Elemental Assassin 01 - Spider's Bite

lookout for an easy score. A real slimeball. I ran into him a few times when I was working vice.”
    “Vice?” Finn asked. “Seems more like organized crime to me.”
    The detective shook his head. “You’d think so, but Chuckie likes the ladies. A new one every night, the younger the better. He’s a vampire, you know. I think he gets off on the sex as much as he does the blood.”
    I nodded. Some vamps were like that. They all needed blood, but lots of them also drew power from sex—or feeding off the emotions of others. Some vamps, especially the old ones who’d mastered their power long ago, were just as dangerous as elementals. Or more so.
    “Where does Chuckie C. like to hang out?” Finn asked.
    “Northern Aggression,” Caine replied. “The nightclub in Northtown.”
    I frowned. That was the second time that name had come up. I flipped through Fletcher’s file on Gordon Giles and scanned the contents. Yep, there it was, “Northern Aggression,” written in the old man’s tight, controlled handwriting. I tapped my finger on the paper. “Giles also liked to frequent Northern Aggression.”
    “So they worked and played together,” Finn said.
    Caine frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “Charles Carlyle is currently an executive vice president at Halo Industries,” I said.
    The detective snorted. “That’s got to be a mistake. Chuckie C. knows as much about business as I do. He’s a hood, not a white-collar worker.”
    “No mistake, detective,” Finn said. “Carlyle’s financials show a regular paycheck deposited into his account every week from the company.”
    We sat there a minute, digesting the information.
    “So what’s our next move?” Caine asked.
    “I’d like to see what’s on Giles’s flash drive,” I said.
    “It’s been two days since the assassination attempt. The Air elemental and her men had to have searched Giles’s office by now,” Finn pointed out. “His house too.”
    “Yeah, but they haven’t found it yet. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been asking the detective about it.” I looked at Donovan. “You have no idea where he might have stashed it?”
    He shook his head. “Not a clue. Giles was holding on to it for leverage, until I could get the safe house set up for him.”
    I nodded. “All right. We’ll forget the flash drive for now. We have Chuckie C., and we know where he likes to spend his free time. We’ll hit the club tomorrow night and see what he’s doing—and who he’s doing it with.”
    Finn cleared his throat. “Northern Aggression is Roslyn’s place. Might be good to clear it with her first.”
    I snorted. “I don’t need Roslyn’s permission to spy on a guy at her club.”
    Caine looked back and forth between us. “Who’s Roslyn?”
    “Roslyn Phillips,” I replied. “The vampire who runs Northern Aggression. She’s also one of Finn’s good time girls, which is why he wants to go clear things with her first.”
    “Good time girl,” Finn scoffed. “I resent that, Gin. Deeply. Roslyn and I happen to have a very loving relationship that’s based on mutual concern and caring.”
    “You mean the two of you like to sleep together when you’re both not with someone else.”
    Donovan stared at Finn, who grinned in return.
    The detective shook his head, as though he was trying to banish the image of Finn doing the nasty from his mind. Something I was all too familiar with. In addition to needling me like a brother, Finn also treated me like a locker room buddy. Nothing more he loved to do than brag about his latest sexual conquest. It really was shocking that some jealous husband hadn’t hired me to kill Finn years ago.
    “So that’s the plan?” Caine asked. “Squeeze Chuckie C. and see what pops out?”
    “Do you have a better idea, detective?” I asked. “If so, please speak up.”
    Our eyes met, gray on gold. Each color hard, flat, unyielding. After a moment, Caine shook his head.
    “I didn’t think so,” I said. “But don’t worry, detective. I’ll let you be the good cop. I’m so much better at being the bad guy anyway.” 

17
    With nothing left to do for the night, we crashed. I took my bed, while Finn claimed the one in the spare room. Donovan Caine made himself comfortable on the pullout sofa in the den. I rummaged around in the closet next to the spare bathroom, pulling out some blankets and pillows for my unexpected houseguest. Hostess with the mostest, that was me.
    I walked into the den and handed the