Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(18)

“You look positively smashing,” he said.

“Don’t I always?” Bria arched her eyebrows, but the blush in her cheeks

told me how much the compliment pleased her.

Finn twirled Bria around again, making her laugh, before lowering her into a

dip. They stayed frozen like that for a moment, staring into each other’s

eyes, before he kissed her, long and deep. Finn set Bria back up on her feet,

leaned forward, and whispered something in her ear that made her blush even

more.

I started to make a snarky comment about the two of them getting a room, but a

floral aroma tickled my nose, and I had to clear my throat to hold back a

sneeze. It took me a second to realize that it was the mystery woman’s

perfume. She still had her back to me, so I drew in another breath, trying to

identify the scent, since it seemed so tantalizingly familiar. My heart

stopped as I realized exactly what it was and where I had smelled it before.

Peonies—the same scent that was in the empty perfume bottle in the casket

box.

Finn strode over to the mystery woman’s side, gave her his hand, and helped

her slide off her barstool. Together, the two of them turned to face us.

“And now, let me present my favorite new client,” Finn said. “Everyone,

this is Deirdre Shaw.”





5

Deirdre Shaw, Finn’s definitely-not-dead mother, was standing right in front

of me. In the flesh. And not just in Ashland but here, at Finn’s bank,

schmoozing with him like they were old friends.

I thought back to all the times Finn had mentioned his new client over the

past few weeks. Someone he was really hitting it off with. Someone he wanted

to introduce us all to tonight. Someone who was far more to him than he

realized.

It all made sense now—and it was all so twistedly, horribly wrong.

Beside me, Bria sucked in a surprised breath. I reached down, grabbed her

hand, and squeezed it in warning. After a second, she squeezed back, realizing

that I was asking her to hide her shock and her knowledge of who Deirdre

really was.

Owen saved us both. He realized that something was wrong, stepped up, and held

out his hand, making Deirdre shift her focus to him instead of wondering why

Bria and I were both suddenly so slack-jawed.

“Owen Grayson,” he rumbled. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Shaw.”

Deirdre looked Owen up and down, then gave him a slow, exaggerated wink.

“Well, aren’t you just a cold drink of water on a hot, hot day?” A sultry

Southern drawl added even more charm to her fun, flirty voice.

She winked again, then shook his hand. “Actually, it’s Ms. Shaw, but call me

Dee-Dee. All my friends do.”

Finn tucked his arm through Bria’s. “Dee-Dee, I want you to meet my lady

love, Detective Bria Coolidge.”

Deirdre smiled at Bria, her expression warm and inviting. “Why, you’re even

lovelier than Finnegan described. Charmed.”

“Yeah,” Bria replied in a dry tone. “Me too.”

Finally, Deirdre Shaw faced me.

Her shoulder-length blond hair had been styled into elegant pin curls, the

soft, golden waves catching the light. Her eyes were a pale blue, bordering on

gray, as though her gaze were filled with the elemental Ice she could control.

Her porcelain skin was flawless, while her lips were a perfect red heart in

her face. I didn’t know if she indulged in a strict regimen of Air elemental

facials, like Jonah McAllister did, but she looked a decade younger than her

fifty-some years. I had thought her lovely in all those old photos, but in

person she was truly stunning.

Deirdre didn’t seem to go in for subtle, since her knee-length, flapper-style

cocktail dress was a bloody scarlet and covered with sequins and crystals, as

was the matching shawl draped around her arms. Her outfit was bold, flashy,

and vibrant, the type of dress a gorgeous woman would wear to attract maximum

attention and compliments. And Deirdre’s jewelry was also meant to impress.

Ruby chandelier earrings framed her face, while a square ruby ring glinted on

her right hand.

But her most interesting bauble was her rune necklace, that heart made of

jagged icicles.

Or diamonds, in this case.

The heart pendant was as big as the palm of my hand, the diamonds in each

individual icicle flashing and sparkling. Even among all the jewelry here

tonight, I could easily pick out the diamonds’ proud, boisterous song as they

continuously trilled about their own beauty. The gemstones alone must have

cost a fortune. Add them to the exquisite silverstone setting and chain, and

Deirdre Shaw easily had a million bucks of cold ice hanging around her neck.

Bria noticed the necklace too, and her face creased into a frown, as she tried

again to remember where she had seen the rune before.

“Dee-Dee,” Finn said, “this is Gin Blanco. Gin, Dee-Dee.”

Deirdre looked me up and down the same way she had done with Owen and Bria,