“But you can’t. You said you were going to tell me everything, so start.”
Eva raised her tear-ridden face, holding her palms up to Dawn in supplication. “Unlike your boss, I want to share everything.” She tried to smile. “That’s who you’re also thinking about, right? The boss who doesn’t communicate?”
Dawn still felt a probe at her mind, even though Eva had apologized for trying before. Bitch or not, Dawn had to respect the persistence. “I’ve got nothing to give you about my job, so stop trying to interrogate me. I’m just your everyday, average Josie Blow with a dysfunctional family. That’s it.”
“You wouldn’t share, even if I could tell you what happened to your…Friend?”
On a bolt of rage, Dawn’s energy blasted outward, shattering a vase on the table near Eva. The actress jumped back, mouth agape.
“Just think,” Dawn said softly, trying to hide her own astonishment, “what I could do with a relic like you.”
Bluffing. It was all she had.
Mommy…
Dawn smacked the little girl quiet.
“Your Friend isn’t hurt, I swear.” Eva glanced at the vase and…smiled? “I was already home when the spirit attacked Julia, so I…Let’s just say I’ve very recently been trained to captivate. We’ve all been instructed in how to do it because of the party last night.”
So that’s what’d happened to the first disappearing Friend. At least Dawn knew now. “Since we’re being honest, were you the one who put me under by the pool?”
“No.” Eva looked angry, or at least she was pretending to be, because maybe that’s all a vamp could do—act. “And I’m going to find out who did it. Believe me.”
Dawn did, and for a forbidden second, she welcomed the mama-bear protectiveness, grasped on to it until she was holding on so hard she had to let go.
She retaliated. “So you still haven’t told me why.”
“My handlers,” the actress said, backing off of the mind screws. “They told me that, when I lost my youth someday soon, the roles would dry up. I was lucky to be in the flush of beauty now and wouldn’t it be nice if that could last forever? I got scared. I panicked. Frank couldn’t hold a good job and he spent money like a madman, so who was going to take care of the family if I couldn’t? I didn’t know it at the time, but my managers had…connections. They figured out a way for me to keep my career successful: my life insurance and residuals would provide for you and your dad while I waited Underground to make a comeback and earn a lot of money again. A lot more since my legend would pave the way. I wanted to always provide for you, even if I had to make a sacrifice to do it better.”
“A sacrifice.” Such a harmless word coming out of Eva’s mouth. “You did this for your own ego. You and Robby Pennybaker and Lord knows who else.”
“I always meant to come back to you.” Eva inched closer, seeming so much like young, fun-loving, kindhearted Jac that Dawn almost bought it. Almost. “Please. I was just released, and it’s the first thing I’m taking care of, besides getting resettled in my career.”
It’d be so nice to just accept everything Eva was saying and offering. Imagine, righting all the wrongs between them, starting over again as mother and daughter. Could all the empty nights of hearing Frank play old records be erased? Could Dawn even be a better person with her mom to guide her now?
So easy to fall into this emotional seduction.
Dawn’s neck throbbed, still tender from whatever had happened last night.
Something deep inside warned her not to fall. To hold on.
“We’re not bad.” Eva stopped, tilting her head. “All we’re looking for is a good life. Every single one of us.”
Dawn didn’t want to start wondering if creatures like Eva considered her, Breisi, and Kiko to be the bad guys. That would muddle all the righteous anger, all the justifications for vengeance.
Instead, Dawn summoned her Eva bitterness. Easy. Adrenaline surged, canceling her exhaustion.
Pretending to break down under all her mom’s tempting words, Dawn wiped the medicinal goop off her fingers as she walked toward the vampire. After the gel was gone, she opened her arms as if to suddenly embrace everything Eva had to offer.
Probably because she wanted it to happen so badly, Eva’s ageless face lit up at her daughter’s approach.
Abruptly, Dawn dodged around Eva, diving for the first weapon she could—the whip chain. Within a second, she had it unfurled, spinning at her side. The silver could poison Eva.
The vamp seemed to sink into herself. “Oh, Dawn.”
Heart fully hardened, she struck at her enemy, the silver dart on the end of the whip slicing through the air.
With mind-bending speed, Eva avoided the attack.
Dawn jerked in surprise, the flow of her chain interrupted. Annoyed, she got back into her rhythm.