Read Online The Rift by Katharine Sadler - Free Book Online

Angelica and I will go to town
and check this guy out.”
    Everyone started talking at once and I just
sat back and let them argue. I felt calmer and easier than I’d felt
in a long, long time. I had something to do, something that didn’t
involve killing reapers, a way to make it up to Angelica for all
the ways I’d hurt her.
    “I don’t like this,” Jed said. He looked
exhausted and worried, but he also looked angry, his hands fisted,
a vein in his temple throbbing. “I agree with Kelsey, though, that
we should get Mrs. Fitzhugh home. Thad, you take her and get back
here as fast as you can. I’m going to call Varius and find out what
they know.” He looked at Angelica and smiled with a warmth I hadn’t
seen from him in a long time. “I’m not going to let you go into
town alone to talk to this guy, but we’ll work something out, okay.
I promise we won’t leave here until we know for sure what’s going
on.”
    Thad slapped his knees and stood. “I’ve got a
bad feeling about this, and I don’t get bad feelings very often,”
he said. “But I’ll play along for now. I’ll get Angelica’s bags
from the car. Kelsey, go get your mom.”
    I nodded and stood, without argument. Momma
didn’t ask me any questions as I escorted her out to the car. She
just hugged me and told me to take care. I held her close. Despite
our differences and the distance, she’d always be my mother and I
loved her.
    “Congratulations, Momma. I’m happy for
you.”
    She kissed me on the cheek and let me go. I
watched her get into the car and walked around to Thad.
    I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and
whispered in his ear, “Be careful. Don’t let her talk you into
anything crazy with her southern charm.”
    He hugged me back and kissed my forehead. “I
really don’t like this, Kelsey. This whole thing feels like a
set-up. There’s no way Bruce reaped a wolf on his own, and there’s
no good reason for any of the reapers to help him. There’s
also no way Mr. Cautious Jed is really okay with this, unless he’s
got some ulterior motive.”
    “Maybe he just wants to help Angelica. I
admit this whole thing seems a little weird, but I don’t see what
he could possibly gain from it.”
    He sighed and studied my face for a moment.
“You know, there’s a reason I don’t get serious about any woman,
Kelsey. Love clouds your judgment and, in our world, when no one is
ever who they seem to be, clear judgment is the only thing keeping
us alive.”
    “What are you trying to say?” I wondered if
he was talking about Momma, and it hit me that her fiancé might not
be who he claimed to be. “Would you mind having a look at Momma’s
fiancé when you drop her off?”
    “I can do that, but I’m not talking about
her. I’m saying watch your back. I know you care about Jed, but
keep your eyes wide open.” He squeezed me until it was hard to
breathe. “I’ll get back here as quickly as I can, okay?”
    “Yeah, of course,” I said, but my mind was on
Jed and the possibility that he was up to something sinister. I
believed him to be a good guy, but if his mother wanted him to do
something for her, I couldn’t see him telling her no.
    Thad smiled and took my face in his hands.
“The truth is, Jed’s grown on me and I’m beginning to believe he
might be good enough for you. I just want you to be careful. Watch
him and watch out for him.”
    “Thad, I—”
    But Thad hadn’t finished his thought. “You
need to stay strong and positive. This isn’t a good time for high
emotion and drama.”
    “Okay, alright. Keep it boring. Got it.”
    “Good.” Thad glanced over my shoulder, then
leaned in and kissed me hard. A bruising kiss that had me pushing
him away before he could force my mouth open.
    “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I
whispered. I glanced at my mother in the passenger seat, but she
was looking the other way. Lord only knows what she would think of
me kissing some other guy while my boyfriend was