Dorien’s face softened, just a fraction. “Ease off, mate. You know I love Elena like my own sister, but we need to talk.Alone. Aroha just went back to her room. Maybe she could do with a visitor.”
Elena wiped her eyes and rolled off the bed. She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “We’ll be fine. We’ll find a way.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I kissed her back.
Titus stepped out of the way to allow her past. “Don’t snort anything I wouldn’t snort, Little Sis.” They all called her that, and it usually warmed me, but not today. Elena swatted him in the arm, and then she was gone, hair flying behind her.
I loved that my friends cared for her like she was their own. They were the only real family we’d ever had.
Titus had to turn sideways to move his shoulders through the doorway. He locked the door and leaned against the frame, while Dorien paced across the floor. I shoved my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t do anything stupid.
Dorien whirled to face me. “I need to know, did you smash Faye’s violin?”
Titus laughed. “That’s the most important thing here? Not that brick of coke in Ivan’s violin case? What the fuck, man?”
Dorien glared at Titus. “That’s not a brick, and we’ll get to the drugs. First, Faye’s violin.”
“Youdid that.” I glared at him.
“I didn’t. I took it after she left the room with Aroha, sure. I hid it in the guys’ bathroom. But I didn’t smash it. That’sfucked.”
Agreed. I recalled Faye’s face as she’d returned to the room, her chin held high but quivering, her voice rasping as she told Madame her violin had been destroyed. She hadn’t panicked – she’d gone to collect another instrument. She was stronger than any of us would have been under those circumstances. A swell of admiration rose in my chest. I spent all my life being strong for other people – for our mother, for Elena, for Dorien and Titus. I saw something of myself in her. Maybe that was why I felt…
No. Feelings are pointless here.
But I knew what Faye had done, stealing that cocaine and planting it in my violin case – and that wasn’t like me at all. Her wrath was pure Dorien. That explained why the two of them raged against each other. When they finally broke down and fucked, it would tear a hole in the universe. I knew she’d choose him over me – women always did.I just wished…
But wishing wouldn’t shove the coke back into the violin case. Faye had royally fucked me, and I couldn’t even blame her.
Dorien kicked the dresser, splintering the wood. “Answer me, you fuckhead.”
Titus and I exchanged a glance. This wasn’t the Dorien we knew – those frantic eyes, that clenched jaw. I couldn’t tell if he was going to break down or punch someone. I’d never seen him like this before. Even when he’d handed Elena and I those fake passports in Prague, he’d been calm. Determined. When Clare had been found dead, he’d held on to himself. But this…
Ever since Faye came to Manderley, Dorien had been pulled deeper into his madness. But how deep did that go?
Titus shook his head. “Why are you questioning us, man? We were all in the ballroom. No one left until Madame Usher sent Faye to find her instrument.”
“If someone else in this house is out to get Faye, I want to know about it. There are too many fucking secrets around here.”
“You can say that again.” Titus stared at his shoes.
“Heather? I wouldn’t put it past her to do it, but she would have owned it. Aroha was high as a kite again, or…” Dorien almost smiled. “Did Faye destroy her own instrument in the hopes of somehow framing me? She could have done it when she found it in the bathroom. I hadn’t considered that before – how amusing.”
“Dorien.” Titus didn’t yell. With that deep voice of his, he didn’t need to. Just by opening his mouth he could cut through Dorien’s bullshit.
“I know, I know.Fuck.” Dorien dragged his fingers through his hair. He swirled to meet me, collecting himself, pushing down whatever it was that agitated him so much. “You. Coke? I can’t believe this shit. You won’t even take a sip of wine.”
“It wasn’t mine,” I mumbled.
Big fucking mistake.
Dorien grabbed my collar and threw me against the wall. My back slammed into the stone, my bones cracking from the force. His face, inches from mine, twisted as he struggled to control the demon that threatened to overwhelm him. “I amthisclose to putting your head through a wall. It was in your violin case. What the fuck is going on?”
I screwed up my face. In all the years we’d known each other, all the world tours and trashed hotel rooms and stupid fights and dark shit, we made a pact to be truthful with each other at all costs. I had no secrets from these two.Until now. I had to take this secret to my grave – I was going down, and I wouldn’t drag them or Faye or Elena with me.
“It belongs to Aroha. I was keeping it so she wouldn’t… so she’d sober up. I hid it in my drawer, but I’m pretty sure Faye found it and slipped it into my violin case.”
“Faye wouldn’t do that,” Dorien growled, his fingers tightening around my collar.
