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"What plan?" Owen asked.
I told them what I thought Clementine was really up to.
Xavier let out a low whistle. "She's going to blow up all that art and all her men just to make sure that she escapes. She's certainly determined. So what are we going to do about it?"
"Well, while I meet Clementine at the boathouse, you, Bria, and Owen will get into position on the second-floor balcony above the rotunda," I said. "That'll give you the high ground and the chance to take out the giants by sniping at them from above. It's not ideal, since the hostages will still be in danger, but it's the best chance we have to rescue those folks with minimal loss of life to them or us. The only chance, really. "
Bria shook her head, the moonlight making her blond hair glimmer like spun silver. "No," she said. "I'm not leaving you to face Clementine alone. It's too risky. Especially since she'll have Opal and Dixon for backup. "
"It's a risk we have to take," I said in a quiet voice. "If we have any chance of saving Phillip and everyone else. It's been more than ninety minutes since he was shot. Phillip doesn't have much time left. We need to take out the giants in the rotunda now, or he dies. "
I gave her a crooked grin.
"Besides, I don't plan on meeting Clementine so much as leaping out of the shadows, driving my knife into her back, and cutting her throat. "
I didn't mention that such a sneak attack was probably the only way I could kill the giant now, given her incredible strength and all the licks I'd already ta
ken tonight.
Bria looked at me, her mouth pinched with frustration. After a moment, she let out a tense breath. My sister didn't like it, but she knew I was right. "At least, promise me that you'll be careful. "
I slung my arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight. "Don't worry, baby sister. I can take care of myself. You know that. "
Bria nodded, but her face remained grim. We all knew what I was up against - what we were all up against.
Finally, Owen spoke. "You don't have to risk yourself for everyone else, Gin. Not for any reason. "
I knew he was talking about Jillian and the guilt I felt over her death, but I just shook my head. "That's where you're wrong. I have to do this. You know I do. "
Jillian was dead because of me. It was stupid and cruel and random, just like Owen had said, and there was no way I could go back and fix things, no way for me to bring her back. But I could make sure her murderers paid the same price they'd forced upon her. It wouldn't make up for what Jillian had suffered, and it wouldn't lessen my guilt. But it needed to be done, and I was the only one capable of doing it.
Instead of arguing, Owen just looked at me, his gaze slowly going over me from top to bottom, just like Bria's had a few minutes before. Ruined dress. Black boots. Blood on all the spaces in between.
It wasn't a pretty picture, I knew it wasn't, and I waited for Owen to turn away from me. He was still struggling with his feelings about Salina's death, including the conflicting ones he had for me, and I knew that how I looked right now wouldn't help my cause any. It would only reinforce what I did as the Spider - and what I'd done to Salina.
Owen kept staring at me, his violet eyes on my gray ones. I wondered what he saw there and what he thought about it all.
Bria and Xavier glanced back and forth between us, but they remained quiet. All around us, the hums of the crickets continued, punctuated every now and then by the haunting hoot of an owl hidden in one of the trees.
"Yes," Owen finally said. "I suppose you do. "
Instead of the uncertainty and disgust I'd expected, his gaze softened with understanding - and respect. It was the first time he'd looked at me like that in weeks. It was the first time he'd looked at me without pain in his eyes since Salina's death.
"But you're not going alone," he continued. "I'm coming with you. "
"But you're hurt. Your arm - "
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter right now. You do. You said that Clementine would have Opal and Dixon for backup. Well, you need somebody too. You don't know what tricks the giants might pull. Bria and Xavier can handle things in the rotunda. They're both better shots than I am. Besides, I have my own score to settle with Clementine and Dixon. I know you understand that. "
He smiled at me, and I found myself grinning back. Once again, a tiny bit of hope sparked to life in the cold, black ashes of my heart, hope that maybe Owen and I could get through this after all. That we could eventually move past this, together.
I embraced that hope for a moment, grabbed onto it with both hands, and held it close like the rare treasure it was. Then I let go of it, let it float away like a butterfly on a bright day, because the darkest part of the night was yet to come, and there was no place for it here.
Chapter 21
Bria, Xavier, Owen, and I left the gardens and went back to the museum. We didn't see or hear anyone as we scurried from the edge of the flowerbeds over to the side entrance I'd used before. I gestured for the others to stay hidden behind the bushes, while I sidled up to the door and peered through the cracked glass.
Once again, the hallway was dark and empty. I hadn't heard Clementine issue any more orders over the radio, but I was sure she'd told all of her remaining giants to either hightail it back to the rotunda or go outside and guard the trucks. Only one way to find out. The giants had busted the lock in their haste to chase after Owen and me, so I didn't have to use my stolen key card to open the door this time.
