If Adria wanted to hold on to the threadbare child’s hope that she was still around, that was her business, not theirs.
“What would X have to gain from lying to me?” Adria asked, even though she knew the answer.
“Your continued cooperation. To keep you moving towardshisend goal and not yours.”
Adria fought to keep her feet on the ground. Wanting desperately to curl her knees into her body.
“What choice do we have?” she said.
Eric tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “We move forward but with eyes open.”
CHAPTER 33
POLANCO
Bryson lounged in the sunroom; Kaydon, Elena, and Seth were playing a game of Scrabble.
“It’s not a word,” Elena said.
“Za, like pizza,” Seth said. “If Kaydon gets to use Qi, I should be able to use Za.”
“You two cheat,” Elena said, throwing a piece at Seth.
Bryson noticed Eric walking out of the gardens. He watched as his sister followed his movements.
“Just talk to him,” Kaydon said, noticing the same thing.
Elena shook her head. “He isn’t into me, I can tell.”
“How can you tell?” Seth said. “The guy doesn’t give anything away. He could have eyes for you and you might not even know it.”
Elena grabbed a new tile from the pile. “He has eyes forsomeone,” she grumbled.
Seth, who was leaning against some pillows, sat upright. “What? Who?”
Bryson shook his head. He knew his sister was talking about Daniela. Seth must have been living under a rock not to noticethe sexual tension between the two of them. Then again, they were all a little preoccupied.
“You can use Za,” Elena said. Putting the letters ‘Vug’ on the board.
“Vug?” Kaydon said.
“It means a small cavity in a rock,” Bryson said.
Kaydon and Seth looked at him. “And how do you know that?” Kaydon said.
Elena answered for him. “Our mother taught him.”
Bryson laughed to himself, remembering the first time he had used that word playing with Elena. She was six when their mother died, so she never got to play with her. But Bryson and her had played all the time.
Adria walked into the room, and Bryson brushed his hand against hers. When she wrapped her fingers in his, he pulled her into the chair with him.
He moved in the chair so that the two of them shared the same space. It was crazy how normal it felt to be near her, like they’d been doing this for years instead of days.
“You four almost done?” she asked the group, and Bryson caught the edge in her voice—that particular tone she used when someone was in trouble.
“I’m done. We are all cheating anyway,” Seth said.
“Speak for yourself,” Elena said. “Vug is a word. Look it up.”
