Page 13 of Dance with the Devil

“You’re an interesting woman. So, you didn’t lie to your parents about where you were going?”

“They didn’t know. They didn’t care to know. I wasn’t supposed to find out the truth, and they liked it when I blended into the furniture. I guess I blended a little too well for them.”

He burst out laughing. “They didn’t even have a clue that they had a snitch right under their nose.”

“I’m not a snitch.”

“No?”

Maria frowned and turned to look at him. “Would you rather I had stayed quiet?”

“You’d have died with the rest of them, and if they had succeeded in their plan, you’d have been one of the top women. Men would have fought over you.”

She shook her head. “No, they would have fought for my sister, not me.”

“You don’t think you’re worth fighting for?” he asked.

“I know I’m not worth fighting for. I’ve been told that many times. Men value beauty and a lot of other things I don’t possess.”

“And in our world, men also value loyalty. You were loyal to me, to the family, and I can tell you, Draven doesn’t need anything else.”

But was it enough? Maria didn’t have a clue how to deal with Draven.

“He hates me,” she said.

“No, he doesn’t hate you. Trust me, if Draven hated you, you’d either be dead, or, well, there’s no doubt about it, you’d have been dead.”

“Draven kills everyone he hates?”

“As far as I know, there’s no one breathing that he hates.” The Boss shrugged. “That’s his way of dealing with the world. One death at a time. It makes it easier for him. If he hates someone, there’s usually a reason.”

She still didn’t have to like that.

“I’ve scared you?”

“It’s fine.” She wasn’t scared. “There are a lot of rumors about … him.”

“Yes.”

She waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “Is any of it true?”

“Yes.” The Boss began to laugh. “Am I annoying you, Maria?”

She was tempted to lie. She held her fingers close together and looked at him. “A little bit.”

“Ah, there you go, not telling a lie.”

“But you’re trying to lead me into one, right?”

“Some lies are necessary,” The Boss said.

“How can any lie be necessary?”

“To save people you care about, people you love.”

“Wouldn’t you lose … I don’t know, track of everything? Lies have a way of building out of control. How do you stay on track?”

“You’re an interesting woman.”

---