"What's going on?" Callie asked, looking at Bria. "You said earlier you wanted to talk. "
Bria nodded and drew in a breath. "We need to discuss what we're going to do about Randall Dekes and the threats he's made against you. "
Callie shook her head, causing her dark ponytail to swish against her shoulders. "I've told you before, Bria, that there's nothing for you to do. Dekes is my problem, not yours. Sooner or later, Donovan will find something to connect him to Stu's death, and the vampire will be put in jail where he belongs. "
"Maybe, but it won't stick. Not for long. And he won't find it before Dekes kills you," I said in a soft voice. "The vamp's already made the decision to do that. "
Callie flinched, like I'd hauled off and slapped her. After a moment, she forced out a weak laugh. "What? That's crazy. "
She tried to make her voice sound strong, confident, sure, but I could hear the doubt in her tone. She'd heard the shocked, horrified whispers of how Dekes had gotten the other people on the island to sell out to him already, and she'd been threatened by his goons herself. Not to mention what the vamp and his men had done to the old man at the ice-cream shop a few days ago. Callie sat there, chewing on her lip and tapping her fingers on top of the papers scattered across her desk.
"How do you know that Dekes plans to murder me?" she finally asked.
"Because Gin's an assassin," Donovan said in a cold, flat voice. "She kills people. "
My hands curled into fists at his sneering, superior tone, and for a moment, I thought about punching him in the face. I'd hoped to avoid telling Callie exactly who I was and what I did, if only for Bria's sake. Not many people could be friends with an assassin - or friends with the sister of one. I might be jealous of Callie, but I didn't want to come between the two women. I loved Bria too much to be that petty. But I should have known that Donovan would tell his fiancee all about me and what I did late at night - and pass the same old judgments on me here that he had back in Ashland.
Callie's face paled, and she looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. She might have guessed that I had something to do with the dead men in the pool, but it was another thing to have her worst suspicions confirmed.
She turned to Bria. "An assassin? Your sister's an assassin?" her voice dropped to a whisper.
My sister shifted on her feet, not quite meeting Callie's shocked stare. "Yes, Gin's an assassin. "
"I go by the name the Spider," I said, trying to spare Bria from having to explain anything else about me and further alienate her friend. "Perhaps you've heard of me. "
I'd meant the words as a joke, but Callie's face paled a little more, the golden glow completely washing out of her skin.
"The Spider? The assassin who killed that Fire elemental up in Ashland?" Callie looked at Donovan. "The assassin that you couldn't stop obsessing about a few weeks ago? The one that you tried so hard to find out if she was dead or alive?"
My breath caught in my throat, but I kept my features blank. Donovan had actually been concerned about me? Now? After all this time? I didn't know what to make of that - or that news of my taking down Mab had made its way this far south. That last point was particularly troublesome, to say the least.
Callie gazed at me, then at Donovan, who was doing his very best not to look at me. I could almost see the proverbial lightbulb snap on over her head.
"It's her, isn't it?" Callie said, a note of accusation and worry creeping into her voice. "Gin's the reason you left Ashland. The woman that you were . . . involved with. The one who made you doubt yourself and what you were doing by being a good cop in such a corrupt city. "
I glanced at Donovan, who still wouldn't look at me. I hadn't thought that I'd made any kind of dent in his moral righteousness, but apparently I had, if the detective had brought his emotional baggage into his relationship with Callie.
"Awkward," Finn said in a singsong voice.
This time, Bria kicked him in the shin. Finn winced and bent down to rub his leg.
I cleared my throat. "Anyway, Donovan is right. I'm an assassin. I used to kill people for money - "
"A lot of money," Finn interrupted in a dreamy voice. "Stacks of it, actually. Do the job, get paid, walk away. Those were the good ole days, if you ask me. These freebie jobs have zero profit margin. "
Bria drew her leg back for another kick, but Finn held up his hands and backed away from her as far as he could in the tiny office.
"Like I said, I used to kill people for money, but these days I run more of a pro bono business," I said. "I help folks with certain . . . problems that they and the law can't or don't know how to handle. "
"Problems like Randall Dekes," Callie said.
"Problems exactly like Randall Dekes. "
She stared at me, her gray-green eyes dark with suspicion, hurt, and a touch of fear. I wondered if the last emotion was because I was the Spider or the fact that she knew that I used to fuck her fiance. "And why in the world would you want to help me? I certainly can't pay you much. I can't pay you anything, really. The wedding - "
She stopped, realizing how ironic it was to mention her impending wedding to her fiance's ex-lover. But I'd give Callie her props because she sucked in another breath and finished her thought. "The wedding has taken up most of my savings, along with some repairs and renovations that I've recently made to the restaurant. So I ask again - why would you want to help me?"
"Because you're Bria's best friend. She loves you, and I'd do anything for my sister," I answered honestly. "And because you don't deserve what Dekes has in store for you. You just want to run your restaurant, cook your food, and see to your customers. Nothing else. You never wanted any trouble, but it has come looking for you these past few months. Believe me, I can relate to that - more than you know. That's why I'd help you. That's enough for me. Let it be enough for you too. "