Tangled Threads (Page 56)

But to my surprise, the lightning flickered and dimmed in LaFleur’s hand. Oh, she still had enough power in her to give Bria a good, sharp jolt, but the magic wouldn’t kill her now-probably.

I couldn’t help but wonder what the other assassin was up to. If it had been me, Bria would have been dead thirty seconds ago, and I’d be dying on the ground right now. Never hesitate, not for a second, not for any reason whatsoever. That’s what Fletcher Lane had taught me.

But LaFleur hadn’t gone for the kill shot, even though she’d had it. I had a sinking suspicion I knew why-and what the other assassin was going to say next.

"You know, I haven’t had a lot of fun these past few days," LaFleur murmured. "I think I’ll change that tonight. Starting with the two of you."

Of course. LaFleur wanted to play with us first before she killed us. Because that’s what she did to people. Because she’d let the Spider slip through her fingers and wanted someone to take her anger out on. And her proclivities might just be the death of me and my sister tonight.

LaFleur let out a low whistle, and the giants who’d been standing at the end of the alley stepped up to join the party. "Boys, put these two ladies in the limo."

I managed to slip my silverstone knives back up my sleeves before LaFleur or the giants spotted them. The oversize goons reached for me, and I jerked and flailed around, pretending that I was desperately trying to get away from them, even though I really wasn’t. No way was I leaving Bria behind. But my jerky movements had the desired effect, and one of the giants shoved me against one of the metal Dumpsters in the alley.

I crashed into it with a loud bang, moaned for show, and slumped down to the alley floor. While I was curled into a ball, I slipped my silverstone knives out of my sleeves once more and slid the weapons underneath the Dumpster.

I didn’t want the giants to grab hold of my arms and feel the weapons tucked up my sleeves. Right now, LaFleur thought that I was just a defenseless cook. I didn’t want her opinion of me to change whatsoever. Every second she thought me weak was another second I had to escape and save myself and Bria.

Besides, sooner or later, Sophia would come out into the alley to see what had happened to Bria and me. When she realized that we weren’t back here, the dwarf would start looking around. She’d find the knives and realize something bad had gone down. She’d call Finn and get the cavalry charge rolling-provided Bria and I lived that long.

LaFleur shook her head. "Oh, now she starts blubbering. How disappointing. Pick her up."

Two of the giants plucked me off the ground. The third moved over to help Elektra with Bria. The giant yanked my baby sister’s gun off her belt, then ran his hands over the rest of her body in a slow, suggestive way. Bria’s lips tightened, but she didn’t respond to his leers. The giant found her backup gun strapped in an ankle holster and removed that one as well, along with the cell phone in her jacket pocket and her keys.

I held my breath, but the two giants holding on to me didn’t bother to search me for weapons. I suppose they considered the cop more of a threat than the cook. It was a mistake that was going to cost them their lives. I was glad I’d ditched the two knives, though. The way the giants had their hands clamped on my arms, they would surely have felt the blades through my sweater. But the fabric was bulky enough to at least hide my silverstone vest.

When the giant finished searching Bria, the four of them marched us out of the alley, with LaFleur keeping a close eye on the proceedings, the ball of green lightning still flickering in her hand. She wasn’t going to drop her magic until we were secured. Maybe not even then.

LaFleur had a limo waiting two blocks away, well out of sight of the storefront windows of the Pork Pit. The giants shoved Bria and me inside the back, then crowded in after us. The few people still moving out on the street ducked their heads and walked even faster when they spotted us. In Ashland, giants shepherding people into the back of a car was never a good thing.

"Cuff them," LaFleur called out from the street.

The giants produced a couple of pairs of handcuffs and clamped them on our wrists, shackling our hands in front of us. Mistake number one. It’s much harder to get free if your hands are behind your back.

While the giants were busy settling themselves into the limo, I looked at the metal, which had a peculiar glint that could mean only one thing-it was made out of silverstone. Which meant that I’d have to use my elemental magic to somehow break through the metal chains before I could get free to do anything else with my hands-like carve up LaFleur and the giants with the three knives I still had on me. Fuck. My being an elemental was something else that I didn’t want LaFleur to know about just yet. Not until it was too late.

"Don’t worry, Gin," Bria said in a low voice, trying to reassure me. "Everything’s going to be fine."

I just stared at my sister and the determination blazing in her blue eyes. If she only knew that I was the reason all this was happening in the first place. That I’d thumbed my nose at Jonah McAllister once too many times. That I was the Spider, the assassin who was going around killing Mab Monroe’s men. That I was the one with the Ice and Stone magic Mab had so desperately wanted to snuff out. That I was the reason why the rest of our family was dead. I wondered if Bria would be so eager to rescue me then. Probably not.

But I had a bad, bad feeling she was going to find out all that and more before the night was through.

Elektra LaFleur climbed into the limo and sat across from us. One of the giants was next to her, with the other two crowded in on either side of Bria and me. Elektra tapped on the roof of the car with her fist, and the limo pulled away from the curb.

Elektra regarded the two of us a moment before reaching into the small wet bar housed in the back of the limo. She pulled out a crystal glass and poured herself a couple of fingers’ worth of a pale blue liquor.

"Gin," LaFleur said, toasting me, before taking a long pull on the cold drink.

I hoped she choked on it.

"Where are you taking us?" Bria demanded.

Elektra leaned back against the limo seat and smiled. "Somewhere nice and deserted where no one will hear you scream, detective."

Bria didn’t say anything, but her eyes narrowed. Her whole body tensed, as though she was getting ready to launch herself across the seat at the other woman. I reached down and put a hand on her thigh, warning her. Bria’s head snapped around to me, and I gave a small shake of my head. No, I was telling her. Taking her on is suicide right now. Don’t do it. Don’t you dare. My sister frowned, but she seemed to get the message in my sharp gaze because her body relaxed the slightest bit.