Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies

Someone was anxious to get down dolph would have been jealous. Ugh.
    to the business of beating the shit out of me. The only reason I’d even crawled out of bed this eveMy gray eyes flicked to the leader of the group, who ning was to come down to Ashland Community Colhad taken up a position in front of me—Elliot Slater. lege and take the final for the Great Literature class I Slater was the tallest of the three giants, his seven foot was auditing. I’d finished my essay on symbolism in figure making even his flunkies seem petite in compari The Odyssey ten minutes ago. Now I plodded across one son. He was almost as wide as he was tall, with a solid, of the grassy campus quads and feverishly dreamed of muscled frame. Granite would be easier to break than his Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 402-403
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    ribs. Slater’s complexion was pale, bordering on albino, Elliot Slater looked over his broad shoulder. “Is this and almost seemed to glow in the faint light. His hazel her?”
    eyes provided a bit of color in his chalky skin, although Slater slid to one side so another man, a much shorter his thin, tousled thatch of blond hair did little to cover human, could join the circle of giants surrounding me. his large skull. A diamond in his pinkie ring sparked like Underneath his classic trench coat, the man wore a pera star in the dark night. fect black suit, and his polished wingtips gleamed like wet Up until my retirement a few months ago, I’d moonink in the semidarkness. His thick mane of gunmetal gray lighted as an assassin known as the Spider. over the past hair resembled a heavy mantle of silver that had somehow seventeen years, I’d had plenty of dealings in the shady been swirled and sculpted around his head. Too bad hate side of life, so I knew Slater by sight and reputation. on made his brown eyes look like congealed lumps of blood paper, Elliot Slater was a highly respected security consulin his smooth, tight face. tant with his own platoon of giant bodyguards. In reality, I recognized him too. Jonah McAllister. on paper, Slater was the number-one enforcer for Mab Monroe, the McAllister was the city’s top lawyer, a charming, bellicose Fire elemental who ran the Southern metropolis of Ashdefense attorney capable of getting the most vicious killer land like it was her own personal fiefdom. Slater stepped off scot-free—for the right price. In reality, the slick lawin and either cut off, took care of, or permanently disyer was another one of Mab Monroe’s top goons, just like posed of any pesky problems Mab didn’t feel like dealing Elliot Slater was. Jonah McAllister was Mab’s personal with herself.
    lawyer, responsible for burying her enemies in legal red And tonight, it looked like that problem was me. tape instead of in the ground like Slater did. Not surprising. A couple of weeks ago, I’d stiffed someMcAllister’s son, Jake, was the one I’d killed at Mab’s one during a party at Mab Monroe’s mansion. Needless party. The beefy frat boy had threatened to rape and murto say, the Fire elemental hadn’t been too thrilled about der me, among other things. I’d considered it pest exterone of her guests being murdered in her own home when mination more than anything else.
    she’d been entertaining five hundred of her closest busiElliot Slater and Jonah McAllister tag-teaming me. ness associates. I’d gotten away with it so far, but I knew This night just kept getting better and better. I sniffled Mab was doing everything in her power to find the killer. again. Really should have stayed home in bed. To find me .
    Jonah McAllister regarded me with cold eyes. “oh, I sniffled into my tissue. I wondered if Mab had figyes. That’s her. The lovely Ms. Gin Blanco. The bitch ured out who I really was. If that was why Slater was here who was giving my boy a hard time.”
    tonight—
    A hard time? I supposed so, if you thought turning Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 404-405
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    him into the cops for attempted robbery, breaking a attractive moment. He jerked his head at Elliot Slater, plate full of food in his face, and ultimately stabbing Jake who nodded back.
    McAllister to death was a hard time. But I noticed that
    “Now, Ms. Blanco,” Slater drawled. “The reason for Jonah McAllister didn’t say anything about me actually this meeting is that Mr. McAllister thought you might killing his son. Hmm. Looked like this was some sort of have some information about his son’s