By a Thread

13

“Wow,” I whispered when we were through. “I’ll have to make you jealous more often.”

Owen grinned. “It does have its perks.”

I settled my head on his chest, and we lay on the blankets in silence, listening to the rush of the water in and out of the cove and watching the black shadows of the seagulls and terns streak across the sand like skittering spiders.

Owen and I lazed around for the better part of an hour before reluctantly pulling on our clothes and walking back to the beach house. I would have loved to spend the rest of the day with him, but Callie was still in trouble, and I had an appointment with Dekes that just wouldn’t wait.

Using his seemingly endless network of business connections, clients, spies, and snitches, Finn had managed to score himself, Bria, and Owen invites to Dekes’s press conference just like he said he would. The four of us regrouped in the living room that afternoon to go over some final details.

I looked at the laminated press card, the photo ID, and the other phony credentials that Finn had created for me. “So my name is Carmen Cole, and I write for some newspaper up in New York. Don’t you think that’s a little out there? A reporter coming all this way just to talk to Dekes about his casino?”

Finn shrugged. “Not really. According to the guest list, there are reporters from a variety of publications and states coming in for the party. I figured that was the easiest thing to do, since I have a subscription to the financial section of that newspaper and can give you some details about what it covers and how. Simpler is better, remember? That’s what Dad always used to say.”

That had been one of many pearls of wisdom Fletcher had given us over the years and one that I’d taken to heart today. The plan was straightforward. Using the fake credentials that Finn had created for me, I was going to pretend I was writing a business story on Dekes’s new casino and its potential economic impact on Blue Marsh. When the time was right, I’d approach Dekes and ask him for a private interview. Powerful or not, I imagined that he’d be happy to suck up to a lowly reporter if he thought it would get him some good press.

Once I was alone with Dekes, I’d make my move and strongly suggest that he leave Callie alone. Depending on what the vampire did then, I’d either walk out of his office and rejoin the press conference or sneak out the back covered with blood.

I was good with either option.

“Now, on to more important matters,” Finn said, striking a dramatic pose. “How do I look?”

Finn loved dressing up, and he had more high-end suits hanging in his closet than most people had white cotton socks stuffed into their chests of drawers. But he’d gone all out this afternoon. Finn sported a fitted white linen suit that showed off the muscular lines of his body. His shirt was black, and so were his shoes, which were so slick and glossy that I could see my reflection in them. A white Panama hat with a slim black ribbon around the brim perched on top of his carefully styled, walnut-colored locks. Finn had spent more time on his hair than Bria and I had—combined.

“A Panama hat? Really?” Owen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Finn grinned. “When in Rome.”

In contrast to Finn, Owen wore a simple navy suit with a sky blue shirt and tie and a pair of black wingtips. He looked every inch the strong, shrewd, powerful businessman that he was. To me, there was nothing sexier than a man in a well-tailored suit, and I found myself wanting to slip off Owen’s jacket and slide my fingers down his chest before undressing the rest of him. Mmm.

“Well, I don’t know about you three, but I feel ridiculous in this dress,” Bria muttered.

A long, slinky gown clung to my sister’s body, showing off her killer curves. Black and white orchids covered the dress, creating an interesting geometric pattern, and small black sequins gleamed on the garment’s spaghetti straps, bringing out the exquisite paleness of Bria’s skin. Her blond hair just brushed her shoulders, the ends curling around the primrose rune that rested in the hollow of her throat. Smoky black shadow and liner rimmed her blue eyes, adding to her beauty, while strappy black stiletto heels gave her an extra three inches of height.

“I can’t believe that I let you talk me into wearing this,” she said, glaring at Finn. “Much less buy it in the first place.”

Heat sparked in his bright green eyes. “Don’t worry, cupcake. You won’t be wearing it long, if I have my way.”

Bria’s eyes narrowed, but her red lips curved up into a knowing, satisfied smile.

“It’s just too bad that Gin doesn’t look as smashing as you do,” Finn lamented. “Really, Gin, could you have put on something any more boring?”

Since I was going in as a journalist, I’d opted for a more serious, professional look—a body-hugging black camisole over matching black pants. My dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and I’d gone dark and smoky on the makeup, just like Bria. Unlike her open-toed stilettos, I had on a pair of ankle-high boots, with two of my silverstone knives already tucked inside them. Some pens, a notepad, and a small digital voice recorder were nestled inside the purse I was carrying, adding to the journalist facade.

For the final touch, I’d slipped on a fitted black jacket. But it wasn’t just any jacket—this one was lined with silverstone. The magical metal commanded a high price due to its ability to absorb and store all forms of magic. No matter what power they possessed—Air, Fire, Ice, or Stone—many elementals had rings, necklaces, watches, and other pieces of jewelry made out of the metal. The bits and pieces of silverstone looked innocent enough glinting on fingers, necks, and wrists, but really, they gave folks a bonus boost of magic in case they needed it—like for a duel.

That’s how elementals fought, by dueling each other, by testing their magic against another person’s. Only the strong survived an elemental duel, and the result for the loser was never a good one. Suffocated by a lack of Air, fried to a crisp by Fire, an Ice knife slammed into your throat, your heart turned to Stone in your own chest. Not exactly peaceful or painless ways to die, given how cruelly creative elementals could be with their powers.

I had my own piece of silverstone jewelry, thanks to Bria—the spider rune ring that I wore on my right index finger. The metal hummed with my stored Ice magic and felt like a cold thread wrapped around my skin. The ring and the extra bit of power it contained was what had helped me kill Mab.

In addition to absorbing and storing magic, silverstone also had the added benefit of being tougher than Kevlar. Whenever I was out working as the Spider, I usually wore a vest made out of the metal, since silverstone was great for stopping bullets, knives, and other weapons. But since I couldn’t go into Dekes’s press conference looking like an assassin, I’d opted for the suit jacket instead. It wasn’t as thick and heavy as one of my normal vests would have been, but there was enough silverstone sewn into the lining to give me a fighting chance against any bullets or blasts of magic that might come my way. Plus, the jacket let me stuff two more knives up my sleeves, while another one rested against the small of my back as usual.

That last knife felt as cold as the spider rune ring on my finger, since the blade contained my Ice magic—something else that had come out of my final fight with Mab. My body had burst into icy silver flames when I’d been dueling the Fire elemental, and the silverstone knife, along with the others I’d been carrying, had absorbed quite a bit of my magic. 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 flames, it was a trick that I hadn’t done since then, although I’d tried a time or two to get my fists to ignite 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 imagined that had quite a bit to do with my cold spontaneous combustion that night.

“Are you sure that you want to do this, Gin? Take on Dekes?” Bria asked, staring at me. “I know that you came to Blue Marsh to get away from all the thugs in Ashland who are after you right now. And Callie’s my friend, not yours. I should be the one to help her, not you.”

“I know,” I said. “But you’re my sister.”

Bria stood there, like she was expecting me to say something else. But in my mind, I’d given her reason enough for putting myself in danger again. Yeah, maybe I was a coldhearted assassin, but I’d do anything for the people that I loved. Cheat, lie, steal, even kill for them. I’d done it before when I was battling Mab, and I would gladly do it again. I might be in a different city, but the rules of the game were still the same—and it was a game that I was determined to win.

“If we’re all ready,” I said, “let’s go 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 ramping up, judging by the people I saw streaming into the house.

“Right here is fine,” I told the driver, slipping him a nice tip and climbing out of the backseat.

The taxi drove off, but I stayed where I was, looking at everything from the spikes on the open iron gate to the thick stone wall topped with razor wire to the armed giants that I could see walking along the manicured grounds in a specific, timed pattern. Dekes might be throwing 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 smooth cobblestone driveway, moving faster than the line of limos and news vans that crept up toward the front door. I’d been in and around many mansions, but Dekes’s sprawling villa was impressive, even by Ashland standards. With its white stone, wrought-iron railings, and red slate roof, the multistory building looked like a slightly smaller but more elegant version of the Blue Sands hotel. According to the information that Finn had dug 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 a moment, reaching out with my magic and listening to the stone of the mansion above me. Low, pain-filled mutters drifted down to me, along with a faint ripping sensation that made it seem like something was biting into the stone again and again and slowly tearing it apart from the inside out. It was a dark, ugly sound, one filled with sly menace and deadly intent. Despite its pristine appearance, Randall Dekes had done some violent things in his mansion over the years—some very violent, very bloody things. No surprise there.

The stones’ mutters grew louder as I flashed my press credentials at the giants working the front door and stepped inside the mansion, but I pushed the sound to the back of my mind. The stones’ warning wasn’t unexpected or unwelcome, but I’d see for myself exactly what kind of man Dekes was soon enough.

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 embrace the location of his island home. Many of the furnishings were suggestive of the beach or sea, from the paintings of famous shipwrecks to the gold doubloons that glimmered in glass cases on the walls.

I followed the flow of traffic deeper into the mansion, stepped through a wide archway, and found myself back outside. The south lawn was dominated by an enormous pool that had the same distinctive palm tree shape as the one at the Blue Sands hotel. According 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 scents mixing with the spicy colognes and cloying perfumes of the businessmen and businesswomen in attendance, along with the sweat of the news crews hauling around their cameras and other equipment.

I could also see the Blue Sands hotel from here, glimmering 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 imagined Dekes was the kind of man who enjoyed looking out over his little empire.

Roughly two hundred people were gathered around the pool already, while dozens more giant waiters moved through the crowd bearing trays of food and neon-colored drinks topped with tiny umbrellas and skewers of fresh lemons, limes, oranges, and pineapples. Despite the fact that this was officially a press conference, Dekes was still offering refreshments. Why, how very considerate of him. Or perhaps boozy journalists just led to more flattering coverage.

I grabbed a glass of gin mixed with grapefruit juice from one of the waiters and strolled around the pool, looking for my friends and enemy for the afternoon.

Owen, Finn, and Bria stood in a ring of people, sipping champagne. As usual, my foster brother was in the middle of the group, regaling the onlookers with one bawdy, boisterous story after another. Bria slouched next to him, looking a little bored, while Owen stood next to her, scanning the crowd just like I was.

Our eyes met, violet on gray. Heat shimmered in Owen’s gaze, along with concern. Despite my breezy assurances to Callie that I could handle Dekes, Owen and I both knew how dangerous the vampire was. You didn’t amass as big a fortune and survive in the underworld as long as Dekes had without having a few aces up your sleeve. As always, my lover’s worry touched me, as did his willingness to let me do what needed to be done. Donovan had never looked at me the way Owen did, and he certainly would never understand me like Owen did. After our confrontation in Callie’s office, I knew that more than ever.

I winked at Owen, telling him that I was ready for whatever might come up, and moved on.

Besides the pool, the other thing 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 swimming 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 the model, showing just how lavish the new, improved resort would be.

Callie had been right—her restaurant was in the middle of the main gaming hall, which meant that Dekes couldn’t build his casino without her land. That knowledge only made me more determined to get the vampire to back off—or else.

Finally, I spotted the man of the hour himself—Randall Dekes. The vampire was just as handsome in real life as he was in the headshot Finn had shown me. His sable brown hair and matching mustache gleamed in the sunlight, his skin just a shade lighter, while laugh lines crept out from the corners of his pale green eyes. His trim body was further set off by a smoke gray suit, and a large palm- tree-shaped diamond glimmered in the middle of his matching silk tie. He was easily one of the most striking men here. I wasn’t the only one who thought so, judging from the longing looks that the other women and even a few men shot his way.

But what the photo hadn’t quite captured was the constant crackle of magic that emanated off Dekes. I stood there, sipped my fruity gin, and tried to puzzle out what kind of power it was. Even when they weren’t actively using their power, many elementals constantly gave off waves of magic, like heat radiating from the sun even when it was behind the clouds. Since I was an elemental too, I could sense that excess energy. Most of the sensations followed a pattern. Magic from a Fire elemental would feel hot, like sparks or fiery needles stabbing at my skin, while power from an Ice elemental would be cold, like snowflakes swirling through the sky. An Air elemental’s power might feel thick and stuffy like fog creeping over the landscape, while a Stone elemental’s magic could seem as hard as a concrete shell covering his or her body.

The sensation rolling off the vampire slid across my skin like water, but I couldn’t quite figure out which specific elemental area Dekes was gifted in—Air, Fire, Ice, or Stone. Somehow, the magic trickling off him felt like all of those things at once. Hot and cold, soft and hard.

I frowned. Everyone knew that Dekes was a vampire, but Finn hadn’t been able to determine whether he had any elemental magic as well. The vampire might have the power flowing through his veins as an elemental himself or he might simply be absorbing it from the blood of his victims. Either way, what worried me was how strong the sensation was. Unless I was seriously mistaken, Dekes had just as much elemental juice as Mab had had, which meant that I had to be even more careful with him than I’d originally planned to be.

As I watched the vampire, a tall, slender woman stepped out of the crowd and headed toward Dekes. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, then looped her arm through his. I recognized her from another photo that had been in Finn’s file. Vanessa Suarez, the vampire’s wife. Finn hadn’t spent as much time looking into her background, but he’d learned that she came from a prominent Fire elemental family in Charleston, South Carolina. Her father had gotten involved in one of Dekes’s real estate deals, and she’d married the vampire about a year ago. Finn didn’t know whether the marriage was a love match, a political alliance, or something else, but it didn’t much matter. If she got in my way, then I’d deal with her the same way that I would her husband—in a brutal, bloody, permanent fashion.

Vanessa was as beautiful as Dekes was handsome, with cinnamon-colored skin and ink black hair and eyes. She was a bit overdressed for a press conference, but her black evening gown hugged her body in all the right places, and a wide choker embedded with diamonds and pearls gleamed around her slender neck. For some reason, the necklace reminded me of one of the collars that Sophia wore. Matching cuffs that were just as wide adorned Vanessa’s wrists.

I eyed the jewelry. Even with all the other, more subtle and understated jewels being worn by the various men and women, I could still hear the gemstones’ whispers. But instead of proudly murmuring of their own beauty like the others were, Vanessa’s diamonds and pearls wailed with high-pitched, angry, hurt notes—almost like they were screaming. Interesting—and more than a little disturbing.

But what really intrigued me was that I didn’t feel any sort of magic emanating from Vanessa. No flickers, no flares, no fiery waves. From Finn’s file, I knew she was a Fire elemental, purportedly a very strong one. Perhaps her power was self-contained, like mine. As long as I didn’t actively use my Ice and Stone magic, other elementals couldn’t sense my power, something that had gotten me out of more than one jam.

Vanessa whispered something in Dekes’s ear. The vampire nodded, and the two of them headed over to the wooden podium and microphone that had been erected beside the casino model. Dekes stepped behind the podium, while Vanessa remained off to one side.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dekes said into the microphone. “We’re ready to get started.”

It took a few moments for the crowd to quiet down. I slipped into the ranks of the other reporters and pulled out my digital recorder, pen, and notepad, pretending to be just another journalist here to cover the press conference.

“Thank you all for coming,” Dekes said, giving the crowd a winning smile. “As you know, I asked you here today to formally announce construction on my new casino, the biggest project that this island has ever seen . . .”

The next hour dragged by. Eventually, after a series of speeches by Dekes, the mayor, and all the other muckety-mucks talking about how wonderful the new casino would be, the press conference wound down. Dekes stepped away from the podium, with Vanessa still by his side. He took questions from the various reporters and did a few TV interviews before shaking hands with all the businesspeople in attendance.

I kept an eye on the couple and drifted in and out of groups of people for about half an hour, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Finally, Dekes’s latest round of fawning well-wishers left, and I sidled up to him before anyone else could get their hooks into him.

“Mr. Dekes,” I said, giving him a dazzling smile and holding out my hand. “Carmen Cole. Congratulations on your new casino development.”

“Why, thank you,” Dekes said. “I’m most honored by your presence.”

His voice was low and smoky, with a throaty, seductive rasp, and it matched his sleek, dark good looks perfectly. The vamp took my hand in his and lifted it to his lips for a chaste kiss. His thumb stroked the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse was, even though his wife was standing beside him. I’d thought that Dekes’s green gaze might trail down to my breasts, but he kept his eyes on mine. Still, despite his polite smile, I could see the sharp, sudden hunger in his face.

Perhaps this would be easier than I’d thought. I’d be happy to offer Dekes the chance for a quick, clandestine fuck if it meant that I could get him alone. The bastard would still be trying to get his dick out of his pants while I had one of my knives pressed against his throat.

“Tell me,” Dekes said. “What do you like best about my new casino?”

“Well, there are many things to admire about the construction, but my favorite is the way it will so elegantly blend in with the existing Blue Sands hotel. It looks like you’re going to make good use of the surrounding landscape. And of course, the overall structure of the casino itself. It’s going to have beautiful architectural lines.”

Landscaping and architecture weren’t exactly my areas of expertise, but I’d taken enough classes in enough subjects at Ashland Community College that I could bullshit about almost anything and make it sound somewhat plausible and intelligent.

My answer must have pleased Dekes because his smile widened, showing me a hint of the fangs in his mouth. I decided to press my advantage. The sooner I got Dekes alone, the sooner I could tell the vampire what was what—and figure out if I needed to put him down for good.

“Actually, I was wondering if I might have a few moments of your time,” I said. “So I can conduct a private interview one-on-one and let my readers discover the real man behind the curtain, so to speak.”

Vanessa stiffened at my words, but Dekes didn’t notice. Or if he did, he just didn’t care.

“Of course,” the vampire murmured. “There are a few folks that I need to say hello to first, but I’d be happy to give you a private interview. Why don’t you meet me by the door in, say, fifteen minutes? We can go inside and get out of the heat for a while.”

I smiled. “It’s a date.”

Dekes returned my smile with an even wider one of his own. “Indeed. Now, please excuse me. In the meantime, I’m sure that my lovely wife will be more than happy to talk to you about the interior of the casino, since she’s the decorator for the project. Vanessa, please keep this lovely lady entertained for a few minutes while I see to our other guests.”

Vanessa pinched her lips together into something that was supposed to resemble a smile. “Of course. It will be my pleasure. It always is.”

Dekes pressed a kiss to his wife’s cheek before moving off into the crowd. The two of us stood there and watched him move from group to group, shaking one hand after another.

“He’s certainly charming,” I murmured. “Much more charming than I expected him to be.”

Vanessa stared at me, her black eyes cold in her face. “Do yourself a favor. Stay away from my husband.”

“Or what?” I asked, immediately rising to the rancor in her voice. “You’ll get your giant guards to throw me out? I doubt that your husband will let that happen, since he’s so eager to . . . talk to me.”

Anger and disgust tightened her beautiful features. “You have no clue what you’re getting yourself into if you go off with my husband for a private chat. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

She turned on her stiletto and stalked off. I watched her weave in and out of the crowd, barely stopping to acknowledge the people who tried to talk to her. Her reaction wasn’t unexpected. I’d played the part of the saucy seductress more than once to get close to a target, and more than once, I’d been confronted by angry wives and girlfriends who wanted me to stay away from their men. Or else.

Still, I’d seen something lurking in the depths of Vanessa’s gaze, burning there along with the faintest flicker of her Fire magic—fear. Not for herself, her relationship to Dekes, or whatever threat that I might pose to her.

No, unless I was mistaken, Vanessa’s fear had been for me—and I had no idea why.