Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(66)

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything. All I could think of, all I

could feel, was my own failure coursing through my veins like venom, reducing

everything inside me to brittle ash. Just as it had the night I’d found

Fletcher’s broken body in his own restaurant.

“But you don’t have to worry about me, Gin,” Deirdre went on, as if she

couldn’t see the soul-crushing despair in my eyes. “Despite what you think,

my intentions are good. All I want is to have a real relationship with

Finnegan. I hope that you’ll finally give me that chance. Just think about

it. Okay, honey?”

Despite all her hurtful words, I forced myself to nod at her and not let her

realize how deeply she’d wounded me. “You’re right,” I said, my voice as

empty and hollow as my heart was right now. “I haven’t treated you well. I

apologize. I won’t stand in the way of you and Finn. Not anymore.”

“Oh, Gin, honey!” she squealed. “I’m so glad to finally hear you say that!

”

Before I could stop her, Deirdre swooped me up into a tight hug, her hands

pressing into my back, her body plastered against mine, her peony perfume

snaking down my throat, making me want to vomit. Even through the thick velvet

of my gown, I could feel how cold her hands were and the elemental Ice magic

pulsing through her entire body. My chest and back went numb in an instant,

the cold so swift, sudden, and intense that it brought tears to my eyes.

At least, that’s what I told myself was causing the waterworks. Not Deirdre’

s words and especially not the ugly, ugly truth in them. That I was jealous of

her and threatened by her. That I was the reason Finn didn’t have any family

left.

That I was the reason Fletcher was dead.

“And what are two of my favorite ladies up to?” Finn called out, striding

over to us.

Deirdre dropped her arms, stepped back, and gave me a conspiratorial wink.

“Oh, nothing special. Just some long-awaited girl talk. What about you,

handsome?”

The two of them started chatting, but I just stood there, my face frozen in a

hollow smile, tears trapped in my eyes, and my gaze locked on Deirdre’s

icicle-heart rune.

Cold, broken, and jagged—just like my own heart right now.





19

It took the better part of two minutes for the chill of Deirdre’s Ice magic

to leave my body, but her words continued to sting my heart. I mumbled an

excuse to her and Finn, but they’d already turned away to talk to some other

folks, and neither one of them heard me.

Owen had finally extricated himself from his business associate, and he met me

in the middle of the rotunda. He took one look at my face and frowned. “What

’s wrong?”

“Do you care if we leave now?”

“Are you sure? I thought you wanted to keep an eye on Finn.”

I looked over at Finn, who was still standing by Deirdre’s side, chatting

with her latest round of admirers. “Don’t worry,” I said in a sad voice. “

He won’t even realize that I’m gone.”

And he didn’t.

Owen and I stopped long enough to say good-bye to Bria and Xavier and wave to

Mallory and Lorelei as we made our way toward the exit. Finn never once looked

in our direction.

On the ride back to Fletcher’s, Owen tried to get me to tell him what was

bothering me, but I just didn’t have the energy to recount how Deirdre had

rubbed my face in all my past mistakes and failures—and that she’d been

right about every single one, especially Fletcher being dead because I hadn’t

been good enough, strong enough, fast enough to save him.

Owen offered to stay the night, but I told him I was tired and was going to

bed. He kissed me, told me to call him if I wanted to talk, and left.

I stripped off my spider gown and took a long, hot shower. We’d left the

exhibit early, and it was just after nine, but I was exhausted, so I crawled

into bed. I drifted to sleep almost immediately.

The three vampires who’d been robbing Fletcher’s house crept closer and

closer to me.

The smart thing would have been to sprint back around the porch, throw open

the front door, and run inside. But it wasn’t like I would have gotten all

that far. Not given the logjam of kids still partying in the house. Besides, I

was too angry to think straight, so I stood my ground.

The three vamps spread out in a line across the porch in front of me.

“Lookie here, boys,” the guy in the middle crooned. “A little girl’s come

out to play with us.”

My hands clenched into tight fists. If there was one thing I wasn’t, it was a

little girl. Not anymore. Not for a long time now.

Another vamp laughed. “Well, I say we play with her. Right, Paul?”

Paul, the vamp in the middle, nodded. “Yep.”

But I was still too angry—at them, at Finn, at everything—to back down.