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Phillip didn't bat an eye at the cold promise of violence in my voice. "I can't say that I disapprove, but Grimes is a bad, bad guy, Gin. He's someone that even I would think twice about taking on. I didn't tell you half of the things I've heard about him. "
"Like what?"
"Well, for starters, he's ruthless. "
"And I'm not?"
Phillip ignored my snide comment. "Grimes kills anyone who tries to cut in on his gun-running market in the slightest way. Mab herself used to get weapons for her giants from him, and even she paid what Grimes asked for them. A couple of the Southtown gangs made moves against him in the past, but he killed them all - and their family members. Mothers, sisters, brothers, cousins. " He hesitated. "Apparently, Grimes also fancies himself a ladies' man. And if he sees a lady he likes - "
"He takes her," I finished. "No matter who gets in his way. Yeah, I knew that already. I got a close-up view of Mr. Grimes doing that in the salon. "
Sophia! Jo-Jo! Sophia! Jo-Jo!
The Deveraux sisters' screams echoed in my head, and the memory of Sophia hanging on to that doorframe, stretching one hand out to Jo-Jo, rose in my mind, blocking out everything else. I blinked, and the image vanished. But left in its place was my dark desire to end Harley Grimes's miserable existence. Once again, that cold, black rage pulsed through my body, beating along like an ominous song keeping time with my heart.
I rounded the front of the house, stalked over to Roslyn's car, and wrenched open the driver's-side door.
"Gin?"
I turned to face Phillip. concern darkened his blue eyes, and his golden eyebrows were drawn together, as if he was still trying to think of some way to talk me out of this. His hands were curled into fists, and I got the distinct impression that he was considering tackling me to keep me from leaving. But nothing short of death would stop me, and if I had to hurt Phillip to make my point, well, I wouldn't like it, but I'd do it, the way I had done so many other terrible things over the years.
Phillip must have sensed my thoughts, because he made himself loosen his fists and step back, although his jaw was still clenched so tightly it made his chiseled cheekbones stand out like arrows pushing against his skin.
Phillip and I weren't friends, not exactly, but he was trying to look out for me in his own way. So I decided to put his mind at ease - so to speak.
"You're forgetting one thing, Phillip. "
"And what's that?"
"Harley Grimes might be a bad, bad guy, but I happen to be a bad, bad bitch. And this bastard has hurt my family for the second time. He's not just going to pay for that - he's going to die for that. Believe me when I tell you that nothing you do or say is going to stop me from going up to his camp and killing anyone and anything that looks at me cross-eyed. "
Phillip's lips pinched tight with frustration. "Well, if you won't let me go with you, at least let me call Owen. "
"No. No way. Absolutely not. This doesn't have anything to do with him. "
Phillip snorted. "You're involved in it, which means that he is too. He'll never forgive me if I let you go off and get yourself killed. He loves you, Gin. He always has, despite what happened with Salina. "
What happened was that I'd killed Owen's ex-fiancee, Salina Dubois, even though he'd asked me not to. Of course, Salina had been trying to kill me and a whole bunch of other people at the time, but Owen had still had a hard time dealing with her death, especially since it had been at my hand. Needless to say, our relationship hadn't exactly been a bed of roses since then.
Still, Owen and I weren't as estranged as we had been.
Since seeing each other at the Briartop museum, he'd come into the Pork Pit a few times to have lunch. We were still dancing around each other, though, still trying to figure out how or even if we could move forward. That was frustrating enough, but I didn't want Owen involved in this.
"Gin?" Phillip asked. "Did you hear what I said?"
"Owen and Salina have nothing to do with this," I snapped. "Jo-Jo and Sophia are my family, and nobody - no damn body - hurts my family. Ever. Hell, even if t
hey weren't my family, I wouldn't leave anyone to the likes of Harley Grimes. Not after what I saw him do this morning. "
Phillip hesitated again, like he wanted to tell me something else, but I didn't let him.
"Look," I said. "The best thing that you can do for me right now is see to cooper. Make sure that he's resting and getting his strength back. I don't know how well his magic worked on Jo-Jo, and he might need to try to heal her again. He knows that you believe in him. That will give him more confidence that he can save Jo-Jo if she takes a turn for the worse. And I'm also asking you believe in me . Because I didn't earn my reputation as the Spider by chance. "
"I know," Phillip said. "But you shouldn't have to do it alone. "
I gave him a grim smile. "I appreciate the concern, but in the end, we're all alone - especially me. "
"Just . . . be careful, okay, Gin? I don't fancy getting an ass-kicking from Owen over you. "
