Chapter 24
"Gin? Are you out here? It's Bria," my baby sister called out. "I wanted to talk to you about the Christmas party you mentioned to me the other day. "
Bria stepped out into the alley in between us, and the door banged shut behind her. I was in front of her, while LaFleur lurked in the shadows behind her.
Before I could move, before I could do anything, before I could even shout out a warning, the assassin struck. Quick as lightning, she grabbed Bria by her shaggy blond hair and pulled the other woman up against her chest. LaFleur hooked her arm around Bria's throat, placing her in a chokehold.
"Detective Coolidge," Elektra purred. "So good of you to join us this evening. "
But my sister wasn't going down without a fight. Bria went into immediate attack mode, lifting up her boot, probably to smash it down onto LaFleur's instep before pivoting and throwing the other woman over her shoulder.
Before she could do any of that, Elektra brought up her hand, the ball of green lightning still flickering there, and shoved it into Bria's face. My sister had to jerk back to keep the elemental magic from burning her cheek.
"Ah, ah, ah," LaFleur warned. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you want me to melt that pretty face of yours right off. "
Bria's blue eyes narrowed. Despite the tenuous position that she was in, she wasn't afraid-not the least little bit. Instead, I could see her thinking about things, calculating the angles and the chances of succeeding, just as I would have if our positions had been reversed. My sister's gaze cut to me, then to the three giants standing in the alley behind me. She knew as well as I did that the odds weren't with her. Not while LaFleur had hold of her, the assassin's electrical magic an inch away from her eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" Bria spat out. "What do you want?"
"Why, your untimely demise, of course, along with that of good ole Gin here," Elektra said. "You were actually next on my to-do list tonight, detective. How very thoughtful of you to come to me instead. Now I can double my fun. Your death will go a long way toward my employer having a very merry Christmas. "
"Mab," Bria snarled. She knew as well as I did that the Fire elemental wanted her dead in the worst possible way. She just didn't know exactly why. "You work for Mab Monroe. "
"Correct," LaFleur said in a cheery tone. "I work for Mab. And you know what she's hired me to do, specifically? Make sure that the two of you quit breathing. Immediately. "
The lightning intensified in LaFleur's hand, until the glow from it lit up the whole alley. For a moment, I thought she was going to kill Bria right then, right there. I narrowed my eyes and studied the other assassin, wondering how I could distract her long enough to give Bria a fighting chance to get away from her-or at least out of the immediate vicinity of Elektra's lightning. I'd only get one shot, one second of opportunity before LaFleur fried my baby sister with her elemental magic. I'd come too far, suffered through too much, killed too many people, to let Bria die. Not now, not ever.
But to my surprise, the lightning flickered and dimmed in LaFleur's hand. Oh, she still had enough power in her to give Bria a good, sharp jolt, but the magic wouldn't kill her now-probably.
I couldn't help but wonder what the other assassin was up to. If it had been me, Bria would have been dead thirty seconds ago, and I'd be dying on the ground right now. Never hesitate, not for a second, not for any reason whatsoever. That's what Fletcher Lane had taught me.
But LaFleur hadn't gone for the kill shot, even though she'd had it. I had a sinking suspicion I knew why-and what the other assassin was going to say next.
"You know, I haven't had a lot of fun these past few days," LaFleur murmured. "I think I'll change that tonight. Starting with the two of you. "
Of course. LaFleur wanted to play with us first before she killed us. Because that's what she did to people. Because she'd let the Spider slip through her fingers and wanted someone to take her anger out on. And her proclivities might just be the death of me and my sister tonight.
LaFleur let out a low whistle, and the giants who'd been standing at the end of the alley stepped up to join the party. "Boys, put these two ladies in the limo. "
I managed to slip my silverstone knives back up my sleeves before LaFleur or the giants spotted them. The oversize goons reached for me, and I jerked and flailed around, pretending that I was desperately trying to get away from them, even though I really wasn't. No way was I leaving Bria behind. But my jerky movements had the desired effect, and one of the giants shoved me against one of the metal Dumpsters in the alley.
I crashed into it with a loud bang, moaned for show, and slumped down to the alley floor. While I was curled into a ball, I slipped my silverstone knives out of my sleeves once more and slid the weapons underneath the Dumpster.
I didn't want the giants to grab hold of my arms and feel the weapons tucked up my sleeves. Right now, LaFleur thought that I was just a defenseless cook. I didn't want her opinion of me to change whatsoever. Every second she thought me weak was another second I had to escape and save myself and Bria.
Besides, sooner or later, Sophia would come out into the alley to see what had happened to Bria and me. When she realized that we weren't back here, the dwarf would start looking around. She'd find the knives and realize something bad had gone down. She'd call Finn and get the cavalry charge rolling-provided Bria and I lived that long.
LaFleur shook her head. "Oh, now she starts blubbering. How disappointing. Pick her up. "
Two of the giants plucked me off the ground. The third moved over to help Elektra with Bria. The giant yanked my baby sister's gun off her belt, then ran his hands over the rest of her body in a slow, suggestive way. Bria's lips tightened, but she didn't respond to his leers. The giant found her backup gun strapped in an ankle holster and removed that one as well, along with the cell phone in her jacket pocket and her keys.
I held my breath, but the two giants holding on to me didn't bother to search me for weapons. I suppose they considered the cop more of a threat than the cook. It was a mistake that was going to cost them their lives. I was glad I'd ditched the two knives, though. The way the giants had their hands clamped on my arms, they would surely have felt the blades through my sweater. But the fabric was bulky enough to at least hide my silverstone vest.
When the giant finished searching Bria, the four of them marched us out of the alley, with LaFleur keeping a close eye on the proceedings, the ball of green lightning still flickering in her hand. She wasn't going to drop her magic until we were secured. Maybe not even then.
LaFleur had a limo waiting two blocks away, well out of sight of the storefront windows of the Pork Pit. The giants shoved Bria and me inside the back, then crowded in after us. The few people still moving out on the street ducked their heads and walked even faster when they spotted us. In Ashland, giants shepherding people into the back of a car was never a good thing.
"Cuff them," LaFleur called out from the street.