Read Online Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil by Micah Persell - Free Book Online Page B

to sit at the table. Jericho shuffled over and took the seat farthest from the child. He studiously avoided eye contact, even though he could feel Gabriel’s eyes boring into him with unspoken questions.
    Gabriel’s grandmother sat a steaming plate in front of him. His mouth watered at the sight of tortillas piled with fried eggs and warm salsa. “Thank you. I mean gracias ,” he said.
    She nodded again, and patted his hand with her own. The Knowledge immediately responded with a warm good , and Jericho smiled genuinely at her.
    He ate in strained silence until he could ignore Gabriel’s eyes no longer. He braced himself and met the young boy’s stare.
    It was all the kid had been waiting for. “Are you my mommy’s boyfriend?”
    Jericho choked on his eggs. After grabbing a glass of water and clearing his throat, he discovered that both Gabriel and his grandmother were looking at him expectantly, an indication that the woman understood at least a little English.
    “Uhh — ” Jericho began.
    “What do you know about boyfriends and girlfriends?” Dahlia asked from the doorway.
    All three of their heads swiveled around to look at her. Jericho’s breath abandoned him again as he laid his eyes on her. She was smiling at Gabriel in a way that betrayed she was head-over-heels in love with the boy. It made her stunningly beautiful. The Impulse shivered through him again, and he rubbed the palms that itched to touch her against his thighs.
    Gabriel blushed and quickly said, “Nothin’.”
    “Um-hmm, that’s what I thought.” She winked conspiratorially at the other woman, and then motioned Gabriel to herself. “Come here, mijo . Give me un beso . It’s time for school.”
    “ Ay, mamá , you just got back!” Gabriel protested while clutching the sides of his chair as though one of the adults in the room were going to pry him from his seat.
    Dahlia shushed him quietly and motioned one more time for her son to come to her. Gabriel pouted, but left his seat and dragged his feet over to his mother where he obediently gave her a peck on her cheek.
    “I’ll be here when you get back, baby,” she said softly while pinning Jericho with a glare above Gabriel’s head. He fought the urge to squirm.
    Gabriel left the kitchen with a hanging head, and Jericho’s heart panged as he watched Dahlia come into the room and take a seat across from him at the table. Gabriel’s grandmother sat a plate in front of her, and she turned grateful eyes toward the older woman. “ Gracias , Esperanza.”
    Esperanza . Jericho filed the woman’s name away while simultaneously pondering why Dahlia would call her mother by her first name. Unless …
    He looked at the women closely. No family resemblance. He frowned.
    Esperanza kissed the top of Dahlia’s head and then left the room. Jericho became instantly and acutely aware that he was alone with his Impulse mate again. Unbidden, his mind wandered down the hall and to the pallet he’d made in the floor of the empty room. Plenty of room to roll around …
    Jericho straightened in his seat and shifted uncomfortably to lessen the pressure behind his fly.
    Dahlia was eating quickly and neatly, and she was blatantly ignoring him.
    It gave Jericho a chance to study her without interruption. What was he going to do with her? The obvious answer was take her back to the compound. That was his job. Those were his orders. But he couldn’t risk the valuable information she promised. That is, if she wasn’t lying through her teeth.
    This would be so much easier if he just knew for sure she was evil. Why did last night have to happen? He cleared his throat. “So … ” Dahlia didn’t break stride in her eating. He tried again. “Last night, when I … touched you — ”
    Dahlia’s head snapped up.
    “By accident,” Jericho clarified in a rush. He couldn’t prevent a wince at her smirk. “Anyway, when my fingers touched your hand,” he shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance, “the