“You will never, ever tell anyone what Devon did in the library,” she snapped. “Or I will kill you myself.”
My mouth fell open. It was bad enough Claudia was forcing me to work for her Family, but I’d saved Devon from being kidnapped again. And now she was threatening me? With death?
Anger bubbled up inside me, as hot and bitter as acid. My hands clenched into fists, and I opened my mouth to tell Claudia Sinclair exactly what I thought of her—
“Enough, Mom,” Devon said. “That’s enough. Lila saw what I did. I can’t hide it from her. Not anymore.”
Claudia sucked in a breath. “Devon, think about this. You don’t know what you’re saying. The more people who know, the more—”
“Danger I’m in,” Devon finished. “Yeah. I got the memo on that a long time ago.”
He stared into the fireplace, even though it was cold and empty. I wondered if he was thinking back to that day on the Midway, when my mom had saved him and Claudia. I’d always wondered why he’d been targeted by so many men. I’d assumed it was because of some Family feud, but I was beginning to think his special power might be the real reason.
Devon shook off his memories and turned to me. Despite his bravado, the worry in his green eyes pinched my heart.
“It’s my Talent,” he said. “What I did to that guy in the library . . . it’s called compulsion. I tell someone what to do, and they automatically do it—whether they want to or not.”
Compulsion was a rare Talent. I’d heard of it, but I’d never actually met someone with the power to make other people act against their own free will. No wonder the mystery man wanted to kidnap Devon. As long as he held Devon prisoner, he could get Devon—and whoever he forced Devon to compel—to do exactly what he wanted.
Or worse, the mystery man could take Devon’s Talent for himself, rip the magic right out of Devon’s body, and kill him in the process. It was the same thing my mom had always feared would happen to me if someone learned about my transference power.
“Some Talent, huh?” Devon barked out a harsh laugh. “Tell her the rest of it.”
Claudia shook her head. “There’s nothing else to tell.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You know that’s not true.” He drew in a breath and looked at me again. “It’s the reason my dad died. He was murdered because of my damn Talent.”
He said it as though it were a curse. Maybe it was, to him.
Claudia sighed. “Devon, you don’t know that—”
“Yeah,” he said in a soft voice, his green eyes dark with guilt. “I do.”
Devon surged to his feet, stalked over to the doors, and wrenched one of them open. He stepped through the opening and yanked on the door from the other side, slamming it behind him. Claudia and I didn’t say anything for several seconds.
“Who else knows?” I asked after the sharp echoes had faded away.
Claudia stared at the closed doors. “Only a few Family members. Angelo, Felix, and Reginald. Some of the pixies, including Oscar. People who would never betray the Family or Devon. People I trust.”
Meaning that she didn’t trust me. Not exactly a news flash.
“I hope you will keep this newfound knowledge to yourself,” Claudia said in a stiff voice. “If not for Devon’s sake, then for your own. The more people who know, the more danger my son is in. And by extension, everyone else in the Family. Especially you, since he seems to have taken a . . . liking to you.”
“Yeah,” I sniped. “Thanks for being so concerned about my well-being.”
Claudia’s eyes narrowed. “You have a smart mouth on you.”
“I take after my mom that way.”
Something flashed in her eyes. It almost looked like . . . aching regret, but it vanished in an instant. I looked at her, wondering if I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets, but her face was as cool as ever.
“Regardless, you should show more respect, especially to the head of your Family.”
My hands balled into fists. “You are not my family, mob or otherwise.”
She raised her chin even higher. “I am the head of the Sinclair Family, and you will treat me as such.”
“Yeah,” I sniped again. “Because you’re so kind and generous to everyone in your Family. Like me, the girl you just threatened with death for the second time in less than a week. That really makes me want to be loyal to you.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but her face became even frostier than before, as though her beautiful features had been carved out of stone. Marble left outside in a raging blizzard would have been warmer than her expression. Claudia opened her mouth, probably to threaten me again, but I waved my hand and cut her off.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I breathe a word to anyone about Devon, and you’ll kill me. And let’s throw in Mo, too, just for good measure, because that seems to be how you roll. Well, don’t worry. I’m not going to say anything about Devon, and not because of your threats. Your son . . . he’s a genuinely good guy. He doesn’t deserve to be kidnapped or killed or to have his Talent ripped out of him.”
“Are you asking me to trust you?” Claudia asked. “A self-confessed liar and thief?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t seem to me like you have much choice. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it? When someone has you by the throat like that? When they can take away someone you love just by saying a few words to the wrong person?”
Claudia blinked, as if she’d never considered it that way.
Not bothering to wait for her to respond, I stood and stormed out of the library.
I should have headed up to my bedroom to take a shower and wash away the rest of the blood from the fight. Instead, I slipped out onto one of the balconies, took hold of the nearest drainpipe, and started climbing.
Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Thud.