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Bria came outside a few minutes later, and we drove back to the Blue Sands hotel in silence It was still early, not quite nine o’clock, but we both went through therobes and paja out clothes for to

Eventually, I wound up on the patio, staring out at the endless black sea froht, steady breeze blew in off the ocean, carrying the tang of salt and sand with it It was full dark now, but the night ar instead of the hot, suffocating e and bright as I’d ever seen it, and the stars burned with pure, white light, like they were seconds away fro from the sky All around me, the stone of the hotel drowsily whispered of another day of fun in the sun and the promise of more of the same tomorrow

But the revelry wasn’t over for everyone Down below, tiki torches blazed around an enor pool Pal the symbol for coastal beauty, and the elaborate shape of the pool was in keeping with that theo for a late swie chairs, or down sorass-covered bar nearby Couples swayed to cheerful calypso music on a patio on the far side of the pool Beyond that, a few bonfires flickered on the beach, the folks e flames

Bare feet whispered on the patio behind ht-iron railing We watched the swi ended and the live band decided to take a brief break

"So what’s the deal with you and Donovan Caine?" Bria finally asked

I sighed Bria was a cop, a good one, and she could be just as tough and tenacious as me when she set her mind to it I’d known that the questions about Donovan were coured out what the ansere to the’?"

I sighed again, a little deeper and a little longer this time "I’ve told you about Alexis James, the Air elemental who killed Fletcher and framed me for a murder I didn’t commit?"

Bria nodded

"Well, Donovan was a detective with the Ashland Police Departht up in the conspiracy and found out that I was the Spider But one of his superiors orking for Alexis, so we joined forces to take them both down Later, he helpedWarren and Violet Fox Along the way, Donovan and I slept together a few times"

"Until"

"Until Donovan decided that he couldn’t be the kind of man he wanted to be and still be with me at the saht and wrong over me, the evil assassin who’d seduced him"

Bria winced "Ouch"

"Yeah, ouch"

We lapsed into silence, listening to the laughter and splashes that floated up fro beat of the calypso music as the band members returned froain

"So what are you going to do now? About Donovan," Bria asked

I shrugged "Donovan made it perfectly clear when he left Ashland that he didn’t wantto do with ht at the restaurant We’ve both moved on He has Callie, and I have Owen Donovan also made it clear that he didn’t wantwith Randall Dekes"

"Can’t blame him for that, can you? He is a cop, after all He’s supposed to follow the rules Asking you to assassinate Dekes would not be following the rules"

I looked at her "Yeah, but you’re a cop too, and here we are"

Bria shifted on her feet "That’s different You’rebecause we both knew that it wasn’t different, not really In her oay, Bria had just as tough a ti the Spider as Donovan had She was just trying harder than he had to get past her aversion to my bloody, violent profession because ere faht she owed s She didn’t realize that I would have saved her whether we had a relationship or not, whether she wanted me in her life or not - whether she hatedthe old, faust in his eyesWhen she’d just give up on ood, honest cop that he was It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that someday she’d make the same choice as Donovan That soh, leave me behind, and never look back Now that Mab was dead, she was free to do it anytime she wanted

I’d had plenty of pain in my life already, but I knew that if Bria turned her back on me like Donovan had, the tiny scrap of ly childhood would break - and it would never, ever mend

All I’d wanted had been a simple, fun, carefree vacation, a weekend when I could relax fro the Spider and finally try and connect with ht back in the middle of another ht not love Callie like Bria did, but I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing either - not when I knew a good, decent person was being threatened and in very real danger of being ht me better than that, even if I was an assassin

"And how do you feel about Donovan now?" Bria asked in a soft voice

I shrugged again "You know I’s"

My sister raised her eyebrows at that particular understatement She turned to face me and crossed her ar, just waiting I knew she wouldn’t leave without an answer

"Donovan is a s, capable, attractive man," I finally said "That’s what drew me to him in the first place"

"But?"

"But I love Owen," I said in a firs that’s ever happened to et that - ever - and I’ to mess up our relationship"

I ain had only made me appreciate Owen thatthat Donovan never had and never would - he accepted me for who and what I was My bloody past as the Spider didn’t bother Owen because he’d gone through the sa on the streets, trying to protect his younger sister, Eva And he’d done so people who threatened him or Eva Owen hadn’t necessarily done all those dark things for money, not like I had as an assassin, but he understood them and me all the same That’s why I loved him

Bria nodded "Good Because Callie’s ed to someone if she didn’t love hiet hurt by being in the ’"<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>