Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies

the store and the land have been in our family for doesn’t sell out to him. Grandfather said no, of course.”
    generations. Grandfather has always refused, saying he’d I didn’t bother asking Violet Fox if they’d gone to the rather die than see any more of the mountain destroyed.”
    police to complain about Tobias Dawson. The dwarven Tobias Dawson. I knew that name. Dawson was one mine owner had more than enough money to bribe the of the biggest mine operators in Ashland, a dwarf who’d po-po to look the other way, and he could always use pulled coal out of the mountains for years himself as a his connection to Mab Monroe to get the cops in her miner before making enough money to start up his own pocket to back off and let him go about his intimidacompany. He’d had nothing but success ever since. A true tion business. The only person who might listen to the miner through and through who was always on the lookFoxes would be Donovan Caine. Even then, the detective out for the next big seam of coal in the mountains. If couldn’t take on someone like Tobias Dawson by himself. Tobias Dawson wanted something, he usually got it—Not and live to tell about it.
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    Web of Lies 125
    “So that’s why that dwarf attacked you tonight,” I there was the folder of information Fletcher Lane had left murmured. “You grandfather wasn’t budging, so Dawme—the one about my murdered mother and older sisson decided to give him some incentive to sell out—your ter. The photo of Bria that proved she was still alive, still body.”
    out there somewhere.
    Violet shook her head. “That wouldn’t have worked, I needed to figure out what to do about all that. How either. If anything, Grandfather would have gotten his to take care of Jake McAllister without pointing the finger shotgun and gone over to the mine to have it out with back at myself. What to do about his father. How to find Dawson.”
    my baby sister, Bria. Decide whether I actually wanted
    “Where Dawson could justifiably kill him in self-deto do that or not. Fletcher had left me all these questions fense in front of any number of witnesses,” Finn pointed to find the answers to. I didn’t need to go gallivanting up out. “Either way, Dawson would have gotten what he into the Appalachian Mountains to help an old geezer wanted—you and your grandfather out of the way.”
    and his granddaughter take on someone as dangerous and Violet shivered and hugged her arms to her chest. potentially lethal as Tobias Dawson.
    Nobody said anything for the better part of a minute. But my decision had already been made. It had been Then Jo-Jo looked at me with her pale, colorless eyes. the moment I’d become curious enough to track down
    “Gin?”
    Violet Fox and see what kind of trouble she was in, see Gin . My adopted name. Such a short, simple word. why she wanted to speak to the Tin Man. Curiosity. DefiBut that single syllable was imbued with a world of meannitely going to get me killed one day. Probably real, real ing. I knew what Jo-Jo was asking. If I was going to help soon.
    Violet and her grandfather, Warren T. Fox. Because with“Sophia,” I said. “I’m going to need you to watch the out someone like me on their side, someone just as cold, Pork Pit for a few days. Maybe help me out with some ruthless, and dangerous as Tobias Dawson, the Foxes other things too, if the need arises.”
    weren’t long for this earth. If I hadn’t gotten curious and The Goth dwarf nodded. A tiny smile softened her intervened tonight, Violet would already be raped, dead, hard, pale face. Nothing Sophia liked better than hanand cold in that parking lot. dling the other things I sent her way. I rubbed my head. I didn’t need this right now. I was “Finn, I need everything you can get on Tobias Dawsupposed to be retired, not sticking my nose into someson, his mining operation, and why he might want the one else’s problems. Especially not for free . Then there Foxes’ land so badly.”
    was Jake McAllister and his well-connected, lawyer father, Finn nodded.
    Jonah. I had no doubt the younger McAllister would
    “Jo-Jo, I’ll probably need some healing supplies.”
    make good on his threat to try and kill me. And finally, The older dwarf nodded her head as well.
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    Violet looked back and forth between the four of us.
    “I don’t