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"But know this," Clementine said. "We won't hesitate to fill your guts full of lead if you so much as twitch funny. "
Her smile stayed soft and pleasant, her voice as warm and welcoming as apple pie, but her eyes took on a chillingly empty look. She stared at first one hostage, then another, making sure they all realized how serious she was. Everyone got the message loud and clear.
"Now," Clementine continued, "there's actually another reason why my boys and I are here tonight, other than the obvious payday we're getting. And that reason is that we're tired - tired of all of you. "
The hostages glanced at one another, wondering what she getting at. So did I.
"We're giants," Clementine said. "We're tough, we're strong, and we're damn near unstoppable, but for years - for years - we've been relegated to hiring ourselves out to protect you. We've put ourselves in the line of fire over and over again, serving you, saving your miserable hides. And for what? Some measly paycheck? Some small hope of advancement? Well, not anymore. No, starting tonight, my boys and I are going to take what we want - take what we're due - and to hell with anybody who tries to stand in our way. This is the dawn of a new era in Ashland, when we're in charge. The way it should have been all along. "
All around the rotunda, the other giants nodded their heads in eager agreement. They were totally buying what Clementine was selling and seemed completely committed to her uprising.
She gestured with her gun at the bodies lying on the floor in front of her. "Now, I think that my boys and I have already proven our mettle, but just in case you need some more convincing, I have one more example to show you. Bring her in!"
Dixon stepped back into the rotunda - with Jillian. He might not have had any problems shooting someone in the face, but it seemed as if the giant didn't like actually getting his hands dirty, judging by the stiff way he held Jillian out in front of him like she was a piece of smelly trash he needed to rid himself of as soon as possible.
Clementine handed Opal her gun, then moved over and took the faceless Jillian from Dixon with quick, easy movements. I thought she might approach the hostages with the body, but instead, she turned and threw it into the middle of the crowd.
Jillian Delancey had been a fit woman, bu
t her body still weighed more than a hundred thirty pounds, every single ounce now dead, floppy, and awkward. But Clementine hefted the body through the air like it was nothing more than a football. All giants were strong, but this - this was an impressive display of sheer, raw power. The only other giant I'd seen with that kind of muscle had been Elliot Slater, Mab's henchman. Clementine looked to be just as strong as Slater had been, maybe even stronger.
People screamed and scattered when they realized what Clementine was doing, and Jillian's body slid to a stop on the mosaic star embedded in the floor. Horrified gasps rippled through the crowd like a tree full of crows all cawing at once. More than a few folks turned away from the body, hands clamped over their mouths to try to smother their screams or choke down the bile rising in their throats. Even in Ashland, where violence was so common, someone missing most of her face wasn't an everyday sight - and it certainly wasn't a pretty one.
"I want everyone to gather 'round and take a good, long look," Clementine said. "My nephew, Dixon, did that a few minutes ago. Put enough bullets in this woman's face that even her own mama wouldn't recognize her. And he and the rest of my boys will do the exact same thing to you at the slightest whisper of trouble. "
The giants waved their guns, and everyone shuffled forward, although most of them tried very hard not to actually look at Jillian, or what was left of her. Couldn't blame them for that. It even turned my stomach a little. Or perhaps that was just the guilt I felt, gnawing away at my insides.
"Now, I know she's not the nicest thing to stare at, but there's one more thing that's important about this woman," Clementine said. "One more thing that everyone here needs to know: her real identity. Because that's not just some tarted-up trophy wife or debutante doll lying there getting blood all over the floor. Oh, no. That, ladies and gentlemen, is none other than Gin Blanco. The Spider herself. Ashland's most infamous assassin. Deader than a fencepost. "
More shocked gasps rippled through the crowd. I closed my eyes, the guilt rising in my throat and choking me from the inside out.
"Come one, come all. Don't be shy. Step right up and get a good long look at her. And think about this: me and my boys took out the Spider tonight. The toughest bitch in all of Ashland. Just like that. " She snapped her fingers. "Now, if we can do that, why, just imagine what we could do to all of you. "
While the crowd chattered and whispered at the giant's revelation, I forced myself to open my eyes and study Jillian. Made myself commit to memory every gruesome detail of her blown-off face and slack figure. The smooth skin of her shoulders compared with the ragged edges of her ruined face. The pretty, shimmering, constant twinkle of crystals on her skirt next to the absolute stillness of her leg. The blood still oozing out of her horrible wounds, the color a perfect match to the glossy polish gleaming on her manicured nails.
I stared at Jillian until the sight of her was burned into my brain, an image I would never, ever forget. And then I shifted the image, the memory, to the heavy load of guilt that was already yoked across my shoulders.
I couldn't bring Jillian back, but I could avenge her.
I could make Clementine realize what a stupid, sloppy, fatal mistake she'd made.
I was so wrapped up in my dark thoughts of guilt, rage, and revenge that it took me a moment to realize that my friends had forced their way to the front of the crowd.
Eva was the first to react, letting out a weak, strangled gasp and clamping her hands over her mouth. The rest of my friends wore similar stunned expressions as they stared down at the body.
I knew what the horrified looks meant: they all thought I was dead.
Chapter 8
Eva. Finn. Phillip. Roslyn. Owen. The realization hit all of them at about the same time. One second, they were trying not to look at the body like everyone else. The next, they couldn't stop staring at it, mouths open, eyes wide, features tight with shock and sorrow.
Roslyn immediately put her arms around Eva and turned the younger woman away from the horrible sight. Eva's shoulders shook, and a loud sob broke free from her lips before she could swallow it. Phillip turned away too, his lips curled in anger and disgust.
Owen kept staring at the body, his face blank and completely closed off. His eyes were empty, his gaze dull and far away, as if he was so shocked, so stunned, that he wasn't even really seeing what was in front of him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. If he was absolutely horrified or just relieved that I was gone. I hoped - I hoped - that he at least cared, that he at least felt something, but I just couldn't tell what it might be, one way or the other.
And then there was Finn.
He had an entirely different reaction. Instead of shying away from the body, he moved even closer to it, stepping in front of Owen. Finn's green eyes narrowed, and he slowly, carefully, quietly examined the body from head to toe. His gaze lingered on Jillian's shoes, which peeked out from beneath the edge of her skirt, before going up to her hands. Finn leaned down, staring at one of Jillian's palms as though it held all the secrets of the universe.
