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"I'll be there just as quick as I can," Owen said, his voice as cold, dark, and furious as I'd ever heard it "Whatever you do, you keep Eva away froerous than you know Promise me that you'll keep her safe from him - and keep yourself safe, too "

"Of course, I'll protect Eva You don't have to worry about that, but what - "

I didn't get a chance to askup on me

While I waited for Owen to arrive, I made a few other calls I dialed Finn and let him knohat had happened, and I also phoned Jo-Jo Deveraux as well I wasn't injured, so I wouldn't need the dwarf's Air ic to heal oing on with Kincaid and the water elemental, I was smack-dab in the middle of it now - and I had a suspicion that Oas too

I'd just hung up with Jo-Jo when Kincaid led Eva over to where I was standing with Violet and Sophia Violet hugged her friend, and the two girls started whispering Kincaid turned his gaze to me

"We need to talk," he said "In private "

"Why, I thought you'd never ask, sugar," I drawled "Sophia, would you please stay here and make sure Eva and Violet are okay?"

The dwarf grunted, letting me know she was there for me

Kincaid jerked his head "My office is this way "

I followed hih the doors and into the ballrooe, and the lights on the balconies above our heads were diht Kincaid strode down the center aisle of the ballroom, then went over to a side door and punched in a code on a keypad The door opened, and alked down a flight of narrow stairs The loo decks of the riverboat were enclosed and housed the cages where the money and chips were counted on an hourly basis

I let Kincaid go first and put my feet down exactly where he did, just in case there were any trip-wires or ical runes hidden on or underneath the stairs I certainly would have rigged up a few, given how h this place every day

We made it down to the second deck without any problems, and Kincaid ledhallway I eyed the wide silverstone strips that crisscrossed the wood and surrounding walls Not nearly as sturdy as the granite and silverstone door on Fletcher's house, but it would still be tough to try and pound your way through, even for a giant or a dwarf

Kincaid punched in another code on the keypad on the wall, opened the door, and stepped inside I followed hi it open and my back exposed Besides, Kincaid had said he wanted to talk in private, and so did I - because depending on what he said, the cas

ino bossthe room alive

The office was exactly what I expected it to be - the inner sanctuure with a lot of money, power, and influence The antique desk in the back of the room was expensive, but functional, while the laptops, monitors, and phones atop it were the best money could buy Dark blue cushioned chairs crouched in front of a high-end flat-screen TV mounted on one wall, while a wet bar off to one side held every kind of pricey booze you could ever want to drink