The witch trailed off, her chest rising and falling on a deep sigh.
“I said this wasn’t a great idea, Sabby.” Starla shook her head. “Did you use anything that could harm either of them?”
“No.” Her hands dropped to her sides. “I’m almost entirely sure.”
“What are you two talking about?” Riley asked, her dark eyebrows gathering into a single line. “What’s going on?”
Murmurs of agreement and confusion rose from the room at large.
“I’ll explain shortly. But first…” Sabrina eyed the GirlExplorers on her living room floor. “Riley, I need you and the rest of the troop to give us a few minutes of privacy.”
Despite identical disgruntled expressions, the girls shuffled out of the room. As soon as they shut themselves into the main bedroom, Sabrina swiveled toward the sofa.
“Now, Gaston Maxime Boucher, I have a question for you,” she said.
“I thought you might.” Max’s body seemed stiffer against Edie’s now, his posture more upright. “Ask away, witch.”
“My mother’s college roommate was Jacquette Mounier.” Sabrina laid heavy emphasis on the name, as if he ought to recognize it.
Since he didn’t ask for clarification, evidently he did. “That wasn’t a question.”
The unexpected intensity of the confrontation had silenced everyone else in the room. Wherever this was going…it wouldn’t be pleasant. Edie knew that much already, and so did Gwen, Starla, Kip, and Lorraine.
The telepath was casting a worried glance upward at her wife from the mattress on the floor while the oracle shrank back in her chair. The troll cousins, in contrast, had scooted forward, until they were sitting on the edge of their love seat cushions. They were watching the tense conversation like a tennis match, their heads swinging in tandem toward each speaker, their expressions avid. If they could have purchased a bucket of popcorn to share, Edie was certain they would’ve already done so. Several buckets, in fact.
And beside her, Max had gone so still and tense she might have been cuddling a concrete pillar. His hand cupping hershoulder squeezed tighter, until she could feel each individual fingertip pressing into her flesh. Then, with a detached-sounding apology, he let her go entirely and dropped his arm to his side.
“Jacquette Mounier, your longtime lover,” the witch elaborated, dragging out the words syllable by syllable. “The Enhanced human you fucked and fed from for over a decade. The woman last seen disappearing into your luxury DC condo shortly after the Battle for Containment, never to return. Mom told me all about her. Even years after they graduated, they stayed in touch.”
At that, Edie twitched. He spared her a quick glance, his mouth thinning, before turning back to their host.
“Again.” He sounded bored. “Still waiting for a question.”
Sabrina’s eyes were cold and dark as they studied him. “Did you kill her?”
“Yes,” Max said without hesitation.
22
Blood rushed deafeningly in Edie’s ears, muffling whatever reaction the others might have had to Max’s admission, and she struggled to think. To reason through what was happening and what he’d just admitted. Because the Max she knew—the Max she’d decided not to doubt, even for a moment, ever again—wouldn’t murder anyone, much less a longtime lover, in cold blood.
Well, his blood was always cold. That was kind of a fundamental thing about vampires. So yeah, okay, if he killed, he’d definitely do so in cold blood. But he wouldn’t kill an innocent or someone who didn’t force his hand through their own actions.
She believed that. Down to her marrow.
Looping an arm through his, she pressed closer to Max’s side. He exhaled slowly, and the thigh muscles that had bunched beneath her palm relaxed a tad.
“So you admit your guilt.” Judgment dripped from every sneering syllable of Sabrina’s next question, and she stood tall, fists braced on her hips. “Do you feel any remorse for murdering a woman so much weaker than you?”
“None at all,” he told her with a smile.
Gwen inhaled sharply and curled up into a fetal position in her armchair, while the trolls’ eyebrows rose in unison. Starla continued to watch Sabrina, concern cutting deep creases across her forehead.
And Max…
Not that he would willingly reveal any vulnerability to the witch currently interrogating him, but—Edie couldn’t spot any falseness in his expression. More…genuine amusement.
What had this Jacquette womandoneto him?
