Xavier laughed again and took the would-be robber outside, where a dark sedan with flashing blue and white lights waited by the curb.
I went over to the others. Finn leaned against the case, his elbows on the glass and his face propped up in his hands. He stared dreamily at Bria as she crouched down and examined some of the diamond jewelry scattered on the floor. Red and Blondie were still standing against the wall, although they'd now focused their laser-hot glares on Finn. Not that he noticed; Finn excelled at ignoring little unpleasantries like that.
I elbowed him in the side. "I think you've officially lost your fan club."
"Hmm?" Finn said, unabashedly admiring Bria's ass. "What did you say?"
I elbowed him a little harder and jerked my head at the two women. He finally deigned to glance in that direction.
"Oh, them? No worries," he murmured.
Finn straightened up, adjusted his tie, and plastered a smile on his face. Then he squared his shoulders and swaggered over to them with all the confidence in the world, even though anger still pinched their faces. But that was Finn for you - always ready, willing, and eager to tame the savage female beast. Or beasts, in this case.
"Ladies," he said. "Have I told you both how very brave you were? Why, it was just amazing the way you both kept your cool when that horrible thug stormed into the store . . ."
And he was off, telling the saleswomen just how much he admired their levelheaded gumption in the face of such terrible danger and other such nonsense. He only stopped talking long enough to draw in a necessary breath here and there, dazzling them with smile after toothy smile.
While Finn soothed their ruffled feathers and bruised egos, I stepped around the display case.
"Hey there, baby sister," I said.
Bria smiled and got to her feet. "Hey there yourself. You know, when Finn told me that he was taking you shopping this afternoon, I didn't imagine things would turn out quite like this."
My gaze dropped to the bloodstains on the thick gray carpet. "Me either."
"Still, you made my day a little easier," she continued.
"How so?"
She gestured at the store windows, through which I could see that Xavier had stuffed the dwarf into the backseat of the sedan and was now leaning against the side of the car. He had his sunglasses on and his head tilted back, enjoying the warm, early June sun.
"By catching the bad guy for me." Bria paused. "Or, rather, knocking him unconscious."
I grinned. "You know me and my methods."
"That I do."
She returned my grin before swiveling back around to the case. Bria picked up a necklace set with square diamonds that were the size of gumballs. She studied the flashing gems for a few seconds before putting the piece down on top of the glass.
"All these diamonds would have made for a nice haul if the guy had gotten away with them." She shook her head, making her blond hair shimmer. "The moon must be full or something. This is the second robbery I've been called out to today, and it's the fifth one this week."
"Well, that's not so unusual, is it?" I asked. "This is Ashland, after all. Somebody's always up to something in this town - usually something evil, dastardly, and violent."
She shrugged. "Maybe, but it seems like more bad guys than usual have come out of the woodwork these past few days. And the really weird thing? There's no one around to stop them."
Bria looked over at the saleswomen. "Excuse me, ladies. Does the store employ any security guards?"
Red actually glanced away from Finn long enough to answer her question. "We used to have a giant. But Anton called in yesterday and said that he'd gotten a better offer. So the owner hasn't had a chance to replace him yet."
Bria nodded, and Red turned her attention back to Finn.
"I've gotten that same explanation twice now," Bria said. "It's like all the giants who work as bodyguards have suddenly decided to move on up to bigger and better things. This is the third robbery I've seen this week where nobody's been guarding the goods, even with an obvious score to be had."
I frowned. That was strange. Vampires, dwarves, elementals, humans - lots of folks hired themselves out as security or bodyguards to banks, businesses, and wealthy individuals. Sure, it was a dangerous gig, especially in this town, but the money was good, and most positions came with excellent medical and dental. Some folks even offered their employees 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans. Not to mention the bonus hazard pay you could collect if you thwarted a robbery or an assassination attempt.
But given their tall, strong physiques, giants were the top choice when it came to keeping something or someone safe, especially among the underworld bosses. Practically every crime lord in Ashland had at least half a dozen giants - if not more - on his or her payroll. For the bosses, hiring them was a way to keep the rest of their underlings in line and hold on to their turf. For the giants, it was usually easy money for mostly standing around and looking tough. Win-win all the way around - unless you happened to cross somebody with a cadre of giants at his disposal. In addition to providing protection, giants were also very, very good at enforcing one person's unpleasant will on another - and beating you until you got the bloody message.
Bria shook her head. "Anyway, at least this case is cut-and-dried. All I need to do is get some witness statements from the saleswomen, and Xavier and I can take the perp over to the station - "
A soft, feminine laugh floated through the air, followed by a series of high-pitched giggles. Bria and I looked at each other, then over at Finn. Apparently, all had been forgiven, because the two saleswomen had practically draped themselves over him by this point. Red had her hand on one of his shoulders, while Blondie was cozied up on his other side, toying with his jacket sleeve. Finn's head swiveled back and forth between them, as though he was watching an intense tennis match. It was a wonder his neck didn't break from the speed.
"Good luck getting those statements," I murmured.
Bria smiled, showing a hint of teeth. "Oh, luck has nothing to do with it, big sister."
She strode over and planted herself in front of Finn and his adoring entourage.
"Bria!" he said. "I was just telling these two lovely ladies how brave they were when that terrible thug rushed into the store."
"Of course you were." Her voice was mild, although she raised her eyebrows at him.
Finn gave her a sheepish grin, but he immediately disentangled himself from the other two women and stepped forward. His sudden movement made the saleswomen teeter on their heels and almost crash into each other, but Finn didn't care. He leaned down and murmured something in Bria's ear that caused a fierce blush to bloom in her cheeks. Red and Blondie both frowned, but Bria just smiled at them. They all knew that she had Finn's full and undivided attention now.