Devils & Thieves (Devils & Thieves #1)(54)

“You don’t exactly have a history of hashing things out nonviolently.”

Crowe ran his tongue along his bottom lip, and my stomach tightened. “At least I know what you think of me now. Did your dad help convince you? He came to town just looking for an excuse to bind me. Meanwhile no one’s taking a close look at Killian Delacroix, who can plant thoughts in people’s heads and make them do stuff they aren’t even aware of. Everyone’s forgotten who his brother was and what he did. That guy needs to be taken off the street, Jemmie. He’s dangerous.”

I stared at him. “So are you, Crowe.”

“Yes, I am. I won’t apologize for that. I took responsibility for this club and everything that came with it. I’ll defend it to the death if I have to.” His jaw clenched, and he looked around. Then he pulled me off the path, heading for a more isolated spot at the bottom of a low hill. “I think Killian is trying to finish what his brother started. I think that’s why he’s here. He’s good at messing with people’s minds, so no one would suspect. He could have even used Katrina to attack us this morning—that’s exactly the kind of thing he could do.”

I thought back to this morning. I hadn’t sensed much animus magic, crimson and coppery, during that brawl, though there had been red streaks mixed with black around the two people who had cursed us. “Killian seems to want peace more than almost anyone else,” I said, thinking back to what he’d said in the beer tent, maybe trying to convince myself.

“All he wants is to gather one kindled for each type of magic,” Crowe explained, his eyes bright with fierce hope. “Think about it—Alex, venemon. Gunnar, arma. Katrina, animalia. If he’s got Flynn now, that’s inlusio. Darek doesn’t have a dominant power, right? So he didn’t fit my theory, but the others do. And it turns out Darek was never missing to begin with.”

“Crowe—”

Crowe’s mouth snapped shut around whatever he’d been planning to say next. “You don’t believe me.”

“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “He’d have to kidnap a lot of people, and this isn’t exactly familiar ground for him. Why would he risk it here? If he wanted to do something like the cruori spell, why not try last year, on his home turf?”

“Because it was his home turf,” he said in a flat voice.

“I hope you can get more evidence before you take this theory public—because tensions are high already.”

“I’m not stupid, Jem,” he said. “But Jane said something big was going to happen, and someone doing the cruori would certainly count as big.”

And she’d said I was a part of it. I just wish I knew how. “Did she say anything else this afternoon?”

“She sure did.” Crowe’s nostrils flared as he let out an exasperated breath. “She said that by this time tomorrow, someone would be dead. She wouldn’t say more than that.”

“Great. Really helpful.” I rubbed the sudden goose bumps that had rippled across my arms.

“In the way only Jane can manage.” Crowe pulled out his cell phone and typed out a text. “I have to go take a shift with Ren and a few others. Boone will keep an eye on you. Make sure you’re safe.”

“I don’t need—”

“Yes,” Crowe said, his voice rising. “You do.”

“I’m not going to fight with you.” Looking at his face was painful. Was he lying about hurting Darek, or was Darek the liar? Or… could Killian have made Darek believe that he’d been beaten up by Crowe? Could he have manipulated Crowe into beating up Darek or hurting Katrina? I rubbed my hands over my face, wishing I could figure all this out.

Wishing I had Alex with me, to talk it through like we always did.

“Ho! Just got done hanging out with three big hairy men,” Boone called as he crested the rise and headed down to us. “Time to hang out with a pretty girl.”

I waved at Boone before returning my attention to Crowe. “Is my dad helping with the perimeter guard?”

Crowe nodded. “He’s with my group. You know, to make sure I don’t beat up powerless kids in the woods.”

I hung my head back. “Look—”

“I won’t defend myself to you, Jemmie. I shouldn’t have to.” He leaned in, and I inhaled his smoke-and-honey scent. Having his face this close to mine made it feel like the ground had just dropped out from beneath my feet. “You know me better than that,” he murmured. Then he turned and walked away.

Boone clapped Crowe on the shoulder as they passed each other, then came to stand next to me. “Boy’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders,” he said quietly. “Not many are strong enough to carry it.”

I watched Crowe disappear over the rise, just aching. His father had literally torn someone apart to avenge the death of a family member. Crowe had told Hardy he had to be ready to do anything to protect the people he was responsible for. Between Jane’s prediction that death would find someone here at the festival and my own swirling sense that things were about to explode, I could barely contain my dread.

“Let’s take a walk,” said Boone. “You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”

I agreed gratefully, and we set out along the edge of the woods. Maybe a circuit of the entire huge field would clear my head enough to allow me to socialize in the beer tent without bowing to the temptation to drink myself into a place where my fear for Alex and Crowe and Darek and everyone else couldn’t find me. “Boone, how much do you know about Michael’s death?” I asked.