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"Seeing Donovan Caine?" he said "Eva called and told s were tense between the two of you"

My gray eyes narrowed "Eva’s very chatty, isn’t she?"

Owen let out a laugh Sohtened my mood the tiniest bit "Don’t blame her I asked her to play the part of spy"

"And why is that?"

"Because et to know the real Gin Blanco"

I snorted I didn’t think Oould like the real Gin Blanco and her silverstone knife collection Then again, he hadn’t flinched that night at Mab Monroe’s party when I’d been pretending to be a hooker Which was more consideration than Donovan Caine had ever shownnew Not with Owen Grayson, whose real motives were still a mystery to me Despite the desire I’d seen in his violet eyes

"Sorry, Owen, but I’ht now," I said in a kinder tone "I don’t think I will be for the foreseeable future"

"No worries," Owen replied in a s if not patient I just wanted to call and remind you that you had other options, Gin"

"Well, I’ll keep those other options inday, and I plan to go home - alone"

"Don’t let me keep you then," he murmured

"Don’t worry I won’t"

He let out another laugh, and I found ht, Gin," he ruone But unlike Donovan Caine, I knew that Owen Grayson would be back For so in the darkness of the restaurant

After Owen’s call, I drove horavel in the driveway, then the granite around the door Once I was satisfied there was no one lurking around, I went inside and headed straight to the kitchen I poured in, dropped some Ice cubes in it, then plopped down on the sofa in the den I leaned my head back, stared into space, and brooded

Donovan fucking Caine He was all I could think about right now I couldn’t believe the detective was actually leaving Ashland That he was leaving et the chance to fully explore this sizzling attraction between us All that promise tossed aside And for what? So the detective could rest easy at night, his idealistic morals and outdated code of justice still intact? Pointless, all of it

I took a long pull ofthe cold burn of the alcohol For athe bottle out of the cabinet and getting sloshed But it wouldn’t do over to, if he hadn’t already gone He’d just broken up, more or less, with a for your whereabouts

I could go after Donovan, of course Talk to hi us another chance Into staying in Ashland I’d thought about nothing else on the drive home

But I couldn’t do that Because I still wanted what I’d alanted - Donovan Caine to desire me, to want to be with me, Gin Blanco, the former assassin who called herself the Spider But he didn’t, and he never would His code of justice wouldn’t let hiet about all the bad things I’d done in my life, all the people I’d killed Or pretend that I wouldn’t do it all over again, if it becaht after all" I raised in

I plunked lass down on the battered coffee table, and my eyes landed on the folder - the one that contained the infor else I’d been thinking about a lot these past feeeks For the first time, I think I realized why Fletcher Lane had left it for retted his past with Warren T Fox, for notamends with his old friend Fletcher had had sootten around to it He didn’t want iven iven me the infor to do I’d known ever since the night of Mab Monroe’s party

Ever since I’d realized she was the Fire elemental who’d murdered my family

Maybe it had been her smell, jasmine mixed with smoke Maybe it had been her silky voice Or even that brief laugh she’d let out while she’d been standing overdeht all of ht back to the surface I hadn’t seen the Fire elemental’s face when she’d tortured h

And they were identical to Mab’s

I was sure of it now Orbut just hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself That’s why Fletcher had written Mab’s name down in the folder to start with To ure it out for myself

I knew the who; noanted to know the why Why had Mab killed my mother and older sister? Why had she tortured me? Why had she demanded to knohere Bria was? When I found out the why, I’d have the final piece of the puzzle

And then I’d kill the bitch

Oh, I kneasn’t going to be easy That I could die in the process That I probably would die But Mab Monroe had murdered my family, made me think I’d killed my baby sister for seventeen years I’d lived on the streets and eaten garbage because of her Hidden from junkies and vampire pimps and all the other Southtown trash Been scared and weak and frightened because of her But not anymore And mine wasn’t the only family she’d ruined over the years The Snow fas Mab Monroe had done

And then there was Bria My eyes traced over the picture of my baby sister Blond hair, cornflower blue eyes, the primrose rune around her neck She was out there so to find you, baby sister," I whispered "One way or another"

My eyes flicked up to the rune drawings propped on the e of the Pork Pit that I’d drawn, of the sign over the front door Fletcher’s rune, as I thought of it I raised lass in another toast

"Here’s to you, Fletcher Lane," I said "I hope I’ll randfather clock in the hall broke the silence I tossed back the gin and set o through all the inforain if necessary

Until I found all the answers I was looking for

Donovan Caine had been right about one thing Part of me would always be the Spider - and it was tis that needed to be done

Find Bria

Figure out why Mab Monroe had ood ole days are back again," I said<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>