“You don’t know that,” Richart countered.
“Yes, I do. You think Seth, David, and Chris wouldn’t have come up with an E if there had been one?” He looked to Chris.
Chris scrutinized Zach a moment, then nodded. “There wasn’t an E. We covered all the bases.”
“Donald and Nelson’s mercenary army was obliterated,” Zach said, ticking the possibilities off on his fingers. “None were left alive to launch their war again. I was shackled and being tortured round the clock, so I could not have been responsible. Bastien is the only gifted one whose transformation Seth has ever missed, so it couldn’t have been some other immortal outside the fold who believed himself a vampire.”
Chris nodded. “We checked to be sure.”
“Every other telepath in the area was accounted for at all times,” Zach continued.
“Lisette was accounted for, too,” Richart said. “She was right here . . . with us.”
“Actually, she wasn’t. Not here at David’s, anyway. Lisette’s behavior of late has been outside the norm for her. It’s my fault. She didn’t want Seth—or the rest of you—to know we were seeing each other. But, as much as I hate to admit it and as much as it chaps my ass to defend Seth, it did breed grounds for suspicion.”
Lisette thought Seth’s mouth would have fallen open had he been there.
Zach stared at the brothers. “You just don’t like anyone maligning your sister in any way, even if accidentally. Seth apologized. Lisette moved past it. I did, too . . . somewhat.” At her repeated urging. “Now you should as well.”
Étienne started to rise. “Who the hell are you to tell us—?”
Krysta locked a hand around his arm and held him in his seat. “Étienne, I love you. But I think you’re being a little hardheaded about this.”
That didn’t go over well. “How can you say that?”
“Honey, I tried to decapitate you when we first met. In fact, technically I tried to do it twice. You forgave me for that, but you can’t forgive this?”
His brows drew down in a deep V. “You thought I was a vampire. Of course, I forgave you.”
She smiled and patted his arm. “That’s right. I was operating on the only information I had at the time. As was Seth when he confronted Lisette.”#p#分页标题#e#
Jenna looked to Richart. “And you forgave John for telling me he thought we should wait for the sun to rise, then shove your ass out the door.”
Richart’s eyes widened. “John said that?” he demanded.
Jenna bit her lip. “I, uh, I never told you about that?”
“No.”
“Then, yes. He did.”
“When?”
“The night you accidentally teleported to our living room, covered in blood, with your fangs out and eyes glowing, then collapsed.”
“Oh. Well, that’s understandable. He thought I was a vampire.”
She raised her eyebrows. “And was operating on the only information available to him?”
The two brothers sighed and sank back in their chairs. “Fine,” the twins said in unison. “We’ll apologize.”
“Good,” Zach said, then addressed the table at large. “The rest of you . . . I can read your every thought.” He narrowed his eyes at Ethan. “Except for you.”
Ethan gave him a sarcastic salute.
Zach shook his head. “You all find the notion that Seth could believe one of you guilty offensive. Well, guess what. One of you is guilty. Maybe not one of you at this table. But one of the Immortal Guardians. Likely two. Only a telepath could have buried the vampires’ memories. And he or she had to have had help slipping in and out of North Carolina undetected.”
Grim faces all around.
“So get a grip. Cut Seth some slack. And think what it must feel like for him to believe that men or women he has offered safe harbor for hundreds or thousands of years have now turned on him and you and are waging this new war that holds more potential than ever of destroying one of you. He’s doing everything he can to keep you safe and doesn’t need to deal with your bullshit on top of that.”
Under the table, Lisette took his hand and rested their twined fingers on her thigh.
The front door opened. David strolled in, closing and locking it behind him with a thought. “I couldn’t have put it better myself,” he said as he joined them. He speared Zach with a look as he took his seat at the head of the table. “Nor could I be more surprised that Seth’s staunchest defender tonight is you.”
“What can I say?” Zach said, deadpan. “I’m an enigma.”
“Indeed.”