Chapter 31
CHAPTER
Tara
Halloween One Year Ago
JUST A WEEK before, Tara would have been nervous about what she had planned for the Halloween book club at Sophie’s house.
Scratch that.
The week before, she wouldn’t have even dreamed of the standoff she envisioned for tonight. But now she had her recovered memories to remind her that she was strong. That she could stand up for herself. Tara’s whole sense of self had shifted since then.
Now, seated in her car in Sophie’s driveway, she hit the button on her phone to make a quick video call to Jordyn so she could show off her costume. While she waited for her foster sister to answer, Tara checked her makeup in the rear-view mirror.
“Happy Samhain,” Jordyn’s voice greeted her as the video connected. “I can’t wait to see your costume.”
“Happy Halloween!” Tara replied as she took in her friend’s flour-covered apron while she stood in her Texas kitchen, surrounded by cookie cutouts in the shape of cats, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns.
Cooling racks held piles of baked cookies while Jordyn rolled out a fresh batch of dough to cut out more.
“And I can’t believe I caught you in the throes of domesticity like some kind of YouTuber homemaking goddess. ”
“We all have our secret sides.” Jordyn set down a cookie cutter shaped like a spider and brought her phone closer to her face. “But let’s see your outfit. It’s a little dark wherever you are.”
“I’m still in my car. Hang on a second.” Tara had arrived a bit late to the book club, so it looked like most everyone else was already on the scene. Thankfully, the exterior of Sophie’s house was bright with security and landscape lighting despite the inky darkness of a moonless night.
Stepping out onto the herringbone-patterned driveway behind Fatima’s dark green Audi sports car, Tara adjusted her headpiece so that the Maleficent horns were positioned correctly. Then she held her phone above her head at arm’s length.
“Oh wow, Tara, that looks amazing!” Jordyn squinted into her camera. “Is that train pleated in the back?”
“Yes, and it’s detachable.” Tara spun around to show off the Velcro tabs she’d used to hold the heavy black fabric in place. “I only just finished the staff today.”
She brandished the five-foot staff painted to look like a gnarled tree branch wrapped around a reflective purple ball at the top.
“You are completely frightening,” Jordyn assured her. “I hope you’re going to cast some serious spells tonight.”
“I might just do that.” Tara laughed darkly as she retrieved her purse from the car and then slammed the door shut. “I’ll have everyone I need to hex all in one room at least.”
“I thought this book club was full of your friends?” Jordyn frowned, swiping her hair out of her eyes and leaving a flour smudge on her forehead. “Is everything going okay there?”
“Better than okay,” Tara assured her. As much as she wanted to share everything she’d learned in her last therapy session with her foster sister, this wasn’t the right time. “Or it will be after tonight.”
“Everything you’re saying has an ominous ring to it.”
Behind Tara, another vehicle turned into the driveway and she recognized Kaitlin’s dark SUV.
“It’s probably just a side effect of the spooky costume,” Tara hedged, knowing that her showdown with Luke and Sophie was only minutes away now. She pointed her long scepter at the phone. “I’ll let you know how it all turns out the next time we talk.”
Tara smiled, feeling every one of the heavy red lipstick layers in her makeup mask.
“All right. Knock ’em dead. Your costume rocks and so do you.” Jordyn lifted a sugar cookie and took a bite before she disconnected her video.
Tara tucked her phone into her bag, double checking that the partnership agreement paperwork still rested inside.
Then, after greeting Kaitlin and receiving a grudging, two-word response in return, they headed for Sophie’s front door.
In the entryway, a table full of prestuffed bags awaited trick-or-treaters while a life-sized witch cackled as she stirred a cauldron billowing red smoke.
After Tara skirted the treat table to ring the doorbell Amelia answered, wearing gray sweats and a T-shirt with a skull on the front. Her expression was surly until she saw who it was.
“Cool costume, Auntie T!” Grinning, Amelia hugged her before giving Kaitlin a tamer greeting. “Come in. Everyone else is already here, and Mom’s just working on the appetizers.”
“Darling, I’m well finished with the food prep,” Sophie chided from deeper in the house. “Bring my guests in and then get back to your homework.”
Amelia rolled her eyes, some of the surly expression returning.
Tara had no idea why Sophie never allowed her daughters ten seconds of fun, but then, she didn’t pretend to be an expert on parenting.
Her first role model had been a struggling single mother who’d spent too much time working to really be a memorable presence in Tara’s young life.
Her next role model had been Lauren, who wanted a shopping partner who loved gossip and travel as much as she did.
“We’ll catch up soon?” Tara asked Amelia quietly as they walked together toward the kitchen where the others congregated. “I have a bunch of good book recommendations for you.”
Tara enjoyed both of Sophie’s daughters, but she identified better with the younger one who was a little curvier, a little more rebellious, and never seemed to snag her mother’s full approval the way her sister Charlotte often did.
“Awesome. I could use some reading material to lighten the hours spent behind my prison walls.” Amelia stopped just short of the kitchen, waving Tara and Kaitlin forward before retreating toward the stairs.
While Amelia stomped back up to her room, making no attempt to hide her displeasure with her mom, Tara pulled her attention to the kitchen where Kaitlin had walked ahead of her to greet Sophie with only a fraction more warmth than she’d given Tara.
Their stilted interaction reminded Tara that even though half of their book club had misgivings about Tara, most of them had equal reason to distrust Sophie.
From Tara’s perspective, however, the main reason her friends had issues with Tara were all directly related to Sophie herself.
Because of The Clean Break, mostly. Though in Mei’s case, Sophie had deliberately masqueraded as Tara to deflect Mei’s suspicions about her husband away from Sophie and toward Tara.
It had been a cold and calculated stab in the back from her business partner based on Sophie’s suspicions about her own husband.
She would add it to the list of things she got off her chest tonight when she spoke to Sophie. For now, Tara would have followed Kaitlin into the kitchen to join the rest of the group, if a rough voice hadn’t called her from the far side of the sitting room.
“Happy Halloween, Maleficent.”
Tara’s gut sank to hear Luke from the shadowed half of the room.
She turned to see him clutching a glass of amber-colored liquid, dressed casually in jeans and a white button-down.
Her heart pounded harder, even though she knew he couldn’t do anything to her with Sophie one room away. Within hearing distance.
Or was that his aim? To make Sophie jealous by flirting with Tara? Which made her wonder if Luke had been the source of the unfounded rumor about himself.
Would he really plant seeds of doubt about his fidelity if he wanted to cast one of Sophie’s friends in a negative light?
“Hello, Luke.” She gripped the scepter tighter, remembering the feel of that letter opener in her hand on the day she’d shown her stepbrother that he had no right to touch her without her permission.
“You’ve been avoiding my calls,” Luke accused, rattling the ice in his glass before taking a sip from his drink.
Tara glanced over her shoulder toward the bright kitchen, wondering if anyone was listening to them. Sophie had overheard her daughter all the way from the foyer. Tara took a step closer to him, unwilling to give anyone cause for gossip.
“Because it was a mistake for me to think you would ever give me useful information about my business.” She regretted that she’d allowed him to play upon her fears. Her weaknesses. “I’ll be better served working things out with my partner in the future.”
Luke laughed, not bothering to hide his amusement.
“You’ll be better served, will you? What about me?”
“What about you?” she snapped back, still keeping her voice low, but unable to hide her anger. “My work with Sophie doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“Sweet, innocent Tara. Always so kind to everyone,” he mocked her. “Yet you’re not above using the promise of sex to get your own way, are you?”
Stunned, she could only blink in confusion.
This too, he mocked, imitating her by batting his eyelashes. “You sure did snag a good deal on the house you rent from me, but that didn’t have anything to do with you flirting your ass off.”
Tara glanced over her shoulder again, hating the thought of anyone hearing this conversation about behavior that had no basis in reality. She’d assumed the reasonable rent on the house down the street was because they were all friends, and Luke was a wealthy man.
“I’m happy to pay market value. I hardly need handouts.”
“Did you believe you could just toy with me at that anniversary party for The Clean Break? Never make good on all the sexy insinuation?” He reached for her, and she scuttled back fast, bumping into the corner of a console table with a yelp.
While she steadied the lamp she’d almost knocked over, he came up behind her, caging her between his arms and speaking directly in her ear. “Maybe uptight Tara just needs a little chemical help delivering on her promises. Maybe we can try some Ecstasy?”
She reared back an elbow, intending to jab it into whatever she could hit, but when she wrenched it backward, she met only air.
Luke had vanished behind her as fast as he’d grabbed her. While in front of her, Sophie stepped into the sitting room, cold fire in her blue eyes.
“Come and join us, Tara.” Sophie’s voice was strangely soft. Her manner in direct opposition to the murderous look on her face. But then, no one else but Tara could witness the other woman’s expression at that moment. “We’re all waiting on you.”
Tara’s heart was in her throat from being cornered. From the threat of being drugged against her will. Holy hell, who were these people? She wanted to scream at Sophie.
At Luke.
But with Sophie’s kitchen full of guests, Tara told herself to wait until later. She would make sure to be the last one to leave Sophie’s house tonight. Once she had her conniving business partner to herself, she would demand Sophie sign the partnership agreement or risk a costly lawsuit.
Then, as soon as her former friend’s signature had been secured, Tara would get the hell out of this house. She would jump in her car.
Drive to the closest police station.
And file sexual harassment charges against that bastard Luke Sideris. Because if he touched her again, there was another letter opener in her purse.
She damned well remembered how to use it.