Page 18 (1/2)
That last knife felt as cold as the spider rune ring onelse that had coht with Mab My body had burst into icy silver fla the Fire ele with the others I’d been carrying, had absorbed quite a bit of ic I’d never before used the power in this particular knife, the one that I’d killed Mab with, but it comforted me to know that it was there, just in case I needed it
As for the icy flah I’d tried a tinite just to see if I could So far, I hadn’t had any luck Then again, I hadn’t been as desperate as I had been fighting Mab I iined that had quite a bit to do with ht
"Are you sure that you want to do this, Gin? Take on Dekes?" Bria asked, staring at et away froht now And Callie’s my friend, not yours I should be the one to help her, not you"
"I know," I said "But you’reiven her reason enough for putting ain Yeah,for the people that I loved Cheat, lie, steal, even kill for the Mab, and I would gladly do it again I aame that I was detero pay Randall Dekes a visit that he won’t soon forget"
An hour later, a taxi dropped me off at the entrance to Dekes’s island estate It was just before five now, and the press conference was ra into the house
"Right here is fine," I told the driver, slipping hi out of the backseat
The taxi drove off, but I stayed where I was, looking at everything froate to the thick stone wall topped with razor wire to the arrounds in a specific, ti open his doors for his press conference, but he was still being careful about things
Just not careful enough, since the Spider was here
I walked up the s faster than the line of limos and news vans that crept up toward the front door I’d been in and aroundvilla was impressive, even by Ashland standards With its white stone, wrought-iron railings, and red slate roof, the htly sant version of the Blue Sands hotel According to the infor up, Dekes had built his home back in 1889, ten years before he’d started construction on the hotel
I reached the top of the driveway and paused ato the stone of the mansion abovewith a faint ripping sensation that ain and again and slowly tearing it apart froly sound, one filled with sly menace and deadly intent Despite its pristine appearance, Randall Dekes had done sos in his s No surprise there
The stones’ iants working the front door and stepped inside the mansion, but I pushed the sound to the back ofwasn’t unexpected or unwelcome, but I’d see for h
The inside of the mansion was just as perfect, polished, and lavish as the outside Crystal chandeliers, antique furniture, expensive paintings, exquisite statues, delicate carvings Dekes had the very best of everything, just like I’d thought he would, and he seemed to es were suggestive of the beach or sea, froold doubloons that glilass cases on the walls
I followed the flow of traffic deeper into the h a wide archway, and found myself back outside The south laas dominated by an enormous pool that had the same distinctive pal to Finn, Dekes used the palm tree as his own personal rune, since so many of his business interests were located on the coast A variety of colorful orchids and roses floated in the pool, their sweet scentsperfu with the sweat of the news crews hauling around their cameras and other equipli like an oversize opal in the distance The back nine of the hotel’s golf course ran right up to the edge of Dekes’s property, which was cordoned off by a low stone wall With a pair of binoculars, you’d be able to clearly see the hotel pool and the beach with its sunbathing beauties beyond I i out over his little eathered around the pool already, while dozenstrays of food and neon-colored drinks topped with tiny ues, and pineapples Despite the fact that this was officially a press conference, Dekes was still offering refreshments Why, how very considerate of hi coverage
I grabbed a glass of gin rapefruit juice fro for my friends and ene of people, sipping charoup, regaling the onlookers with one bawdy, boisterous story after another Bria slouched next to hi a little bored, while Owen stood next to her, scanning the crowd just like I was
Our eyeswith concern Despite my breezy assurances to Callie that I could handle Dekes, Owen and I both kne dangerous the va a fortune and survive in the underworld as long as Dekes had without having a few aces up your sleeve As always, ness to let me do what needed to be done Donovan had never looked at me the en did, and he certainly would never understand me like Owen did After our confrontation in Callie’s office, I knew thathiht co that caught my eye was a scale model of what the casino would look like when it was built, complete with trees, sand, and even real water in the pseudo swi pools and fake ocean The far side of the miniature landscape started with the Blue Sands hotel and showed how the original structure would stretch out and eventually meld into the new casino, just about where the Sea Breeze stood Shots of the proposed interiors stood on easels behind thejust how lavish the new, iht - her restaurant was in thehall, which meant that Dekes couldn’t build his casino without her land That knowledge only et the vampire to back off - or else