Page 11 of Heart of a Villain

“No. I was trying to avoid it.”

“She’ll be fine. I’m sure it’ll be easier to handle than your death.”

Adrían tipped his head in agreement.

“Before you leave, stop by my house tomorrow morning. We forgot about Eesh’s possible sister flying in today, so we’ll push you begging to stay to tomorrow. Plus, I kind of want to see what happens when you see Ayesha’s potential sister, especially since Wren,” Joel flicked his thumb at where Thanasis had Wren virtually trapped against the food table, “is no longer an option.”

“Seriously, why won’t he ask her out?”

“Dude, no one knows. Dez’s working theory is that predators don’t ask prey to take them on moonlit walks. Eesh said she believes that, underneath his ‘prince of darkness’ exterior, Thanasis is,” Joel snorted a laugh, “shy.”

Ayesha made her way over to them and handed Tiare to Joel. Theo called for Joel to “come and check out” the “hill” he made from the wet dirt surrounding the lake. Ayesha and Joel groaned when they spotted the half-eaten risóli on the ground next to Theo, who then picked it up and took a bite.

“Theo will be the source of the zombie virus,” Joel said. “I shit you not.”

“Hey, baby, can you manage both Tiare and Theo alone?” Ayesha asked. “I need a few minutes.”

“Of course.” Joel cradled the nape of her neck and kissed her forehead. “Take all the time you need.”

“And if I don’t see you when I get back?—”

“Get the cadaver dogs.”

She reached up for another kiss before hurrying off and disappearing inside the house. Joel watched as she walked away, his head angling further and further to the side until Theo called again.

Joel headed toward his son.

Adrían did his best to remain planted, but less than a minute passed before he was following Ayesha’s path inside the house.

CHAPTER

THREE

“Olá, Ayesha.”

Ayesha flashed him a weak smile. “What are you doing in here?”

Adrían pulled out the seat next to her at the dining table and wondered at what point he’d started to value his life so little. Sure, he joked, but if he wasn’t careful, one of these days, Joel would take him seriously.

“I saw you come in,” he said. “I wanted to check on you. Is everything all right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“Stuff.”

“Would it be easier if I fetched a wrench and tried to pull out three of my teeth?”

She graced him with the same weak smile. “So, I might have a sister. A half-sister. Honestly, although my father confessed to having another daughter, I didn’t put much stock in it. He died shortly after, so, at the time, I chalked it up to the nerves in his brain misfiring. Still, I asked Julien to see if he could find anything that might give the ‘other daughter’ rumor some credence, but after Curtis died, I told him to close up shop. That I didn’t want to know anymore.”

Adrían briefly shifted his gaze.

They’d already discussed that she didn’t blame him for Curtis’ death, but the guilt lingered. Had he gotten there in time, she would have never had to grieve the way she had.

“In a way, she ended up finding him,” she continued. “Curtis actually met her in person first, and it was Curtis’ reaction to her that made the wheels start turning. Then, Julien saw her, and he said we favor each other too much not to check.”

“And what do you think?”

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