AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Damn and double damn," I cursed. "When did you find this?"
"About five minutes ago. His car was pulling out when I was coming in. "
I looked at the clock on the wall. I'd fallen asleep in Owen's arms around one, and it was after seven. No doubt Owen was on his way to Salina's estate right now. I cursed again.
"I told you," Eva said in a cold, accusing voice. "I warned you about Salina - and Owen too. "
I sighed. "Yes, you did. Don't worry, Eva. I'm going after Owen. I'll get him back - "
The front door of the mansion banged open.
"Are you expecting Violet or one of your other friends?" I asked in a low voice, already moving toward the butcher block on the counter and grabbing two of the knives there. I'd left my weapons in the bedroom when I'd come searching for Owen.
Eva shook her head, her eyes wide. I gestured for her to get down on the far side of the kitchen table, where she'd be out of sight, while I crept up to the doorway, ready to deal with whomever had decided to barge in unannounced. No matter what her note said, no matter what she promised him, I wouldn't put it past Salina to lure Owen away from the mansion and send some of her giant bodyguards to try to take me - or even Eva - out.
Loud, quick footsteps sounded in the hall, heading in our direction. My hands tightened around the knives, ready to cut down whomever was coming my way -
Finn hurried into the kitchen, walking right by my hiding spot, a thick manila folder in his hand. "Gin! Gin, are you here?"
"Right behind you," I said.
Finn shrieked and whirled around. I winced at the high-pitched sound.
"Dammit, woman. " He clutched the folder to his chest. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"No, but it serves you right for walking in here unannounced. Come on out, Eva. It's just Finn. "
Eva got to her feet and gave my foster brother an amused look. Finn winced, realizing she'd heard him shriek, but he still gave her a saucy wink anyway. He was rather incorrigible that way.
I stepped around him and slid the knives back into their slots in the butcher block. "Next time, I'd knock, if I were you. You almost got stabbed. "
He shook his head. "That's the least of my problems right now. And yours too. "
"What do you mean?"
Finn turned his green eyes to mine, concern and worry etching lines into his handsome face. "I finally figured out what was so important about those fountains. Salina stole them, all right, and I know exactly what she's going to do with them. "
I frowned. "What? And why do you look so grim about it?"
"Because it's a trap," he said. "Salina's dinner party for the underworld muckety-mucks? It's nothing but a giant death trap. "
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, Salina's gunning for everyone who shows up to her dinner tonight," Finn said.
I shook my head. "But how could she do that? From what you said earlier, Salina invited everyone who's anyone to the dinner. At a big to-do like that, all the crime bosses will have their bodyguards with them, and everyone will be on their best behavior. They'll all be sizing up Salina and each other, trying to figure out how she fits into things, but they won't make a move against each other. There's too much danger of it turning into a bloodbath otherwise. "
Finn nodded. "And that's exactly why it's a trap. I was reviewing the information you had me dig up on Salina, comparing it with that old file of Dad's that you found, and I noticed something strange about the guest list for the dinner tonight. "
"What?"
He pulled two pieces of paper out of his folder and spread them on the table in front of Eva. "Look at these, and see for yourself. "
I stepped over and scanned the names on the lists. It only took me a few seconds to see what Finn was getting at. "Almost all the names are the same. They're even arranged in the same order. The only reason I can tell the one on the right is the new list for tonight is because I see Kincaid's name there on the bottom, along with those of some of the newer bosses in town. But still, it's just a list. "
Finn tapped his finger on the paper on the right. "It may be just a list to you and me, but I'm thinking it's a little something more than that to Salina. This is the list of all the guests who were at the estate the night Mab killed Benedict Dubois. "
"So what?" Eva asked, jumping into the conversation. "If Salina's trying to establish herself as the new Mab, these are the people she'd invite to her dinner, right? They're the ones with all the money, magic, and power, the people she wants to impress and get in good with. "
