My sudden appearance startled Haley James, and she jerked back in her seat, almost knocking over her mint julep. Her wide blue-green eyes met my narrowed gray ones.
The cold knot of rage twitched in my chest, and for a moment, my emotions threatened to overwhelm me. Anger, rage, disgust. Part of me wanted to palm one of my knives, stab Haley, and melt away in the bloody, screaming confusion. Let Alexis feel the loss of her sister as keenly as I did Fletcher's death, if the Air elemental bitch could feel anything besides glee at torturing people.
But I'd promised Donovan Caine that I'd give the other woman a chance to prove her innocence. And I didn't go back on my word. No matter how much I might want to.
So I laid my cell phone on the table and smiled at the other woman. "Hello, Haley." She frowned. "Do I know you?"
I amped up my smile. "Well, sugar, we haven't officially met, but I'm sort of on your payroll. Your sister, Alexis, hired me to kill Gordon Giles."
It took a couple of seconds for my words to sink in. Haley frowned again, replaying what I'd said in her mind. An innocent woman, one who knew nothing about anything, would have vehemently denied the allegation. Been shocked and outraged by the accusation. Would have already been screaming bloody murder about sitting next to a self-proclaimed assassin. Instead, Haley's face shuttered, and her eyes narrowed to slits. Oh yeah, she was in this all right-up to her f**king neck.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked. "What do you want? Money?" I laughed. The harsh, mocking sound made several people turn around and stare at me.
"Money," I sneered. "Do you think you can buy me off so easily? After what your sister's done? I don't think so."
Haley raised a sculpted eyebrow. "You were perfectly willing to take money to kill Gordon Giles."
I leaned forward. "That was before your sister decided to double-cross me. That was before Alexis tortured the old man at the barbecue joint. Before she had her goons beat my friend almost to death. Before she decided to kill the police detective to avoid any loose ends."
Since her offer of money had failed, Haley decided to try another tactic. She opened her eyes a little wider, as though her brave front was finally cracking. I had to give her credit, she changed direction smoothly. "This wasn't my idea, you have to believe me. Alexis is the one behind it all. She forced me to go along with her. To go along with everything."
"Nice act," I said. "Convenient too, to blame your sister for everything. But in case you haven't noticed, I ran out of mercy a long time ago. Guilt by association works just fine for me."
Haley let her lower lip quiver. "It's not an act. Alexis threatened me. Threatened to hurt me, kill me if I didn't do exactly what she wanted."
"Really?" I asked. "Is that why your log-in and password information are linked to the embezzled accounts? Because Alexis forced you to steal all that money from your own company?"
She nodded and swiped at the corner of her eye, as though brushing away a tear.
Southern women might know a thing or two about melodrama, but Haley was laying it on thicker than frosting on a cake.
I snorted. "Sugar, you are a terrible liar. I've seen better acting from the vampire hookers on the Southtown streets."
Haley studied me a moment. Once she saw I wasn't buying her act, her face hardened once more. Back to playing the tough girl. Too bad I really was one.
"I know why you wanted Gordon Giles dead. He was going to go to the police about the embezzling, and you just couldn't have that. But there is one thing I am curious about," I said. "What's been the point of all this? Surely, you don't really think the two of you can dethrone Mab Monroe just by stealing a few million bucks?"
Haley shrugged. "That's Alexis's dream, not mine. She's the one who enjoys playing Mob queen with her Air elemental magic. Alexis thinks her magic makes her more powerful than it really does."
"So why?" I asked. "Why support her pipe dream?"
Haley's eyes flashed with hatred. "Because Mab Monroe stole our father's company, his pride and joy, bought up the stock right out from under him. But that wasn't enough for her. Daddy was fighting the takeover, fighting her, and she killed him.
She told us she did and said if we wanted to keep on breathing, we'd better go along with her. That was two years ago. And now the bitch orders us around, tells us what to do, as if we don't know our own company better than she ever could. I'm just taking back what's mine. And if Alexis does manage to kill her, well, all the better.
Maybe then our father can rest in peace."
The venom in her voice would have made most people drop dead. I imagine Mab Monroe would have only found it mildly irritating. So Alexis was the one with delusions of magical grandeur. Haley was just going along with her sister's plan so she could steal. Nice family.
"What the f**k do you want?" Haley snapped. "I assume there's a point to this meeting."
"I want you and your sister to walk away," I said. "Withdraw the reward money Halo Industries is offering for information about me. Get Alexis to call off her men, including Captain Wayne Stephenson. Finnegan Lane and Donovan Caine, the men your sister wants to torture and kill, they walk, too. We all walk away and keep breathing. And you can keep right on skimming millions off the top from your own company. I don't give a f**k about you stealing from Mab Monroe because you weren't smart enough to hang on to your own business."
She wouldn't be stealing that much longer, because I was going to put a knife in Haley's gut and cut Alexis every which way I knew how as soon as the sisters lowered their guard. I'd play the blackmail card now to get Finn and Donovan Caine free of this mess, but the bitches were going to die for what they'd done to Fletcher. Besides, they'd double-crossed me first. It was only fair.
Haley's face tightened at my insult, but she knew I wasn't finished. "Or else?" I stared at her, my gray eyes as cold and hard as ice. "Tell me, have you or Alexis heard from Charles Carlyle today?"
She didn't say anything.
I smiled. "I had the opportunity to speak with Chuck last night. He didn't say much, of course, but I did find something interesting in his possession-Gordon Giles's flash drive. Seems Chuck stumbled across it and decided to keep it for himself as insurance against Alexis turning on him. Of course, he won't be using it now, but he was nice enough to pass it on to me before he died."
For the first time, true panic sparked in Haley's blue-green eyes.
"I read through the files. That's how I knew your log-in information was the one used to steal the money." I pointed across the ballroom to where Mab Monroe was still holding court. "Now, I could just go ahead and give the information to Mab. I'm sure she'd be very interested in learning more about your embezzlement, since she's your company's major stockholder. What do you think?"