Deceptions (Cainsville 3)

I exhaled. "Sorry. It's just--"

"You've had other parents for most of your life. I understand that. So before Gabriel was arrested, Pamela . . ."

"She told me he did it. Someone convinced her."

He frowned. "Who?"

"She won't say, but I'm sure it was a Huntsman. One of the Cwn Annwn."

He hesitated, and that hesitation told me he knew exactly what I was talking about. That was one thing he didn't have in common with Ricky--the ability to pull a charming smile and say, convincingly, I don't know what you mean. Todd didn't even try.

"Okay," he said, exhaling. "So you know . . ."

"Cainsville, the hounds, the ravens, the owls, Tylwyth Teg, Cwn Annwn, Mallt-y-Nos, Matilda of the Night." I met his gaze. "I don't know everything, but I'm figuring it out. I know what you are. Cwn Annwn. The blood, anyway."

He nodded slowly. "My father, apparently. I found out-- Well, it doesn't matter how I found out."

"Maybe it does."

He shook his head. "It might, sweetheart, but I can't talk about it. Your mother . . ."

"But you're like them. The Huntsmen. They hunt and kill, and their prey isn't foxes and rabbits. Is that why you did it?"

There was genuine shock in his eyes. "What?"

"The thrill of the hunt. The need to hunt."

"No. Absolutely not. I don't-- If there is any of that--any at all--I don't feel it. I would never-- I wouldn't."

"Tell me more, then. How did you find out about yourself, about me? What--"

"No, Liv." He met my gaze. "If I know anything that will help Gabriel fight his charge, I won't hold back. But my primary concern is protecting you. It always has been."

"Is that why you did it? To protect me?"

I expected the same reaction. Shock, with the emphatic and immediate denials. Instead, he hesitated again, and my stomach clenched so hard I had to clamp my jaw shut before I hurled my lunch on the floor. When his denial came, I was already on my feet, staggering toward the door.

CHAPTER FORTY

Gabriel called after me, not raising his voice, just sharpening it, as if I were a puppy who'd escaped her harness.

I kept jogging. He finally surrendered to indignity and ran in front to cut me off.

"If you want me to call Ricky, I can do that for you. I would argue, however, that I'm better equipped to deal with this. I understand the situation, and if--"

"They did it. They actually did it."

"My car is over here."

"And mine"--I dangled my keys--"is over there."

He grabbed the keys and whisked them out of my reach.

I could barely force the words out. "The only excuse you have for taking my keys--ever--is if I've been drinking--"

"You're distraught. That's equally impairing." He dropped the keys into his inner jacket pocket.

I headed for a cab idling in front of the prison and climbed inside. Gabriel opened the other rear door, folded himself into the backseat, and gave the driver his address.