Betrayal: Book 3 of the Guardians Saga

Ch. 6.2 It Starts To Unravel

When Alex came back to the carriage house, Cale had cleared out to leave Gabe and Alex alone.

Rile, who hadn't gone far, did the opposite. This he wanted to see, or rather, overhear.

After what Cale thought was an appropriate amount of time, he entered their apartment, hoping it was safe. He wasn't surprised to see his youngest brother in the living room by himself.

"Rile, what's happening between Alex and Gabe?" Cale whispered.

Rile, usually a TV watcher, sat reading a tablet. It allowed him to eavesdrop better. Loud voices from the bedroom answered Cale's question.

"I thought this was settled." Alex's angry voice carried well.

"It can't be settled until we know what's going on. Do you want every bum in the street able to come up to you and say they're your fiancé? Don't you want to know?" Gabe's voice was equally angry and carried equally well.

"No, I do not want to know. Who cares what they say? Let every wino call himself my husband, I don't care. Why do you care? Let's go over this one more time: not looking for my big, bad past, running away from it. I know it's the opposite of all the movies, but let's try to remember, okay?"

"What's this talk of a fiancé?" Rile asked Cale in a low voice.

"I don't think this is any of our business and I don't think you should be sitting here eavesdropping either." Cale pushed down Rile's tablet.

"Who's listening? I just came to read my tablet on Alex's wifi. Tell me, Cale. I know you know something, I can tell by your face." Rile sat forward to scrutinize his brother.

"Right before our last Calling, some guy came up to Alex, grabbed her, said his name was Scott and that he was her fiancé, which is what they call Promised Ones."

"Oooh, that must have thrilled Gabe. What did she say? After she pounded him into pudding, I mean."

"She didn't hit him." Cale hesitated.

"Uh-oh, bad news." Rile was glad for it.

"This is none of our business. Let's get out of here," Cale insisted.

"Tell me the rest."

Before he could answer, they heard Gabe's voice. "I went back for that paper with his name and address. Now will you find out more or must I do it myself?"

"Give me that! Fine, keep it. What are you going to do? Walk up to Scott and say 'Excuse me, but I'm dating your former fiancée. Could you fill me in on her background?' Is that what you planned?" Alex asked.

Outside the bedroom, Rile smiled. "This is great. I like listening to them fight almost as much as fighting with Gabe myself. Tell me more, Cale. What did Alex do after this Scott guy told her that?"

"That's when she slammed him against a wall and told him to get lost," Cale whispered.

"I knew she hit him sometime. At this point, Gabe is stressed, right?" Rile knew it.

"Yes, Alex flew after him. They talked and I thought that everything was settled, too. Then that Brockner character found us." Cale stopped at the sound of Alex's voice.

Alex sounded defeated."If it makes you happy, I'll go back there. I'll talk to him some more."

Gabe replied, "We'll go, too. It could be a set-up."

"Now you're talking some sense. I'd believe this guy was working for the agency before I believed he was fiancée. I hate blond men." Alex's tone turned conciliatory. "How about dinner? I'm starving."