Page 148 of Mile High Ruin

She watches me another second, deciding whether she believes me. “What about your mother?”

“Gone before him.”

“I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “I was not.”

Her expression changes. That answer interests her more than grief would have.

“You really don’t do the expected thing, do you?”

“Neither do you.”

She looks down into her tea. “That depends who you ask.”

She’s quiet for a while, looking out over the gardens, before she asks, “What about Mila?”

I glance at her. “What about her?”

“She barely speaks.” Sloane turns slightly toward me. “I’ve seen her at meals a couple of times, and she always looks like she’s somewhere else. Even Anya changes around her.”

For a moment, I say nothing.

There are things about Mila that don’t belong to me alone, and there are things I have no intention of explaining to Sloane while I still don’t know how much of her I can trust.

“She has some issues,” I say finally.

Sloane waits, clearly expecting more, and finally asks, “What kind of issues?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Her eyebrows rise. “That sounds compassionate.”

“She has been through enough. Leave it there.”

There must be something in my voice that tells her I’m finished with the subject, because she studies me for another moment before turning back toward the view.

“You have a lot of secrets in this house.”

“Most families do.”

“Not usually this many.”

I don’t answer, and after a while she lets the question go, though I can tell by the way she glances toward the house that she hasn’t forgotten it.

“My sister thinks I’m corrupting you.” The words leave my mouth before I decide whether I should say them.

Sloane goes still. “Nadia spoke to you?”

“No.” I turn toward her fully. “She spoke to you.”

Her silence confirms it.

“What did she say?” I ask.

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Sloane.”