Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(19)

but she didn’t offer me some bawdy compliment. Instead, she simply held out

her hand for me to shake, as if she knew that her charming words would be

wasted on me.

I took her hand in mine. Her fingers were cool to the touch, but I expected

that, given the chilly air that flooded the open, drafty lobby every time

someone went in or out. What I didn’t expect was the Ice magic pulsing

through her body, lying just beneath the surface of her skin. The cold, sudden

shock of touching her was worse than plunging my hand into a bucket of ice

water. It was a wonder my fingers didn’t turn blue from frostbite.

The truly troubling thing was that Deirdre wasn’t actively using her magic.

If I could sense this much of her power just by touching her, I shuddered to

think what she could do when she summoned up the full, frosty depths of it.

She could easily Ice over the entire lobby with a single wave of her hand.

Fletcher had said that Deirdre was strong in her magic, but I hadn’t expected

this level of power. She was even more dangerous than I’d thought.

“Gin,” Deirdre said, smiling widely. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you,

honey. I’ve heard so much about you.” She gave my hand a friendly little

squeeze.

I squeezed back, although all I really wanted to do was yank my hand out of

hers and try to rub some warmth and feeling back into my numb fingers.

“I just bet you have,” I drawled. “Although Finn hasn’t told me nearly

enough about you. I’ll have to get him to rectify that, since the two of you

have become such good friends these past few weeks.”

Deirdre’s hand tightened around mine, and she frowned, the faint lines around

her eyes crinkling a little deeper as she tried to figure out what I meant.

After a moment, she shook off her confusion and finally released my fingers. I

bit my tongue to keep from hissing in relief.

Finn looked back and forth between the two of us, also wondering at my strange

words. But he charged right on past the awkwardness and gestured to a man

sitting at the bar, on the stool next to Deirdre’s.

“And this is Hugh Tucker, Deirdre’s personal assistant,” Finn said.

Tucker was a tall, wiry man in a black suit jacket with a dark gray shirt and

tie underneath. His skin was a rich bronze, while his hair and eyes were

midnight-black. A trimmed goatee clung to his chin. I would put his age close

to Deirdre’s, around fifty or so, but the years had been as kind to him as

they had been to her, and he could easily pass for someone ten years younger.

Despite his distinguished air, he was as subdued and forgettable as Deirdre

was boisterous and flashy, although his understated diamond cuff links had

definitely cost a pretty penny. No magic emanated from him, but fangs flashed

in his mouth as he tossed back the rest of his Scotch. So he was a vampire,

then.

Tucker slid off his stool and nodded politely at all of us, but he didn’t

step forward, and he didn’t offer to shake anyone’s hand. Instead, he gave

us all a bored, disinterested glance, as if he could care less about who we

were. Not what I would expect from an assistant. If Silvio were here, he would

have been examining Tucker and whoever else might be in Deirdre’s entourage

to make sure they weren’t a threat to me and our friends. Before doing

multiple background checks just to make sure.

What Tucker did seem interested in was all the other folks here. His black

gaze flicked around the lobby, coolly assessing each person in turn. Maybe it

was her dazzling diamonds, but he kept glancing over at Mallory Parker. At

least until Lorelei noticed his attention and stared back at him, wondering

who he was and what he was up to.

Tucker arched an eyebrow, as if he was amused by Lorelei’s dirty looks, then

turned around, flagged down a passing waiter, and got a refill on his drink.

“Well, I should let you talk to your friends,” Deirdre said. “I’ll see you

here tomorrow morning as scheduled, yes? And we’ll go over the final details

for the exhibit?”

My eyes narrowed. Exhibit? What exhibit?

“Of course. I’m always happy to meet with my favorite client.”

Finn winked, then grabbed his mother’s hand, bowed low, and pressed a kiss to

her knuckles, as gallant as any knight. He wasn’t an elemental, so he couldn

’t sense her Ice magic. I forced down a shudder at how long his skin touched

hers.

Deirdre grabbed her red beaded clutch off the bar, then playfully tapped Finn

on the shoulder with it. “Oh, you flatterer. You certainly know how to dazzle

this ole gal, don’t you? Why, I bet you’re the most charming man in three

counties.”

Finn grinned. “But of course.”

Deirdre looked at Tucker, and the two of them started to walk away, but I

stepped up and blocked their path.

“Actually, why don’t you and Tucker join us for dinner at Underwood’s