Elemental Assassin 03 - Venom

shrugged. “Not much. I’ve only been digging for an hour. But Bria’s got a reputation for being a real hard-ass. Cleaning up corruption, sticking up for the little people, that sort of thing.”
    So Bria was a crusader, just like Donovan Caine had been. Just what I needed. Another honest cop complicating my life. Especially when I was still trying to figure out why Mab Monroe had murdered my mother and older sister all those years ago—and how I could kill the Fire elemental now without getting dead myself.
    “And, of course, we know that Bria is drop-dead gorgeous,” Finn said in a dreamy tone. “That picture of her that Dad somehow got his hands on does not do the woman justice.”
    Finn was referring to a photograph Fletcher Lane had left for me. It had been in a thick folder, along with all the other information about my mother’s and older sister’s murder at the hands of Mab Monroe. Autopsy photos, police reports, newspaper clippings. Jo-Jo had given me the file after the old man’s death. Bria’s picture—which made me realize she was still alive—had been the only nice thing in the gruesome folder.
    I rolled my eyes. “Do me a favor, Finn. Don’t look like that when you talk about my sister.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like you’re thinking about her naked and in your bed.”
    Finn grinned. “Would I do something like that?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Mmm-hmm.” On my left, Sophia grunted her agreement. That was about as expressive as she ever got. Unlike most folks, the Goth dwarf preferred to communicate in short, monosyllabic bursts.
    Finn put his hand over his heart. “Oh, Gin, you wound me with your jaded cynicism.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” I said. “My words are like knives. Just let me decide what I want to do about Bria before you start hitting on her, okay?”
    Finn gave a reluctant nod of his head. “All right. But figure it out soon. You know I have a thing for hot blondes.”
    I snorted. “You have a thing for anyone with breasts.”
    We might have kept squabbling, but Jo-Jo cleared her throat. I turned my head to look at the dwarf.
    “So what are you going to do about your sister?” the older dwarf asked in a soft voice. “Are you going to tell her who you really are? What you’ve been doing all these years? What your plans are?”
    “You mean am I going to tell Bria that I’m her long-lost, big sister, Genevieve Snow? That I was a renowned assassin known as the Spider? Or that Mab Monroe killed our mother and sister and that I’ve sworn to take my revenge on the Fire elemental?” I shook my head. “Call mecrazy, but I think that might be a bit much to process all at once.”
    Just the thought of telling Bria who I really was made my stomach tighten and the spider rune scars on my palms itch and burn. Even though I didn’t often feel it, I knew what the emotion was. Dread.
    “I don’t know. Bria’s your sister, after all. That counts for a lot,” Jo-Jo murmured.
    The dwarf stared at me, but her eyes had taken on a milky white, faraway look that told me that she wasn’t really seeing me but peering into the future. In addition to using their magic to heal people, most Air elementals had a bit of precognition as well. Folks like Jo-Jo could sense, listen to, and interpret the emotions, feelings, and actions that permeated the air and wind. Just like I could hear the emotions, feelings, and actions that had sunk into any stone that I was near—brick buildings, granite furnishings, even the gravel underfoot. My Stone magic whispered of things that had occurred in the past. In Jo-Jo’s case, her Air elemental magic often gave her flashes of what might happen in the future. At least enough of them to make me listen to her.
    I rubbed my head. “I don’t know what to do about Bria right now. I just don’t know.”
    Jo-Jo reached over and squeezed my hand. “Whatever you decide, we’ll support you—and welcome Bria with open arms if that’s what you want.”
    Sophia nodded. “Welcome her,” the Goth dwarf rasped in her low, broken voice.
    “Oh, yeah,” Finn grinned. “In fact, I volunteer to be the very first one to welcome Bria to Ashland.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “With what? Your suave good looks? Or perhaps you were going to whip out that smooth charm you claim to possess, along with your dick?”
    Finn’s grin widened. “Whatever works, Gin,” he drawled. “Whatever works.”

4

    “I can’t believe you dragged me down here tonight,” I muttered.