Twisted Palace

by Erin Watt

“Yeah?” I’m not happy at the interruption and make no effort to keep the irritation out of my voice.

  “It’s Dinah,” comes the equally irritated response. “We’re ready to eat.”

  “I’m not eating,” I call back.

  She laughs cruelly from behind the door. “As you shouldn’t. You could stand to lose a few pounds. But your father has requested your presence, Princess.”

  I clench my teeth. “Fine. I’ll be right out.”

  Gotta go. Eating with Dinah & S. 8-)

  * * *

  I push the suitcase out of the way and walk into the living room. A uniformed man is rolling a cart inside. While he carefully places everything on the large dining room table, Steve takes a seat at the head.

  “Sit. Sit.” He waves a hand, completely ignoring the nice man who is removing the silver domes from the plates. “I ordered you a burger, Ella.” He sighs when I don’t answer. “Fine, don’t eat it, then. But I ordered it in case you’d changed your mind.”

  The server lifts a silver dome off my plate to reveal a huge burger on a bed of lettuce. I give him an awkward smile and say, “Thanks,” because he doesn’t deserve my rudeness. It’s useless, though, because he doesn’t look at me at all.

  With a sigh of my own, I sit down. Dinah takes a chair on the opposite side of the table.

  “This is nice,” Steve announces. He snaps a napkin and drapes it across his lap. “Oh hell. I forgot my drink over on the coffee table. Will you get that for me, Dinah?”

  She rises immediately, grabs the glass, and brings it over to Steve.

  He kisses her cheek. “Thank you, darling.”

  “Of course.” She resettles herself in her chair.

  I force my gaze to my plate so no one can see the astonishment. This is a completely different Dinah than the one I met before. Heck, it’s a different Dinah than the one who just summoned me to dinner.

  I’ve only had two other encounters with her, and both of them were not good. She was confrontational at the will reading. And then, at Callum’s house, I caught her having sex with Gideon in the bathroom.

  Tonight, Dinah is quiet, almost shy, and it’s like watching a coiled snake hiding under a big banana leaf.

  Oblivious, Steve takes a sip. “It’s warm.”

  There’s a long moment of silence. When I drag my eyes away from the table, I see Steve staring pointedly at Dinah.

  She smiles thinly. “Let me get you some ice.”

  “Thanks, dear.” He turns to me. “Would you like some water?”

  The interplay between these two is so weird that I forget I’m supposed to be giving him the silent treatment. “Sure.”

  Rather than pour it himself, he calls out toward the kitchen area. “Dinah, bring Ella a glass of water.” Then he begins cutting into his steak. “I spoke with the DA’s office this morning. We should be able to take possession of the apartment soon. That’ll be nice for all of us.”

  I’m pretty sure it will be nice for none of us.

  Dinah returns with two glasses—one full of ice, one full of water. She sets the water glass in front of me with enough force that some of the liquid splashes over the rim and soaks my sleeve.

  “Oh, I’m sorry about that, Princess,” she says sweetly.

  Steve frowns.

  “No prob,” I mutter.

  Steve drops a couple of ice cubes into his drink, swirls it around, and then takes a sip. Dinah has just picked up her fork when Steve makes a face. “Too watery,” he states.

  She hesitates, her fingers growing white around the fork handle. I wonder if she’s going to stab Steve with it, but instead she sets it down in a slow, deliberate fashion. Pasting a smile on her face, she rises from the table for the third time and makes her way to the bar, where big bottles are lined up like little soldiers in a row.

  At this rate, I might start drinking from them.

  “Ella, I spoke with your headmaster today,” Steve tells me.

  I tear my eyes away from Dinah’s stiff back. “Why would you do that?”

  “I just wanted to check on your progress at Astor Park. Beringer informed me that you have no extracurricular activities.” He slants his head. “You mentioned you like dancing. Why not the school dance team?”

  “I, ah, I was working at the time.” I don’t feel like getting into my feud with Jordan. It sounds stupid saying it out loud.

  “Then perhaps the school newspaper?”

  I try not to grimace. Writing articles sounds more painful than sitting here at dinner. Actually, I take that back. This dinner is so uncomfortable that I’d rather be sparring with Jordan Carrington, so the school newspaper would be a welcome distraction.

  “What did you do as electives?” I counter. Maybe if I can get him to admit he was a slacker in high school, he’ll ease up a little.

  “I played football, basketball, and baseball.”

  Great. One of those.

  But hadn’t Callum implied that Steve wasn’t interested in running a business and preferred just having fun? Why can’t he let me enjoy myself?

  “Maybe I’ll try out for the, um…” I think frantically of some girl sport—“soccer team.”

  Steve smiles encouragingly. “That would be good. We can talk to Beringer about it.”

  Ugh. I guess I can try out for it, and when they see how terrible I am, they’ll kick me off the grounds and ask me to never return. It’s not a bad plan, actually.

  I pick up my burger and take a bite, even though I’m not at all hungry. But it gives me something to do with my hands, and it keeps my mouth full so I don’t have to make any more conversation.

  As I chew, I think strategy for the best way to get around Steve. I need to pretend like I’m meeting his demands while actually doing whatever the hell I want—hanging out with Val, fooling around with Reed, and having fun with East and the twins. Besides, watching out for Reed and Easton is a full-time job. In the meantime, I can hunt down possible suspects. I think I might be the only one interested in finding the real criminal.

  By the time I’ve arranged this perfectly in my head, Dinah returns with Steve’s latest drink.

  “What did you do in high school?” I ask her, trying to be polite.

  “I worked two jobs to support my family.” She smiles. “Neither of which required me to take off my clothes.”

  I cough mid-sip.

  Steve frowns again.

  “Did you know that Ella was stripping when Callum found her?” Dinah asks her husband. Her tone is sweeter than sugar. “How unfortunate.”

  “As I recall, you’ve never had any problems taking your clothes off in public,” he answers cheerfully. “And nobody had to pay you to do it.”

  That shuts her up.

  The hotel phone rings. Steve ignores it, and it rings and rings until finally Dinah gets up to answer. His gaze follows her all the way into the living room. When she turns her back on us, Steve shifts his attention to me.

  “You think I’m being mean to her, don’t you?” he murmurs.

  Faced with a choice between lying or finding out what the hell is going on, I opt for truth. “Yeah, kinda.”

  “Well, try not to feel bad for her.” He shrugs. “I think she intentionally messed with my equipment and tried to kill me.”

  My mouth drops open. Speechless, I watch as he slices into his steak and takes a huge bite.

  After swallowing, he wipes his mouth and continues. “I can’t prove it with the guide missing, but I can torment her. Don’t worry. You’re safe, Ella. It’s me she can’t stand.”

  Wrong. I still remember the threats she hurled at me when she found out I was heir to Steve’s fortune. Besides, I’ve seen Discovery Channel specials on snakes. They’re the most dangerous when they feel threatened, but I doubt Steve’s going to listen to any of my warnings. He’s going to do whatever it is he wants.

  But now I have Dinah soaring to the top of my suspect list. Maybe moving in with them is a good idea. I can find not only Gideon’s
stuff, but evidence that she killed Brooke.

  Then common sense takes over. If the police, not to mention Callum’s investigators, couldn’t find anything that pointed to someone other than Reed, how am I supposed to?

  Despondently, I shove the lettuce around my plate. “I don’t think you should poke a bear. Why don’t you just divorce her and move on?”

  “Because Dinah always has a plan up her sleeve, and I want to see what it is. Besides, I don’t have proof.” He reaches out a hand to touch mine. “And maybe it’s foolish of me to bring you into this mess, but you’re my daughter and I don’t want to miss another day of your life. I’ve missed too many before. I know you don’t like the decisions I’m making. And hell, maybe they’re all wrong. In my defense, I’ve never had a daughter before. Will you at least give me a chance?”

  I sigh. It’s pretty hard to be a bitch in the face of that.

  “I’ll try,” I tell him.

  “Thank you. That’s all I ask.” He squeezes my hand before drawing back and resuming eating. A moment later, Dinah joins us at the table again.

  “It was the furniture store. The police aren’t allowing them to deliver the new bed you ordered.” Dinah’s face is red and she sounds like she’s choking on something.

  Steve leans toward me with a feral smile. “Dinah was using our current bed to screw someone who isn’t her husband, so I’m having it replaced.”

  Wow.

  Just…wow.

  He turns toward his wife. “Have the building store it, then, until we all move in.”

  With that statement, the rest of dinner is a stilted, awkward affair. Dinah goes off to relay Steve’s instructions, and when she returns, she’s ordered around shamelessly. She meekly obeys every command, but still manages to throw a cutting remark my way here and there. And every time Steve turns his head, she flashes me an evil smile, which goes a long way to proving my theory about not trusting snakes.

  “Mind if I go?” I ask once Steve puts away the last of his meal. There’s only so much of this I can take, and after thirty minutes of it, I need a break. “I’ve got homework.”

  “Of course.” As I walk past his chair, he grabs my wrist and tugs me down to plant a kiss on my cheek. “I feel like we’re really a family tonight, don’t you?”

  Um. No.

  But I can’t diagnose what’s going on inside me. The kiss on the cheek from my dad feels odd. He’s a stranger to me in all the ways that count, and the urge to escape rides me hard.

  When I hurry into my room, the expensive leather suitcase tempts me. I could take it and leave. Be done with this weird family and not have to face the emotions that Steve’s existence brings out in me.

  But I just shove the suitcase into the closet, pull out my homework, and try to concentrate. Outside, I hear the television flick on and then off. The phone rings. There are other signs of life, but I’m not leaving this room.

  Finally, around nine, I yell that I’m going to bed. Steve wishes me a good night. Dinah doesn’t.

  After brushing my teeth and slipping into one of Reed’s old T-shirts, I climb into bed and call him.

  He answers after the second ring. “Hey, how’s it going over there?”

  “Bizarre.”

  “How so?”

  “Steve is awful to Dinah. He said he thinks she might have tampered with his equipment, so his revenge is to make her life hell. He’s doing a good job of it.”

  Reed snorts, clearly not feeling any sympathy for Dinah. “Ella, she’s an original See You Next Tuesday.”

  “Ugh, don’t use that word.”

  “I didn’t. I used several words. Four of them. How you choose to interpret them is your business.”

  “Dinner was so awkward. Worse than the night Brooke announced her pregnancy.”

  Reed whistles. “That bad, huh? Do you want me to come over? You said you have your own room.”

  “I do, but we better not. Steve’s so...I can’t read him. I’m afraid of what he’d do if he caught you in here tonight.”

  “All right. Say the word, though, and I’ll be there.”

  I snuggle deeper under the covers. “Do you think Dinah did it?”

  “I’d like to pin it on her, but Dad’s investigators say she was on an international flight from Paris when Brooke died.”

  “Shoot.” No motive then. “What about hiring someone? Like Daniel hired someone to knife you.”

  “I know.” He blows out a heavy breath. “But there are three sets of surveillance cameras at the building. The lobby and elevator cameras show only me.”

  “And the others?”

  “The stairwell cameras show nothing. The third set are in the service elevators. Staff, movers, delivery people use those. They were down for maintenance that night, so there’s nothing there.”

  My heart beats a little faster. “So someone could’ve gone up the service elevator.”

  “Yeah. But the DNA all points in my direction.” He sounds miserable. “And Dinah and Brooke were friends, so what’s the motive? Brooke had a rough childhood, made friends with Dinah when they were teens. She and Dinah worked their way into a circle of rich men, hoping to land one of them. Dinah got lucky with Steve a couple years back, and Brooke set her sights on Dad. But he wasn’t willing to put a ring on her finger.”

  “Do you think your dad…” I’m reluctant to say it, but…Callum could have hired someone, too.

  “No,” Reed says sharply. “No one in my family offed her. Can we talk about something else? Where are you?”

  I don’t want to talk about anything else, but I give in because I’ve had too much conflict tonight. I’ll never get to sleep at this rate. “In my room. You?”

  “I’m in yours.” I hear him inhale. “Smells like you. You wearing my T-shirt?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And?”

  “I’m not having phone sex with you before actual sex,” I reply tartly.

  “Aww, poor Ella. I’ll make you feel good at school on Monday.”

  His low-voiced promise makes me tingle, but since Monday is a whole forty-eight hours away, there’s no point to this conversation. I change the subject to the game, and we talk for a long time about nothing and everything and just hearing his voice makes me feel better.

  “Goodnight, Reed.”

  “Night, baby. Don’t forget about Monday.” He laughs quietly as he hangs up.

  Cursing him, I shove the phone on the nightstand and am about to turn off the light when my door swings open with no warning.

  “What the hell!” I shoot up and glare at Dinah, who’s walking in as if she belongs here. “I locked that!”

  She waves her keycard in the air. “These babies open any door in the suite.”

  Oh my God. Really? I’d noticed the keycard slot under the handle, but I thought only my card could open it.

  “Don’t open this door again,” I say coldly. “If I want you to come in, I’ll invite you in.” Which will never happen, because I’m never going to want her to come in. Ever.

  She ignores that, tossing her long blonde hair over one shoulder. “Let’s get one thing straight, sweetie. It doesn’t matter if we’re in a hotel or in the penthouse—it’s still my house. You’re nothing but a guest here.”

  I raise a brow. “Isn’t it Steve’s house?”

  Dinah scowls at me. “I’m his wife. What’s his is mine.”

  “And he’s my father. Who, by the way, left me everything after he died. Not you.” I smile sweetly. “Remember?”

  Her green eyes flash, making me regret taunting her. I’d warned Steve not to poke a bear, and here I am, doing the same thing. I guess I’m my father’s daughter.

  “Well, he’s not dead anymore, is he?” Her lips twist in a smug smile. “So I guess you’re back to having what you’re used to—nothing.”

  I falter, because she’s right. I didn’t particularly care about all the money Steve left me in his will, but now that it’s gone, I really do have nothing. No, th
at’s not true. I have the ten thousand dollars Callum gave me when I got back to Bayview after running away.

  I make a mental note to hide that cash the first chance I get.

  “You have nothing, too,” I point out. “Steve controls everything around this place, and it didn’t look like he was too happy with you at dinner. What’d you do to piss him off so hard?” I pretend to think it over. “I know. Maybe you killed Brooke.”

  Her jaw drops in outrage. “Watch your mouth, little girl.”

  “What? Did I hit a nerve?” I narrow my eyes at her. “Am I getting too close to the truth?”

  “You want the truth? Brooke was my best friend—that’s the truth. I’d kill you before I’d ever kill her. Besides, I’ve learned that accidents aren’t the best way to get rid of people.” She smiles savagely. “I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it.”

  I gape at her. “Did you just confess to trying to kill Steve?” Oh man. Where’s a recorder when you need it?

  She lifts her chin as if she’s proud of her actions. “Watch yourself, Princess. When it comes to children, I’m a big believer in the saying seen but not heard. As long as you stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of yours.”

  I don’t believe her, not for a hot second. She’s going to get some serious pleasure out of tormenting me now that I live under her roof. And was that comment about the gun a threat? Holy hell.

  “Watch yourself,” Dinah says again, then flounces out of my room and closes the door behind her.

  I stay in bed. There’s no point in getting up and locking the door when I know that any keycard can open the darn thing.

  Taking a breath, I shut off the light and close my eyes. Visions of Dinah flashing a gun in my face pop up, along with ones of Reed behind bars.

  Sleep is elusive.

  * * *

  Don’t lose ur temper with S. Not worth it. He’ll come around.

  That’s the text Reed sends me before he leaves for practice on Monday morning, and it’s pretty much the same thing he’s been saying to me this whole weekend.

  This whole long, terrible, long, frustrating, long weekend.

  Come around, my ass.

  Steve has already gotten me fired from my job and decided I’m trying out for a school team—you’d think that would be enough. But nope, it’s not.