Carly headed up the coast to the resort in McCabe that Abel and Esther’s parents owned and managed. The coffee shop there was the only place to get a decent cup of espresso in the area, and definitely worth the ten-minute drive north.
“Get whatever you’d like, it’s on me,” Abel announced as they stepped inside the small café.
“You don’t have to,” Carly protested.
“Carly, it’s just a cup of coffee,” he reasoned as they reached the counter. Abel grinned at the twenty-something barista, Lila, who was most definitely a fan of his. “Hey, good morning. I’ll have a medium black coffee and whatever my friend here wants.”
Lila had a warm smile for Abel, but it faded as she looked to Carly. Though Carly didn’t know to what extent, Lila and Gabe had fooled around. He’d never given any details, and Carly had never asked for any. No matter what had happened between them, Lila didn’t much care for Gabe’s girlfriend.
“Let me guess, Carly,” Lila spoke sourly as she stared down at her register. “Vanilla soy latte?”
“With an extra shot,” Carly answered. “Thanks.”
Abel set a ten on the counter, and said, “Keep the change.”
“Thanks,” Lila told him. “I’ll have those right out.”
“Want to sit by the window?” Carly asked, leading the way to her favorite table. “I love the view of Lake Superior from here. It never gets old.”
“It’s nice to hear you say that,” Abel said as she sat across from him.
“Why’s that?”
He shrugged. “You wanted to leave this place the moment you got here. I guess it’s just nice knowing you have a reason to stay—besides Hutchinson, of course. You two must be pretty serious. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him use the L-word.”
Carly’s face burned as she focused out the window on the raging waves of the Great Lake. “Yeah, it’s… new for me, too.”
“Well, I’m happy for you.”
“Are you?”
“Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t I be?”
Carly sat back in her chair as she looked over Abel, the memory of their connection in the cave flooding back. A connection she really didn’t want to acknowledge right now, considering she’d just said the L-word to another guy. So, she turned to the one question she was certain would lead to a change of subject. “Abel, why don’t you and Gabe get along?”
Abel smirked as he looked past her out the window. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, don’t patronize me. It’s pretty apparent you two don’t like each other. I’ve only known you guys for a few months, but I sense it every time you’re together. Gabe pretty much avoids the subject, but I think I deserve to know. What’s up with you two?”
“Carly,” Abel sighed, shaking his head.
“That’s not an answer. I thought we weren’t supposed to keep secrets from each other?”
He crossed his arms over his chest as he mumbled, “Maybe I’m not the one keeping secrets.”
He has a secret, flashed across Carly’s thoughts—just as it had last night. “You mean Gabe, don’t you? What isn’t he telling me?”
“Here are your drinks,” Lila said as she set them on the table. She rested her hand on Abel’s shoulder, leaning down so she was eye level with him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Abel remained intent on Carly as Lila stepped away. Carly thought he might speak once they had their privacy, but he kept his lips pressed firmly together. Which only confirmed that the random thought that Carly had had last night—the very reason she hadn’t slept with Gabe—wasn’t random at all.
“Abel,” Carly snapped.
“It’s nothing,” he assured her, the words catching in his throat. “Really, Carly, just let it go. I have.”
“And if I hear your thoughts, will they be any different?”
Abel picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “Good luck with that.”
Carly leaned in to search his gaze, making sure she had the facts straight. “Gabe’s keeping something from me, and you two hate each other. I know they’re connected somehow.”
“We don’t… hate each other.”
“Maybe you don’t, but if you did, you’d still have to stay friends because of what we are. Right?”
Abel’s face turned to stone. “Maybe you should take me home. I’m sure you’ve got some book you’d like to get back to anyway.”
Carly reached across the table and rested her hand on top of his. She hadn’t expected the immediate hum of electricity to form between them, and she snatched her fingers back. She hid her hands in her lap as something in Abel’s dark eyes changed, and she guessed he’d felt the sparks, too.
“It has to be over something stupid if you and Gabe are still talking,” Carly speculated, making a note to avoid any further physical contact with Abel. “Is it about a girl? Did Gabe steal your girlfriend or something?”
More like my sister, Abel’s thought spilled into hers.
“Esther?” Carly gasped, her heart dropping into her stomach. Gabe and Esther? As a couple? Carly had thought the two might be an item when she’d first met them, but Gabe had insisted otherwise. That couldn’t be what Abel had meant, could it?
“I’ll walk home,” Abel said as he jumped up from his chair and headed for the door.
Carly sprang to her feet, leaving her coffee as she raced after him. She caught his shoulder before he made it outside, the sparks there again as she spun him around to face her. “Abel, you’d better start talking. Now.”
His gaze flitted to the counter, where Lila was staring at them. He said nothing as he walked outside, Carly at his heels. He had to know she wasn’t going to drop this.
“Talk,” Carly growled as she grabbed onto his arm.
A bolt of electricity surged between them as Abel pushed her away. “There’s nothing to say.”
“Did something happen between them recently—since I started dating him?”
“No, of course not. Hutchinson would never cheat on you.”
“But something did happen,” Carly assumed.
Abel shook his head, turning away from her. “I’m out of here.”
“Did they make out or something? Because I guess I can understand that. I mean, what do you expect? Esther’s beautiful, and—”
“He had sex with my sister!” Abel fumed, balling his hands into fists as he ripped around to meet her gaze. “There—is that what you wanted to hear? Your perfect boyfriend stole Esther’s virginity. That asshole slept with her without thinking twice about it, and then told her it didn’t mean anything—that he just wanted to be friends. You want to know why I can’t stand him, Carly? That’s your answer. And do you want to know why you don’t know about it? Because as far as Gabe’s concerned, it didn’t happen. And he’s made it pretty damned clear that none of us are ever allowed to talk about it—especially with you.”
Abel was lying. Gabe wouldn’t have kept this from her—and he certainly wouldn’t have forced everyone else to keep it from her, too. Carly didn’t realize she was crying until tears streamed down onto her neck.
“Don’t believe me,” Abel grunted. “But if you’re looking for a witness, I’m sure Esther would be more than happy to corroborate.”
“No,” Carly whispered, her entire relationship with Gabriel playing over through her thoughts. He was the first friend she’d made when she’d moved to Sterling, and despite her best efforts, she’d fallen in love with him. But more importantly, she’d come to trust him—even with her life. “Gabe wouldn’t do something like that…”
“Why wouldn’t Hutchinson do something like that? Because he’s in love with you? Well, congratulations, Carly. At least he’s made someone’s dreams come true.”
Carly’s instinct was to lash out, but none of this was Abel’s fault and it wasn’t fair to blame him. After all, he wasn’t the one who’d asked their entire group of friends to betray her.
Carly wiped tears from her cheeks with the back
of her hand. “W-when…? I mean, when did they…?”
“Carly, you should really talk to Gabe about this.”
“Gabe’s had all the time in the world to spill his guts. Tell me, Abel.”
Abel gritted his teeth, and hissed, “Summer before last.”
“But they were so young. Gabe was only fifteen.”
“And my sister was only fourteen, and she thought she was in love with him. Gabe broke her heart into a million pieces, and it took her a year before she could speak to him again. Hell, it took me longer. I wish I could say he’s a different guy now, but I don’t know if he is or not. At least he’s in love with you, so he probably won’t break your heart, too.”
“Too late for that,” Carly choked, letting tears spill down her cheeks now. Sharla had once mentioned that Gabe controlled the narrative of the group. Carly had thought the young shifter had said it out of jealousy, but really, Sharla was just being honest. Gabe controlled the group right down to interpersonal relationships.
Well, not anymore. He was no longer the only full blood shapeshifter in town, and he no longer made all the rules. This lie changed everything.
“Can you drive me back to Sterling?” Carly asked, her head light as she looked for her Jeep. She couldn’t handle driving right now, but maybe she could run instead. She’d slip into the forest and shift, and her fox feet would carry her to Sterling in no time.
“I can drive you to Grant Manor,” Abel offered. “It’s probably not a good idea to talk to him until you’ve had a chance to calm down.”
“I am calm,” she growled. “I want him to look me in the eye and tell me why he hid this from me.”
“I’d like to know that myself, but if you talk to him right now, before you’ve had a chance to process everything—”
“What’s there to process, Abel? I didn’t know he’d had sex with anyone, much less your sister. He lied to me, and… And unfortunately, it’s not the first time. I just need to know why he did it, and I don’t think I should have to wait for an answer. Are you with me or not?”
Abel looked her over for a moment, and let out a sigh. “Fine, I’m with you.”
“Good,” Carly said, and tossed him the keys.
five
“I don’t see his car,” Carly groaned as Abel rounded the Sterling automotive dealership owned by Gabe’s father, Paul. This was their third time circling the block, and Gabe’s Jetta was nowhere in sight. “He said he’d be here—unless he lied about that, too. At this point, nothing would surprise me.”
“Maybe his dad let him off the hook,” Abel suggested. “We’ll head back to his house and see if he’s there.”
Carly slumped in the passenger seat. She’d stopped crying, but anger was quickly replacing the sorrow in her heart. Gabriel had lied to her. Not only that, he’d forced their friends to lie to her, too. How was she supposed to forgive such deliberate deceit?
“There’s the Jetta,” Abel pointed out as he parked on the street in front of Gabe’s house. “I could come with you if you’d like. You’re really upset, Carly, and you might say something you regret. Maybe it’d be good to have a referee.”
“No,” she insisted, reaching for the door handle. She hesitated, and added, “I don’t know… Okay, fine, maybe you’re right.”
“Sure,” Abel agreed, and jumped out of the Jeep.
Carly attempted to compose herself as she followed him to the front door. Breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, Ross, before she’d moved to Sterling had been easy. Breaking Gabe’s heart was sure to be anything but.
He has a secret, the thought slipped into her mind again. She still wasn’t sure where it had come from, but she was glad she’d trusted it. Gabe didn’t deserve her body or her love. How had she come so close to surrendering both?
Gabe threw open the front door before she had a chance to reach for the bell. “Hey, I thought for sure you’d still be at the coffee shop. I was just about to head up there.”
Carly suddenly didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected her rage to still at the sight of him. Gabe had been the only boy she’d ever given her heart to, and even though it was currently breaking, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him.
Gabe bent down and brought his lips to hers. Yesterday was a weird day. Is it okay if we start over?
Carly cleared her throat. No, this wasn’t going to be easy at all.
“What’s not going to be easy?” Gabe asked.
Of course her thoughts would have invaded his. The couple had grown so close that Carly often found herself lost in Gabe’s head. Which meant he must have buried what happened with Esther so far down that Carly would never find it.
“What’s going on?” Gabe added, his gaze flicking to Abel.
Abel threw his hands into his jacket pockets, silent all the while. Carly couldn’t seem to find her voice either.
Gabe met Carly’s eyes once more, and she knew this couldn’t wait. “Carly, I—”
“Lied to me?” she finished.
Recognition crossed Gabe’s face, and his jaw tensed as he glared at Abel. “What did you tell her?”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Carly snapped. “I heard his thoughts. I guess Abel’s not as good at keeping secrets as you are.”
“What exactly did you hear?”
She snickered. “What did I hear? Are you kidding, Gabe? You had sex with Esther and made everyone pretend it didn’t happen. How could you do that to her? How could you hurt her like that?”
“Carly—”
“Not only did you lie to me, but you made everyone else lie, too. I’m sorry, I just don’t understand how you could do that—how anyone could do that to someone they supposedly love.”
“I—” Gabe tried again.
“I was right last night, wasn’t I?” Carly questioned. “I said you were struggling with something, and I was right. But it wasn’t that you love me, if that’s even true—”
“It is true,” he insisted. “I am completely in love with you, Carly.”
“Well, I’m sorry, Gabriel, but I just can’t… This is too much, even for me. I just can’t… be your girlfriend anymore.”
Gabe stumbled back into the wall, his broken heart bleeding onto his face. “You told her on purpose, didn’t you, Abel? You’ve wanted this from the beginning—to give her a reason to hate me so you can finally get her attention.”
“You know me better than that, man,” Abel spat. “Do you think I want her upset like this?”
“You knew I was going to tell her! But you just had to get to her first, didn’t you?”
“Good move, Hutchinson—waiting to fess up until getting laid was on the line. I bet if you’d gotten some last night, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
“You told him?” Carly seethed as she stormed over to Gabe. “You told Abel we almost…? How could you do that? How could you tell him something like that?”
The light was gone from Gabe’s eyes. “Carly, I—”
“Yes, he told me,” Abel confirmed with a satisfied smirk. “He figured the reason it didn’t happen was because you knew he was still hiding something from you—which he was. I told him he had to come clean if he ever expected you to trust him again.”
“And I’m sure he was going to, but only because getting laid was on the line,” Carly said. “How could you tell me you love me, Gabriel, when you were hiding something like this the whole time? How is that love?”
“I know I was wrong,” Gabe blurted out. “And I’m so, so sorry. I should have told you from the beginning—”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea! Because I was enamored of you the moment we met, and I didn’t want you to think I was hung up on Esther when I liked you so much.”
“Apparently, you were never hung up on Esther,” Carly pointed out. “Not if you could just forget you slept with her. And here I thought sex would mean something to you.”
“Carly, being with you means everything,” Gabe gushed. “What happened with Esther was a mistake, pure and simple. I know I let it go too far physically, and I know I broke her heart—”
“She’s the one you let things go too far with? You let me believe it was Lila, but it was actually Esther? God, do you ever stop lying?”
His gaze fell. “What was I supposed to do? Pretend I loved Esther just to make her feel better about what happened between us?”
“You weren’t supposed to lie about it—especially not to me,” Carly informed him. “How exactly did you get everyone to keep your secret anyway? Did you use the fact that you’re full blood to bully everyone? Well, guess what, Gabe? I’m full blood, too, and I’m telling you right now that things are going to change around here. You’re not the only one calling the shots anymore.”
“Carly—”
“You had to know when you kept this from me that it could only end one way.”
“Please,” Gabe begged, taking a step toward her. “Please don’t do this. You’re my whole world, Carly—”
“I was your whole world. Now I’m not your anything.” With that, she took off running, ignoring Gabriel’s pathetic pleas as she sprinted down the sidewalk. She wasn’t sure when she’d shifted into her primary form as the small, white fox, but realized she was running on paw pads instead of feet as she reached Grant Manor seven miles out of town.
Carly forced her feet to a halt at the front door. Part of her wanted to keep running—to run and run and run until she was as far away from this place as possible. But Gabe could run, too, and she was quite certain by his stench on the air that he’d followed her.
Legends: Bloodline Book 2 Page 4