I raised my chin. “We were just talking.”
Kingston snorted in disbelief, but Maverik looked at my stinging cheek pointedly. I flushed, aware that there was probably a red handprint signaling to everyone what our ‘conversation’ had really consisted of.
Maverik circled Nina. “I don’t like you,” he said flatly. “I don’t want you or your daughter in my house.”
The façade Nina wore started to crack, and I saw nervousness peek through. “I already warned your father that you might make stories up about me. He knows you’ll try anything to ruin our relationship.”
Maverik looked at me, but the flash of pity in his eyes made me so angry that I gave him a defiant glare. “I don’t need your protection,” I snarled.
His face hardened, all the softness gone from his eyes. “My protection?” he said with a soft chuckle. “Is that what you think this is?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but he turned back to Nina.
“My father believes you care about this girl,” he said contemptuously. “What’s he going to say when he finds out she’s just another prop in your charade?”
Nina’s face paled, but she stood strong. “What will your father think about you when Katya tells him that you’re a liar? I’ve seen him lose patience with your attitude on more than one occasion. What would it take for him to send you away?”
I looked between Nina and Maverik. These were my choices?
Nina smiled at Maverik when she saw my indecision. “Maybe Richard should send the two of you boys to live elsewhere so we can spend our time traveling.”
I wasn’t going to lie on my mother’s behalf. I had no desire to help her con Richard into marrying her, or to destroy his relationship with his sons. But I also wasn’t going to go running to Richard with stories about how mean my mother was. She had her claws too deeply into him, and she would somehow turn it on me. I needed to be careful not to back her into a corner where her only option was through me.
Maverik watched me as if he could hear my thoughts.
“Katya won’t lie for you,” he told Nina bluntly. “She’s smarter than that.”
Nina turned her hateful gaze toward me, and I didn’t flinch. I was surprised that she dropped her ‘nice mom’ act in front of Maverik and Kingston, but I guess she considered them a lost cause at this point. Once she showed the ugliness inside of herself, they wouldn’t ever believe the nice act she slid over the surface. She was now exposed in front of them, and she was probably blaming me in her head.
“She’ll do what I tell her to do,” my mother hissed. “Because she knows what will happen if she doesn’t.”
I flashed back to the threats she made on the plane. She was mean and vicious enough to have me seriously hurt, but would she dare now that Maverik and Kingston were onto her? If she made any move to harm me, they would use that against her. Especially if her own daughter corroborated their story. Maybe them seeing a glimpse of who she truly was could be a good thing for me.
Maverik’s gaze seared into mine and the intensity there made my breath hitch, and my chest tighten. My heart pounded as his piercing eyes searched deep within me, as if looking for something that he desperately needed to see. Was he taking my measure? Trying to determine if Nina’s ugliness was something that was in my core as well?
I stood strong and didn’t let him intimidate me. I met his gaze without fear and try to see inside his head. What was he thinking? Did he realize we were actually on the same side? Or did he still think I was Nina’s pawn?
Maverik broke eye contact and abruptly shifted his gaze back to Nina, and I let out a relieved breath. His intensity was almost too much to handle, and it took a lot of effort to hold my own against him. Tension in the room built, and Nina and Maverik faced off, and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.
The door to the theater room opened again, and I held my breath when I saw it was Mrs. Ferguson. Had she heard us all fighting in here?
“There you boys are!” she said in a cheerful voice. “I should have guessed you would want to spend some time with Katya!”
I let out a breath of relief that this nightmare of a conversation was coming to an end. Nina had switched her personality back to ‘loving mother’ mode, and Maverik had a charming smile on his face as well.
“Of course, Mrs. Ferguson,” Kingston said brightly. “We were just telling Nina that we could keep Katya company while Nina went on her trip. We don’t want her to miss out on something she planned over a month ago.”
I flushed when I realized Kingston and Maverik must have heard the conversation from the very beginning when Nina spoke about her spa trip plans.
“It will be good for the three of us to spend some time together,” Maverik said smoothly.
Mrs. Ferguson looked delighted and clasped her hands together. “Fantastic! I was just coming to let you boys know I had dinner ready. Katya, I put together a salad for you as well.” Her voice cooled noticeably when she turned her attention to Nina. “Will
