"Me," I replied, a bucket of sunshine in comparison. "You've been busy since the last time we talked. When was that? Oh, yeah. The night that I killed Elliot Slater at his quaint little mountain retreat. "
More silence.
Bria just stared at me, listening to my side of the conversation with the Fire elemental. My sister's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"I have to admit that you gave me a good fight this time," I said. "Hiring LaFleur to come to Ashland to try to kill me was an inspired move, since it was so obvious that none of your own men were going to get the job done. Too bad you backed the wrong horse. Again. But that seems to be a bad habit of yours. One that I'm going to end very, very soon. "
"So you killed LaFleur tonight," Mab snarled. "So what? It's not going to save you in the end, Spider. "
"Probably not," I murmured, staring up at Bria. "But it sure as hell was fun. "
I hung up the phone and passed it back to Bria. It started ringing again the second that she touched it, but she waited until it had stopped before turning away from me, flipping it open, and calling in her kidnapping.
While she did that, I picked up one of my wayward knives and used the hilt to draw my spider rune into the gravel right next to LaFleur's body. Mab already knew I'd been here, of course, but I wanted to drive the point home to her, so to speak.
A few minutes later, just as Bria was finishing up her call, a pair of headlights popped into view at the far end of the train yard. By this point, I'd managed to get to my feet and retrieve all of my silverstone knives, so I palmed one of the weapons, just in case the vehicle held more of Mab's men. Bria didn't have a weapon; she picked a long piece of pipe up out of the junk in the train yard and held it down by her side. She came up to stand beside me, even though she didn't look at me.
Tires crunched on the gravel, and a large silver SUV rolled over to us. The doors opened, and Finn got out of the passenger's side. I expected Sophia Deveraux to hop out of the driver's seat, but to my surprise, Owen slid out of the vehicle instead.
The two men jogged over to us. Owen stopped in front of me, his violet gaze sweeping over my body, but when he realized that I was in more or less one piece, some of the tight concern in his face faded away.
I held up one of the bloody knives he'd given me for Christmas. "You should give me presents more often. Because this one worked like a charm. "
Owen shook his head and just smiled at me.
Finn was a little more practical about things. Once he looked me over and made sure that I was okay for the time being, my foster brother directed his attention to Bria.
"Detective," he said. "You're looking well this evening, all things considered. "
"Lane," Bria replied in a cool voice, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're acting as smarmy as ever. "
Finn grinned, his green eyes twinkling. He loved a challenge, especially when the current object of his affection so obviously hated him. Or at least hated him knowing that she was attracted to him. Even after everything that had happened tonight, a spark of interest filled Bria's face as she stared at Finn before she managed to hide it. Finn saw it too, which made his grin widen that much more.
"We need to leave," I said, interrupting his leering at Bria. "Bria's called the cops and told them about her . . . kidnapping this evening. And lucky intervention and rescue by the mysterious Spider. "
Finn and Owen stared at me, then at Bria. My baby sister shifted on her feet, but she met their curious gazes head-on.
"The cops will be here any minute," she said in a cool voice. "So I suggest the three of you leave before they arrive-or I decide to change my story. "
Owen came over and gently put his arm around me to help me to the SUV. Finn stayed where he was. He looked at Bria, then back again at me, a more hopeful look on his face now. I shook my head, telling him that nothing had been resolved between the two of us.
Bria saw the exchange and frowned. Our gazes met and held again. So many emotions shimmered in her bright blue eyes. Shock. Relief. Weariness. And just a touch of fear. The last one saddened me more than I'd thought possible. I didn't want my baby sister to be afraid of me. I wanted her to see the hope and longing that filled my heart. I wanted her to know I would never, ever hurt her. I wanted her to accept me, if only for this one brief moment.
Whatever Bria saw in my face, it wasn't enough to break through this wall between us-a wall I'd built brick by brick, body by bloody body, as the Spider.
"Come on, Gin," Owen said.
His arm tightened protectively around me, as if he could somehow shield me from having my heart broken by my sister. It was already too late for that, though.
"We need to get you to Jo-Jo's," he finished. "You're hurt. You need to be healed. "
Bria was the only one who could really heal me right now, who could soothe this fierce ache in my heart. But apparently my sister wasn't interested in having anything else to do with me, because she turned away from my hopeful, searching gaze.
There was nothing I could do but accept her decision-at least for tonight. So I nodded and let Owen help me over to the waiting SUV. Finn followed us.
Bria stood there next to Elektra LaFleur's body and watched us disappear into the night.
Chapter 29