Elemental Assassin 01 - Spider's Bite

flickered in his eyes. Caine was thinking about Cliff Ingles, his partner, and how he’d just betrayed him by fucking me—and enjoying the hell out of it. The detective’s lips, the ones that had been so hot and open against mine, pressed into a tight, closed line. Damn and double damn. Now was not the time for Caine to start hating me again and vowing to bring me to justice no matter what.
    “What do you want, Alexis?” I asked.
    “The flash drive and any copies you might have made of it,” she said.
    “In return?”
    “You get your friends—in more or less one piece.”
    A series of slap-slap-slap s sounded, followed by a low groan. Finn, getting the shit beat out of him for the second time in less than a week, probably by Captain Wayne Stephenson. A painful, dubious achievement. A final slap rang out, followed by a high-pitched, stifled scream. Roslyn. The giant had hit Roslyn hard enough for the vamp to feel it.
    My free hand clenched into a tight fist. “Listen up, bitch. I don’t pay for damaged goods. You tell Stephenson to quit beating up my man right fucking now. And if he or your other two goons even think about touching the woman in any way, I’ll hand-deliver the flash drive to Mab Monroe myself and let her track you down. Hell, she’ll probably have the mayor give me a medal for bringing you to her attention.”
    Silence. A calculated gamble. Alexis James might not be afraid of Mab Monroe’s magic, but she had to realize getting the other woman involved would only make matters worse for her. That’s why Alexis had hired and double-crossed me in the first place—to smooth her path to usurping glory. Alexis still needed the flash drive to disappear, hopefully more than she wanted to hurt Finn and Roslyn or call my bluff. But I wasn’t bluffing. I’d do exactly what I promised—except I’d find a way to get to Alexis James long before Mab Monroe did.
    “Agreed.” A reluctant promise, wrapped in uncertainty.
    “Where do you want to make the exchange?” I asked.
    “The old rock quarry on the outskirts of town. Do you know it?”
    I closed my eyes. Memories and images flashed through my mind. Playing there with Bria as a child. Cowering underneath the rocky outcroppings after the Fire elemental had murdered my family. Jo-Jo sitting with me among the rocks, showing me how to master my elemental magic. Fletcher hunched on a seatlike slab of stone reading a book while I ran lap after lap around the quarry, circling my way from the bottom to the top and back down again.
    “I know it.”
    “Two hours. Be there with the flash drive, or your friends die. Slowly.”
    Alexis hung up. I hit a button, doing the same, then stared at Donovan Caine. The detective looked back at me, his hard cop stare tightening the planes of his face.
    I sighed. “Go ahead and say it.”
    “This is your fault. Alexis James has hostages because of you.” His eyes frosted over. “Because you were too busy fucking me to watch her.”
    “There was no way of knowing Roslyn would call out to Finn, and that Alexis would grab them both,” I said. “I’ll admit leaving Finn at the bar was a miscalculation on my part.”
    Disgust filled Donovan’s amber eyes. “A miscalculation?”
    His disgust, his anger, knifed into me, piercing my heart. But I pushed the feeling aside. Now was not the time for emotion. Now was the time to be as cold and hard as the Ice and Stone magic that flowed through my veins.
    “You’re not angry about Finn and Roslyn. You know that was a fluke, something that would only happen one time out of a hundred,” I snapped. “No, you’re angry because you didn’t push me away in that closet. Face it. You were a willing participant, detective, and you thoroughly enjoyed yourself. So don’t place all the blame for this mishap on me.”
    Caine’s hands clenched into fists. He looked like he wanted to punch something—me.
    “You can blame me and hate me and call me all the nasty names you want—later,” I said. “Finn and Roslyn are in danger. You saw that photo of my handler, what Alexis James did to him. She’ll torture the two of them exactly the same way. You can help me save them, or you can stay the hell out of my way. Your choice, detective.”
    Donovan Caine stared at me, hate and disgust shimmering like gold fire in his eyes. “I’ll help you—for Roslyn’s sake. Because she has a niece she loves. Because she’s the type of person I’ve sworn to protect. But I’m not