Page 145 of Accomplice to the Villain

Keeley took the note from her pocket and handed it to Gideon. The words were slightly blurred from the rain, but the handwriting, even with the smudges, was clear enough.

Gideon walked her in reverse until her back hit a tree. There was still plenty of room for her to move, for her to dart away from him if she chose. But she didn’t—she stayed. “Who wrote this?” he asked.

Keeley’s fingertips covered her mouth, her eyes frantic as realization washed over her with the raindrops. “Why do you…” Keeley looked down again, furrowing her brow.

Gideon grabbed her shoulders, shaking her urgently. “Who!”

Keeley paled. “The first line of defense into the manor. The person who always warns us before things go horribly wrong. His name is signed on the back.”

Gideon knew without looking. “The person who causes everything to go wrong yet warns you first, so you’d never suspect him.”

Keeley gasped. And Gideon kissed her.

She did not resist, didn’t push him away, just melted into him, and it felt so keenly right that they were doing this. Water clinging to their skin, drops falling, his damp hair gripped in her fists as she grabbed at him, pulling him tighter against her. She spun him and slammed his back against the bark, and he didn’t care about it digging into his skin, didn’t care about anything, just her. Only her.

Gideon reached for her, but she stepped back, staring at him like he’d lost his mind. “Why would you dothat? What about that moment said, ‘let’s kiss,’ you loon!”

“You kissed me back,” he pointed out, ducking when she threw a stick at his head. “Sorry! I just thought things were getting so serious and you needed something to calm you.”

Keeley wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “You did not calm me. You repulsed me.”

“Is that why I have claw marks on the back of my neck?”

Gideon may have had a death wish, but only a small one.

Keeley looked ripe for killing him but folded over instead, clutching at her knees. “Gods, I’m going to be sick.”

“Hey.” Gideon softened, pushing a fallen strand of gold back behind her ear. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Keeley looked up at him, heartbreak so clear in the way her solid exterior was cracking before him, revealing hurt, revealing pain.

It wrenched something deep inside him free, killing the sardonic humor and laying him raw before her. Her pain—it made Gideon want to break something.

For it was clear now that the traitor, the one who had sent the office into upheaval, who’d tricked and imprisoned his youngest sister, who’d shown a sinister amount of cruelty without ever revealing their face…

Was the first person to greet each of them every day at Massacre Manor.

Marv.

Chapter 74

The Villain

There were few things in this life that shocked Trystan. After years of betrayal—watching his back for enemies and those who sought to hurt him, to destroy him—he’d learned to weather disappointment with disillusion and disinterest. Human nature was predictable, a pattern. People turned on others for senseless reasons. People chose themselves. It was a theory that had proven true too many times to count.

No, Trystan Maverine didn’t shock easily.

Until he saw Evie Sage slap his mother.

He’d still been trying to rein in his harried thoughts when Winnifred had fled. Likely because every person in the room was watching her. He understood how she felt; he, too, hated the feeling of stares, that vicious cycle of wondering what they thought of you.

Oh…isthissympathy?

I hate it.

The servant was apparently the daughter of the enchantress they sought. Over the years, he’d searched every plausible avenue. When Kingsley was first turned, he’d exhausted himself for weeks and vowed he would never give up. All the while, Amara had hired on the enchantress’s child and had been housing her as a maid since Trystan left home, promising he’d never return.

He hated to break his promises. His word was the only thing he was dependable for. But he had not tried hard enough.