I HADN’T EVEN REACHED the bottom step when my hackles rose. My hands tightened as I turned the corner, and my legs became leaden.
Upon entering the kitchen, I halted. All air seemed to vanish, as if it had been sucked from the room, until I could scarcely breathe.
My worst nightmare had come true.
“Hello, Jem.”
I tried to rein in my scowl at Marianne’s greeting, but didn’t succeed. Eyes narrowed, I took everything in—pans bearing serving spoons spread across the table, sliced meat on a plate in the centre, the whole pack, bar me, surrounding it.
I turned toward my seat beside Sean.
Taken.
By Marianne.
My fists curled further, and my breaths deepened.
From Marianne in my seat beside my Sean, my attention lifted to the woman standing behind her—and I almost did a double take.
Maria
