The Shadow Stealer (Silver Moon Saga Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

told Dad Rafe had been involved in a car accident, any reservations he’d been feeling had flown out the window. Lying sucked, but we had to tell him something to explain Rafe’s injuries.
    “And how’s Rafe doing?” Dad asked, stepping into my room. He sat down on the edge of my bed, my mattress sinking under his weight. I put aside my magazine and crawled over so I could sit next to him. “Is he feeling better?”
    Even though Dad was super overprotective of me, he still had a soft spot for Rafe. I think it was partly due to the fact that Rafe was an orphan, and partly because he saw how happy I was with Rafe. Dad knew Rafe treated me right, which to him was the most important thing a guy dating one of his daughters could do.
    Well, that and keeping his hands to himself, I thought dryly. God forbid we gave Dad a reason to pull out those kitchen knives, right?
    “He’s…coping,” I said in response to Dad’s question. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Can I have everyone over tomorrow?”
    “And who is everyone?”
    “Rafe,” I said. “Obviously. Phil and Kain. And then Evan and this other girl… You haven’t met her yet.” And neither had I, not officially, anyway, but I kept that to myself. “She used to be Evan’s girlfriend, but they’ve been having problems.” Problems. As if it were something simple, instead of, you know, Evan betraying me and Rafe to bring Alexandra out of her coma. “I was hoping if the six of us got together, we could work through some of our issues.” And try not to bring the house down in the process. I winced, thinking about how each individual I was inviting had a problem with someone else in the group. Alexandra blamed Philip for the death of her brother, Evan and Kain couldn’t stand one another, and the last time Rafe had seen Evan, he’d promised to kill him. Tomorrow is either going to be a horrible mess or a dangerous disaster. Should be fun!
    Dad hesitated, and for a moment I feared he was going to say no. “I’m going to the office tomorrow to catch up on some work, and normally I’d say no, but…” His eyes searched my face, and I wondered what he was looking for. “Next month you’re going to be seventeen, nearly an adult, and I guess it’s time I started treating you like one.” Dad leaned forward, his brows narrowing slightly. “I won’t come home from the office and find a booze-filled party and orgy going on, right, Gabi?”
    “Just an orgy,” I quipped, grinning when he made a face. “Come on, Dad, you know us. You can trust me.”
    Serious, he said, “I do trust you. You’ve always been good. Your sister, on the other hand…” Dad spread his hands helplessly. “She has gotten better, though.”
    “I know. It sucks. When she was bad, I could get away with a lot more.”
    “ Gabi .”
    Laughing, I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Dad. What you said means a lot to me. Sorry if I don’t always show it.”
    “You’re welcome.” Dad patted me on the shoulder before standing up. “I hope this helps Rafe. He’s a good kid, and I hate to see him sad.”
    “You and me both,” I murmured. “You and me both…”
     
    ***
     
    I waited until Dad retired to his bedroom before reaching for my phone. After typing out a text, I paused, my finger hovering over the send button. I frowned. This wasn’t the sort of message someone should casually send via text. Screwing up my courage—although I didn’t know what, exactly, I was so nervous about—I deleted the text and hit the call button instead.
    Half a ring later, Evan picked up. “What’s the matter? Did something happen to Rafe?”
    I was taken aback by the frantic tone of his voice. “What? No! Why—”
    “Why would I think that? Oh, maybe because I haven’t heard from either of you in two months.”
    “Excuse me,” I snapped. “ You’re the one who’s been avoiding us !”
    “No I haven’t! I just figured Rafe needed some time to cool