Widow's Web (Elemental Assassin 7)

I helped him sit up. His face had already started to swell from where he'd been hit, and blood trickled out of his now-broken nose.

"Gin?" he said, struggling to focus on me. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you. And everyone else here, despite my own best interests. "

"What?" he asked, his eyes clearing and his voice sharpening. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Salina has a little more planned than just a simple dinner party and business powwow. I'll tell you about it on our way out of here. Let's move. "

I managed to get Owen up onto his feet. My lover swayed back and forth, still dazed by the giants' blows. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the cobwebs.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I had no choice. Salina said - "

"That she'd kill me," I finished. "I know. Eva found the note. "

I put my arm under his shoulder, and we left the balcony and stepped out into a hallway. I finally spotted a set of stairs, and I helped Owen walk in that direction and then down to the ground floor, filling him in on what Salina was planning and why she'd really asked all the Ashland crime bosses here tonight.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Killing all those people is extreme, even for Salina. "

"The fountains, the location, the guest list, it all fits. You told me yourself that Salina changed after her father's murder. I think this is the real reason she came back to Ashland - to get her revenge. I think this is all that she really cares about, except for you. "

Owen stopped walking and looked down at me. "How much of that did you see on the balcony?"

"Enough. " I couldn't keep the hurt out of my voice.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Gin. Let me explain - "

I held up my hand, cutting him off. "We can talk later. Right now, I have to go after Salina. I have to stop her - "

A scream shattered the night air.

Chapter 30

Owen and I stared at each other.

"Salina," I said, moving over to grab my staff from where I'd left it on the floor by the fountain. "She's started it already. Get out of here! Go!"

Owen shook his head. "No, I'm coming with you. Maybe there's still a chance I can talk her out of this. "

I wanted to yell at him that it was too late for that, that Salina wouldn't stop until everyone was dead, but it was something he had to realize for himself. "Come on, then. "

We hurried through the mansion and made it back to the side door that led out to the north lawn. The screams had quieted down by this point, and I forced myself to creep up, open the door a bit more, and peer around it.

Several giants stood on the lawn, positioned in the gaps between the bubbling fountains. Each had guns pointed in at the crowd they'd shepherded into a tight knot in the middle of the ring of fountains. Given the incredulous looks most of the folks were giving the giants, I was willing to bet these were the men Salina had stolen from the other underworld players the past few days. The water elemental had hired the giants to murder their own bosses, promising them who knew what to get their cooperation.

Whatever else she was, Salina was exceptionally clever. She played for keeps, and she never did anything halfway. I had to admire that about her. In her own way, Salina was as ruthless as Mab had been. No surprise, since she'd been twisted by the Fire elemental's cruelty, just as I had been.

A few of the folks crept toward the giants, as if they couldn't believe their own guards would turn on them, but the glares and guns pointed in their direction sent them scurrying back. Salina stood next to the mermaid fountain, beaming at everyone, as if she wasn't planning on murdering them in another minute, two tops.

I pulled my walkie-talkie out of one of the pockets on my vest. "Finn? Finn? Are you seeing this on your laptop?"

He got back to me a second later. "You mean the giants with the guns making sure everyone stays in Salina's little water trap? Yeah, I see it. "

"Then get ready to move," I whispered back. "I'm going to take out some of the giants and create a way for folks to get away from the fountains and the water. "

"I'll do my part," Finn said. "Bria and Xavier just pulled onto the street, along with another cop car. I'll tell them what's going on, and we'll be ready to go when it's time. "

"Good," I said. "And tell them to be careful. Salina's too far gone now. She's not going to stop for anyone. "