Rusty had grilled her endlessly on the details of her new identity and made-up past. So much so that Zoe could recite them in her sleep. But now her confidence faltered as she listened to Rusty talk about how her brothers were trained to spot discrepancies, slipups, inconsistencies.
“Oh God, I can’t do this,” she said, pulling Rusty up short.
Her heart was racing, about to pound out of her chest. She could feel her airway constricting and knew if she tried to speak, all that would come out would be an inaudible wheeze.
“What if I screw up?” she asked in a garbled, panicked whisper, her gaze darting left and right to ensure they weren’t overheard.
“Relax,” Rusty said soothingly. “Keep it simple, remember? The more complicated you make it, the more likely you are to contradict yourself. Focus on generalities and no specifics. They value their own privacy too much to ever pry into anyone else’s. Now come on. People are already starting to stare. I need to introduce you around.”
Her pulse still fluttering wildly, she allowed herself to fall into step next to Rusty, pasting the serene smile on her face she’d practiced countless times in the mirror until she knew exactly how it felt and could do it without seeing the results to know if it was convincing.
Marlene hurried over, beaming as she enfolded first Rusty and then Zoe into a huge hug. Zoe closed her eyes, savoring Marlene’s hold and, for just a moment, fantasizing that this was her life. Her family. Her mother.
One would think Marlene hadn’t seen them in weeks, much less an hour prior, but then she seemed to treat all her family the same and, well, with the stories Rusty had told her of all their family had been through over the last several years, Zoe couldn’t blame Marlene for making each moment count. Who knew when it would be the last time Marlene hugged one of her sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren or adopted “strays,” as they’d been labeled, though Marlene vehemently disapproved of any of her “chicks” being called strays.
The Kellys obviously cherished every single minute of their lives and celebrated their happiness. Before her entire world had crumbled around her—her entire fake world—she’d taken getting up the next day for granted. But then she hadn’t had much to take for granted. Not like this family did. She couldn’t imagine the devastation they would feel if even one didn’t make it back from a mission, much less several, and given the structure of their organization as explained to her by Rusty, it was certainly not in the realm of impossibility that an entire team could be killed. All it would take was one misstep, one wrong decision. An ambush or someone from their past with a grudge to bear.
She gave an involuntary shudder even as Marlene gently disentangled herself from her arms. Zoe blushed and looked away, embarrassed that while Marlene had instigated the hug, she had taken it over and had clung far too long to the older woman.
But there was only gentle understanding and a soft smile as Marlene took one of her hands and squeezed as if to tell her it was all right before turning her attention to Rusty.
“I trust you’ll take care of introducing Zoe to everyone? I need to start bringing out the sides to put out on the table because Frank says the meat is just about ready to take off the grill.”
“Oh, I’ll help you, Mrs. Kelly,” Zoe said eagerly before she realized that once again she was trying to avoid the sea of people all standing around in the backyard.
“Thank you, dear, and please do call me Marlene or Ma. Anything but Mrs. Kelly, as I’ve already told you on a dozen occasions.”
She softened the rebuke with laughter, her eyes twinkling.
“But there’s no need. That’s what my boys are for. We’ve declared this women’s relaxation day and so all the wives are taking a well-earned rest while the menfolk watch the children and tend to the task of food preparation.”
Zoe frowned. “Then why aren’t you taking a break as well? You’ve been working all morning preparing food and getting ready. If anyone deserves a break, it’s you.”
“She makes a very valid point,” Rusty said smugly. “I know it slays the control freak in you, but you’re violating your own rule. Therefore, I’m going to point you to the nearest chair where I’m sure your grandchildren will be thrilled to provide you with all the entertainment you could possibly want. I’ll make sure the guys take care of the rest.”
Marlene looked startled and then opened her mouth to argue. “But—”
“No buts,” Rusty broke in, already herding her adopted mother in the direction of the nearest lawn chair.
The look on Marlene’s face was priceless and applause broke out over the gathering. Zoe flinched, not realizing that everyone had obviously been privy to the entire exchange. Not only that, but they’d all gathered closer to Zoe, Rusty and Marlene and now stood only a few feet away.
“Wow, Rusty,” a large, muscled man who had to be one of Rusty’s brothers said. “It’s always been Ma who instills fear in all our hearts, but now I’m beginning to think the real tyrant is you and that we should all be shaking in our boots.”
Rusty rolled her eyes. “Oh please.”
Then Zoe suddenly found herself thrust forward so that she was facing the impossibly tall, very muscled man.
“Garrett, this is Zoe, a friend of mine from college. Zoe, this is Garrett, the second-oldest brother in the cult.”
He laughed and then extended his hand to her. Trying to control the betraying tremors that seemed to pervade every muscle in her body, she tentatively slid her hand into his grasp. To her surprise, his grip was extremely gentle and his smile was genuine.