Page 124 of Stubborn as a Shadow

“No.” He shook his head. “Let’s go over there.”

“If you’re sure… But just say the word, and we’ll leave.”

“Any word in particular?” His mouth curled in a seductive grin.

“Peahen.” It just popped out of my mouth.

Nelson’s grin dropped away as understanding blossomed over his face. “Peahen, really?”

“What? It works, don’t you think? Unless you’d like to be the peacock. I can lend my cloak to you.”

He ignored my offer as he guided me through the throng of people milling about the pub.

As we neared the table, chairs were scooted over, and new chairs were added to make room for us. Nelson sat in the chair closest to Van, while I took the one beside Violet. She nodded at us but leaned away from me.

“Violet?”

She flashed a weak smile at me. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

I grabbed her hand. “What’s wrong?”

Her gaze darted to mine. Her free hand tightened on her pint glass. “I’m just not sure I should be here. I don’t even know why I am… I should have gone home already.”

At least the music wasn’t as loud in this corner, so I could hear her quiet words.

“What are you talking about? Why would you leave? Is someone being mean?” I shot a scowl at the crowd.

“No, and that’s the problem.” Her hand trembled in mine. Her shoulders rounded even more, and she sank deeper into her chair. “Everyone has been so nice, but if it wasn’t for me, you would never have been hurt. No one would have been hunting for you. The hunters wouldn’t have come here.”

“V… No, that isn’t?—”

“You should hate me. Everyone should.”

“Why would we?—?"

“Gary… He…” She gulped and pulled her hand from mine. “He was the one. He found out you’re a unicorn—he had cameras set up at the house that I didn’t know about. Fuck, Mo-Mo, those cameras wereeverywhere…” She shuddered. “They found something on his phone, I don’t know... But the videos go back years. Years…”

She took a shaky breath.

“Oh, V…” I said as I reached for her. She leaned away from me and shook her head.

“You don’t understand, Mo-Mo… He sold everything he learned. To the hunters. To other asshole supes. To anyone who’d pay him. I… I think he’s the one who got Dad killed…” She wiped away the tears running down her cheeks.

“This is not your fault,” I said. And this time she didn’t try to escape my hug. I tugged her into my arms, but she only let me hold her for a moment before she pulled away.

I glanced at Nelson who was listening to our conversation. “Why didn’t you tell me Gary did all that? You talked to him yesterday, didn’t you?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t know, but I had my suspicions.”

We turned to look at Van. Nelson had told me that Van often told the local supes about what was going on with police investigations. It was a supe thing, apparently. I’d never been around so many supes before, so I hadn’t realized it was so different from how the human world worked. Or, at least how the human world worked on TV, which was my only frame of reference. This was the first time I got to see the process in action.

Van nodded. “Gary cracked today. We got into his phone yesterday, but it wasn’t until today that we found a bunch of files he’d tried to delete and hide. They showed the videos Violet mentioned, plus all the people he’d contacted and received money from. It goes back several years. When we confronted him, he caved and told us what we needed to know.”

I shivered, thankful for my cloak. Nelson had thought it would be too hot to wear to the pub, but I welcomed it now. A little barrier between me and the rest of the world.

Nelson pushed his chair back. Before I knew what he was doing, he’d pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m here. We’re in this together,” he whispered to me as he rubbed his hand along my back. Then he turned to Van. “Is that how Venus found out about what was going on?”