Rubbing her hand on her jean-clad thigh, Thea gestured at the little boy. “This is Lane. Lane, this is a friend of mine, Keenan Ripley. Say hello, Lane.”
Clutching a tablet tight to his chest with one arm, the boy looked at him, his eyes startlingly blank. “Hello.”
Keenan ground his teeth. She hadn’t just brought the boy along for sympathy, she’d done it because she knew Keenan wouldn’t cause a scene in front of him. “Good to meet you, Lane,” he said, unable to drum up a false smile.
“I left my lair,” Thea blurted out. “Lane and I are strays now.” She tilted her head. “You’re not asking why I left, so I’m guessing you know—” She cut herself off, her eyes darting to her son. “Some things,” she finished lamely.
Bending to Lane, she said, “Baby, put your earphones in; play on your tablet for a while.”
“Okay.” Obligingly, the kid switched on the tablet.
Only once Thea had put earbuds in his ears and seemed satisfied that he wouldn’t overhear her did she turn back to Keenan. “Gavril contacted Knox?”
Keenan nodded.
She licked her lower lip. “I didn’t kill my ex-mate. I swear, I didn’t. I was mad at him, yes, but he was Lane’s father. I wouldn’t have taken my son’s father from him. Gavril’s setting me up.”
Keenan felt his brows rise. “Why would he set you up?”
She bit her lip. “I can’t tell you. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t.”
Well of course she couldn’t. Because there was nothing to tell—she was feeding him bullshit, just as she’d done many times before. “Why are you here?”
She flinched at his curt tone. “Look, Keenan, I can understand if I’m not your favorite person. I let you down so many times, I know that, and I’m so sorry for it.”
She meant it. He could see that. Her apology might have meant something to his demon once, but not now. Too much time had passed. “What do you want, Thea?”
“I need your help. I’ve been trying to contact you for days, because I knew Gavril was going to do something bad, and I didn’t know who else to turn to. The last thing I expected was for him to kill Lee-Roy and then make it look like I did it.”
Keenan squinted. “Gavril killed him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She closed her eyes. “I can’t tell you that either. I know how that sounds. I know you have no reason to trust that I’m telling you the truth, but I am. I didn’t kill anyone, and I won’t be punished for something I didn’t do. I can’t go back there, and I have nowhere to go.”
“You want a place in my lair,” Keenan realized. At one time, that would have delighted him—he’d tried to convince her to join it for years. Now, it infuriated him, because she had some fucking nerve to request anything of him.
“Gavril won’t fight Knox for me,” she said, her words coming fast. “He fears him too much. But anyone else? He’d take them on, and what Prime would go to war with another to protect an accused killer? They’d just hand me and Lane over. I don’t deserve your help, but I’m asking for it anyway. For Lane’s sake, if nothing else.”
Keenan felt his nostrils flare. “I can’t grant you a place in my lair—I don’t have that kind of authority. Only Knox and his mate do. And if you’re not going to be straight with them about everything, they won’t even consider taking you in.”
Her eyes slid to the side. “Could you not ask them to give me and Lane a place as a personal favor to you?”
“It wouldn’t be a personal favor to me. I don’t want you in my lair.”
She flinched. “Keenan, I’m so sorry that you’re still hurting after I—”
“Hurting?” he echoed. His demon laughed. “I’m not hurting, I’m just plain pissed. Mostly at myself for choosing to buy your lies and excuses over and over. I meant it when I said I was done, Thea.”
His gaze flicked to Lane. He was a cute kid. And he looked about as sober as Keenan had no doubt looked as a small child, when his mother had dragged him to the homes of “old friends,” looking for their help. They’d never helped Katherine, just as her parents hadn’t helped her. She’d been viewed as lower than dirt for having a child while unmarried—it was unthinkable in those days.
Keenan looked back at Thea. “But I won’t turn away a kid who needs protection—something you know perfectly well. And I don’t fucking appreciate that you’d use my past against me.”
“I’m not trying to manipulate you—”
“Yes, you are.”
“Okay, fine, maybe I am. But not to be cruel. I want my son safe, and I’ll do anything to make that happen. Lie. Cheat. Manipulate. Anything.” She closed her eyes. “Please, Keenan. Please help us.”