Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies

McAllister.” My eyes cut to Jake. “Just down long enough to get a good long gawk.
    because you’ve gotten your daddy involved doesn’t negate I could see the wheels turning in the lawyer’s mind, my threat. You come near me or my restaurant again, and as he considered the benefits of ordering his giant bodyI’ll break more than just your wrist. You understand me?”
    guards to kill us now versus the possibility of folks witJake surged against the giant. “You’re dead, bitch!
    nessing it and more people potentially causing problems Dead! Do you hear me? Do you hear me? Dead!”
    for him. His boss, Mab Monroe, might run Ashland, but Jonah gave his son a disgusted look and swept out of I imagined she liked her flunkies to take care of their own the Pork Pit. The giants flanked the still-struggling Jake, business without involving her or being implicated in picked him up by his arms, and hauled him outside. something unseemly themselves.
    His hoarse screams reverberated all the way down the Jake threw aside a glop of coleslaw and scrambled to street—and so did his threats. The other night, I’d just his feet. But before the Fire elemental could charge me insulted Jake by getting the upper hand. Now, I’d huagain, Jonah McAllister shook his head. one of the gimiliated him in front of his father. The Fire elemental ants stepped forward and put a restraining hand on Jake’s couldn’t allow that to slide. Not if he wanted the old man shoulder, holding him in place. His neck almost snapped to at least pretend to respect him.
    from the abrupt stop. The skin around his eyes was red Daddy’s orders or not, Jake McAllister was going to and irritated from the spicy food, but it didn’t compare come for me, sooner rather than later, with all his Fire to the sparks of hot magic that flickered in his hate-filled elemental-fueled rage.
    gaze.
    And when he did, I’d gut the bastard—once and for
    “C’mon, Dad,” Jake said, looking around the giant’s all. No matter how many problems it might cause me. arm and pleading with his father. “Let’s do the bitch. She’s not going to play ball with us.”
    Jonah McAllister looked at his son, then at me. He got to his feet and buttoned his suit jacket. “What have I told you about ruining people, Jake?”
    “That it’s more fun to do it slowly,” Jake muttered. Jonah nodded. “That’s right. We’ll see how Ms. Blanco feels in a few more days when she hasn’t gotten any customers, and she has bills to pay. Until then, Ms. Blanco.”
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    His green eyes went to Sophia and the mess she was mopping up. “Did I miss something?”
    “Yeah,” I replied. “Jake McAllister just dropped by—
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    and he had his daddy with him.”
    Finn blinked. “Jonah McAllister came to the restaurant? What did he want? What did he say?”
    I shrugged. “Drop the charges against his son or else. It went downhill from there. Attempted bribery, threats of violence, the promise of my own murder. The Ashland special.”
    Finn sighed. “And let me guess; you told the McAllisters exactly what they could do with their threats.”
    I grinned. “You know me.”
    Finn shook his head. “Gin, do you really want to start once Jake McAllister’s screams faded away, I glanced over a family feud with the McAllisters? I thought you wanted my shoulder at Sophia. “Was it good for you too?”
    to enjoy your retirement, live a nice, clean, simple life.”
    “Hmph.” The dwarf gave me her usual grunt and
    “No, I don’t want to start a war with the McAllisters.”
    headed toward the mop and bucket in the far corner. Finn raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “C’mon, Gin.
    “Leave the food where it is,” I said. “It’s my mess. I’ll Just admit it. You like thumbing your nose at bad guys clean it up later. Besides, we’re not going to have any and showing everyone exactly how strong and capable more customers today. Go home, Sophia. Get some rest. you are. You always have. That’s why you pushed the You’ve earned it.”
    McAllisters so hard today.”
    Sophia’s black eyes met mine. She grunted again and
    “All right, all right,” I muttered. “So maybe my retiregot the mop anyway. I sighed. Brick was more talkative ment’s been a little more boring than I thought it would and responsive than the Goth dwarf. So I got on my be. So maybe it felt good to knock Jake’s nose out of joint knees and picked up the