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“Not unless it’s suddenly become stylish for gan
g members to wear brown leather dress shoes and woolly jumpers.” I answer. “Oh, and not unless middle class dads are now partaking in gang membership.”
Delilah narrows her gaze on me. Rita laughs and nods her head to the dhamphir. “You see?” she asks, but before Delilah can respond, Rita’s entire body bucks forward as though she’s having a fit. My heart speeds up in panic as she lets out a loud wail of pain and then collapses onto the floor.
Chapter Two
What’s That Skeleton Inside Your Closet?
Alvie and Noreen rush to Rita’s side as she coughs violently, holding onto her throat. Soon her coughing dies down and they help her back onto the couch. Her eyes are wide and fearful, and the first person she looks at is her mother.
“He knows,” she whispers, almost imperceptibly. Noreen makes soothing noises and rubs her daughter’s back.
“Who knows what, Reet?” asks Alvie.
I stand up then and go to kneel down in front of her. I take her small, thin hands into my own.
“What just happened?” I ask her quietly, not failing to notice the rapt attention of the vampires in the room.
They all know that Rita is a powerful witch – that she could prove a very useful ally – yet they also seem to be keen to understand the source of her power, which is still very much a mystery to them. The fact that her father is a sorcerer is the skeleton in her closet that she’s most likely desperate to keep hidden.
Rita glances quickly between her mother, Alvie and myself. She looks me dead in the eye and silently mouths, “Theodore.”
Oh shit. As I said, the vampires don’t yet know of Rita’s unusual paternity. We’re all supposed to be working together now, but perhaps it would be wise to keep this piece of information private.
I lean in closer to her and whisper, “Did you see him?”
Noreen is clearly shaken; her entire face is pale as a ghost.
Rita nods and taps a finger to her forehead. “In here,” she answers in a low voice. “He was…trying to persuade me to go to him. It took all of my will power not to succumb. He knows what I am to him.”
“Where did he want you to go?” The vampires are on the edge of their seats, intently watching and listening to our cryptic conversation.
Rita’s dark brown eyes go wide, but then she lets her gaze drop. “I don’t know. I could just feel him pulling on me, like there was a thread around my wrist.” I can tell from the look on her face that she’s holding something back, but I don’t try to push her.
Ethan stands and approaches us. “What is all this, and who are you both whispering about?”
I glare at him. “None of your business.”
Ethan ignores my cutting stare and focuses on Rita. “Little witch, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she answers, plastering a breezy grin on her face. “Nothing to worry about.”
“You’re hiding something,” says Ethan. “Don’t do that. It will not end well.”
“Are you threatening her?” Gabriel asks, rushing to Rita’s defence.
Ethan smiles at him falsely. “Of course not, Gabriel. No need to get your panties all twisted up.”
“Don’t talk to him like that,” Alvie interjects suddenly, angered by Ethan’s mocking tone towards Gabriel.
Ethan’s eyes drift slowly – condescendingly – over Alvie, a satisfied smirk on his face. “I’m sorry, did I offend your boyfriend?”
“You’re a real piece of work, you are,” says Alvie. “Would it kill you to be pleasant to him? He is your half brother, you know.”
Ethan laughs and looks back at Gabriel. “Isn’t that sweet? Your little boy toy is sticking up for you.”
Gabriel’s green eyes are like slits. He stands up to face Ethan head on. “If you so much as look at him that way again I’ll end you.”
