Omens (The Dark in You #6) - Suzanne Wright Page 0,24
good, some bad. And it made his demon bare his teeth.
He slowly turned. A tall brunette stood a few feet away from him, her hand clasped around that of a small boy. Thea. He knew by the slight glow to their faces that they were currently wearing “glamor masks.” He couldn’t see the masks, due to his ability to see through glamor, so he couldn’t be sure what she’d look like to those who didn’t possess that ability.
She offered Keenan a shaky, tentative smile, clearly unsure of her welcome. She shouldn’t be unsure. He’d made it clear through Knox that he had no wish to talk to her. It wasn’t a complicated concept.
He didn’t hate Thea, though he’d tried to. He just didn’t want his past to invade his present. Nor did he like being reminded of his mistakes. Placing his trust in her had definitely been a mistake.
Her tongue darted out and nervously swiped over her lower lip. He’d kissed that mouth more times than he could count. She was still beautiful. But she didn’t hold the same appeal for him that she once had. Maybe because she’d stomped on his trust. Or maybe because another female occupied his thoughts these days.
His demon sniffed, unaffected by her beauty. It had slammed a mental door on her long ago, and it had no time or patience for her.
Rubbing her hand on her jean-clad thigh, Thea gestured at the little boy. “This is Lane. Lane, this is a friend of mine, Keenan Ripley. Say hello, Lane.”
Clutching a tablet tight to his chest with one arm, the boy looked at him, his eyes startlingly blank. “Hello.”
Keenan ground his teeth. She hadn’t just brought the boy along for sympathy, she’d done it because she knew Keenan wouldn’t cause a scene in front of him. “Good to meet you, Lane,” he said, unable to drum up a false smile.
“I left my lair,” Thea blurted out. “Lane and I are strays now.” She tilted her head. “You’re not asking why I left, so I’m guessing you know—” She cut herself off, her eyes darting to her son. “Some things,” she finished lamely.
Bending to Lane, she said, “Baby, put your earphones in; play on your tablet for a while.”
“Okay.” Obligingly, the kid switched on the tablet.
Only once Thea had put earbuds in his ears and seemed satisfied that he wouldn’t overhear her did she turn back to Keenan. “Gavril contacted Knox?”
Keenan nodded.
She licked her lower lip. “I didn’t kill my ex-mate. I swear, I didn’t. I was mad at him, yes, but he was Lane’s father. I wouldn’t have taken my son’s father from him. Gavril’s setting me up.”
Keenan felt his brows rise. “Why would he set you up?”
She bit her lip. “I can’t tell you. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t.”
Well of course she couldn’t. Because there was nothing to tell—she was feeding him bullshit, just as she’d done many times before. “Why are you here?”
She flinched at his curt tone. “Look, Keenan, I can understand if I’m not your favorite person. I let you down so many times, I know that, and I’m so sorry for it.”
She meant it. He could see that. Her apology might have meant something to his demon once, but not now. Too much time had passed. “What do you want, Thea?”
“I need your help. I’ve been trying to contact you for days, because I knew Gavril was going to do something bad, and I didn’t know who else to turn to. The last thing I expected was for him to kill Lee-Roy and then make it look like I did it.”
Keenan squinted. “Gavril killed him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She closed her eyes. “I can’t tell you that either. I know how that sounds. I know you have no reason to trust that I’m telling you the truth, but I am. I didn’t kill anyone, and I won’t be punished for something I didn’t do. I can’t go back there, and I have nowhere to go.”
“You want a place in my lair,” Keenan realized. At one time, that would have delighted him—he’d tried to convince her to join it for years. Now, it infuriated him, because she had some fucking nerve to request anything of him.
“Gavril won’t fight Knox for me,” she said, her words coming fast. “He fears him too much. But anyone else? He’d take them on, and what Prime would go to war with another to protect an accused killer? They’d just hand me and Lane over.