everything else that had gone down at the Briartop museum, Gin had also discovered that Mab had left her estate to some long-lost relative, M. M. Monroe. So far, Gin hadn’t been able to find out anything about this mysterious Monroe, not so much as his or her full name. But it looked like this person knew all about Gin—and that worried me.
I took the note from him and slid it into my pants pocket. I’d think about it later. Right now, we had more pressing concerns.
“Now what?” Phillip asked.
“What do you think? Now we get rid of the bodies.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I think you’ve been spending way too much time around Gin. We go out for a simple guys’ night on the town, and you end up dropping three bodies in the nightclub parking lot. You’re picking up her bad habits.”
A wry grin pulled up my lips. “But it was fun, right? Just like old times, when we’d get into some street fight with a couple of gangbangers who thought that they were tougher and smarter than we were.”
Phillip snorted. “Yeah, except this time, you got electrocuted, and I got a couple of bruised ribs.”
“Well, I’d say that’s a big improvement, since we used to get the snot beat out of us,” I said. “Isn’t progress grand?”
Phillip snorted again, but the smile on his face matched the one on mine.
* * *
We started with Stuart, since he was the largest. Phillip took his shoulders, while I grabbed his ankles. Together, we moved the giant out of the street, across the sidewalk, and into the shadows that spilled out of the alley where the Dumpsters were. Then we hurried to do the same thing with Richie and Sierra.
We’d just laid Sierra on the ground beside the giant and the dwarf when footsteps sounded. Phillip and I looked at each other, then both crouched down behind the closest Dumpster—something else that was eerily familiar from our time on the streets.
The footsteps grew louder, and a moment later, Gin strode into view, with Bria walking beside her. Bria was chatting about something, holding her hands out as she walked and talked, but Gin was much more wary. Her eyes never stopped moving from shadow to shadow, and I could tell that she was only listening to Bria with half an ear. Gin knew that this would be a great place for someone to try to ambush the Spider, and she was ready for whatever danger might be lurking in the shadows. But I’d already done the dirty work for her tonight.
Gin and Bria stopped a safe distance away from Finn’s car. Gin remotely unlocked the doors and started the engine. Then the sisters waited, in case someone had planted a bomb on the car while they’d been inside the club. It broke my heart that Gin had to take such elaborate precautions, that she had to be so vigilant all the time, even when she was just out trying to have a drink with her sister. But it was part of her being the Spider now, and it probably always would be.
A minute passed, and the engine rumbled along smoothly. Bria headed over to the passenger’s side to get in, while Gin went over to the driver’s door. She reached for the handle but then stopped. Gin frowned, bent down, and touched part of the pavement next to the car. Then she brought her fingers up into the light.
I could see the blood shining on them from here.
I bit back a curse. We’d moved the bodies out of sight, but I hadn’t thought to clean up all of the blood on the pavement. Maybe I hadn’t spent enough time with Gin after all. Or with Sophia Deveraux, the dwarf who got rid of some of the bodies that Gin left behind.
Gin frowned as she studied the blood on her fingers, and then her gaze flicked to the door in front of her—and the dent in it, the one that Richie had put there with his foot. Her frown deepened, and she slowly turned her head left and right, peering into every shadow on the street, including the one that Phillip and I were crouched in.
I thought about rising to my feet, calling out to her, and
I took the note from him and slid it into my pants pocket. I’d think about it later. Right now, we had more pressing concerns.
“Now what?” Phillip asked.
“What do you think? Now we get rid of the bodies.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I think you’ve been spending way too much time around Gin. We go out for a simple guys’ night on the town, and you end up dropping three bodies in the nightclub parking lot. You’re picking up her bad habits.”
A wry grin pulled up my lips. “But it was fun, right? Just like old times, when we’d get into some street fight with a couple of gangbangers who thought that they were tougher and smarter than we were.”
Phillip snorted. “Yeah, except this time, you got electrocuted, and I got a couple of bruised ribs.”
“Well, I’d say that’s a big improvement, since we used to get the snot beat out of us,” I said. “Isn’t progress grand?”
Phillip snorted again, but the smile on his face matched the one on mine.
* * *
We started with Stuart, since he was the largest. Phillip took his shoulders, while I grabbed his ankles. Together, we moved the giant out of the street, across the sidewalk, and into the shadows that spilled out of the alley where the Dumpsters were. Then we hurried to do the same thing with Richie and Sierra.
We’d just laid Sierra on the ground beside the giant and the dwarf when footsteps sounded. Phillip and I looked at each other, then both crouched down behind the closest Dumpster—something else that was eerily familiar from our time on the streets.
The footsteps grew louder, and a moment later, Gin strode into view, with Bria walking beside her. Bria was chatting about something, holding her hands out as she walked and talked, but Gin was much more wary. Her eyes never stopped moving from shadow to shadow, and I could tell that she was only listening to Bria with half an ear. Gin knew that this would be a great place for someone to try to ambush the Spider, and she was ready for whatever danger might be lurking in the shadows. But I’d already done the dirty work for her tonight.
Gin and Bria stopped a safe distance away from Finn’s car. Gin remotely unlocked the doors and started the engine. Then the sisters waited, in case someone had planted a bomb on the car while they’d been inside the club. It broke my heart that Gin had to take such elaborate precautions, that she had to be so vigilant all the time, even when she was just out trying to have a drink with her sister. But it was part of her being the Spider now, and it probably always would be.
A minute passed, and the engine rumbled along smoothly. Bria headed over to the passenger’s side to get in, while Gin went over to the driver’s door. She reached for the handle but then stopped. Gin frowned, bent down, and touched part of the pavement next to the car. Then she brought her fingers up into the light.
I could see the blood shining on them from here.
I bit back a curse. We’d moved the bodies out of sight, but I hadn’t thought to clean up all of the blood on the pavement. Maybe I hadn’t spent enough time with Gin after all. Or with Sophia Deveraux, the dwarf who got rid of some of the bodies that Gin left behind.
Gin frowned as she studied the blood on her fingers, and then her gaze flicked to the door in front of her—and the dent in it, the one that Richie had put there with his foot. Her frown deepened, and she slowly turned her head left and right, peering into every shadow on the street, including the one that Phillip and I were crouched in.
I thought about rising to my feet, calling out to her, and
Similar Books
