Web of Lies

27

For a moment, we just stared at each other, her black eyes on my faux blue ones. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what the Fire elemental could be doing here — and how I could get away from her.

But since Mab Monroe didn’t immediately scream for her giant guards or worse, reach for her Fire elemental magic, I assumed she hadn’t heard me kill Jake McAllister — or clean up the mess. Only one way to find out.

Somehow, I plastered a smile on my face. “Oh, hello there,” I said in a cheery tone. “How are you?”

Mab frowned. “This is one of my private bathrooms. You’re not supposed to be in here.”

The Fire elemental’s voice was soft, breathy, with just a hint of a rasp, like silk rubbing together. But there was far more power and menace in her light tone than in any else’s voice I’d ever heard. At the sound, I felt that strange, primal sensation surge through me again. Enemy, that little voice muttered in the back of my head. Enemy, enemy, enemy.

But I tuned out the voice, widened my eyes, and put on my best oh-no-I-just-totally-fucked-up face. Then I gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sugar. I just didn’t know. Nobody told me, you see, and this is my very first time here at one of your parties.”

Mab stared at me, her eyes dark and thoughtful. Her gaze went to the fuchsia lipstick in my hand, then moved down my body. Her eyes lingered on the damp spots on the front of my dress. “What are you doing in here?”

“Oh, just freshening up a bit. Lot of competition out there tonight. Girl’s got to look her best at one of these things.”

The Fire elemental stepped farther into the bathroom.

I gave her another smile, leaned forward, and reapplied my lipstick. Mab just stood there, staring at me in the mirror. She might be able to intimidate everyone else in Ashland with her hard stare, but not me. But that didn’t mean I was going to do something stupid, like insult the Fire elemental to her face in her own bathroom — with Jake McAllister’s cooling body lying ten feet to my right.

Antagonizing Jonah McAllister in my own restaurant was one thing. So was killing his son after he threatened to rape and murder me. But Mab — Mab was different. If only for the simple fact that I didn’t know which one of us would come out on top in a fight. But one of us would die, and I didn’t want it to be me. I had promises to keep to the Foxes, promises I wouldn’t be able to fulfill if I got into a battle with Mab.

So I kept my eyes on my own face and not hers. But in my peripheral vision, I could see the magic glimmering in her eyes. Unlike Jake McAllister, Mab’s eyes didn’t turn red when she reached for her Fire magic. If anything, they got darker, blacker, until they seemed to suck the light out of the room. Mab was also one of those elementals who leaked power. Well, more like radiated in her case. I could feel her Fire magic pouring off her. It pricked at my skin like a thousand hot, tiny needles.

“What’s that on your dress?” Mab asked. “Those spots?”

I capped my lipstick and slid it back into my purse.

My fingers brushed the hilt of my silverstone knife, but I didn’t reach for it. Killing a punk like Jake McAllister was one thing. He was reckless, stupid, sloppy. But Mab Monroe was the most dangerous woman in Ashland. I had no doubt she could fry me alive with her magic before I even got the weapon out of my purse.

So I closed the tiny bag, turned to face her, and widened my smile. “Well, you see, that’s why I came in here in the first place. The gentleman I was with got a little too… excited about things. A real early bird, if you know what I mean.”

I let out a laugh. Mab didn’t join in.

“Anyway, I came in here to mop up some of the damage, before I made the rounds to see if any other gentlemen were interested in my services this evening.”

Mab’s black eyes never left mine. “And who might this gentleman be? This… early bird?”

I forced out another laugh. “Oh, sugar, I didn’t ask his name. That was at the top of your list of rules.”

She was silent for a few seconds, thinking about my answer. “And what might your name be?”

“Why, Candy, of course, because I’m supersweet.”

Disgust flashed across Mab’s face. Evidently, she didn’t like hookers with cheesy names. But her reaction gave me an idea as to how I could escape this inquisition.

I wet my lips and stepped forward. For a moment, I toyed with the heart-and-arrow rune on my velvet choker, drawing Mab’s attention to it. Her eyes flicked to the rune, then back up to mine. I stepped forward and reached for a piece of her hair that had fallen forward over her shoulder.

I immediately regretted the move, because holding onto to Mab’s hair felt like rubbing a lit match between my fingers. I half-expected my skin to start blistering from the sensation.

Still, I gave no sign I could sense her elemental magic.

Instead, I rubbed her lock of hair, curled it around my finger, and pushed it back over her shoulder. I let my fingers linger on her shoulder a moment longer than would be considered polite, then drew my arm back. My fingertips, my whole hand, felt like they were on fire. Somehow, I managed not to look at them.

“You know, I’m here this evening to service the guests any way they’d like,” I said in a breathy tone. “And since this is your party, I’d be more than happy to make myself available to you, Miz Monroe. For however long you’d like. Any way you’d like.”

For the first time, something like amusement sparked in Mab’s eyes. “You’re very bold, aren’t you?”

I gave her a delicate shrug and a lascivious grin, making sure to wet my lips with my tongue again. “You have to be, in this line of work.”

Mab’s black gaze moved down my body again, this time with more prurient interest. She gave a regretful shake of her head. “As tempting as your offer is, Candy, I’m afraid I don’t indulge like that at my own functions. I always keep my business and pleasure separate.”

I stuck my lower lip out and pouted. “Too bad. Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be around. All night long.”

I batted my eyes at her. Mab raised an eyebrow, but the corners of her lips turned up into what I assumed was a smile. I couldn’t tell if I’d amused her or if she was just mocking me, but I didn’t care to stick around and find out.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I really do need to get back to work,” I said. “Mix and mingle and all that.”

“Of course,” Mab murmured.

I made a move to step around her. But Mab Monroe shifted ever so slightly, so that my body brushed up against hers on my way to the door. Again, her magic washed over me, so hot it seemed as if my dress had burst into flames. But evidently Mab liked what she felt because her smile widened. I gave her another lascivious wink and kept going, even though my stomach clenched at the feel of her magic pricking my skin, even harder and hotter this time, as if I’d aroused her.

I’d just made it to the door when Mab called out to me again.

“Have we met before, Candy?” she asked. “For some reason, you look familiar.”

I turned and shook my head. “I don’t think so, and I surely would have remembered meeting you, Miz Monroe.

You’re a legend in this town.”

I gave her another smile before I ducked out into the hallway.

——

Somehow, I forced myself to saunter back the way I’d come instead of running like I really wanted to. I didn’t know what bothered me more. The fact Mab Monroe had considered taking me up on my fake offer to fuck her or the fact I’d left the Fire elemental in her own bathroom with a dead body in the tub. Either way, things were starting to get out of hand. I needed to get Tobias Dawson alone — now — or get out. Saving my own skin tonight — and Finn’s and Roslyn’s — came first. Even before the job I’d promised to do for Warren Fox.

I’d just rounded the corner that led back to the main hallway when someone moved in the shadows off to my left. I palmed one of my knives.

“That was quite a performance you put on back there in the bathroom,” a male voice murmured. “Very entertaining.”

Owen Grayson stepped out of the shadows. Like every other man on the premises, he wore a tuxedo. Once again, I was struck by how compact, sturdy, and strong his frame was. Almost dwarven, except for his six-foot-one height.

His violet eyes glittered in the low light, even as his blueblack hair disappeared into the shadows. The white slash of a scar under his lips offset the crooked quirk of his nose, adding that much more character to his chiseled features.

First Jake McAllister, then Mab Monroe, and now Owen Grayson. Terrific.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” I tightened my grip on my knife.

Instead of answering me, Owen Grayson’s eyes trailed down my body, one slow inch at a time. Breasts, stomach, thighs, legs. He took it all in. A smile spread across his face.

“You know, Ms. Blanco,” he said, purposefully using my name. “The dress is lovely, but I think I like the apron and jeans better. Seems more like the real you.”

Fuck. Despite the blond wig, Owen Grayson had recognized me. Even worse, he’d somehow heard me proposition Mab Monroe in the bathroom. I wondered if he’d seen me with Jake McAllister as well — and realized the other man had never come out of the room.

“And what would you know about the real me?” I asked in a soft tone.

Owen’s smile deepened. “I know you have a silverstone knife in your hand right now.”

There was no way he could have seen me palm the knife. So how did he know I even had one? I stared at him closer and realized the reason his violet eyes were so bright was because they were glowing — with magic. A faint trace, barely noticeable, but I felt it. A cool caress, not unlike my own Stone magic. Which could only mean one thing.

“You have an elemental talent for metal.”

“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid,” Owen said. “It’s a small skill.”

My eyes narrowed. Because with every word he said, I was thinking more and more about stabbing Owen Grayson and taking the chance I could get out of the mansion before someone found his body. But I decided to play it cool — for now.

“What do you want?”

“I just want to talk.” Owen held out his arm to me.

“Shall we?”

I stared at his arm, thinking how easy it would be to brush it aside and bury my knife in his heart. He knew what I was thinking. The knowledge flashed in his violet eyes, but his arm never wavered, never lowered. His gaze never left mine. For whatever reason, Owen Grayson wasn’t afraid of me. Which piqued my curiosity. At least enough for me to slide my knife back up the sleeve of my dress.

Fucking curiosity. Going to get me killed one night.

Maybe even tonight.

I took his arm. “So talk.”

Owen tucked me in close to him, and the heat of his body washed over me. He smelled rich and earthy, almost like… metal, if metal had any real smell. His arm felt like steel, even through the fabric of his tuxedo jacket. For the first time, I was aware of him as a man, as someone of the opposite sex. Owen Grayson was decidedly attractive, with his strong body and chiseled features. But what really set him apart was the fact that he radiated confidence the way that Mab Monroe did magic. That hint of power, that confidence, made Grayson interesting. And definitely someone worth watching.

Especially since I was still considering killing him.

We walked down the hallway back toward the ballroom.

At first, I thought we would go straight there, but Owen Grayson paused and opened one of the doors that led outside. We stepped out onto the stone terrace that lined this side of the mansion, and Grayson shut the door behind us.

The night air was cool, especially since my dress was still damp from where I’d scrubbed away Jake McAllister’s blood. Antique-looking iron street lamps lined the terrace, providing soft, hazy illumination, while wide stone steps led down to a garden beyond. Low moans and sucking sounds drifted up to us, and several dark shapes writhed together in various gazebos in the garden. Other couples stood up against trees or used some of the stone statues for leverage. The party must have livened up a bit, if folks had already come outside to fuck on top of Mab Monroe’s prize-winning roses.

Owen Grayson meandered down the terrace, with me at his side.

“I have to confess I was quite surprised when you strolled into the ballroom tonight,” Grayson began. “I hadn’t expected to see you here, especially not wearing that cheap blond wig.”

“Don’t care for blondes, do you?” I sniped.

“Sassy brunettes are more my style.” He grinned.

I didn’t respond.

“Actually, I have a small confession to make. I’ve been thinking about you a lot these past few days, Ms. Blanco. So much so that I had a friend gather some information on you.”

So Owen Grayson had someone dig into my past. No worries. My cover ID as Gin Blanco was rock solid. It had withstood Jonah McAllister’s scrutiny, and I had no doubt it had passed muster with Grayson as well. But I didn’t understand his curiosity. Sure, I’d saved his sister, Eva, from being burned to death by Jake McAllister that night at the Pork Pit. But most men of Grayson’s wealth, position, and standing would have forgotten all about me by now.

“You checked me out? Why?”

“You saved my sister, you saved Eva,” Owen said. “She’s the most important thing in the world to me. I like to settle my debts. I wanted to find some way to repay you. I wanted to find something you liked, something you wanted or needed, and give it to you. No strings attached.”

“I told you that I don’t want your money.”

Owen waved his hand. “So you’ve said. But then I got close to you, shook your hand that night in the Pork Pit. And I wondered why someone who runs a barbecue restaurant, even one on the edge of Southtown, would carry five silverstone knives on her person. Seemed like overkill to me.”

If he only knew. I had to work very hard not to reach for my knife again. So not only could Owen Grayson sense a metal weapon in my hand, he could also tell exactly how many I had on me. The usual five, at the moment. Two up my sleeves, two more strapped to my thighs, and one in my purse.

“You know about my interest in metal,” Grayson continued.

“I also have one in weapons as well. Making them is a sort of hobby of mine. So you can understand my curiosity about ones as finely crafted as yours. Silverstone’s not easy to shape or purchase.”

“The Pork Pit’s in a rough neighborhood,” I deadpanned.

“The knives make me feel secure.”

Owen laughed. A hint of sarcasm colored his throaty voice. “I’ll just bet they do. But there was one more thing that intrigued me about you, Ms. Blanco.”

“And what would that be?”

Owen stopped and disengaged my hand from his arm.

Before I realized what he was doing, he turned my hand over and held my palm up. “This.”

We stood underneath one of the antique streetlights. The hazy golden glow covered my palm — and made the spider rune scar embedded in my flesh shimmer a faint silver.

“A small circle surrounded by eight thin rays,” Owen Grayson murmured. “A spider rune. The symbol for patience. I wondered what the symbol was.”

For a moment, I was stunned. Simply stunned. Not only because Grayson knew about my scars, or at least this one, but also because I never showed the marks to anyone. Only Finn and the Deveraux sisters knew what they really looked like besides me, and I wasn’t crazy about staring at them myself, for obvious reasons.

Oh, sometimes someone in the restaurant would get a quick, accidental look at them while I was working. But the scars had faded over time, and it was hard to tell they were really runes without studying them up close — or that I had one on each palm. Even then, I just passed them off as burns that I’d gotten from working in the Pork Pit over the years.

Still, despite my surprise, I played it cool, as though Grayson seeing the scar didn’t matter to me at all. I shrugged. “So I have a scar. Lots of people do. Hardly worth mentioning.”

He shook his head. “Not just any scar. It’s silverstone. The metal is in your skin. When I shook your hand that night, I felt it. And now,” Grayson cocked his head to one side. “I can hear it.”

I stared at him. He must have more than a small talent for metal, if he could do all that. Once again, the thought struck me that Owen Grayson was someone worth watching, someone to be very careful around. Perhaps even someone to get rid of. But my curiosity wouldn’t quite vanish enough for me to take that final step. Not yet. Not until I knew exactly what he wanted.

“And what does the metal in my hands sound like?”

He gave me a small smile. “It sounds sad. Hurt.

Lonely.”

I kept my face blank, even as the emotions and memories raged inside me. The feel of the spider rune medallion burning into my skin, the smell of my own melting flesh filling my nose, my hoarse screams echoing in my ears, the Fire elemental’s cackling laughter drowning out everything else. Somehow, I pushed the memories back and focused on Owen Grayson’s face, on his violet eyes, which were still glowing ever so slightly.

At that moment, I seriously considered hurting Owen Grayson. Even killing him. Because somehow, Grayson had stripped away part of my defenses, part of my anonymity.

He knew too much about me, knew too many things I was so careful to conceal. He could be a threat. To me, to Finn, to the Deveraux sisters. I didn’t like threats.

So I decided to get down to business.

“My scar sounds sad, hurt, lonely? That sounds like a lame come-on to me,” I mocked. “Surely, you can do better than that, Mr. Grayson.”

Owen laughed — a loud, hearty laugh. I’d amused him. He was laughing in the face of his own possible death. Despite the stupidity of his action, I had to admire his bravado. It, and this little spark of interest, of curiosity I had about him, was all that was keeping Grayson alive.

“So what do you really want?” I asked once Grayson’s laughter had died down.

“From you? I haven’t quite decided. But the possibilities are interesting.” His eyes wandered down my body again in a frank, assessing way that told me he liked what he saw. His gaze settled on the heart-and-arrow rune that hung from my black velvet choker. “Although I never would have taken you for one of Roslyn Phillips’s girls.”

A hard smile curved my lips. “I’m a woman of many skills.”

“I just bet you are,” he murmured.

“Let’s get down to business,” I said. “Because I have other things to do tonight besides stand out here in the dark with you.”

Like killing Tobias Dawson. Five minutes had passed since I’d left Mab Monroe in her own bathroom with Jake McAllister. Since I hadn’t heard any screams or scurries of activity, she hadn’t found his body in the bathtub. Which meant I still had a small window of time left to find, attract, and kill Dawson.

Owen Grayson nodded. “Very well. As I was saying, I was quite surprised to see you here tonight. But once I did, I decided to approach you.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I thought you might like to dance.”

I stared at him. He seemed to be sincere. Owen Grayson attracted to me? My eyes narrowed. Or perhaps he’d just seen the rune around my neck and realized what it meant — that I was supposed to fuck anyone here tonight for free. Either way, I supposed stranger things had happened.

“But I wasn’t quite quick enough to catch you before you left the ballroom,” Grayson continued. “And then I heard you speaking with Mab in the bathroom. Which interested me that much more, Gin. May I call you Gin?”

“Sure. No need to stand on ceremony at this point. As for what you overheard in the bathroom, I can’t imagine why two girls talking about getting it on would be of interest to a guy like you.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice like hot gravy off a biscuit.

His violet eyes glittered in the semidarkness, and he smiled. “Of course not.”

“So you want to fuck me then,” I said in a blunt tone.

“That’s what this little conversation is all about. The talk about my knives, the stroll on the terrace, the handholding and come-on about what my scar sounds like. Interesting technique. Tell me, what was your next move? Maneuvering me up against the wall here? Or me accidentally falling on your dick?”

Grayson laughed again. “Of course I want to fuck you, Gin.”

He stared at me. I saw the desire in his violet gaze, but it wasn’t as lecherous or prurient as the other looks I’d been getting tonight. Oh, Owen Grayson seemed to be as sexual and fond of the female form as the next man.

But genuine interest also shimmered in the businessman’s eyes, as though he was enjoying our sparring conversation as much as he would lifting up my skirt.

“But let’s slow down, shall we?” Grayson said. “As I said before, I’ve always had a thing for sassy brunettes. I’ve decided I rather like you, Gin. You interest me. And no one’s done that in a very long time.”

“So what are you proposing — exactly? That the two of us go off somewhere quiet to talk before you make your move?” I mocked.

“Hardly.” Owen scoffed. “Unlike some of Mab’s other guests, I don’t need to depend on her generosity for my satisfaction. I thought you might like to go out sometime. Dinner, perhaps a movie, dancing. Whatever you like.”

My eyebrows raised. “You want to go out with me? Even though I’m wearing this?” I pointed to the heart-and-arrow rune necklace. “Even though I’m a hooker? Even though you could have me for free tonight?”

He shrugged again. “Call me crazy, but I thought it might be fun.”

Fun? I didn’t know about that. But there was certainly more to Owen Grayson than met the eye. He thought I was moonlighting as one of Roslyn Phillips’s girls, and he was still asking me to go out with him.

To be seen in public with him. Which meant he was either genuinely interested in me or working some angle I couldn’t puzzle out. Either way, I didn’t have time for this tonight.

But there was something Owen Grayson could help me with. And I was ready to cash in on that goodwill he owed me.

“Let’s say I believe you, that you really do want to get to know me and not just my breasts,” I said. “Do me a favor, and I’ll consider your proposal.”

Grayson nodded. “All right. What kind of favor?”

“Take me inside and introduce me to Tobias Dawson. I’m sure you know him, since the two of you are so heavily involved in the mining business in Ashland.”

His eyes narrowed. “I do know him. But why would you want to meet Dawson? He doesn’t strike me as your type.”

I gave him a hard smile. “Because I’m here to service Mab’s guests tonight, and I hear he’s a really big tipper. And that’s definitely my type.”

Owen studied me in the hazy light. Disappointment sparked in his eyes. His free, easy lay was getting away.

“You said it yourself. You owe me for saving Eva, for saving your sister,” I reminded him in a mild tone. “Well, this is how I want to cash in. Now, are you going to introduce me? Or am I going to have to take care of that myself?”

Pretending to be a prostitute. Propositioning Mab Monroe in her own bathroom. Hinting I was going to go fuck another man for the mere promise of money. Owen Grayson had seen and heard me do all those things in the space of five minutes. I resigned myself to the disgusted sneer that was coming my way and the harsh words that were sure to follow. No man liked being cuckolded.

But to my surprise, Owen Grayson just smiled. A familiar emotion shimmered in his eyes, one that had gotten me into trouble on more than once occasion. Curiosity.

It burned even brighter than his desire had a moment ago.

“Oh, I’ll introduce you to Dawson, just to see what you’re up to.” Amusement colored Grayson’s voice, and he held his arm out to me for a second time. “Shall we, Gin?”

Owen Grayson’s curiosity might cause me problems later on, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

So I placed my hand on his arm. “Let’s.”