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"We’ll have to wait and see," I said "There’s no point in worrying yourself sick about it now"

"We’ll talk about this later" Gwen’s tone made the words sound like a threat

I held open the door as she carried the coffee tray into the dining roootten the tira was over Not even Kane could pull Gwen back froone in her worries about Maria, in her anger and hurt that Maria had chosen to talk to h Within fifteen ht

4

"THAT WENT PRETTY WELL," I SAID AS WE PULLED OUT OF Gwen’s driveway and headed back to Boston

"Are you kidding? If that had been a trial, and the jury was starting its deliberations--like your sister and her husband are doing in their living roo the hallways, chewing ure out how to tellto lose"

"Oh, come on It wasn’t that bad Okay, there were a couple of tense nal"

He scowled like he thought I was teasing him "I wish you’d told me not to mention your aunt"

"I should have I’m sorry about that"

But even if I hadn’t been distracted on the drive out here, Iup the issue In my mind, Mab’s household and Gwen’s family existed in such coht to warn Kane Of course, without that warning fro up family would be a natural icebreaker He’d probably expected that saying he liked Mab would win hiiant steps back

"What happened between them?" he asked

"I don’t know, exactly" The anio "When Gas thirteen, she went to Wales for her first su Or that’s as supposed to happen--she was home within a month When I asked her why she came back, she burst into tears and toldBut whenever anyone mentioned Mab’s name, Gould shout, ‘I hate her,’ and run out of the rooed our family No more Christmas visits to Maenllyd, Mab’s o And all those summers I spent in Wales, Gwen never once asked about Mab or acknowledged that I’d been away She hadn’t invited Mab to her wedding; she hadn’t sent announcements when her children were born Because of Gwen, Mab hadn’t attended h for Gwen? Your aunt isn’t exactly a softie"

I shook my head "It was more than that Mab wouldn’t speak of the incident, either" I’d asked her about it when I began my apprenticeship "She told me it was none ofShe said so in a way that made me think it would be a bad idea to ask a second time" Mab never said she hated Gwen; she never talked about her at all Whatever had happened, it erased each of theet so co a lone wolf"

"Oh, yes? Should I stay atat yours?"

He gave ht into the e lot of a closed mini-mall He stopped, turned to me, put his hands behind my head, and pulled me to him for a kiss All the tension, all the pent-up frustration of the evening, was transforainstainstthe back of ht now it all felt pretty daain when his cell phone rang

He groaned He pulled out his phone and checked the number "Daer along my lips as he pressed a button and put the phone to his ear "Alexander Kane" He listened for a couple of seconds His finger stoppedon my mouth "Hold on" He muted the phone and turned to me

"It’s about Juliet She’s in Goon Squad custody"

My heart lurched The Goons had Juliet? At least she was safe fro held by the cops who police Deadtown--and that wasn’t good news

The Old Ones weren’t the only ones looking for Juliet She was also wanted for questioning in connection with that Supreme Court justice’s hts case Witnesses had seen Juliet in Washington on the night Justice Frederickson was killed But what the cops didn’t know--or wouldn’t believe--was that the Old Ones had been there, too Kane had seen the his olf retreat that night, the first night of a full e in the middle of the city They’d almost succeeded, too

When Justice Frederickson’s body was found, her throat ripped out, Kane was initially the prie hiht alibi: Just before moonrise, he’d made it to a olf safe room at the National Zoo, where he remained locked in until dawn Kane was convinced the Old Ones had murdered Frederickson and tried to frame him for it--and that Juliet was somehow involved

Had Juliet admitted her involvement? Was that the reason for this phone call? I couldn’t believe it

I listened, but I couldn’t make much sense of Kane’s onesided conversation When he ended the call, I asked as going on "When did the Goons pick up Juliet? Where?"