AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rage darkened his rugged features. "I heard the screams and shouts as soon as I went inside. I thought that maybe someone we'd robbed had decided to get some payback, but instead I found the three of them in the bathroom. Salina had been giving Eva her bath for the night, and Eva was still in the tub, dripping wet. But Phillip was on the floor, on top of Salina. Her face was cut and bloody from where he'd been hitting her. He was . . . he was still hitting her when I pulled him off. "
Owen drew in another breath. "Salina started screaming about what Phillip had tried to do to her, about how he'd tried to rape her. Phillip said it wasn't what it looked like, but I didn't believe him. We fought. I was older and bigger and stronger, but Phillip was tough, even back then. He shoved me into the bathroom mirror so hard it broke my nose. The glass shattered on impact, cutting up my face. "
Owen reached up and subconsciously touched his nose. I'd always wondered how it had gotten to be just a bit crooked. He'd probably gotten the scar on his chin that same night.
"And then?" Finn asked.
"Then I got hold of Phillip, and I beat the hell out of him," Owen said in a cold, flat voice. "I should have beaten him to death. I would have, if Eva hadn't kept tugging on my arms, crying and screaming at me to stop. I didn't want her to see me kill Phillip, so I dragged him to the front door and threw him out of the house. That was the end of our friendship. Although he goes out of his way to speak to me whenever our paths cross, like it's some great joke to needle me as often as he can. "
"Like at Mab's funeral," I said.
Owen nodded. He was looking at the framed drawings on the mantel, but I knew he wasn't really seeing them. No, right now, my lover was remembering the fury he'd felt that long-ago night and how he'd almost killed a man because of it.
It was a horrible story all the way around. Still, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not it was entirely true - especially since it seemed like Eva remembered things far differently than her brother did. But if she did, why hadn't she spoken up tonight? Why hadn't she told me and Finn her side of the story? And why hadn't she tried to get Owen to listen to her back then? There was something going on with Eva, something that was making her keep her mouth shut about Salina. I had no idea what it could be - but I was determined to get to the truth one way or another.
I looked at Finn. He nodded, telling me he had the same questions I did. I had no doubt Owen believed what he was saying, but I had a funny feeling it didn't quite mesh with what had actually gone down.
Owen sighed. "That was the beginning of the end. Two nights later, I came home, and Salina was gone. Just - gone. So were all of her things. All her clothes, all her makeup, all the jewelry I'd bought her, all the money I kept stashed at the house for emergencies, everything. Just - gone. She left me a note saying she needed some time to herself, some time to get over what Phillip had done. Of course, I looked for her for months afterward, but I didn't find her. Eventually, I just figured that she didn't want to be found. I never heard from her again, and she never came back to Ashland. "
"Until now," I said.
Owen nodded, but he didn't say anything else.
I got up, walked over, and put a hand on his arm. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. Not what happened then, and not what happened on the riverboat tonight either. "
He gave me a grim smile. "That's where you're wrong. It is my fault that Salina was beaten and almost raped, that she left Ashland, all because I couldn't see the kind of person Phillip really was. I failed to protect Salina from the person I thought was my best friend - my brother, even. I'll never forgive myself for that, Gin. Never. "
Nobody said anything. Owen was thinking about old memories, old hurts, old anger. Finn and I were digesting everything that had been said.
Mostly, though, I thought of how Salina had so easily killed Antonio, and how she'd almost done the same thing to Kincaid. If Kincaid had tried to rape her, I could understand Salina wanting to murder him. Hell, I'd happily let her borrow one of my knives if that was the case.
But why kill the giant? Sure, Antonio had been Kincaid's friend, but what had murdering him really gotten her, other than a few minutes of shock value? If she'd wanted to, Salina could have simply used her magic to force all the water out of Kincaid's body in the first place before anyone had been the wiser. So why waste her time and magic on Antonio?
The more people you tried to take out at a site, the riskier it was, and the less chance you had of making sure all your targets got dead. There was always a possibility that things could go wrong, that one of your intended victims could get away from you, or that someone entirely unexpected - like me - could fuck up your plans.
Even more curious was the fact that Kincaid had said he'd heard rumors that Salina was coming back to town, rumors that would have been confirmed as soon as he'd learned how Katarina Arkadi had died. If she wanted to kill Kincaid for trying to rape her, why would Salina murder the other woman first? Why tip her hand like that? Why give Kincaid any clue that she was back in Ashland at all? It just didn't make sense - unless she'd wanted to make Kincaid suffer by watching his friends die before she killed the casino boss himself. Even then, it was still a lot of trouble to go to when she could have just murdered Kincaid first and been done with things.
Settling an old score was all well and good, but Salina Dubois didn't strike me as the kind of person to come back to Ashland just for that. If such simple revenge was all she wanted, she could have blown into town at any time, killed Kincaid, and been on her merry way. Instead, she'd married man after man, making their fortunes her own, and then returned. She had to have some sort of plan in mind to have gone to such lengths. So why was she really here? Why now, after all these years?
Then there was her meeting with Jonah McAllister at Underwood's. I supposed he could have been her lawyer for all these years, handling her finances, perhaps even helping her marry and murder for money. That was just the sort of thing McAllister reveled in. The obituary photos of all her dead husbands flashed through my mind, each of them seemingly a substitute for Owen, and it took some effort to push the disturbing images away.
Maybe McAllister had helped her with her husbands, or maybe not, but one thing was for sure - he needed a new boss. And I was willing to bet Salina would fit that bill nicely. If Salina had cooked up some other scheme with McAllister, it could only mean trouble. No, something else was going on here besides an old feud, something bigger, something I needed to figure out before Salina hurt anyone else, especially Owen.
But there was nothing I could do about any of that right now, especially since midnight had already come and gone.
"Well," I finally said, "I think that's enough secret spilling for one evening. "
"Oh, I don't know," Finn said. "Personally, I'd love to hear more about Owen's little larceny scheme. Got any of that loot left? I'm sure it's only appreciated in value over the years. "
Owen winced.
"Finn?"
He gave me a friendly smile. "Yes, Gin?"
"Do yourself a favor and leave before I throw you out. "
He stuck out his lips in an exaggerated pout. "Fine. But I still want to know all about the Grayson Gang. Or was it the Kincaid Crew? Tell me you guys at least had a catchy nickname. "
