Spider's Bite

30

The milky white magic in the Air elemental’s gaze dimmed, dulled, and leaked out of her eyes. But I didn’t move until I was sure Alexis James was dead. I idly wondered if I should get her gun and put three in her head just to be sure—

Click.

I was so focused on Alexis that I didn’t hear the gun until it was too late. Something that was happening a lot lately. I turned.

Wayne Stephenson stood behind me, his weapon level with my chest. The giant was less than twenty feet away. He wouldn’t miss. Not at this distance. I was too exhausted to reach for my Stone magic again, to try and harden my skin with it, and my silverstone vest lay in a crumpled, melted heap at my feet.

At least I’d killed Alexis James first. Finn and Roslyn would be safe now, assuming Stephenson hadn’t already shot them. The pudgy police captain didn’t look so good. His breath came out in ragged gasps, and sweat rolled down his forehead like he was standing in the shower.

The giant looked at me, then at Alexis’s still body. He pulled a white handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit and mopped some of the nervous moisture off his beefy face.

“I can’t believe you killed her. You did me a favor, you know?” he said. “I wish I’d never gotten involved with that psychotic bitch. But she had pictures of me with a girl. I couldn’t say no to her, to any of it.”

More confirmation Alexis had been blackmailing Stephenson and further affirming my opinion that blackmail was the lowest form of arm-twisting.

“And then she promised me more. More money, more girls, anything I wanted. And all I had to do was find you, kill you …”

He was babbling, but I didn’t say anything. The longer he kept talking was the longer I kept breathing. My eyes flicked to the ground. One of my knives lay about two feet off to my right. I might be able to lunge for it and throw it at Stephenson before he shot me. I tensed. Only chance I had.

But Stephenson wasn’t completely gone. He saw I wasn’t paying attention to his ramblings. His eyes sharpened.

“But this will fix it,” he said. “This will fix everything. I’ll say you killed Alexis, and I killed you. It’ll work. I can make it work.”

Stephenson raised his gun—

I dived forward, going for my knife and trying to get out of the path of the bullet—

A shot rang out, then five more in rapid succession—

My head snapped up. Stephenson towered over me. He teetered to one side, then toppled to the ground like a mighty oak that had been felled by a lightning strike. I saw three small, neat wounds in back of the police captain’s skull. The same place Brutus had wanted to shoot me a few days ago. Three more holes leaked blood in the giant’s back: two in his kidneys, one in his heart. I raised my eyes to the man who’d been standing behind the giant. The one who still had his gun raised.

Donovan Caine.

He walked over to Stephenson’s body and stared down at his dead captain. His hazel eyes darkened, his face drooped, and his whole body just sagged. Once again, the detective reminded me of Atlas, bearing so much on his lean shoulders.

I sat up, too tired and bloody to do anything else. I’d carried my share of the load tonight too.

Donovan’s hazel eyes flicked to me, then to Alexis James’s body. He moved toward me, gun still clenched in his hand. I reached down and palmed my knife. I wasn’t going to let the detective kill me. Not because of Cliff Ingles. Not because of anything.

Survival no matter what. The very first lesson Fletcher had taught me. One I’d learned even before I’d met the old man.

Even if killing Donovan Caine would extinguish whatever light might still be left inside me.

Caine stopped about three feet away from me. “You killed her. You killed Alexis.”

I didn’t say anything.

“How did you do it?” he asked. “I saw her magic. She was lighting up the whole quarry with it. And the wind… you could hear the wind screaming. How did you avoid it?”

“I got lucky.” My voice was weak and raspy.

“Alexis is dead. Stephenson’s dead. Which means our truce is officially over.”

Donovan Caine raised his gun, pointing it at my forehead. My hand tightened around the hilt of the knife.

“You killed my partner.”

I didn’t say anything. If he started to pull the trigger, it was over. I’d stab him and leave his body here with the others. I’d deal with Finn and Roslyn and the cops and the consequences later, along with my emotions.

“You’re an assassin, everything that’s wrong with this city, everything I hate.” The detective tightened his grip on the gun. “I should kill you right here, right now. Do the city, the world, a favor.”

I wondered if he thought killing me would be a public service. If the mayor would give him a medal for it. My chapped, blistered lips twitched, and I wanted to laugh. Funniest damn thought I’d had all day. Hell, all week.

The silence stretched out between us. Seconds that felt like a lifetime.

Caine lowered his gun. “But I can’t. I can’t kill you. I feel something for you. Lust, gratitude, curiosity, I don’t know what the fuck it is, but it won’t let me kill you, no matter what you’ve done. So what does that make me?”

“A good man,” I said in a soft voice.

Caine shook his head. “No. It just makes me stupid.”

He threw down his gun and walked away.

*

I sat there, wondering at my reprieve and trying to muster up the strength to move, when a car drove into the bottom of the quarry. The same car I’d stolen from the country club earlier this evening. The vehicle slid to a stop a few feet away, kicking up dust and blood. Finn bounded out of the driver’s seat and ran over to me. Roslyn Phillips also got out of the car and followed him at a slower pace.

Finn stopped in front of me, his green eyes sweeping over my clothes, body, face. Once he realized I was more or less in one piece, he relaxed.

“What happened?” I croaked. “How did you get away from Stephenson?”

Finn jerked his head at Caine, who stood a few feet away brooding over the giant’s body. “Roslyn and I ran into the detective. He exchanged a couple of shots with the good captain, who turned and ran like a scared little girl.”

I nodded. So Caine had come back after Stephenson, not to save me. Not surprising, except for the disappointment that fluttered in my chest.

Finn kept staring at me. After a moment, he smiled. Amusement filled his green gaze.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. But tell me, whose face do you think looks like shit now?”

I touched my cheek and winced as pain shot through me. Alexis James had been stronger than she’d looked. She’d gotten in some solid whacks, not to mention the ugly, puffy blisters her Air magic had raised on my skin. Every part of me felt sore and raw and chapped from the intense magic I’d survived, and the bullet throbbed in my shoulder. “Mine.”

“Yours,” he agreed.

Finn held out a hand, and I let him pull me to my feet and into a tight hug. His arms closed around me, and hot tears stung my eyes.

“I thought I’d lost you too,” he whispered in my ear.

I pulled back gave him a crooked smile. “You should know better than that.”

Roslyn Phillips stood off to one side. The vampire looked mussed and tired. Her dark gaze focused on the blood leaking out of Stephenson’s back. Her fangs gleamed like pearls in the twilight.

“Thirsty?” I asked.

Roslyn snorted. “For that giant shit? I don’t think so. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to tear the bastard’s neck out myself.”

I grinned at her. After a moment, she smiled back.

Donovan Caine cleared his throat. I turned so I could see the detective.

“You and Finn need to leave. Now,” he said. “Roslyn, you’re staying with me.”

“Why?” I asked in a soft voice.

Caine swept his hand over the bodies that littered the quarry floor. “Here’s what happened. I went off the grid to investigate the Gordon Giles case. Men came to my house to kill me, but I escaped from them. I’ve been hiding low the last few days tracking down leads, one of which was Roslyn. Thanks to her, I discovered Gordon’s files, but Alexis James found us. She brought us out here to kill us, but I managed to turn the tables on her instead.”

“What about Stephenson?” Finn asked.

Caine shrugged. “He was pretending to work for Alexis to bring her down. He came to the rescue, but was killed in the crossfire.”

“You know Stephenson was working for Alexis, that he liked to abuse young girls. Why are you protecting him?” I asked.

“Because he has a wife and a daughter who’ll need his pension. Because they shouldn’t suffer for what he did.” Caine’s eyes flashed with amber fire, daring me to contradict him.

I didn’t. “And the mysterious woman at the opera house?”

“Mistaken identity,” Caine said. “Alexis picked her out to frame her. A composite sketch of a person who never really existed. I’ll think of something.”

“I’m sure you will,” I murmured.

“Where do I come in?” Roslyn asked. “Why do you need me to stick around?”

Caine looked at her. “Because people saw Stephenson drag you out of the country club. And I need somebody to back me up.”

I stared at Roslyn. “Are you okay with being a star witness to all of this?”

The vampire shrugged, but I saw something flicker in her eyes. Guilt. Hmm. Something to think about later.

“Think you can sell it?” Donovan asked her.

Roslyn laughed. The delicate, pealing sound reminded me of wind chimes. “Oh honey, selling myself was what I did for years. So yeah, I think I can manage it. You just tell me what you want me to say. By the time I’m done, the angels will be crying.”

I believed her. Donovan did too, because he nodded his head.

“Well, it’s nice and tidy all the way around,” I said. “You think your superiors will believe that bizarre fairy tale?”

Caine shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t fucking care. That’s the story I’m sticking with. Plus, I have this.”

He held up the flash drive. The detective must have picked it up off the quarry floor while I was having my reunion with Finn.

“It’s all the proof I need,” Caine said. “I already used my cell phone to call it in. The first units will be here in ten minutes.”

I grimaced. “Time for us to go, then.”

“Time for you to go, then,” he agreed.

Finn looked back and forth between the two of us. “I’ll get the car.”

He trotted over to the vehicle. Roslyn followed him. I swayed back and forth for a moment before finding my balance once more. My eyes met Donovan Caine’s. Gray on gold.

“I suppose this is good-bye, then,” I said.

“It is. Don’t let me catch you again,” he said in a harsh tone. “I won’t be so generous next time.”

There was that confidence again. One of many things I found so appealing about the detective. I tipped my head. “Don’t worry, detective. I’m the Spider. I know how to stay hidden in the shadows, remember?”

Guilt and a touch of regret flashed in the detective’s eyes, although he kept his face hard and remote. I did the same, even though a knife of emotion twisted into my heart.

Finn and Roslyn said their good-byes, and the vampire went to stand by the detective. Finn pulled the stolen car over to me. Somehow, I stumbled forward and picked up my various knives and the remains of my ruined vest. Then I yanked open the car door. I fell into the cushioned seat and flopped around like a rag doll, all the strength gone from my body.

Finn stared at me. “Gin—”

“Not tonight, Finn. Not tonight. Drive,” I said. “Just drive.”

I put my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.