A Merciful Secret (Mercy Kilpatrick #3)(91)

She thanked the sense of caution that had driven her to build the false back in the cabinet.

“What do you mean he’s keeping secrets?” Mercy challenged Salome. She glanced at the screen. The man still hadn’t come out of the barn. I’ve got to get in there.

“He knows why Gabriel would try to kill me.”

Shocked, Mercy locked gazes with her old friend, seeing truth in his eyes. Her heart sank. “Christian?” she whispered.

“I never dreamed he’d kill your mother . . . or my father.” He lowered his head again, his hands pressing on his ears as if he could keep out the horrors.

“What happened?” Mercy took a step in his direction, wanting to yank on his hair, shake him, kick him. Anything.

His head shot up, and he raised his arms defensively in her direction.

Mercy halted, realizing she’d lifted her pistol. She immediately lowered it to her side.

“A long time ago, my father told me he’d had a child with another woman.”

Salome’s breath hitched.

“I was young, but it made sense. When I found out, he and my mother had been divorced for about ten years, but the fights they’d had all my life were still fresh in my mind. My mother’s screams . . . her words . . . her accusations.” He glanced at Salome, and the dark woman stared back at him, her gaze locked on his face; she was expressionless, but her nostrils flared as if she scented something foul.

Christian couldn’t look at her for more than a split second.

Salome is that child. Understanding swept over Mercy. She’s his half sister.

“My mother ran a nonstop vocal campaign of hate against my father. Gabriel was fed this poison along with his meals. I was too, but my mind didn’t work like Gabriel’s. His soaked it in like a sponge. I let her hostility roll off my shoulders. Even as a kid, I knew hate wasn’t something to harbor in my soul. But she often raged about the ‘whore in the woods’ who had corrupted our father and destroyed their marriage.”

A single tear ran down Salome’s cheek.

Mercy caught her breath at the shock on Salome’s face.

“I didn’t know this,” Salome whispered.

“I know,” said Christian. “My father was drunk when he told me. I don’t think he remembered that he told me, because he never mentioned it again.”

“He was always so kind to me. When did he tell you?” she asked.

“It was just after high school. I’ve kept it to myself all this time.”

“Did Gabriel know who I was back then?”

Christian shook his head. “I’m almost positive he didn’t.” His voice lowered. “Gabriel didn’t drug you to punish you for who you were; he drugged you because he was an asshole. He did it to several girls that year.”

“Did you know who I was the night you fought him off me?”

“No.” Christian was emphatic. “My father told me later.”

“What are you talking about?” Mercy finally asked. The two of them were talking as if no one else existed in the room. Memories and shit were pleasant, but there was a very angry man outside and two girls who needed help.

Christian opened his mouth, but Mercy cut him off with a hand gesture. “Never mind. There’s no time for some story. We need to focus on the girls.” She looked around the cabin. “This is the safest place on the property. The barn isn’t as fortified, but the hidden room will do its job.”

She met Christian’s gaze. “What is your brother going to do?”

He was silent. Bile rose in Mercy’s throat at the devastated look on his face.

“Why?” Salome begged. “Why does he hate me that much?”

Guilt filled Christian’s face. “I’m guessing, but my father told my mother he was changing his will. He enjoyed letting her know that I still had no part in it, but he also told her that Gabriel had destroyed his last chance. I gathered that Gabriel had borrowed money one too many times without paying it back.” He swallowed. “My mother was irate about him cutting Gabriel off . . . more than I expected her to be.” He looked to Salome. “If he’s not leaving money to us, I suspect that means he’s leaving it to you. He probably told her that, and she told Gabriel.” Curiosity crossed his face. “You visited him for years and he never told you he was your father?”

“No! He never said a word!” Salome looked ready to vomit. “Gabriel killed them over money? And he’s after Morrigan and me for the same reason?”

“Figure it out later,” Mercy stated. “Christian, I know you can shoot. What about you, Salome?”

Salome shook her head.

Mercy checked the views on her laptop. No sight of Gabriel. Then she strode to the tall gun safe in the corner, spun the dial, and removed a rifle for Christian. She slipped on a holster, seated her pistol, and shoved ammo in her many pockets. From under the seat of a bench, she pulled out three bulletproof vests. Originally there’d been one. She’d added two more for Kaylie and Truman months earlier. Christian checked the rifle as Mercy slipped a knife onto her belt and held another out to Salome. “I bet you know how to use this.”

“I do.” Salome took the weapon with ease and examined the balance.

“Were those your knives in your mother’s house?” Mercy asked. Salome handled the knife as if she’d been born with one in her hand.