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“Could have. Didn’t.” He looked across the table to meet Gabriel’s eyes. “I didn’t kill anyone, innocent or not. Right?”
Gabriel let the lid of his lighter fall open, flicking the igniter while it rolled.
Nick reached out and snapped it closed before a flame could fully form. He held fast, and Gabriel could almost read his thoughts. Don’t. You’ll start a fight we can’t win.
And that . . . that made Gabriel look away.
He jerked free of his twin, shoved the lighter into his pocket, and scowled.
“Why didn’t you kill us?” said Chris. “Why go to all that trouble with the walk-in freezer, and setting Nick’s leg ”
“Ever go fishing?” said Bill.
“Sure.”
“I only had two of you. In my experience, live bait works better.”
“You’re avoiding the question,” said Becca. Her voice was full of challenge, but her fingers looked like they had a death grip on Chris’s. “Why do you want to help us now? ”
“I’m not avoiding the question.” Bill leaned back in the chair and shrugged. “I don’t necessarily want to help, but the stakes have changed.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Meaning what? ”
Her father hesitated.
Michael jumped on it. “Meaning, Becca, ” he said. “We’re not the only ones hiding anymore. I’m willing to bet that the only people who know Becca’s a Fifth are sitting at this very table.”
He turned dark eyes to Bill. “Am I right?”
A nod. “Yes.”
Michael leaned in against the table. “And I’m guessing the other Guides wouldn’t be too happy to find out you kept her a secret.”
“Probably not.”
“So you’re protecting yourself,” said Becca. She snorted.
“Typical.”
Her father turned to look at her. “Just what do you think they’d do, Becca? Slap me on the wrist and forget you exist?”
She stared back at him, and Gabriel could see the battle in her expression, that she wanted to know what they’d do but she was afraid of the answer.
“They’d make you kill her,” said Hunter, his voice low. “To prove your loyalty.” He was watching Bill, too, his expression shadowed.
Becca’s father didn’t say anything and that was obviously answer enough. Her face paled a shade, and she glanced at Hunter. “How did you know that?”
He shrugged a little. “My father used to tell me stories. Of how the Guides wouldn’t allow their goals to be compromised.
One death is nothing compared to the greater good, right?”
“Yeah?” said Chris, his tone unfriendly. “And where do you fit into that?”
Hunter met his eyes and didn’t back down. “I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”
“Stop,” said Becca. “Don’t fight.”
Michael cleared his throat. “So what are you proposing?”
