ahead.”
She grazed her fingernails over the table with a soft but unnerving hiss. “You should join the physical training regimen all of our core employees participate in. No one knows the exact reasons for your absence, but it would be wise to remind them of your strength and combat skills to help you re-integrate as an authority figure among them.”
“I can do that.” It’d also hone my skills for getting those employees off my back if I was going to make a break for it. And keep my body in decent physical shape.
“Yes, you can,” Mom said with a dry edge to her voice. “I’m also going to have you accompany me during some of my social engagements with our more powerful supporters. I want them to see that you’re present and ready to step up. No one should be getting any ideas about our chain of inheritance weakening.”
I hated that word on her lips —our.It tied me to her in a sticky web, one I hadn’t managed to wriggle free of despite my best efforts.
I could handle being paraded around in front of her friends. Nothing she’d mentioned told me why it was ever so vital that I came home, though.
“None of this sounds very urgent,” I remarked, studying her.
Mom flicked her fingers dismissively. “We’ll get to the important parts once we’ve established the groundwork. But I wasn’t finished. I’ll also be setting up meetings for you with a few other members of the Devil’s Dozen. I’d like you to feel out their respect for the Deadly Rose and confirm that none of them have seen your disappearance as an opening to test us.”
A trickle of cold ran through my chest to pool in my stomach. “You want me to talk to your direct associates? Would they even have heard about me leaving?”
Mom’s knuckles paled again with her silent tension. “It’s likely some of them have found out. We all keep a fairly close eye on each other’s activities. But they don’t know the reason, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
I could agree with that. Meeting with the other Devil’s Dozen members was like walking into a lion’s den. I’d rather not give them additional ammunition against me.
