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Back Deceptions Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Kelley Armstrong and the Cainsville Series
  3. Also by Kelley Armstrong
  4. Dedication
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. DOWNWARD SPIRAL
  13. CHAPTER EIGHT
  14. CHAPTER NINE
  15. OUTCLASSED
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. SEEING RED
  20. A REASONABLE MAN
  21. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  22. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  23. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  25. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  26. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  27. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  31. NOT EVIL
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  43. CURTAINS
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  48. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  49. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  58. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  59. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  60. GONE
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  66. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  67. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  68. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  69. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  70. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  71. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  74. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  76. About the Author

“Well, first, that’s not a Ouija board. It is a planchette, which is similar. Ouija is a brand name. Not that I knew that, either, until Rose told me. . . .”

NOT EVIL

Rose could hear Olivia and Ricky in the parlor. Yes, she was thinking of her as Olivia now. She’d been calling her Eden, if only to herself, but had come to accept that the possibility of “slipping” made it inadvisable. She liked and respected the girl, which meant she shouldn’t call her something she clearly didn’t wish to be called.

Speaking of names . . . When she’d heard that Rick Gallagher went by Ricky, she’d dismissed him. He was younger than Olivia, and his choice of diminutive only seemed to emphasize his youth. He’d be cocky and brash, immature and insubstantial, a pretty plaything for a young woman in desperate need of distraction.

As she eavesdropped on them in the parlor, she realized that Ricky was indeed distracting Olivia, but intentionally, guiding her attention away from shock and grief, immersing her in a subject she enjoyed. He listened to her explanations, made insightful remarks, asked intelligent questions, and coaxed out laughs along the way. Neither immature nor insubstantial.

Damn him.

Rose had slipped her deck of tarot cards out of the parlor before they arrived, and now, as she fixed the tea, she consulted them, hoping they’d tell her that Ricky Gallagher was a duplicitous bastard and the sooner Rose squashed this dalliance, the better off Olivia would be.

The cards said no such thing. They did tell her there was trouble. She’d known that from the moment she’d woken this morning from a sleep plagued by swirling nightmares. Tragedy, danger, darkness, grief, circling Gabriel and Olivia—and some shadowy third party. As soon as she’d seen Ricky Gallagher, she’d known who that third party was, and it had been easy to pounce on the conclusion that he was the cause of the rest. But the cards said no. He was intricately involved, and there was blame here, but it was through impulsiveness, not evil intent.

Olivia and Ricky laughed, and Rose slapped two cards on the counter. The Queen of Swords and the Knight of Wands. She swore under her breath. She shuffled, focused on the young couple, and tried again. The Queen of Swords and the King of Wands. Even worse.