Free Payback by Francine Pascal Page B

what will happen to you if I find out you're lying about our unfortunate friend, the doctor?"
    They'd been over this already. Several times. And although Ella had been frightened when Loki first confronted her about the doctor, the explosion, and what part she'd had to play in the whole fiasco, she was now getting a little bored. Of course Loki had found out about the events of the last few days. When it came to anything having to do with Gaia, Loki always found out. He knew about the explosion; he knew that Gaia had been at the station that night; he knew that a girl had been brutally slashed; and he knew of the doctor's unfortunate -- and obviously more than coincidental -- demise. He also knew that Gaia had ended up in the hospital.
    The one thing Loki couldn't know for sure was what Ella's involvement had been. Loki was a master of information, but Ella had covered her tracks well, and she was a good liar. After all, she'd learned from the best. And although Loki was obviously still suspicious, Ella knew it was in his best interest to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. She
was
dispensable, but it would be very inconvenient to get rid of her. Besides, he could have no idea that Ella's hatred for Gaia went deeper than petty rivalry. He couldn't know that she wanted nothing more than to see Gaia dead. And his ignorance of that one simple fact was probably the only reason Ella was still alive.
    Loki spread a blueprint out on the drafting table in front of him. Ella glanced at the corner of the page and noted the label New York Department of Public Works. It was amazing how Loki could get his hands on whatever he pleased.
    "Sugarplums dancing," she said flatly.
    "How is my Gaia?" Loki asked, studying the plans, oblivious to the fact that the mere mention of the name brought most of Ella's blood vessels dangerously close to bursting. "Is she excited about the holidays?"
    Ella shrugged. "I don't know how she feels," she said, trying to keep the bite from her tone.
    Suddenly Loki turned on her with the speed of a wildcat, his eyes crazed with anger as he thrust a crumpled-up newspaper into her face. "You don't even know what she's
doing,
" he growled, baring his teeth just slightly.
    Ella's life stopped flashing in front of her eyes when she realized he wasn't, in fact, holding a weapon. Shaking, she gingerly took the newspaper from his hands and unfolded it. There was a large black-and-white photo of a twisted car wreck, accompanied by a headline that made the blood in her veins run cold.
    MYSTERIOUS BLOND WONDER GIRL SAVES BABY, MOTHER
    Finding her voice somewhere among the confusion her insides had been twisted into, Ella tried for an excuse. "We don't know that it was --"
    "Of course we know it was her!" Loki spat, the rims around his eyes just a slightly darker shade of red than his skin. "Why didn't you report this?"
    There was no way she could tell him she didn't know. No way she could tell him she was home, cleaning up the muck that passed for dinner in the pit that passed for a home where she lived a life that passed for a life with a man who could have been her father. And she was doing it all for him.
    She couldn't tell him that. "The girl is fine," Ella said slowly, realizing she was actually unable to recall whether or not she'd seen Gaia since she left the night before. "I didn't want you to worry unnecessarily."
    He glared at her. "You're skating on thin ice, Ella."
    Ella blushed, feeling like a small child who had just been reprimanded for skipping her homework. She hated being made to feel like this. Hated Gaia for being the cause.
    Loki took a deep breath and let it out slowly, audibly, through his nose. "From now on I want to know everything," he said, his mouth turning into a sly grin. "I don't need your protection."
    "Yes, sir," Ella said. And he turned back to his plans as if nothing had ever happened.
    "What else has our Gaia been up to?" he asked, his gaze flicking over the numbers printed at the