Elemental Assassin 01 - Spider's Bite

loose, easy confidence I found so attractive. But the detective looked a little thinner than I remembered. A little more haggard, and the lines on his face cut a little deeper into his bronze skin, as though something was haunting him. Something he just couldn’t quite shake. I wondered if it was me. I’d certainly thought about him often enough in the week since the incident at the rock quarry.
    Donovan’s eyes met mine. Emotions flashed in the hazel depths, the way they always did. Weariness, resolve, curiosity. Caine’s gaze slid down my body, taking in my black pants suit and low pumps, before flicking back to my hair. A chocolate brown color now, with caramel highlights. As close as Jo-Jo had been able to dye it to my natural color. Letting that grow in would take time. It always did. Like so many other things.
    His golden gaze read the tombstone. “A friend? Or was this someone you killed?”
    I thought of the happy, innocent little girl I’d been and the night everything had changed. The night my mother and sister had been murdered. “You might say that. What are you doing here?”
    Donovan jerked his chin at the mourners below. “I came to pay my respects.”
    “How did you find out about Fletcher?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “People are a lot more willing to do me favors these days. I asked one of the rookies to pull all the deaths that happened the night Gordon Giles died. There was only one that matched the cell phone picture you showed me.”
    “I see.”
    Donovan hesitated. “I’m—I’m sorry about him, Gin. I know he was Finn’s father, that he was important to you.”
    I gave him a wry smile. “Thank you, detective.”
    We stood on the hill watching people drift away to their cars. Respects had been paid, and the appropriate words had been said. Now it was time to go back to the land of the living. Something Fletcher wasn’t a part of anymore.
    “I saw you on television the other day,” I said. “Nice medal the mayor gave you for solving the Gordon Giles case. Very big and shiny.”
    Donovan shifted on his feet. “It’s going into a drawer, with all the rest of them.”
    More silence.
    “Why did you really come here, detective?” I asked. “Last time we saw each other, you came within a hair’s breadth of trying to kill me for murdering your partner.”
    He rubbed his hand through his short, black hair and barked out a laugh. “Fuck if I know.”
    “Maybe it’s because of this.”
    I grabbed his tie, pulled him close, and kissed him. Donovan stiffened, momentarily shocked by my boldness. But then, the heat flared between us, as bright and strong as ever. A flame, a fire that wouldn’t die. Donovan growled, wound his hand in my hair, and pulled me closer, until I was flush against him. I breathed in, letting his sharp, clean scent fill my nose. His tongue met mine, and we melted into each other, pouring our feelings, our frustrations, our desires, into one perfect kiss.
    All too soon it ended.
    I dropped my hands from the detective’s tie. Donovan Caine backed away. Our gazes met, gray on gold. Then the detective turned on his heel and walked away. I waited a minute before following him at a slower pace.
    Donovan Caine went over and said something to Finn, who looked surprised by the detective’s sudden appearance. Finn hesitated a moment, and the two of them shook hands. Then Caine left, walking past Fletcher’s casket. He didn’t look back.
    I strolled over to Finn, who was staring at the detective’s retreating form with a confused look on his face.
    “I never thought he’d show up here,” Finn said.
    “Well, he did. But he’s gone now. I don’t think we’ll be seeing the detective for a while.”
    Not until Donovan Caine could come to terms with whatever he felt for me. Not until he could reconcile wanting me, the woman who’d killed his partner, with the guilt he felt about not avenging Ingles’s death. Not until he could accept all the dark things I’d done, all the people I’d killed—if he ever could.
    There was nothing I could do to change how the detective felt or hurry him along. But I was the Spider. I was patient enough to wait him out.
    I reached into my purse, pulled out a pair of black sunglasses, and slid them over my eyes. “I’ll see you in two weeks. Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m gone. I’d hate to have to interrupt my vacation to bail your ass out of a jam.”
    “Where are you going?” Finn asked.
    “Key