“How would you know what I’ve got in me or not,” Gabriel protested. “I’ll have you know that I have a reputation. I can resist anything. Prank anything.” He smirked. “You oughta hear the names they used to call me.” He tuts. “People don’t like tricksters. Wonder why.”

Of course, he didn’t stop patting Bomb as he was talking. And he wasn’t going to comment on her last remark, because there were a number of things he could have said and all of them touched on raw nerves.