“Of course,” Sin said. “Gabrielle couldn’t have known that my mom was a zombie and that my dad couldn’t call the cops because of that.”
I took a breath. “She may know now.”
Anson looked at me through the rearview mirror. “You really think she’s going to kill Tony?”
I nodded, unable to keep the sadness off my face. Tony wasn’t the only one I thought she was going to kill.
He stared at me. “What else aren’t you saying?”
I sighed. “I don’t want to put it into words.”
His voice was gruff and edged with emotion. “You think she’s going to kill Lila too.”
I nodded once, then looked out the window. “A murder-suicide would be the ultimate way to get her revenge on Tony. And she’s already on the hook for Lou. Why stop now?”
Sin went pale. He glanced at his father. “Drive faster.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Sinclair
My dad parked as close as he could without bringing attention to us, which wasn’t very close since the main house had a pretty good view of the drive.
As a result, we parked along a dirt service road that was partially blocked from the house by one of the barns. The land didn’t provide much in the way of cover, as it was mostly scrub and rocks with a few scraggly pines here and there. Beautiful country, but my mind wasn’t on the scenery.
Jack and Birdie parked behind us and got out. Jack glanced toward the ranch in the distance. “You want us to shift and get out there now or stay with you?”
“Shift and go,” my dad said. “Do some recon for us. We need to keep Tony alive, and we need to find Lila. Phones on vibrate.”
“You got it,” Birdie said.
A moment later, she and Jack shifted and took off toward the ranch, a lone wolf and a raven traveling much faster than we could.
We followed behind them with a decent amount of speed. I was happy my dad’s stage time kept him in such good shape. We reached the barn in a few minutes and flattened ourselves against the wall.
My dad shoved a hand into his pocket and took out his phone. “Birdie says Gabrielle has Tony at gunpoint in the living room. Jack is still searching for Lila.”
He looked at me. “I’m going to look for your mother too. Can you and Jayne handle Gabrielle?”
I nodded. “With her magic? Easily.”
Jayne made a face. “Except if I use magic, I’m exposing myself to humans as a winter elf. I’m not supposed to do that. Don’t you think we can just take her out with brute strength and logic?”
“Maybe,” my father said. “If you have the element of surprise on your side. But if Gabi kills Tony before you can stop her, Sin, do your thing and get a confession out of him. And make sure you get it on video.”
Jayne’s brows bent. “But if she kills him before—oh. Never mind.”
I grabbed her hand, and we started for the house while my dad went off in another direction. The ranch was huge. Acres and acres of property and numerous outbuildings that included barns, stables, storage sheds, at least one guest house, and a detached garage. There was no telling where my mother might be.
We reached the side of the house and made our way toward the back, but the house was large and sprawling and that took a minute, especially while we were trying to be quiet. There was no sign of Birdie. Maybe she’d gone off to look for my mom too. Thankfully, none of the deck boards creaked as we crept closer to the French doors.
I tried one door as carefully as I could. Locked. I tipped my head toward it, indicating Jayne would have to slip through. I could hear Gabi in the other room, yelling at Tony. We needed to hurry.
Jayne nodded, then disappeared in a wisp of vapor. A moment later, she reappeared and, although a little wobbly, managed to turn the lock.
She braced herself on something out of sight. I eased the door open and left it that way in case anyone needed to get in behind us.
Gabi’s voice was rising. “You’re not getting out of this.”
“Honey, please.” Tony’s response was much calmer, with a hint of pleading. “I know I screwed up. Bad. But I love you. And I know you love me. And I promise things will be different this time.”
Gabi laughed. “Oh, they’re going to be different all right. Because you’re going to be dead. And everyone’s going to think you’re a murderer, too.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave him alive to face whatever punishment he’s due?”
Jayne and I looked at each other and froze. That was Birdie’s voice.
“Shut up,” Gabi snapped. “I still haven’t decided what to do with you, but you’re a trespasser, and trespassers get shot around here. Remember that.”
“You need to put that gun down and let me and Tony go,” Birdie snapped back. “Or the only thing you’re going to remember is being torn apart by a wolf.”
We couldn’t wait any longer. I pointed at Jayne, then back outside and mouthed the word help.
She nodded and slipped away. Hopefully, she’d return shortly with my dad and Jack. Or at least one of them.
I walked into the living room with my hands up, my voice calm, and what I hoped was a nonthreatening style.
Gabi glanced at me, a little wild-eyed. The gun remained pointed at Tony and Birdie.
“Hi, Gabrielle. I’m Sinclair Crowe. Anson and Lila’s son.” Decent start, but I wasn’t exactly an expert in talking down women with guns intent on killing their cheating husbands. “How about we all take a beat and work this out without that gun? You don’t really want to kill Tony, do you? Is he worth you going to jail over?”
Of course, she was already going to jail because of Lou, but there was no point in reminding her about that.
She glared at me. Her hand was remarkably steady holding that gun. I guessed her years on stage had taught her how to deal with nerves. “I absolutely do want to kill him. And I’m sorry about your mother, but she has to die too.”
I needed a moment after that statement, then I found my words. “Why is that?” I gave myself points for not letting my anger show through.
“Because I need to frame Tony so that he’s not some martyr. Her death is what’s going to keep me from going to jail. See, I will have caught Tony in the act of killing her, and as I try to stop him and grab the gun, he’s going to end up getting shot.”
Birdie snorted. “Forensics will see right through that.”
“Shut up,” Gabi yelled.
And just like that, we were back to level five crazy. I knew Birdie didn’t intend to stir the pot, but I had to take us from a boil to a simmer once again. “Gabi? Can I call you Gabi? It’s not the best plan I’ve ever heard.” I held my hand out, palm up. “Why don’t you give me the gun, and we can figure something else out. The pregnancy hormones have to be tough. They can’t be helping right now, are they? I’m sure the police would be understanding about that.”
They probably wouldn’t, but it sounded good.
Gabi frowned at me. “I’m not pregnant. I just told Tony that to get him to come back to me. And speaking of police, why didn’t you and your father call them when your mother went missing? Don’t you care about her?”