"No," I said in a quiet voice. "No one ever is."
By this point, the coroner had managed to scoop Antonio's remains into the body bag. We watched while he zipped it up and got his assistant to help him load it onto a gurney, which the assistant pushed across the deck. Kincaid winced as the wheels rattled over the wood. I wondered if he was thinking that it could have just as easily been him inside that body bag tonight.
"Look," he finally said. "Owen's right about one thing. Salina and I never liked each other, but I'm not the villain he thinks I am. It was Salina - it was always Salina. She could twist Owen around her finger like nobody else ever could, not even Eva. So if I were you, Gin, I'd worry less about me and more about her. Because now that she's back in Ashland, it's only a matter of time before she sets her sights on your boy again. And believe me when I tell you that Salina Dubois will do whatever she has to in order to get what she wants."
His ominous warning delivered, the casino boss stalked over to one of his giants and started speaking to the other man in a low voice. A few feet away, Bria was talking with the coroner, while Xavier was taking statements from some of the giants who'd been on deck when Antonio was wrung out like a wet dishrag. I glanced over the railing. Down below in the parking lot, Violet was helping Sophia put the last of the supplies from the Pork Pit into the dwarf's convertible, while Owen and Eva stood off to one side, arguing.
I looked at them all in turn, thinking. Then I pulled out my cell phone and called Finn again. He must have been waiting by the phone, because he picked up after the first ring.
"Gin? What's happening? What's going on?" Finn asked. "Have you killed Kincaid yet?"
"Sadly, no."
"Why not?"
I let out a breath. "Because as shocking as this sounds, he's actually the victim tonight - and has some strange connection to Owen and Eva. Right now, I'm not sure if I know the bad guy from the worse guy."
"Who could be worse than Kincaid?" Finn asked.
"Salina Dubois," I said. "I want you to get your hands on everything you can about her. Right now. Then meet me at Fletcher's house. And you might want to put a pot of coffee on when you get there. It's going to be a long night."
There was nothing else for me to do there, so I said my good-byes to Bria and Xavier. My sister promised to call or drop by my house if she had any news, but I knew she'd be busy well into the night tracking down Salina and seeing what she had to say for herself. Even then, at this point, it was Salina's word against Kincaid's, which meant there was nothing Bria could do anyway - to either one of them. Sure, I'd seen what had happened to Antonio and Kincaid, but assassins didn't exactly make the best witnesses in a court of law.
I walked down the gangplank, across the boardwalk, and into the parking lot. The police cars were still on the scene, their bright lights swiveling around and around in endless loops, but all the students had left. I headed over to where the others stood by Sophia's convertible.
Owen looked at me. "I'm so sorry you got dragged into the middle of this, Gin. Eva should have known better than to go anywhere near Kincaid, something we will discuss in further detail when we get home."
"No," Eva said. "I want to stay at Gin's house tonight."
"Eva - " he started.
"Gin's house is the safest place I know," she said, her voice trembling just a bit. "I need to feel safe right now, Owen, and I won't at home. Not when I know Salina's back in Ashland and that she could show up at the house at any time - that you'd let her into the house at any time."
Owen opened his mouth to argue.
"It's okay," I cut in. "You both know you're welcome to stay with me anytime. I'd love to have the company."
I didn't add that them coming home with me tonight was for the best anyway, since we had a lot to talk about.
"Fine," Owen muttered. "We'll stay with Gin tonight. But don't think this gets you out of the punishment you have coming for going behind my back and talking to Phillip."
Eva's eyes narrowed, and the siblings glared at each other. Normally, the two of them got along like gang-busters, but whatever had happened in the past had driven a Kincaid-specific wedge between them, one that was still there, even now, all these years later.
Sophia offered to take Violet home. Violet and Eva hugged and exchanged a few whispers before Violet got into Sophia's car, and the two of them left. I wasn't surprised when Eva immediately pivoted in her flip-flops, marched over to Finn's Escalade, threw open the door, and got into the passenger's seat without another word - or a single glance at her brother. I looked at Owen, who just shrugged, letting me know it was fine.
"I'll follow you over there," he said, then pulled me into his arms. "I'm just glad you're safe, Gin."
My arms tightened around him, and I breathed in deep, letting his rich scent, the one that always made me think of metal, fill my nose. For a moment, I let myself forget about everything that had happened tonight and just concentrated on Owen - on the feel of his hands on my back, his warm body next to mine, his lips resting against my temple.
Then I exhaled and put all those soft emotions away, because the night wasn't over yet, and I still hadn't gotten the answers to any of my questions - answers that I needed now more than ever.
I drew back and looked at him. "I'll see you at Fletcher's. Don't worry. We'll straighten everything out."
Owen nodded and headed across the parking lot to his car. I rounded the Escalade and opened the driver's door. But before I got inside, I looked up.
Phillip Kincaid was leaning over the railing of the Delta Queen. The bright globes on the decks above him made his slicked back hair gleam like gold, even as the lights cast his features in darkness and caused his long, ominous shadow to stretch out onto the boardwalk below. No doubt he'd seen the whole thing - Owen and Eva arguing, Eva getting into my car, Owen leaving. I wondered what the casino boss thought of all that, if he'd been pleased Eva had taken his side over her brother's, if he even knew why she'd done such a thing in the first place.
Kincaid raised his hand to his forehead and gave me a mock salute before stepping away from the railing and disappearing from sight. Once again, I wondered what game he was playing - and why I had a feeling he wasn't quite the monster Owen said he was.
Chapter 12
Eva didn't say a word in the twenty minutes it took for me to drive across town. Instead, she stared out the window and brooded. I didn't try to question her. There would be plenty of time for that at home.