Page 76 of In the Pursuit of Haven
He covered up his smile by firmly biting down his lips and turned to Abby. She shrugged. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Zak dragged back from the counter to fill our paltry orders. “Coming right up.”
Abby pushed her chin into her palm. “Zak knows about those smuggling tunnels, I feel it,” she grumbled.
Probably not, but my mind was more consumed with that framed coin across the counter. That seemed promising. But now that I had Abby to myself, I could interrogate her, too. “That guy Hunter?” I asked. “How did you meet him?”
“Hey!” She put up her hands in self-defense. “Whatever Jessie told you? He brought him around first. I just thought they had something interesting to say.”
“Jessie was with him first?”
“Yes,” she said. “He was supposed to be one of his fishing buddies, and anyway, we got to talking.”
It was just like Abby to entertain the bad guys’ propositions. “You’re not working with Hunternow, right?” I asked.
“No,” she said hurriedly. “You’re far more interesting right now.”
I sighed. That had always been Abby’s problem. She’d do anything to put off the image that she was bored and unaffected. Never the victim—no, none of the Crabbs could appear to be victims.
I tried not to roll my eyes. Jessie had the same problem. He kept his insecurities under lock and key, and now Abby had turned the tables on him. I understood his concern. “Did they, uh… blackmail you into working with them?”
I noticed the knuckles of her hands had gone white she was clenching the bar so hard. Abby scoffed. “I don’t see anything wrong with being the one who actually finds that treasure my family has been dying to get their hands on for centuries. I saw a chance and I went for it.”
But then Hunter had shown how dangerous he really was. Abby would never admit she’d been in over her head… or what kind of trouble she’d put her brother in to bail her out.
If she’d been convicted as a witch a few centuries earlier, she’d dance her way to the gallows.
“You ready to talk now?”
I swiveled in my seat, seeing Robert had planted his feet behind us.
“Let me take care of this,” Abby muttered under her breath. She turned to face him. “What do you have to say?”
“Nothing to you.” Robert growled out. “I need a word with Roxy alone.”
“And you see that’s not going to happen,” Abby said. “I promised my brother I’d take good care of his girl, so if you want to talk, talk.”
Robert didn’t seem happy with that; in fact, he was going into a rage that made me go stiff. Worse, I could smell the alcohol on him. He’d killed a man in a bar like this. His lips trembled in unsuppressed fury. “Always surrounded by your guard dogs, huh? You can’t always keep them with you, Roxy.”
Abby straightened. “You don’t scare me. I’ve dealt with men twice your size.”
I put a steadying hand on hers before she got herself killed. “Tell me what you want, Robert.”
“Not withher.”
And he’d have to drag me from here kicking and screaming to get me alone with him. “I’m calling the police,” I said. “Your parole officers won’t want you bothering the family who put you behind bars.”
“Family?” He surprised me with a bark of mocking laughter. “Is that what you think you are to them? If you knew the half of what was going on…” He stopped himself from saying more on that subject.
“What?” I asked. Was this his blackmail he’d used on them? “Tell me.”
“Ha, never!” He sneered. “You’re just as brainwashed as the rest of these… kids.” He sidestepped another patron, and treating me to a parting glare, he shoved through the crowd… hopefully that meant he’d drink himself silly in a corner somewhere and not try to jump me in the alleyway.
My stomach was all curled up in knots.
Abby rolled her eyes, but her expression immediately softened when she studied my face. “Do you want to go?”
“No, no, not yet.” I feared retreating to the lonely streets more than this rough crowd. Taking a stabilizing breath, I tried to throw that sudden threat to the back of my mind. The rest of my worries melted away with the return of Zak’s friendly face.
