"I don't know," Finn murmured. "Maybe he wanted to see how she'd react to the knowledge that you were still alive. Maybe he wanted to bring Bria to Ashland on her own terms."
I dropped my eyes from the board. "Doesn't much matter now, does it? Fletcher's gone, Bria's in town, and Mab wants her dead. Whatever the old man started with Bria, she's come to Ashland to finish it. If Mab doesn't get to her first."
"Speaking of finishing things, there's one more thing you should see," Finn said.
He moved to the right side of the board, put his hand on the top edge, and slowly turned it over. The board was constructed in such a way that it could be flipped over without moving the entire structure around. The back of the board was filled with just as many photos and scribblings as the front side. Only there was one distinct difference.
The back of the board dealt entirely with Mab Monroe and her organization. It was organized like a classic Mob pyramid. Mab's picture sat alone on top of the board. Underneath her photo were shots of Elliot Slater and Jonah McAllister. Below them were even more pictures of the various goons that made up Mab's organization. Bria had written notes beside each photo, with words like Indicted, Arrested, or Dead. There were more Dead notations than anything else. Not surprising, given Mab's dislike for failure.
"I think we know why Mab sent Slater to kill your sister," Finn said. "One of the reasons anyway. Looks like Bria's set her sights on the Fire elemental."
"Why?" I asked. "Because she wants to clean up Ashland? Or because she knows Mab murdered our mother and sister?"
Finn shrugged. "Does it really matter at this point?"
I rubbed the spider rune scar on first one palm, then the other one. Damn things were itching and burning again the way they always did when I thought about things that upset me, like my murdered family and crusading sister. "No, it doesn't matter why Bria's here or what she knows. All that matters now is keeping her safe-and away from Mab Monroe and her minions."
Finn snorted. "Are you kidding? Based on all this, I'd say that Bria's eager to get down and dirty with Mab. Maybe even more so than you are, Gin. Remember that scene in Northern Aggression last night? Bria looked like she'd be happy to put some bullets in Elliot Slater's head."
I stepped forward and turned the board back over to its original position. "Well, then, I guess I'm just going to have to get to Mab before Bria goes and does something stupid-like get herself killed."
Finn sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
I gave him a hard smile. "Come on, Finn. We both know going after Mab will be fun."
"Oh, sure," Finn replied in a dry tone. "It'll be a barrel of laughs, right up until she kills us."
Finn wasn't entirely joking. He knew as well as I did that going after Mab would be tricky at best and most likely lethal. Even Fletcher Lane had never dared to take on the Fire elemental. For years the old man had compiled information on Mab, looking for any weaknesses, any sliver of opportunity he could take advantage of to kill her. But Mab always had too many people, too many guards around her. Even if I'd been able to get her alone, she could always kill me herself with her elemental power. Mab's own strength was the real reason she'd survived all these years.
Still, I couldn't help but stare at the photos on the board-the ones that showed the blackened husks that had been my mother and older sister before Mab had used her elemental Fire magic to burn them to ashes. And somehow, I knew that I was going to try to do the impossible-no matter what.
"Not if I kill her first," I murmured. "Not if I kill the bitch first."
Finn and I went back downstairs. Jo-Jo and Sophia had finished the last of the cleanup and stood by the front door ready to go. Bria was still asleep on the sofa. Once again, I was struck by how angelic she looked lying there, how calm and peaceful. You'd never guess that she spent her free time digging up dirt on the most dangerous woman in town.
"How long will she be out of it?" I asked Jo-Jo.
The dwarf stared at my sister. "That shot to the kidney took a lot out of her, but she should wake up within the hour. Two, at most."
I eyed a clock on the wall. Just after two in the morning. Finn said Elliot Slater was busy getting patched up himself, which meant the giant wouldn't be back for Bria. Not tonight, anyway.
"All right, we need to be gone before she wakes up," I said. "So grab whatever supplies you brought in and leave. Finn, you help them, please. I'll be out in a minute."
Finn opened the front door, and Jo-Jo and Sophia gathered up their gear and went outside. Finn followed and shut the door behind the three of them.
I moved over to the sofa and stared down at Bria. Sleep eased out the sharp planes of her face, and a dewy pink color freshened up her cheeks, thanks to Jo-Jo's healing elemental Air magic. At this moment, Bria didn't look anything like the icy professional I'd seen that night at the community college or the calm cop holding a gun on Elliot Slater at Northern Aggression. She seemed younger, softer, like this. More like a grown-up version of the sweet little girl that I'd once known.
And she was going to stay this way, I vowed. I was going to lullaby Elliot Slater very, very soon. Once the giant was removed, I'd go after Mab Monroe. The time for keeping to the shadows like a tiny spider had passed. It was time to show Mab and her minions that I had some bite-and that they were next on my f**king to-do list.
I looked at Bria a moment longer, then turned away.
"Sweet dreams, baby sister," I murmured before walking out the front door.
Chapter Thirteen
The next day it was business as usual at the Pork Pit. Crowds of customers. Harried waitresses. The hiss, spit, and sizzle of the grill. The spicy smells of baked beans and barbecue sauce flavoring the air. Sophia Deveraux cooking up a storm.
And me plotting someone's demise.
"I just don't see how you're going to do it," Finn said, wiping a bit of barbecue sauce off his mouth. "Elliot Slater's sure to be on his guard now. Not only against you, but Bria too. You could try to snipe him from a distance, but as big and strong and tough as he is, you'd probably have to put several bullets or arrows in him in just the right places. Which you probably wouldn't have time to do before he started ducking for cover."
I nodded my head, agreeing with him. I'd killed people with rifles and crossbows before, but I preferred using my silverstone knives. It was just easier to make sure someone got good and dead that way.
"As for something more personal, which we both know you prefer anyway, he'll be looking suspiciously at any woman who's trying to get close to him in a dark alley, in a dark room, in a dark car. Anywhere dark, basically," Finn continued. "Which is where you do your best work, Gin."