Page 69 of Illusory

“Probably not.”

Smiling, I nodded and then lowered my eyes again. “Did he send you up here to heal me so that he wouldn’t have to deal with me?”

Gabriel swallowed noisily and then shook his head. “No. Of course not.”

He didn’t sound very convincing, and it must have shown on my face.

“It just made more sense for me to do it since he’s busygoing over the new protocol,” he said, sounding as though he barely bought the story himself. That or he just wasn’t fully on board with the change of plans regarding acclimating Trace to his new way of life.

“Right.” Somehow, it felt like there was more to Dominic’s absence than even what Gabriel knew. I guessed not much had changed since last night after all.

It felt like forever before either one of us spoke again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“You and my brother.

I shifted awkwardly and then shook my head. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“It didn’t look like nothing,” he noted quietly. “I thought things seemed…better,” he added cautiously, as if to keep my spirits up, but I could hear the uncertainty in his voice, like he knew more than anyone that looks could be deceiving. Especially when it came to me and Dominic.

“Really? Is that what you gathered?” I asked sarcastically. “Because I’d say they’re worse than ever.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You mean besides the fact that he won’t touch me or kiss me or feed from me? Trust me. He’s made it very clear that he’s not interested in me in the slightest bit anymore, no matter how many times I throw myself at him.” Gabriel’s jaw tensed at that, but I was too depressed and angry to feel embarrassed by it. “He’s basically been gone since the night I got my wings. What does that tell you?”

“I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“I’m glad you think so because he sure as hell hasn’t bothered to share them with me.”

He ran a hand over his face as he thought it over. “Well, he hasn’t left town,” he pointed out, grasping at straws for thesake of my wounded heart. “He’s here now, isn’t he? That has to mean something.”

“Maybe…or maybe he just has a vested interest in making sure this mess with the Roderick sisters and the Son of Perdition doesn’t end in an all-out apocalypse.”

It was the only thing that made sense to me. Why else would he have come back here, especially when he clearly had no romantic interest in me. Anyone who knew Dominic knew he never did anything without a very good reason for it and he definitely never did anything from the goodness of his heart.

His brows banked together, his eyes softening with something that looked a lot like sympathy. “He searched for you, Jemma. He stayed by your side all night and hasn’t left this house since.”

My cheeks burned. Did everyone in the house know that he’d stayed in my room all night? The poor sentinel watching over his troubled little Slayer. Fuck that. “Again, vested interest in me staying alive.”

“And compelling Isa? Making sure that you were properly taken care of in his absence?”

Feeling my heart flutter, I doubled down on my refusal to feel anything but slighted, because every time I let myself feel even an ounce of hope, it was promptly crushed to smithereens in the very next breath. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for that too.”

“And helping with Trace today?” he continued, refusing to let me wallow in my certainty.

“I…I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore,” I finally admitted, feeling more confused than ever. “All I know is what I feel, and what I feel is that everything is messed up andwrong. No matter what I do, he just keeps pulling further and further away from me, while somehow also…”

“Also what?” he asked when I didn’t finish.

“Pushing me toward Trace.”

He sat back against the armchair and stared out across the room. “That doesn’t sound like something my brother would do.”

“Exactly my point.” I blew out a harsh breath and then turned to him. “First, he tells me that Trace’s feelings for me haven’t changed, and that if anything, they’re only heightened. He assured me that Trace is only staying away from me because he’s afraid to lose control and hurt me. And then if saying it wasn’t enough, he decides to take action and fix the whole damn thing for me like he wants to get us back together. I mean, you saw for yourself what he did downstairs. It’s like he’s trying to repair the rift between me and Trace or something.”

“Maybe that’s exactly what he’s doing,” he offered plainly.

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