Elemental Assassin 05 - Spider's Revenge

cleared, and he held up his martini glass. “After I finish my drink.”
    I gave him a sour look and sat back in my side of the booth that we were parked in. Instead of pressing theissue, I contented myself with another swig of gin. From past experience, I knew that absolutely nothing could convince Finn to do something before he was good and ready. The man was stubbornly implacable that way.
    Across from me, an amused smile lifted Roslyn’s lips. She’d been around Finn long enough to appreciate and sympathize with my dilemma, especially since the two of them had been friends with benefits for years, before she’d gotten serious with Xavier a few months ago.
    If Bria was beautiful, then Roslyn Phillips was simply extraordinary. Everything about her was exceptional, from the creamy smoothness of her toffee-colored skin to the bright, matching color of her eyes to the way the cut of her sleek black hair framed her stunning features. Her body was just perfection itself, with toned muscles and svelte proportions that would put any supermodel to shame. Tonight, the vamp wore a tight, fitted, scarlet pantsuit that outlined her figure in a way that was somehow sexier than the skimpiest lingerie could be. Lots of hungry eyes strayed in Roslyn’s direction, but she was one of the few things not on the club’s menu.
    Like so many vampires in Ashland, Roslyn had spent a good part of her life hooking on the Southtown streets before she’d saved enough money to become an uptown girl and start Northern Aggression. Vampires pretty much had the corner on the skin trade in Ashland. All vamps needed blood to live, of course, just the way that humans needed food and vitamins. But for some of them, having sex was just as good as downing a pint of O-positive and gave them a great, healthy high. Besides, vamps could live a long time, and prostitution was the world’s oldest profession.It was always nice to have a skill to fall back on, especially given these tough economic times.
    I finished my drink, pushed the glass aside, and looked at Bria.
    My sister sat at the end of the Ice bar, nursing a mojito. She wore the same clothes that she’d had on earlier, although she’d tucked her detective’s badge and her gun into her coat pocket. Bria’s outfit was chaste compared to the skimpy clothes that the women on the dance floor sported, her demeanor nunlike when contrasted with those who openly made out with or even fucked their paramours in and under the club’s booths and tables. But my sister still got her share of attention. Every other minute, some guy would sidle up and offer to buy her a drink, but Bria always shook her head and declined.
    I wasn’t the only one who noticed Bria’s popularity. Finn stared at my sister as well, his mouth tightening as a handsome man wearing a three-piece suit tried to buy her another mojito. Finn grumbled something under his breath.
    I hid a grin and continued scanning the area around the bar. Finally, my eyes landed on the woman standing behind it. The Ice elemental responsible for making sure that the bar stayed in one piece for the night, given all the bodies pressed up against it and the accompanying heat that went with them. The elemental’s eyes glowed a dim blue as she sent a trickle of her power into the bar. Even across the room, I could feel the cool caress of her magic. It made me want to reach for my own Ice magic—and think about the last time I’d been here at Northern Aggression.
    “How are Vinnie and Natasha doing?” I asked Roslyn.
    “Good,” Roslyn said. “Real good. I hooked Vinnie up with a job tending bar in a club in Savannah. He’s liking the warmer weather down there, especially this time of year, and Natasha’s doing well in school. Vinnie said to tell you hello, Gin. He said that if you’re ever in Savannah, the drinks are on him.”
    I nodded. Vinnie Volga was the Ice elemental who used to tend bar for Roslyn—until Mab had blackmailed him into spying on the vampire in an effort to find me, the Spider. Mab had had Vinnie’s daughter, Natasha, kidnapped and used for leverage, before I’d rescued the girl and saved Vinnie from being beaten to death by Mab’s goons. Another good deed that I’d done pro bono. The only ones that seemed to matter these days.
    At the bar, Bria shot down the guy in the suit, who moved on to another, easier prospect. Finn nodded his approval.
    I arched an eyebrow. “Are you finally ready to get down to business,