Patrick had abandoned Gabriel. No, not abandoned him, because he’d always been in Cainsville, like an old family friend—and that somehow made it worse, made it colder. He’d seen the hell that had been Gabriel’s young life, and he’d stood back and watched, then dared to claim it was for Gabriel’s own good. Tempering steel, he’d said.

“Take a deep breath,” Patrick said.

My fists clenched.

“You can hit me if it’ll make you feel better. I promise not to hold it against you. It won’t do any lasting damage.”

“Then why would I bother?”

The son of a bitch smiled.

I forced myself to continue. “I would appreciate it if you could see fit to at least acknowledge what is happening with Gabriel the next time you see him. At least say you’re sure it will all be fine.”

“But he will be fine. He obviously didn’t kill the man, and he’s an excellent lawyer. He’ll fix this.”

“And if not, well, hey, what better way to toughen him up than twelve years in maximum security?”

“I’ll acknowledge the situation and express my certainty that it will resolve itself.”

“On second thought, don’t bother. You’ll only screw up that, too.”

He met my gaze with a cool look, one of the few times I could see a resemblance to his son. “I might suggest you moderate your tone with me, Olivia.”

“You don’t like it, bòcan? Then curdle the cream and get me fired. Oh, wait, no . . . I have another job.” I headed for Rose’s. “And stay away from Ricky.”

“I was simply talking to him,” he called after me. “I have no issue with him being here. In fact, I find it an intriguing set of circumstances.”

“No, you find it an amusing set of circumstances. You love seeing the elders squirm, and what’s better than this? They’ve pinned all their hopes on me, certain I’ll hook up with their golden boy and save them from extinction, and instead, the competition is sharing my bed, in their own town, and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”

His lips quirked. “It is rather amusing.”

“For you. Not so much for me. Or Gabriel. Or James. Or any of us caught up in this mess. I’d think you’d be less amused, given the ending if I ride off with Ricky. I hear it would be your ending, too.”

“Hardly. They’ll go down with the ship. I’ll bail. I’ve done it before.”

“Like a rat.”

“An apt comparison.”

“Then none of this concerns you, so unless you can help, stay the hell away from Ricky. From both of them, in fact. And speaking of helping, if you know anything that can assist Gabriel’s defense—anything at all—you’d better—”