Web of Lies (Page 32)

I raised an eyebrow. "And what charade would that be?"

McAllister allowed himself a brief chuckle. Low, thick, black, just like mine had been. "The ludicrous idea you’re going to testify against my son in any court of law in Ashland or anywhere else. The absurd notion I’d ever allow such a thing to happen."

"It’s not a charade, Mr. McAllister," I said. "I fully intend to testify against your son – and there’s nothing you can offer me to get me to change my mind. Certainly not money."

Jonah McAllister leaned forward. His brown eyes burned now, though not with Fire elemental magic. Instead, the lawyer put the full force of his charm into his gaze. "Come, come now, Ms. Blanco. There’s no need to play the upstanding citizen with me. I’ve researched you. You’re an orphan, aimless, a drifter who lucked into running this restaurant after the owner, the distant cousin who took you in, was murdered a few months ago. Hell, you can’t even decide on a major so you can graduate from the community college you take so many classes from."

Good to know the Gin Blanco cover identity I’d worked so hard to build over the years had passed the thorough inspection of someone like Jonah McAllister.

But that didn’t stop the knife of pain that sliced through me. Because his words were truer than he realized. I had been something of a drifter, aimless, until Fletcher’s murder.

That brutal event and its aftermath had made me take a hard look at my life – and made me start to change.

I was still a work in progress, but I’d be damned if Jonah McAllister was going to threaten anything that was mine.

McAllister took my silence to mean I was considering his proposal and decided to up the ante. "Besides, I’m certain there’s something I have you might find of value or interest."

I shook my head. "You don’t have anything I want, McAllister. Not a thing. Now why don’t you drop the charade of a concerned father just trying to do what’s best for his son? We both know little Jakie is an embarrassment all the way around. Did he tell you he was going to kill two girls just for kicks?"

"Shut up, bitch," Jake growled from his booth. "Or I’ll fry your ass."

I stared at him. "You don’t scare me, Jakie. I would have thought our encounter the other night would have proven that to you, even if you were high on your own Fire elemental magic at the time."

More sparks of hatred flashed to life in Jake’s eyes, and the red, magical rage slowly filled his gaze. Jake opened his mouth, but his father held up a manicured hand. It was as free of wrinkles as his ageless face was.

"If you know who I am, Ms. Blanco, then you know who I work for," Jonah said in a smooth voice. Changing tactics again. Bringing out the big guns.

"Mab Monroe," I replied. "Everyone knows that."

"Then you know the connections I have, the power, the influence. I can make things very difficult for you, if I so choose. You’ll find standing up and doing the so-called right thing to be a very trying proposition."

My eyes narrowed, but I didn’t respond.

"Have you wondered why you haven’t had any customers the past two days?" Jonah said in a soft voice.

"No," I replied. "I figured it was you, telling people to steer clear of the Pork Pit. Just how long do you think you can do that?"

"As long as it takes for you to realize you can’t win," he replied. "I’ll keep people away every day until you go out of business, if I have to. I have the money, time, resources, and motivation to pull it off. Maybe you should think about that, before you so cavalierly throw away my generous offer. I’m trying to be civil about things. Trust me when I say you wouldn’t like the alternative."

The bastard was actually trying to bully me. Trying to squeeze me the way he had so many other people over the years. It might have worked, if I’d still been thirteen, living on the streets, and mourning the loss of my family.

It might have worked, if I’d still been Genevieve Snow.

But no matter how much I changed, no matter how I tried to be different and leave my past profession behind, part of me would always be the Spider, the assassin as sharp as the silverstone knives she carried. I hadn’t been small, weak, or frightened in a long time. And I certainly wasn’t now.

"Keep it up as long as you like," I said. "Do whatever you want to keep people away from the Pork Pit. I’ll still be here every single day, doors wide open, food hot and ready. I’d rather give my food to the rats in the streets than shut down for one f**king hour because of a slimeball like you. Is that clear enough?"

The charm oozed out of Jonah McAllister’s eyes, like syrup slopping over a pancake. "Crystal clear. Too bad, Ms. Blanco. Too bad for you."

"I told you we should have just killed the bitch," Jake snapped. "Come on, Dad. Let me do her, right here, right now. That dwarven bitch behind the counter too."

Cold rage filled me at his words. It was one thing to come into my restaurant, Fletcher’s restaurant, and threaten me. I’d expected nothing less from the father-and-son duo. I knew I’d brought it on myself by having Jake McAllister arrested in the first place. But I’d be damned if the Fire elemental punk was going to talk trash about my family – or threaten them in any way. And Sophia Deveraux was family. So were Jo-Jo and Finn.

Fletcher Lane had been murdered five feet from where we were sitting. Been horribly, brutally tortured by a sadistic Air elemental. Nothing like that was ever going to happen to my family again. Not as long as I was still breathing. Especially not in here.

It was time to let Jake McAllister know I wasn’t afraid of him and his petty threats – and exactly what I was capable of if push came to shove.

"You weren’t man enough to take me out by yourself, Jakie," I snapped. "So what? Now, you’re going to get Daddy and his guards to help you? Pathetic."

Evidently, Jake McAllister couldn’t take a little criticism because he surged to his feet. Fire flashed in his eyes, and orange-red flames spurted out between his clenched fists. He charged at me.

For a second, I sat there and considered my options, something I probably should have done before I opened my smart mouth and started antagonizing the McAllisters.

But somebody needed to wipe that bullying sneer off Jake McAllister’s face, and I’d wanted to be the one to do it. I’d succeeded too, because now, hot anger filled Jake’s eyes. If I let him put his hands on me, I was going to be in for a painful beat-down. One that might not stop until I was dead, especially with Jonah’s giant bodyguards in the restaurant. Only one thing to do now. Fight back and make Jake think twice before he messed with me again. It was the only thing I knew how to do anyway.