This was not going to end well.
But before the dwarf could tell his men to charge and take care of Warren T. Fox once and for all, Donovan Caine stepped down off the porch and pulled open his coat. The noontime sun made the gold badge on his belt glisten next to the dark shadow of his gun.
Tobias took in the badge and weapon. The dwarf 's pale blue eyes flicked to the sedan sitting in front of the store. He knew a cop car when he saw one too. "Who are you?"
"Detective Donovan Caine. I'm an old family friend of the Foxes."
Finn flashed another grin and pointed his finger at the detective. "Maybe you've heard of him. He was the one who killed Alexis James, that loopy Air elemental who was stealing from Halo Industries, her own company. Happened about two months ago. It was all over the news. Mayor even gave him a medal for his stellar investigative work."
Donovan grimaced at Finn's sly, mocking praise. The detective knew what had really happened. That I'd been the one who'd killed Alexis James and her flunkies in the Ashland Rock Quarry. And that he'd accepted the credit and accolades for something he didn't even do.
Tobias Dawson knew who the detective was, all right.
The knowledge flashed in his icy eyes. But Caine's status as a member of the Ashland police force made the dwarf reconsider his options. Ashland might be a dangerous city, and the cops might be as crooked as the surrounding mountain roads, but folks still stopped to think before they took out a member of the po-po. There were payoffs to consider, bribes, chains of command. Not to mention the fact Donovan Caine was something of a folk hero in the city - an honest cop among a sea of corrupt ones. Caine's death would raise a lot of questions, even for somebody as well connected as Tobias Dawson.
The dwarf 's eyes went to Donovan, then Finn, then Warren. He didn't glance at me or Violet. Evidently us mere womenfolk weren't much of a threat. Sexist bastard.
Still, Tobias could count as well as the next person.
Five of us, six of him and his men. Not great odds, even if we were saddled with an old man and two women.
But Donovan Caine's badge was the tipping point - for now.
Tobias stared at Warren again. "You have three days to think about my last offer. And it is my last offer. I suggest you think real hard on it. Before I have to come back and ask you to reconsider it."
The dwarf spit out another stream of dirty tobacco juice, turned on his snakeskin boot heel, and stalked back to the SUV. He made a circle gesture with his hands.
Round up and move out. One by one, his four goons turned and fell in step behind him.
Donovan Caine stayed where he was, face hard, hazel eyes cold and flat, until the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot. The driver took a right at the crossroads and zoomed out of sight. Once it was gone, the detective blew out a breath and rubbed a hand through his black hair.
"Well, that certainly was fun," Finn said in a cheery voice.
The five of us stayed on the porch a few more minutes, but Dawson and his men didn't turn around and come back. When I was sure they were gone, I tucked my silverstone knives back up my sleeves. Then I stepped off the porch and walked over to the spot where Tobias Dawson had stood so I could get a better sense of his magic.
The gravel underneath my feet hummed with so much power it made my skin tingle and the spider rune scars on my palms itch. So the dwarf was a Stone elemental then.
Someone who could control and manipulate the element.
Strong in his magic, just like me.
I wondered if the dwarf had any other magical or special talents I needed to know about - before I killed him. Either way, Tobias Dawson had just morphed from a challenging kill into an exceptionally difficult one. I'd have to take him out hard and fast before he even realized what was happening. Otherwise, I'd be the one who ended up six feet under.
"What are you doing?" Donovan Caine asked, watching me turn around in a circle in the spot where the dwarf had stood.
"Nothing."
The detective knew that I had magic, that I was an Ice elemental, but I'd never told him about my greater, Stone power. My magic wasn't something I advertised, and I still wasn't quite sure what my relationship with Donovan Caine was - or what it would ever be.
Violet Fox hugged her chest with her arms. The brave front she'd put on for Tobias Dawson's sake had vanished, leaving her round face ashen and sweaty, despite the fall chill. "You didn't do anything, Gin. Why didn't you do something? Why didn't you tell Dawson to back off and leave us alone?"
"Because I didn't want him to notice me," I said. "Not here, not now. That would make getting close to him later more difficult. The dwarf barely looked at me. He won't remember what I look like later, when I approach him again."
"You mean when you kill him," Donovan Caine said in a cold, flat voice.
"Yes," I said. "When I kill him."
Donovan stared at me. His eyes shimmered like liquid gold in his tight face. After a few seconds of scrutiny, he shook his head. "You know I can't let you do that. I can't let you go after Tobias Dawson."
I sighed. Despite the fact the detective and I had worked together before, we were once again right back where we started. With him clinging to his oh-so-high, moralistic ideals and standing in the way of me doing what simply needed to be done.
"I don't see how you have much of a choice, detective," Finn cut in. "Because Tobias Dawson isn't going to stop harassing the Foxes until he gets this land. Which means he's not going to stop until they're both dead. The bastard sent his brother to rape and murder Violet last night. A nineteen-year-old girl who's probably never hurt anyone in her entire life. And here you are trying to protect him, when you should be worried about a young woman and her grandfather. What's wrong with this picture?"
Donovan turned his hot glare to Finn, who stared back at the detective. Both men had their hands clenched into fists. I sighed again. Finn was on my side, of course, just like a brother would be, and his words and logic were dead-on. But there was only one way to get the detective to go along with the assassination of Tobias Dawson - one small step at a time. Which meant it was up to me to tap-dance Donovan Caine in the direction I wanted him to go.
"Finn?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Did you bring your laptop with you?"
He sniffed. "Do I ever leave home without it?"
Question asked and answered. Sometimes I wondered how Finn pulled himself away from his computer long enough to chase after anything that had boobs.
"Then get on it. I want you to find out everything you can about Tobias Dawson. Habits, hobbies, business interests, anything that might be useful."