Elemental Assassin: Unraveled Part 20

"So you believe me now. Excellent," I purred. "And I want what I've always wanted-the safe return of my friends. Them for the jewels. A simple swap. Even you can do that math, Tuck. Of course, I want to talk to them first. Make sure that they're still alive. So why don't you get this call transferred up to Finn's suite. Don't worry. I'll wait."

"You don't give the orders around here, Blanco-"

I cut him off. "Or I could always mosey on down to the lake, get into a boat, and drop this lovely bag of sparkling stones in the middle of the water. Your choice, Tuck."

"Fine," the vampire growled again. "Hold on."

Phillip was still standing by the windows, keeping watch, but he glanced at me, respect shining in his eyes. "Making him run around and do your bidding? That's got to be driving Tucker crazy."

I grinned again. "That's the point."

While we waited for Tucker to come back on the line, Silvio pulled a red highlighter out of the pocket of his red plaid shirt and started marking all the park entrances.

"I don't like this," he said, shaking his head. "I don't like this at all."

"I don't like it either," I replied. "But it is what it is. We have to make the best of it-for Finn, Bria, and Owen's sake."

Silvio nodded, but his face pinched tight with worry.

Finally, my phone clicked, and a faint buzz sounded, telling me that someone was on the line. I waited, my fingers curling tight around the phone, and my breath caught in my throat.

"Gin?" Finn's voice finally sounded.

My entire body sagged, and I held the phone away from my face so that no one on the other end would hear my sigh of relief. Then I brought the device back up to my lips again. "How are you?"

"A little groggy." His words slurred a bit. "You found the jewels?"

"I found them, and I'm going to get you guys out of there. Just hold on. Okay?"

"Okay." Finn paused. "And watch out for the June bugs. They're everywhere this time of year. I can see them now, flying around in here. . . ."

His voice drifted off, and he let out a little giggle, as though he were still under the influence of that sedative. But June bugs was a code phrase that Fletcher had coined for us long ago, and I recognized the words as the warning they were. Finn was telling me that whatever meeting Tucker set would be a trap and that the vampire had lots of men with him. I already knew all of that, but my heart still lifted at the fact that Finn was in good enough shape to try to help me.

"Are you satisfied now?" Tucker snapped, coming back on the line. "All your precious little friends are still alive. But they won't stay that way for long unless you give me those jewels."

"And if you hurt any of them, you'll never get the stones. So I'd say that we have ourselves a good old-fashioned standoff."

Silence. Tucker cleared his throat. "Well, then, if you'll just bring the jewels up to the hotel, we can resolve this whole messy situation-"

I laughed, cutting him off again. "So you can have Roxy, Brody, and all those giants surround and kill me? Forget it. You'll meet me in the theme park, outside the saloon, right in the middle of Main Street. Midnight. Just you and my friends. n.o.body else."

"Or?"

"Or I'll forget about the lake and flush every single one of these rocks down the first toilet I come to. Believe me when I tell you that there's one close by."

"You wouldn't do that. Not while I still have your friends."

I laughed again. "Oh, yes, I would. Just for spite. Especially if you hurt them in any way. But let's be honest. That's not a chance you're going to take."

"Fine," Tucker said. "I'll meet you in the middle of Main Street with your friends in tow. And Blanco-don't even think that you can double-cross me and escape. I've got this place surrounded. No one goes in or out-including your friends-until I have those jewels."

"That's-"

I was going to hurl another insult at him, but the b.a.s.t.a.r.d beat me to the punch and hung up.

With the exchange set, my friends and I started getting ready for tonight.

The first thing I did was go into the bedroom and get rid of my torturous disguise. I shimmied out of the saloon-girl dress with no problem, although I had to get Lorelei to help me unlace the corset. She snickered the whole time. I also stripped off the old-fashioned heels, blond wig, and beauty mark that I'd stuck on my face.

Thankfully, Silvio had brought me some extra clothes, so I was able to put on my usual a.s.sa.s.sin attire-black boots, socks, jeans, turtleneck, and a vest lined with silverstone, which would stop any bullets coming my way. I fingered the edge of the vest and thought of how easily Roxy had shot me in the arm earlier today and how much her Fire-coated bullets had hurt. I'd have to invest in a silverstone jacket when I got back to Ashland.

If I got back to Ashland.

I still had all five of my knives, which I slid into their usual spots. I also stuffed an extra knife into one of the pockets on my vest, along with a couple of tins of Jo-Jo's healing ointment. As a final touch, I borrowed a black leather belt from Ira and slid two guns outfitted with silencers into the attached holsters. Guns ran out of ammo far too quickly for my liking, but I'd need all the firepower I could get tonight.

I put one final thing into my vest pocket-a black velvet bag full of jewels. Couldn't forget that.

Once I was ready, I smoothed the wrinkles out of Sweet Sally Sue's dress as best I could and hung it back up on the hanger. I stared at the dress a moment, thinking, then picked up an item from my spread of supplies on the bed and slipped it into one of the dress pockets. Satisfied, I smiled, grabbed the hanger, and took the dress back out to the main room where the others were.

"Here you go." I handed the dress over to Ira. "I didn't get any blood on it, which, let me tell you, is something of a miracle for me. But you should still check it later. Make sure that there aren't any rips or tears or especially holes in the pockets."

He gave me a strange look, wondering why I would care so much about the dress, but he nodded and hung the garment on a k.n.o.b on the wall to help the rest of the wrinkles fall out of it.

Once that was done, Ira went over to the dining-room table, where Silvio, Phillip, and Lorelei were still looking at the park map, memorizing the locations of everything from the concession stands and food carts to the water fountains and restrooms. I joined them, studying the map as well, just as I'd studied the park when I'd been exploring with Finn, Bria, and Owen earlier today. You never knew what might be important when you were fighting for your life, and tonight I would need every advantage I could get.

"So are you finally going to fill us in on your plan?" Phillip asked.

I pointed at the theme-park map. "That-that's my plan."

Lorelei frowned. "What do you mean?"

Silvio realized what I was up to, and he started shaking his head. "I knew it," he said. "I knew you were going to do something like this."

"Something like what?" Ira asked.

I tapped my finger on the map. "Tucker thinks that he has me trapped in the theme park. No matter what he told me on the phone, he won't come and face me himself, and he certainly won't wait around until midnight to get his hands on those gems. Once the park closes for the night, and all the workers and tourists are gone, he'll send in Roxy, Brody, and their giants, hoping that they can find and kill me and bring him the jewels."

That's what I would do in his situation, and I knew that Roxy would be eager to confront me. After all, she was a hunter, and Gin Blanco was big game, baby.

"Tucker wants those stones more than anything else," I continued. "So he'll probably send the majority of his giants into the theme park after me. Hopefully, he'll only leave a few men behind to guard Finn, Bria, and Owen at the hotel. Either way, I doubt that Tucker's realized that I've called for backup. So while I'm running around the theme park being the distraction, the three of you can keep an eye on the hotel. Tucker will have to bring Finn, Bria, and Owen out of that suite and down to the lobby at some point, if only to take them over to Main Street for our meeting. No matter what happens to me, I want you guys to grab the three of them the second you have the chance."

Silvio sighed, still not liking my plan, but he realized that there was no talking me out of it, and he nodded. So did Phillip and Lorelei.

Ira cleared his throat. "Four. There will be four of us." He crossed his arms over his chest, daring me to argue.

I knew when I was beat, and I gave him a grateful smile. "Four of you then."

He nodded back at me.

We hashed out a few more things, but after that, there was nothing to do but wait for the theme park to close. I ended up sitting on the couch, my head resting back against a large, fluffy pillow, and my feet stretched out on a small ottoman. Maybe it was the pleasant heat from the fire or the last dregs of the sedative in my system, but my eyes slowly slid shut, and I started to dream. . . .

The gunman loomed over me, his finger curling back on the trigger, and I knew that I was going to die, right here in my own home.

I'd always felt so safe, so secure here. I'd always thought that nothing bad could ever happen as long as I was within these walls, where the stones softly sang me to sleep every night.

It made me sick to my stomach to realize how wrong I'd been.

The man stepped forward and adjusted his aim. I put my hands down, but I'd landed on a thick Persian rug, instead of the slick stone floor, and I wasn't going to be able to lurch out of the way before he shot me point-blank in the head- A blue-white ball of magic blasted through the air, slamming straight into the guy's gun. He screamed and staggered back, trying to drop the weapon.

Only he couldn't, since his entire hand was now encased in a thick block of elemental Ice, along with his gun. The man screamed again, reached around with his free hand, and pulled another gun out from against the small of his back, but his movements were slow and awkward, and I knew what was going to happen next.

Sure enough, another blue-white flash of magic filled the office, cold enough to make my breath frost in the air. Only this time, the light separated into a deadly spray of Ice daggers, all of which punched into the gunman's chest. Blood sprayed out in all directions from the jagged puncture wounds, the warm drops stinging my face like bees. His second gun fell from his hand, and he screamed and clutched at his chest, as though he could pull out all those long, glittering shards of Ice.

But it was too late for that.

The man staggered back, hitting the wall across from me, and his legs slid out from under him. A second later, he was down on the floor, facing me. My gaze locked with his. Even though the ski mask still covered his face, I could tell that he looked surprised, as if he'd never thought that he might end up shish-kebabed like the appetizers at the holiday party earlier.

He opened his mouth to say something, but only a thin trickle of blood came out through the wool, although more and more of it oozed down his chest, soaking into his black clothes. His dark gaze locked with mine again, but his body went slack, and I could tell that he wasn't seeing me. Not anymore.

Still staring at the dead man, I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself- A shadow fell over me, and I slowly looked up. My mom towered above me, the blue-white flames of her Ice magic still crackling on her hand. She stared at the man, making sure that he was dead, then dropped to her knees in front of me. She was still holding on to her magic, and the cold chill of it sank into my body, just as the Ice daggers had punched into the intruder's chest. I shrank away from her, trying to press myself up against the wall, into the wall, through the wall, and out the other side to some place far, far away. Where there were no gunmen creeping around. Where it was safe. Where I was safe.

Anywhere but here, where I had just seen my mom kill a man.

"Genevieve! Are you okay?" Mom's voice was as loud as thunder in the absolute quiet of her office.

All I could do was just stare at her. I felt cold and numb, inside and out, as though she'd frozen me with her Ice magic, instead of the gunman.

Mom released her hold on her Ice magic and leaned forward, as if she were going to run her hands over my body and make sure that I was okay, but I shrank back from her again. For a second, confusion filled her blue eyes, along with more than a little hurt. But that hurt quickly melted into grim understanding.

She slowly dropped her hands to her sides and rocked back on her knees, putting a little distance between us. She stayed like that for the better part of a minute, just letting me stare at her, even as my mind churned and churned, trying to understand everything that had just happened.

"You're bleeding," Mom finally said, pointing to the ugly wound in my palm. "Mind if I take a look at that?"

I glanced down and realized that I was cradling my injured hand up against my chest, smearing blood all over my blue snowflake pajamas. I'd forgotten all about the snow-globe gla.s.s cutting into my palm, but now that I was looking at it, I could feel the deep, throbbing wound.

"Genevieve?" Mom's voice was almost a whisper. "Can I look at your hand? Please?"

That soft please finally penetrated my shock, horror, and disbelief. Because my mom always said please and thank you, and she'd drilled those words into me and my sisters as well. It made her seem like, well, Mom again, and not the powerful Ice elemental who'd just killed a man.

I nodded and held out my hand to her.

Mom leaned forward again, her fingers cool against my skin as they gently probed the wound. I tried not to think about the Ice magic lurking just beneath the surface of her own skin. I'd always known that she was a strong elemental, but to actually watch her unleash that power against another person . . . to actually feel all her cold strength . . . to actually see how easily she'd killed the gunman with her magic . . .

I didn't know what to think about that-or her-right now.

"It doesn't look too deep," Mom said, trying to inject some false lightness into her voice. "We'll get you cleaned right up. I'll put some Air elemental healing ointment on it, and you'll be as good as new in the morning."

"And how are you going to clean that up?" I whispered, pointing a shaking finger at the dead man.

She didn't look at him, but her mouth flattened into a tight, thin line. "Don't worry about him, Genevieve. He broke into our home and threatened you. He got exactly what he deserved."

The cold venom in her voice shocked me, and I stared at this strange person that I'd never seen before. "But you always say that we shouldn't use our powers to hurt other people. That that isn't what our elemental magic is for."

Mom leaned forward again and gently cupped my face in her hand. Perhaps it was my imagination, but her fingers seemed colder than before, and I almost thought that I could see the Ice magic running through the blue vein at her temple. I pressed my lips together and held back a shudder.

"That's right. We don't use our magic to hurt others, unless it's absolutely necessary to defend ourselves and the people we love. Just like it was for me tonight. Do you understand?"

I nodded, pretending to understand and trying to ignore how scared and horrified I still was deep down inside. Right now, all I could think about was the black eye of that gun, lining up with my forehead, and how much I didn't want to die. I held back another shudder.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mom's blue eyes were still on my gray ones. "How did you know that man was in the house?"

My gaze darted past her to the dead man and all the blood still oozing down his chest, but I forced myself to focus on her again. "I fell asleep under the Christmas tree during the party. I'd just woken up when I heard someone coming up the stairs. I thought that it was you coming to check on us, but then I saw his boots. So I stayed quiet until he went past me. I thought that he might go into one of the bedrooms and hurt Bria or Annabella, but he came here instead. So I crept out from behind the tree and followed him."

Mom's face hardened into a blank, remote mask. "The man came straight back here to my office? Instead of searching the house?"

I nodded.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "So Tucker sent him as a warning, then," she murmured, talking more to herself than to me. "Probably just to scare me. Maybe rough me up a little. I bet Tucker didn't think that I'd actually kill him instead."

Every word she said made more and more worry ball up in the pit of my stomach. "A warning?" I whispered. "A warning about what?"

"About what will happen to you and your sisters if I don't do something for him and his friends," she replied, still distracted by her thoughts.

"What? What do you have to do?"

Instead of answering me, Mom kept staring at the gunman, her expression getting angrier and angrier by the second, until her eyes were glowing an arctic blue with her Ice magic. She snapped up her hand, and another blast of power rolled off her and shot across the room. I winced and looked away from the bright flash of magic. After several seconds, she dropped her hand and released her grip on her power, although the air was still bitterly cold. I looked over at the gunman and gasped.

She'd frozen him solid.

The man was now encased in elemental Ice from head to toe, looking more like a Popsicle than an actual person. And still my mom eyed him, like she wanted to blast him over and over with her power, even though he was already dead. I'd never seen her so angry before, not even the time a couple of months ago when she'd caught Annabella sneaking into the house after her ten o'clock curfew.

"Don't worry, Genevieve." Mom turned back to me. "Everything's fine now."

I opened my mouth to argue, to scream and shout and yell that everything was most certainly not fine. That there was a dead man in her office that had almost killed both of us.

She gave me a stern look. "You will not say anything about this to Annabella or especially Bria. Not one word. Do you understand me?"

"But-"

"Do you understand me?" she snapped, cutting me off.

Anger spurted through me, that she was ordering me around like this. That she was telling me to keep quiet. That she was lying right to my face and saying that everything was okay when it was so obviously not okay. But then I looked at her again, and I noticed her tight lips, trembling fingers, and the faint shudder that shook her entire body before she could hide it.

And I realized that she was afraid.

I thought of the man in her office earlier. Hugh, the vampire. And somehow, I knew that he was behind everything that had happened tonight.