Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

can make an appointment. I will not have my privacy interrupted while I’m dressing.”
    “But ― ”
    “Get. Out.”
    Brigid turned, flustered. The girl’s baby bump showed now. Diana thought she was more beautiful than ever. Glowing, her ample breasts heaving from a low cut dress, Brigid backed out of the room.
    Diana’s posture carried her indignity, knowing the camera h ad recorded her temper tantrum. She had years honing her show business chops. She ’d learned how to carry a scene.
    Now if I can keep it up when I face someone higher on the food chain.

Chapter Forty- Two
    Into the Lioness’s Den

    M aia deliberated on Anat’s escape plan until it burn ed a hole in her brain. The scheme was dangerous . Could they p ull it off ? If they tried and failed, even their pitiful freedoms would be rescinded. Seth would be part of it ― a means to an end, just like she had been to him. D id she have the guts to follow through ?
    She spent the morning in her suite with her children, making progress with Leo but not with Phillip. His reticence disturbed her. She asked which people he liked and who he didn’t. The boy measured his answers to address some questions and added nods and shakes of his head for others. No matter what Maia did, she couldn’t break through the layer of self-protection he’d constructed. T he fact that a ten-year-old boy had erect ed a protective shield against any closeness warned her something bad had happened to him .
    Iris plied her feminine charms like she’d been instructed to do . She fawned over Maia the whole time, touching her hair and tracing her fingers over her mother’s face, calling her princess mommy. She tried to monopolize Maia, determined to keep her from connecting with the boys , and seemed resentful when she did. She’d learned her lessons well.
    “Let me visit with Anat for an hour or two, Seth,” Maia said when time came for the children to go. “I’m hungry for companionship.”
    “Aren’t I enough for you, Maia?”
    Maia had learned her lesson too. Truth got nowhere with Seth. Anat was spot-on . He was a company man, right down to the hard-on for her he carried like a warrior’s spear. No matter how much he claimed to love her, his allegiance had always been to the family. S he doubted Seth plann ed or condoned kidnapping other peoples’ babies. That decree came straight from the top. Was he ready to buck the system ?
    “You’re more than enough. You always were.” Maia meant those words even if she used them to get what she wanted. Even if it meant giving in to the skilled hands now caressing her body, turning her nerve endings into firecrackers. She could no more resist his touch than she could cease breathing.
    Over twenty years of brainwashing couldn’t eliminate the group ’s obscene criminal offenses . They must be stopped . She ’d turned against her own people, rejected their rituals and way of life , b ut as Seth undressed her, as he kissed and licked her naked body, she s pread her legs and let him in.
    * * * * *
    L ater, after Seth relented and allowed Maia to visit Anat, t he two women sat on the balcony, huddled close , with only the sound of the rushing water breaking the silence .
    Maia’s determination held fast. If she didn’t do this now, she’d never forgive herself. In the clear light of day, she saw her responsibility stretched beyond her personal well-being. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” Anat asked.
    “I’ve thought about it , and yes . I have no choice . I can’t let my children live here any longer, and you’ll rot soon if you don’t leave.”
    “I won’t rot, but if I don’t agree to bear another child, they’ll do what they did to you. The only reason they didn’t is because I got pregnant. They’re dying to discover who the father is, but that’s between me and him. T he board, minus Seth, questioned everyone who’s ever visited me.” She gazed at Maia. “I do have friends here.”
    “Thank goodness.” Maia shook her head. “I can’t believe I went along all those years. What was I thinking?”
    “You weren’t thinking. If you’re one of us, you’re not supposed to think, just perform.”
    Her half-sister made a good point. “Wh y are you different?”
    “A wayward gene.” Anat’s tone changed. “ There’s a bigger problem, though , o ne that might alter our plans.”
    “Like what?”
    “ Ever hear of the psychic, Diana Racine?”
    “Of course. She’s been at the house.