"In fact, there he is right now," she practically purred.
The bell over the door chimed. A sinking feeling filled my stomach, one that only got worse a second later, when Owen stepped into the restaurant.
Owen spotted us immediately, and my lover paused in the doorway, his gaze going from me to Salina and back again. His face was calm and expressionless, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. This wasn't a meeting he was looking forward to. Couldn't imagine why.
He wore his usual business suit, this one a dark navy blue, and more than one female customer looked at him in appreciation as he walked over to our table. Salina slid out of the booth, got to her feet, and turned her cheek, expecting a kiss, but Owen only squeezed her hand.
"Salina," he said. "I'm glad you could make it."
He'd invited her here? He'd actually asked his former lover, his ex-fiancee, to my restaurant? That bitter, painful jealousy flared up in my chest again, despite my attempts to smother it. But I kept my emotions in check, waiting to see what his reason for this meeting was.
Owen dropped her hand. I moved over, and he sat down next to me. Another flash of emotion flickered across Salina's face - annoyance this time. I wondered if it was because Owen hadn't slobbered all over her like she'd expected or because he'd chosen to sit on my side of the booth instead of hers.
But she recovered quickly, plastering a sunny smile on her face. "Of course, darling. You'd know I'd meet you anytime, anywhere. Even . . . here."
I rolled my eyes. Salina wasn't the first person to sneer at the hole-in-the-wall atmosphere of my restaurant, but her comment needled me more than most. Or perhaps that was just because of her history with my lover.
Owen raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with here? The Pork Pit has some of the best food in the city."
"Oh, I don't know. I just thought you might want to catch up in private." Salina's expression turned coy, and she fluttered her lashes.
My lover stared at her for a moment before deliberately reaching over and putting his hand on top of mine.
"We don't have anything to say to each other that Gin can't hear," Owen said in a level tone. "After all, we're just old friends now."
I looked at Owen, who gave me a wink and a slow, sexy smile. I threaded my fingers through his and gently squeezed his hand, silently telling him that I appreciated his words and gestures.
Salina's gaze dropped to our linked fingers. Her smile slipped, and once again, that rage flashed in her eyes momentarily. "Of course," she murmured, rubbing her fingers against her cuff bracelet again.
She noticed me watching her. Salina's hand stilled, then dropped from the silverstone once more.
"So," Owen said, "what have you been up to all these years?"
She gave him another bright, dazzling smile. "Why, darling, I'd thought you'd never ask."
Salina spent the next ten minutes talking about her travels since she'd left Ashland. Apparently, the water elemental had been living the high life, going from one luxurious spot to the next and enjoying all the fine food and scenery the world had to offer. The one thing she didn't mention was the trail of dead husbands she'd left behind, their suspicious, water-related deaths, and how they'd all borne an eerie resemblance to Owen.
"And what about Phillip?" Owen asked after she'd finally wound down with her stories of glitz and glamour. "I know what happened on the riverboat."
Salina didn't miss a beat justifying her actions. "You know what he did to me, Owen. I was just trying to make sure the bastard got what he deserved - what he should have gotten all those years ago."
"But Eva was there," he said. "You scared her, Salina. You scared a lot of people with your water magic. And you killed a man with it - an innocent man."
He was finally confronting Salina about what she'd done to Antonio, but his tone wasn't as harsh and accusatory as I would have thought it would be. As I would have liked it to be, truth be told. Instead, Owen was being . . . careful with her. Considerate, even, as if she were some delicate creature who needed shielding from all the ugliness in the world. Almost like he was waiting for her to explain away the whole thing - and hoping that she would. Once again, doubt filled my mind, doubt about Owen's feelings for Salina - and just how much she really meant to him. That worrisome feeling twisted deeper and deeper into my chest, like I was using one of my own knives to saw through my heart.
Salina leaned forward, her eyes widening with seeming sincerity. "Well, then it was a doubly good thing I was there. You wouldn't want Phillip to do the same thing to little Eva that he tried to do to me? Would you, Owen?"
"No, of course not, but - "
"And I don't know why you were so concerned about that giant. The man worked for Phillip, which probably made him just the same sort of heartless bastard. You know what Phillip's attack did to me, how it drove me to leave Ashland, to leave you. All I wanted was to make things right; all I wanted was to give myself some closure, some peace. You don't know how hard it's been on me, coming back home and knowing Phillip is still alive."
Her voice trembled, her eyes glistened with tears, and her lips quivered, somehow making her look heartbreakingly vulnerable, and that much more beautiful for it. Salina picked up the glass of water I'd brought her earlier and took another sip of it, her hand shaking just a bit, just enough to be noticeable.
A sick, guilty look filled Owen's eyes, and Salina clearly decided to take advantage of it.
"All I can think about is, what if Phillip comes after me again? Why, I can't even sleep for worrying about it. I've even hired bodyguards to protect me, just in case he tries something."
Well, that was a clever way to explain her poaching giants from the other underworld figures. Total bullshit, but clever. Salina needed protecting about as much as I did.
"Phillip won't come after you," Owen said. "I'll make sure of that."
Salina reached over and grabbed his hand, smoothly pulling it away from mine. "Promise me, Owen. Promise me you'll handle Phillip. The way you should have back then."
Wow. And I thought I was good with knives. Salina had just pulled a verbal dagger from out of nowhere and buried it in Owen's chest, then twisted it in for good measure. I could see what Roslyn had meant when she'd called Salina cruel, because that was just what she'd been to my lover, and he didn't even seem to realize it. Instead, more guilt filled his face, and I knew he was thinking he should have killed Kincaid back then.
I thought about what Bria had said this morning. My sister was right. Salina Dubois was dangerous in a way I'd never expected her to be. She was a skilled actress who instinctively seemed to know what buttons to push to manipulate the people around her. But the truly remarkable thing was that she projected such absolute, utter sincerity as she spun her web of lies, like everyone she'd hurt had done her some grievous wrong and she was just making things right, no matter how horrible and deadly her own actions were. If I hadn't known better, I might have believed her myself - that was how convincing she was.