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But the Fire elemental smothered her anger and made her face as remote and impassive as before. "Of course," she murmured. "But the next time you decide to gamble, Mr. Grayson, perhaps you should think about exactly what you're risking. A man like you has a lot to lose. Money, status, family. "
By family, Mab meant Owen's younger sister Eva-who was the most important person in the world to him. Another cold blast of elemental magic exploded off Owen's body, momentarily driving away the feel of Mab's Fire power pricking my skin. Mab felt the surge of magic and smiled. She knew that she'd gotten to Owen with her casual threat.
I curled my fingers even tighter around his hand, lightly digging my nails into his skin. Warning him.
Owen squeezed my hand back. He didn't relax, but he did manage a curt nod to Mab. He wasn't going to push the issue any more tonight. Couldn't blame him for that. A guy could only play the part of the white knight for so long before he was overwhelmed by enemy forces. Too bad Owen didn't realize that I didn't really need rescuing. That I would have been happy to cut into Mab right here, right now if I thought I could get away with it. Still, the display of chivalry pleased me in an odd way. Donovan Caine had certainly never done anything like it for me.
Mab stepped back, and Owen turned and led me over to the bar. As we walked, we passed Finn, who was still sitting at his slot machine. He studied Owen, a thoughtful, assessing look in his green eyes. Finn's gaze flicked to me. I shrugged my shoulders. It was too late to do anything about the situation now. All I could do was go along with things and pretend to be the businessman's date for the evening.
People parted to let us walk by, and we reached the bar without incident. The folks sitting on either side both scooted farther away, as though they were afraid of catching something from us. Owen ordered another round of drinks. Tonic water for him, gin for me. We didn't speak until after the bartender had filled our order.
"So," Owen murmured. "You want to tell me why you followed Elliot Slater to the other side of the boat in the first place? Or perhaps you'd like to start with why he looked like he was going to rip your arm off and beat you with it?"
So the businessman had realized I'd been after Slater. Nothing was going as planned this evening. Nothing at all.
I looked at Owen. Curiosity simmered in his violet gaze along with something else-respect. For what? Me? Why? I hadn't done a fucking worthwhile thing. Hadn't killed Elliot Slater, hadn't killed Jonah McAllister. Hell, I hadn't done anything noteworthy the entire night.
Still, Owen had stuck his neck out for me, risked Mab Monroe's wrath because of me. I owed him some sort of explanation, even if it was going to be complete fiction. I opened my mouth to start spinning a story-
And that's when my cell phone rang.
Chapter Seventeen
For a moment, Owen and I just looked at each other. My phone rang again, and his eyes narrowed. I knew who it was, of course, and that he wouldn't have interrupted me unless it was important.
I held my finger up, telling Owen that I'd be with him in a minute, then pulled my phone out of my purse and flipped it open. "What?"
"We've got a problem, Gin," Finn's voice sounded in my ear. "Look who just stepped on board. "
I turned my head to the right. Detective Bria Coolidge stood at the top of the gangplank. Bria wore a long, strapless, flowing gown made out of an ice blue silk. The color brought out her eyes and the rosy flush in her pale cheeks, and a matching wrap covered her bare arms. Bria's blond hair had been swept up into a complicated bun. Her only adornments were her primrose rune necklace and the three rune-stamped rings on her left index finger. The silverstone medallion glinted as Bria turned her neck from side to side, scanning the crowd before her. She looked stunning, cold, regal, and beautiful all at once.
And she wasn't alone.
Xavier was right by her side, dressed in a white tuxedo jacket. The giant's bald head gleamed like polished ebony underneath the soft lights.
Bad to worse. That was definitely the theme of the evening.
"What are they doing here?" I muttered.
Beside me, Owen leaned forward so he could get a look at whom I was talking about. I didn't bother to block his view. He was too smart for that. He studied Bria and Xavier a moment, then turned his attention back to me.
"Beats me," Finn replied. "Maybe they're just crashing the party. "
"You remember what the old man said about coincidences?"
Finn sighed. "That there are none. "
"Exactly," I replied. "Those two are here for a reason. Keep an eye on them. I'll be with you in a minute. "
I hung up and turned back to Owen. "I'm sorry. I have to go. "
"Then I'm going too," he said.
"This doesn't involve you, Owen. Things have just taken a turn for the worse, and they're probably going to get even uglier before the night is through. You should walk away while you still can. "
A crooked smile stretched across his chiseled face. "And let you get away without telling me what the fuck is going on? I don't think so, Gin. You owe me that, at least. "
His violet eyes glittered with a hard, determined light, and I realized that I'd peaked the businessman's curiosity even more with my mysterious words and furtive actions. Curiosity. Another double-edged sword that had cut me more than once in my life. Even now, the blade whistled toward my head. I just wondered which way it would slice tonight.
