The key was right where the realtor had e-mailed that it would be, under a small gray stone statue shaped like a lighthouse that perched on the front porch. An obvious hiding place, if you asked me, but I wasn't going to be too critical, not after everything that had happened tonight. Even if I hadn't been able to find the key, all I would have had to do to get inside was use my elemental magic to create a couple of Ice picks and jimmy one of the locks.
I used the key to open the front door and slipped inside the beach house. I walked through the interior, a silverstone knife in either hand, and peered into all the rooms, corners, and closets. Everything was clean and spotless, just as the realtor had promised me it would be. We'd be safe enough here for the night, but I still took my usual precautions, familiarizing myself with the location of the light switches and furniture and taking the time to trace more spiral protection runes into the various stone walls that made up the house.
When I was finished, I stepped through the door that led to the three-car garage, crossed the concrete, and opened the outer door so Bria could drive the convertible inside, where it would be hidden from sight.
"Now what?" she said, climbing out of the car.
"Now we go inside, get cleaned up, and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be another long day. " I looked at the ruined convertible. "And one of us needs to call Finn and explain what happened to his car. "
Bria gave me a knowing, sarcastic, slightly evil smile. "Oh, that pleasure is all yours, big sister. "
We turned on a few low lights and hauled our suitcases inside. The beach house was equipped with a stone fireplace in the main room, and I rummaged through the kitchen drawers until I found a pack of matches. It was too warm for a fire, but then again, the added heat wasn't really my intention - destroying evidence was. I grabbed the plastic bag of bloody rags and the empty bottle of bleach and stuffed them inside the grate, along with a few pieces of newspaper and kindling from a nearby brass basket
. Bria went into the back of the house to take a shower, and I sat there on one of the couches and watched the evidence of my latest crime crackle and burn while I dialed Finn.
"Hello, sexy. I knew that you couldn't get through the night without me," Finn's smug, slightly sleepy voice filled my ear. "So why don't you tell me what you're wearing?"
I rolled my eyes. Apparently, my foster brother hadn't bothered to check his caller ID before he'd picked up the phone. I wondered if this was how he answered all his late-night calls, or if he'd actually been expecting to hear from Bria. I really hoped it was the second one.
"What am I wearing? Why, right now it would be the blood of two giants, among other naughty unmentionables," I purred. "What does that do for you, sexy?"
Silence.
Then Finn cleared his throat. "Uh, Gin? Did you dial my number by mistake? Shouldn't you be cooing these sweet, sweet nothings into Owen's ear instead of mine?"
"No mistake," I chirped in a bright voice. "I just thought I'd call you and tell you that there's been a slight change of plans. Bria and I aren't staying at the Blue Sands hotel anymore. "
"Why not?" he asked in a sharp voice.
It was amazing just how much suspicion and accusation Finn could put into two simple words. Then again, he knew me all too well. And really, suspicion and accusation were always warranted whenever the Spider was around.
"Let's just say that we had some unwanted visitors tonight - the kind who were intent on making sure we didn't live to see the dawn. Of course, that didn't work out so well for them. "
More silence.
"What the hell did you do?" he finally asked. "And more importantly, is my car still in one piece?"
"Well," I said. "I suppose that depends on your definition of in one piece. "
Finn just groaned.
Chapter 10
I filled Finn in on what had happened. He agreed to call Owen so they could get an early start, drive down to Blue Marsh, and meet Bria and me for brunch at the Sea Breeze at ten. I also asked Finn to dig up everything that he could on Randall Dekes. I wanted to know exactly whom and what I was dealing with before the vampire sent more men after us - or decided to make an appearance himself.
I hung up with Finn and took a long, hot shower, washing away the stench of bleach that clung to my hands and scrubbing the blood out from underneath my fingernails. When I was done, I changed into a pair of loose cotton pajamas and brushed out my wet hair. Bria had already gone to bed, and I added my bloody clothes to hers, which were already burning in the fireplace. I should have crawled into bed and tried to sleep, but instead, I curled up on a couch in front of one of the sliding glass doors that overlooked the endless ocean.
Restless, I picked up my cell phone and hit one of the numbers in the speed dial. He picked up on the third ring.
"Hello?" Owen Grayson's deep voice rumbled through the receiver.
"Hi, it's Gin," I said, even though he knew my voice as well as I did his.
"Hey. " Warmth immediately filled his tone. "How are you? I just got done talking to Finn. He told me that you and Bria had a run-in with some local muscle earlier. "
"You might say that. "
I told Owen what had taken place tonight, starting with Pete and Trent showing up at Callie's restaurant and threatening her and ending with Bria and me dumping the four men's bodies into the palm-tree-shaped pool at the Blue Sands hotel.