Elemental Assassin 04 - Tangled Threads

sister wasn’t going down without a fight. Bria went into immediate attack mode, lifting up her boot, probably to smash it down onto LaFleur’s instep beforepivoting and throwing the other woman over her shoulder.
    Before she could do any of that, Elektra brought up her hand, the ball of green lightning still flickering there, and shoved it into Bria’s face. My sister had to jerk back to keep the elemental magic from burning her cheek.
    “Ah, ah, ah,” LaFleur warned. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Unless you want me to melt that pretty face of yours right off.”
    Bria’s blue eyes narrowed. Despite the tenuous position that she was in, she wasn’t afraid—not the least little bit. Instead, I could see her thinking about things, calculating the angles and the chances of succeeding, just as I would have if our positions had been reversed. My sister’s gaze cut to me, then to the three giants standing in the alley behind me. She knew as well as I did that the odds weren’t with her. Not while LaFleur had hold of her, the assassin’s electrical magic an inch away from her eyes.
    “Who the hell are you?” Bria spat out. “What do you want?”
    “Why, your untimely demise, of course, along with that of good ole Gin here,” Elektra said. “You were actually next on my to-do list tonight, detective. How very thoughtful of you to come to me instead. Now I can double my fun. Your death will go a long way toward my employer having a very merry Christmas.”
    “Mab,” Bria snarled. She knew as well as I did that the Fire elemental wanted her dead in the worst possible way. She just didn’t know exactly why. “You work for Mab Monroe.”
    “Correct,” LaFleur said in a cheery tone. “I work forMab. And you know what she’s hired me to do, specifically? Make sure that the two of you quit breathing. Immediately.”
    The lightning intensified in LaFleur’s hand, until the glow from it lit up the whole alley. For a moment, I thought she was going to kill Bria right then, right there. I narrowed my eyes and studied the other assassin, wondering how I could distract her long enough to give Bria a fighting chance to get away from her—or at least out of the immediate vicinity of Elektra’s lightning. I’d only get one shot, one second of opportunity before LaFleur fried my baby sister with her elemental magic. I’d come too far, suffered through too much, killed too many people, to let Bria die. Not now, not ever.
    But to my surprise, the lightning flickered and dimmed in LaFleur’s hand. Oh, she still had enough power in her to give Bria a good, sharp jolt, but the magic wouldn’t kill her now—probably.
    I couldn’t help but wonder what the other assassin was up to. If it had been me, Bria would have been dead thirty seconds ago, and I’d be dying on the ground right now. Never hesitate, not for a second, not for any reason whatsoever. That’s what Fletcher Lane had taught me.
    But LaFleur hadn’t gone for the kill shot, even though she’d had it. I had a sinking suspicion I knew why—and what the other assassin was going to say next.
    “You know, I haven’t had a lot of fun these past few days,” LaFleur murmured. “I think I’ll change that tonight. Starting with the two of you.”
    Of course. LaFleur wanted to play with us first before she killed us. Because that’s what she did to people.Because she’d let the Spider slip through her fingers and wanted someone to take her anger out on. And her proclivities might just be the death of me and my sister tonight.
    LaFleur let out a low whistle, and the giants who’d been standing at the end of the alley stepped up to join the party. “Boys, put these two ladies in the limo.”
    I managed to slip my silverstone knives back up my sleeves before LaFleur or the giants spotted them. The oversize goons reached for me, and I jerked and flailed around, pretending that I was desperately trying to get away from them, even though I really wasn’t. No way was I leaving Bria behind. But my jerky movements had the desired effect, and one of the giants shoved me against one of the metal Dumpsters in the alley.
    I crashed into it with a loud bang, moaned for show, and slumped down to the alley floor. While I was curled into a ball, I slipped my silverstone knives out of my sleeves once more and slid the weapons underneath the Dumpster.
    I didn’t want the giants to grab hold of my arms and feel the weapons tucked up my sleeves. Right now,