Bitter Bite (Elemental Assassin #14)(83)

to take out all the thieves. Even if I did have enough supplies, I don’t know

how we’d even get into the bank.”

“Leave that to me. There was a reason I wanted you to come here.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You know how to break into the bank.”

I grinned. “Among other things. Let’s go. We don’t have any time to waste.

”





24

Bria popped the trunk and opened the cases inside, revealing enough guns and

ammo to outfit several commandos, along with knives, flares, binoculars, and a

couple of black vests lined with silverstone like the one I still wore.

I let out a low whistle. “Nice arsenal.”

She shrugged. “It pays to be prepared in this town.”

Bria shrugged out of her jacket and zipped a silverstone vest over her chest

before stuffing extra guns and ammo into all the vest pockets. I added some

extra knives to my usual arsenal. I also grabbed a tin of Jo-Jo’s healing

ointment and smeared it all over the goose egg and the cut on my head. The

dwarf’s Air magic pricked my skin, scabbing over the cut, smoothing out the

swelling, and easing the ache in my face. The knot and the cut weren’t

completely healed, but it was better than nothing.

We’d just finished gearing up when Silvio pulled his car into the garage,

Owen right behind him in his own vehicle. The two of them hurried over, each

carrying a black duffel bag.

Owen dropped his bag, then cupped my cheek, his violet gaze steady on my gray

one. “How can I help?”

I reached up and squeezed his hand. “Thank you for coming.” I paused.

“Especially since I know how much you still want to punch Finn.”

He made a face, then gave me a crooked grin. “Yeah, but he’s family. I’ll

punch him after we rescue him.”

“Deal.” I turned to Silvio. “Did you bring it?”

The vampire huffed and gestured at the bag at his feet. “Of course I brought

it. What kind of assistant would I be if I didn’t? Although I don’t see how

it’s going to help you get inside the bank. I drove by the entrance. I saw

the guard stationed out front.”

“We’re not going in through the front.”

I crouched down, opened the bag, and pulled out a large crossbow, a long

length of rope, a couple of metal handles, and a silverstone grappling hook

strong enough to shoot through a stone wall. Silvio, Owen, and Bria watched in

silence while I assembled everything.

Owen frowned. “Is that a zipline? What are you going to do with a zipline?”

Silvio crossed his arms over his chest. “My question exactly.”

I checked to make sure the equipment was in order. “Remember back during the

summer, when Finn, Owen, and I were playing that war game, and the two of them

bet me that I couldn’t mock-kill both of them?”

“Finn bet you.” Owen held up his hands. “I was just an innocent bystander.

”

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, one of the places that I scouted

out to kill Finn was at the bank.”

“But you didn’t kill us at the bank. You killed us at my office,” Owen

said. “Quite easily, from what I remember.”

“That’s because your office wasn’t nearly as secure as the bank. But no

matter how locked down a building is, there’s always a way in.”

“You cracked the bank’s security setup,” Silvio said.

“Yep. It took a while, but I managed it.” I got to my feet, hoisted the

crossbow onto my shoulder, and looked at my sister. “You ready to have a

little fun?”

Bria sighed. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

I grinned. “Only if you’re afraid of heights.”

*

It turned out that Bria was, in fact, not the biggest fan of heights. But when

I explained my plan, she sighed again and nodded. Owen and Silvio didn’t much

like my plan either, since it left them waiting outside while Bria and I went

into the bank, but I needed my sister’s Ice magic to help me get down to the

lobby and then to the basement vault. That’s where Deirdre and Santos would

be—along with Finn. Besides, Owen and Silvio had their own parts to play.

Five minutes later, I was standing on the roof of the parking garage with

Bria, Owen, and Silvio. The garage was one story taller than First Trust,

giving us a clear view of the bank’s roof, including an access door with

stairs leading down into the bank itself.

First Trust took up its own block, and a fifty-foot-wide alley separated the

parking garage from the back of the bank. The main entrance might be guarded,

but no one was on the roof yet, something that I was going to take advantage

of.

I peered through the scope attached to the top of the crossbow, lining up my

shot, then gently squeezed the trigger. The hook shot out from the bow and

sailed over and across the alley, taking the rope along with it.