Page 90 of Thief of Night
“At first I worried it was revenge for Rose,” Red said. “But you’re the Hierophant, investigating the Grace Covenant murders.”
“And I guess Rose’s shadow is bound to the person who committed them,” Charlie said. “Same brand of cigarette. Same bite marks on the victims. Did you see him?”
“No, I didn’t see anyone human,” Red said. “I approached the house through the backyard, thinking I was going to be able to get close enough to figure out if Rose’s shadow was playing a game with me. I didn’t see anything. Then two shadows came at me out of the dark.
“I killed one and chased the other into the house. We fought there, when a third shadow attacked. By then, I was hurt badly. Rose’s shadow came at me, ready to finish me off. It seemed possible she could kill me, especially because I hesitated to hurt her.”
Charlie shivered. “What did you do?”
“I told her that you’d discovered our plan and that the Cabal was coming. That I’d come to warn her. I told her to run.”
“Clever,” Charlie said with a snort. “But you really didn’t see the gloamist?”
“The next thing I saw was you.”
“You’re lucky you did.” Charlie met his burning eyes.
“I was wrong about you. I should have seen you more clearly, but I see you now. I have a lot to apologize for.” He took a deep breath, even though she wasn’t sure he needed one. “I don’t always think like a person.”
Red thought like a person who had grown up around a wealthy sociopath who’d had and done everything he desired, but she wasn’t about to make excuses for him.
He caught her gaze. “I am deeply sorry. I will not keep things from you again. I will not make choices for you. I won’t take anything from you, even if the thing I am taking is danger.”
Charlie’s cheeks felt warm. No one talked like that and she didn’t want him to see how much it got to her. “That’s a very pretty apology,” she said, attempting to seem unaffected. “I’ll think about accepting it.”
He closed his eyes. “That’s more generous than I deserve.”
Well, she had something to tell him while he was feeling repentant. “So, I, um, planned something stupid and may have used Remy Carver’s name to do it. I’m going to Solaluna and I plan to steal shadows back from Mr. Punch before he can sell them to a bunch of rich fuckers.”
He glanced up, raising his brows. “So you needed another rich fucker to get through the door?”
She shrugged, since she was still angry with him and unwilling to admitthat she had done anything wrong. “If you don’t want to help, I’ll figure out another way.”
“And miss seeing you in action?” he asked, a light in his eyes like maybe he didn’t mind so much that she was a charlatan. Like maybe he liked it.
“Mr. Punch promised you your freedom,” Charlie said. “If we pull this off and he finds out, he won’t support you with the Cabals.”
“They’d never let me go,” Red said. “Even if Mr. Punch really spoke up for me, which I doubt he would.”
Charlie believed there might be a way to hold him to his word. “Still.”
“You want to save shadows?” he asked gently, but with great seriousness. “I am going to help.”
Charlie grinned. “That’s good, since the room is booked in your name. But don’t worry, I used Topher’s credit card to pay for it.”
He laughed out loud. “How old were you when you started scamming people?” There was no judgment in his voice.
“Thirteen,” she said. “Maybe fourteen. Rand needed a kid, I guess.”
“I was about that when we came to live with Salt.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper as though if asked quietly, the question wouldn’t be so bad. “And became his personal assassin?”
He made a motion with his broad shoulders that was half shrug and half acknowledgment. “Salt told Remy that his mother needed help. He offered to put her in the best rehab on the East Coast, so long as Remy would help him with a few small problems.”
“That’s fucked up,” Charlie told him. “Remy was his grandson. She was his daughter.”
Red looked as though he was trying to guess what she thought of him. “It was little things at first. Spying. Stealing.”
