His dark eyebrows shot up. "What, that? That was nothing. Just a father looking out for his daughter."
"Most fathers don't threaten to disembowel their daughters' boyfriends."
"That's not true. And anyway, that's not what I actually said. It was much worse."
I sighed. He seemed to delight in my exasperation.
"Think of it as a graduation gift. I'm proud of you. Everyone knew you'd be good, but no one knew you'd be that good." He winked. "They certainly didn't expect you to destroy their property."
"What property?"
"The bridge."
I frowned. "I had to. It was the most efficient way. God, that was a bitch of a challenge. What'd the other grads do? They didn't actually fight in the middle of that thing, did they?"
Abe shook his head, loving every minute of his superior knowledge. "No one else was put in that situation."
"Of course they were. We all face the same tests."
"Not you. While planning the trials, the guardians decided you needed something... extra. Something special. After all, you'd been out fighting in the real world."
"What?" The volume of my voice caught the attention of a few others. I lowered it, and Meredith's earlier words came back to me. "That's not fair!"
He didn't seem concerned. "You're superior to the others. Making you do easy things wouldn't have been fair."
I'd faced a lot of ridiculous things in my life, but this was pretty out there. "So they had me do that crazy bridge stunt instead? And if they were surprised I cut it, then what the hell else did they expect me to do? How else was I supposed to survive that?"
"Hmm." He stroked his chin absentmindedly. "I honestly don't think they knew."
"Oh, for God's sake. This is unbelievable."
"Why are you so mad? You passed."
"Because they put me in a situation they didn't even know how to get out of." I gave him a suspicious look. "And how do you even know about this? This is all guardian business."
An expression I didn't like at all came over his face. "Ah, well, I was with your mother last night and--"
"Whoa, okay. Just stop," I interrupted. "I do not want to hear what you and my mother were doing last night. I think that'd be worse than the bridge."
He grinned. "Both are in the past, so no need to worry now. Enjoy your success."
"I'll try. Just don't do me any more favors with Adrian, okay? I mean, I'm glad you came to support me, but that's more than enough."
Abe gave me a canny look, reminding me that underneath that swagger he was indeed a shrewd and dangerous man. "You were more than happy to have me do you a favor after your return from Russia."
I grimaced. He had a point, seeing as he had managed to get a message into a high-security prison. Even if it hadn't led to anything, he still got points.
"Okay," I admitted. "That was pretty amazing. And I'm grateful. I still don't know how you pulled that off." Suddenly, like a dream you recall a day later, I remembered the thought I'd had just before my trials. I lowered my voice. "You didn't actually go there, did you?"
He snorted. "Of course not. I wouldn't set foot in that place. I simply worked my network."
"Where is that place?" I asked, hoping I sounded bland.
He wasn't fooled. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I'm curious! Convicted criminals always disappear without a trace. I'm a guardian now, and I don't even know anything about our own prison system. Is there just one prison? Are there lots?"
Abe didn't answer right away. He was studying me carefully. In his business, he suspected everyone of ulterior motives. As his daughter, I was probably doubly suspect. It was in the genes.