Elemental Assassin: Unraveled Part 18

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tucker staring at me, but my disguise worked, and the vampire dismissed me as unimportant because he continued over to where Roxy was standing. I waited a few seconds, then moved in their direction, handing drinks out to all the guests that I pa.s.sed, until I was close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.

". . . no trace of Blanco yet," Roxy said. "But I've doubled the number of giants posted at all the hotel and theme-park exits. We've got her trapped in here. She can't escape, and we'll find her sooner or later."

Tucker crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at his henchwoman. "And I can't believe that you were careless enough to let her slip through your fingers in the first place. You told me that the sedative you gave Blanco and her friends was foolproof. Seems like it turned out to be snake oil instead, since Blanco is still out there."

"I'm sorry, sir." Roxy whipped off her hat and ducked her head in apology. "Don't worry. We'll find Blanco. I promise you that."

"And you'd better deliver," he replied in a smooth, silky voice. "I do not like failure. Deirdre Shaw could tell you that, if she were still alive."

"Yes, sir. Of course not, sir."

Tucker eyed Roxy a moment longer, making sure that the quiet threat in his words had fully sunk in, then glanced at his watch. "How much longer will Lane and the others be out?"

My breath caught in my throat, and my hands jerked, shaking the remaining gla.s.ses on my tray, but the two of them didn't notice me or my surprise.

"They're all still out cold in Lane's room, but it shouldn't be too much longer before they start coming around," Roxy said.

So Finn, Bria, and Owen were in Finn's suite on the top floor, no doubt under a heavy guard. Smart of Tucker to keep them so close and so isolated, especially when I was still free and could cause plenty of trouble.

"Let me know the second they wake up," Tucker said. "I want to start questioning them immediately about the jewels. And have my usual tools brought up to the suite for the interrogations."

My stomach twisted, and bile rose in my throat. Just as I feared, he was going to torture the answers out of my friends-answers that none of them had.

"But what about Blanco?" Roxy asked. "Don't you want her found first?"

Tucker shrugged. "She doesn't matter in the big picture. Not really. Finding those gems is the most important thing. And if we can't find them, well, I'll content myself with executing Lane and the others."

I couldn't help but suck in a breath at the casual way Tucker talked about murdering my friends. Cold rage flooded my body, and I itched to reach for one of my knives, charge at the vampire, and slit his f.u.c.king throat. I seriously, seriously considered it, just as I had with Roxy a few moments before.

But I pushed my rage aside and held my position. Given Tucker's lightning-fast speed, it was fifty-fifty whether I could kill him before he killed me. Add Roxy and her trusty revolvers to the mix, and the odds weren't in my favor. Not to mention all the innocent bystanders who could get shot-or worse-in the potential cross fire. No, as much as I wanted to end Tucker and Roxy, I couldn't take them on. Not here. Not now.

But soon-very, very soon.

Tucker and Roxy kept talking, but a guy sitting in a rocking chair waved me over, eager for a gla.s.s of free champagne and a look at my corseted bosom, so I screwed on a smile and headed in his direction, still thinking about my next move.

Silvio was right. The jewels were the only potential leverage I had and the only thing that would keep my friends alive.

I knew where the jewels were. Now all I had to do was get to them.

Like everything else in my life, that was easier said than done.

20.

I gave the guy in the rocking chair the peep show he wanted and moved away before he started drooling on me. I still had two gla.s.ses of champagne left on my tray, but instead of handing them out, I crossed the lobby and got into one of the elevators. As the car rose, I worked out the details of my hasty plan.

There was really only one-don't get dead.

The elevator stopped at various floors to let people on and off, until I was the last person in the car. I watched the numbers slowly light up, and I rode it all the way up to the top floor, where Finn's suite was.

The elevator doors pinged open, and I drew in a breath, plastered a smile on my face, and strutted out into the hallway.

Just as I expected, three giants dressed like outlaws were standing guard in front of the door leading into Finn's suite, and I was willing to bet that even more guards were stationed inside, as well as in Owen's and my suite next door. Far too many guards for me to fight my way through without getting injured, especially since Finn, Bria, and Owen were still unconscious and couldn't help me. Even if I did manage to kill all the guards, I couldn't have gotten all three of them out of the suite to safety. So as much as I hated to leave my friends at Tucker's mercy-or lack thereof-it was my only option right now.

The three guards outside the door jerked to attention at the sight of me coming toward them, their hands dropping to the guns belted to their waists. I wondered if Roxy had outfitted them all with her charming Fire-coated bullets. I would have, but I was betting that she kept them all to herself. She wouldn't want to let anyone else use her special bullets, much less have the fun of shooting me with them.

But instead of whipping out a knife and charging at the giants, I sashayed right on by, nodding my head politely at them. All three of them leered at my cleavage, but I kept going down the hallway until I reached the door on the opposite side.

The one that led into Deirdre's suite.

I stopped in front of the door and reached for my Ice and Stone magic, using it to make my hand as cold, hard, and strong as possible. Then I knocked politely on the door. "Room service," I called out in a cheery voice.

Knocking on Deirdre's door was a risk, but I was willing to bet that Roxy had told the giants to guard only Finn's door and not the suite across from his. I was also betting that the giants didn't realize that the suite was empty.

I glanced at the guards out of the corner of my eye, but they kept right on leering, and none of them broke away from his buddies to approach me.

So I knocked a second time. "Room service," I called out in a louder voice.

I turned to the side, so that my poofy dress was blocking the giants' view of the door, wrapped my hand around the k.n.o.b, and blasted it with my Ice magic, driving the cold shards of my power through the keyhole and into the lock. Once I was sure that it was frozen solid, I sent out another blast of Ice magic, cracking all those shards away, even as I used my Stone-hardened hand to wrench the k.n.o.b. It took some effort, but the lock broke, and the door opened with an audible screech.

I plastered a smile on my face and stared straight ahead, as though I were greeting the guest inside.

"h.e.l.lo, ma'am," I called out for the guards' benefit. "I have that champagne you ordered. Where would you like me to set it up?"

I stepped inside the suite, shut the door behind me, and put the serving tray and gla.s.ses on a nearby table. I glanced around, but everything was the same as before. It didn't look like Tucker, Roxy, or Brody had come in here and searched Deirdre's suite again. But there was only one way to know for sure, so I hurried over to the white Christmas tree in the corner, my breath in my throat, my heart pounding, my palms itching with antic.i.p.ation.

The tree looked just as I remembered it, right down to the three cheesy Bullet Pointe snow globes that I'd lined up on the floor in front of it-snow globes that didn't match the rest of Deirdre's fancy designer ornaments.

I dropped to my knees in front of the tree, grabbed the globe that featured the Main Street scene, and held it up to the light streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I shook the globe, and a few more clear stones dropped out of the letters in the Bullet Pointe sign, sparkling as they sailed through the water.

"h.e.l.lo, diamonds," I whispered.

I picked up the other two globes, staring at them in turn. Sapphires made up the lake scene in one, while rubies and emeralds glittered as the holiday decorations on the snow-covered hotel in the other one. And still more gemstones gleamed here and there in all three of the globes. I didn't know if all of Sweet Sally Sue's jewels were here, but it looked like Deirdre had stuffed the majority of them into the three globes. Then she'd stashed the globes with the rest of her Christmas decorations, as though they were just bits of gla.s.s and glitter, hiding the gems in plain sight all along, one of the oldest and best tricks around.

"Clever," I whispered again. "Very, very clever, Mama Dee."

I thought back to that memory I'd had of Deirdre in my mother's office, shaking all those snow globes while Tucker had threatened Eira. I wondered if that's where Deirdre had gotten the idea for her hiding place. I wondered what other tricks she might have learned from my mother, although I doubted I would ever know. But for right now, it was enough that I'd found the jewels.

I brought the Main Street globe up to my ear and reached out with my Stone magic. The thick gla.s.s and water muted the sounds, but I still could make out the gems' proud trills about their own beauty. I should have noticed the murmurs before, the second I'd picked up the globes when we'd first come in here yesterday, but I'd been too lost in my memories of my mother to pay attention to them.

Well, I was here now, and these babies were coming with me.

I fished the two knives out of the pockets of my saloon-girl dress and slid them into my garters with my other three weapons. Then I stuffed all three of the snow globes down into my dress pockets, since I didn't have time to open them and pluck out the gems right now. For once, I was grateful that my silk and crinoline skirts were so poofy, since they helped hide the round bulges of gla.s.s.

By this point, I'd been in the suite for almost five minutes, which was pus.h.i.+ng it when it came to room service. So I hustled back over and grabbed my silver tray. I started toward the door, then stopped and cursed, realizing that I had to get rid of the two gla.s.ses before I stepped out into the hallway, since delivering the champagne was ostensibly my reason for being in here. So I set the gla.s.ses down on the table.

I headed toward the door again, but another thought occurred to me, a way that I could be just as clever as Deirdre had been when it came to the jewels.

So I set my tray down on the table, picked up my skirts, and ran into Deirdre's bedroom. I darted around the messy, towering piles of clothes, shoes, and purses that my friends and I had made when we'd been searching in here yesterday and headed into her closest, going straight to the jewelry wall in the very back. My gaze roamed over all the rings, necklaces, and bracelets resting on the shelves, before focusing on the boxes and other items that Deirdre had used to store and transport her jewelry from this lavish suite to all the other ones she stayed in around the country.

There-that would do nicely.

I grabbed a black velvet bag from one of the shelves and shook it to make sure that it was empty. Just what I wanted.

I grabbed another empty bag as well as several more items from the wall. Then I stuffed everything into my dress pockets, left the closet, and sprinted back out into the main part of the suite. I'd been in here almost ten minutes now. Time to leave before the giants outside got any more suspicious than they probably already were.

I reached for the doork.n.o.b again, stopped, and cursed, realizing that this time I'd forgotten the stupid serving tray. So I grabbed the empty platter, then drew in a breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm my racing heart, and plastered a benign smile on my face. I pulled on the doork.n.o.b, which was still frozen solid from my Ice magic, and backed out into the hallway, as though I were still talking to someone inside the suite.

"No, ma'am, thank you for such a generous tip and such a lovely conversation," I called out for the benefit of the guards. "Please let me know if you need anything else. I'll be happy to a.s.sist you in any way that I can."

Was I laying it on thick? Oh, yeah. But I wanted the giants to focus on my words, not my movements. I closed the door and turned to the side, once again using my poofy skirts to block the giants' view. I held on to the k.n.o.b, reached for my Ice magic again, and forced more cold shards into the keyhole and doorframe all around the k.n.o.b, hoping that they would be enough to anchor the door in place long enough for me to get out of here. Only one way to find out.

I let go of the k.n.o.b and stepped back, my breath in my throat, but the door didn't swing open and give away that I'd forced my way into the suite. But I didn't know how long it would hold. Time to get while the getting was good.

So I walked down the hallway to where the giants were stationed outside the door to Finn's suite. Once again, they all snapped to attention at the sight of me and my heaving, corseted bosom. I dropped my tray down to my side, giving them a better view of my chest, even as I gripped the platter tight, ready to snap it up and slam it into the guards' faces if they tried to stop me.

The giants leered at me again, but they didn't step in front of me, and I nodded and smiled politely as I moved past them. Even though I wanted to pick up my skirts and make a mad dash for the elevators, I forced myself to walk at a normal pace, even though I could hear two of the snow globes rattling together in my dress pockets. I winced and kept going, hoping that the giants wouldn't notice the sounds. My gaze locked on the elevators up ahead, and I started counting off the distance in my head.

Ten feet away from safety . . . seven feet . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . .

"Hey," one of the giants called out, "let me ask you something."

My finger hovered over the elevator call b.u.t.ton. I discreetly punched it, then turned to face the giants, raising my eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Did they give you a good tip?" that same giant called out. "Because I certainly would have with you in that dress."

He leered at me again and let out a low wolf whistle. His two buddies joined in with his hearty chuckles.

I put a hand on my hip and struck a pose, giving him another little thrill. A wide, genuine smile spread across my face at the thought of the millions of dollars' worth of jewels stuffed into my pockets.

"Oh," I drawled, "it was a great tip. One of the best I've ever gotten."

21.

The elevator arrived, thankfully putting an end to my forced flirting with the guard, and I stepped inside and rode it back down to the lobby. I glanced around, but I didn't see Tucker, Roxy, or Brody anywhere, although several giants were stationed along the walls, studying everyone who came and went, and comparing them to my Wanted posters in their hands.

Still carrying my empty serving tray, I left the lobby behind, went back into the kitchen, and put the platter down on the first table I came to. One of the cooks gave me an odd look, but I walked right on by him and jerked my thumb over my shoulder.

"Taking my break now."

He nodded and went back to slicing tomatoes for the pasta dish he was whipping up.

I slipped out the back door of the kitchen, which opened onto a small stone patio. A couple of saloon-girl waitresses were standing outside, huddled together against the cold, and smoking cigarettes, despite the large red No Smoking sign hanging on the wall. Their eyes narrowed in suspicion, wondering who I was and if I would rat them out to Roxy, but I simply nodded at them, stepped onto a path, and headed away from the hotel, back down the hill to the theme park.

Since it was Sat.u.r.day afternoon, the park was more crowded than ever before, with throngs of tourists meandering along the paths, getting junk food from the concession carts, and standing in lines for the rides. I also pa.s.sed several costumed characters, all of whom seemed to be holding a copy of my Wanted poster and scanning the crowd for little ole me. Add that to the gems weighing down my pockets, and I felt like every single eye was firmly fixed on me. My spider rune scars itched and burned, and I had to force myself to walk at a regular pace, even though all I wanted to do was run, run, run away from all the people searching for me.

Actually, I couldn't have run away from anyone right now, given how the old-fas.h.i.+oned high heels were pinching my toes. More torture devices, along with the stupid corset. I plastered a bland smile on my face and clomped on through the park.

People stopped me and asked me to pose for pictures, just as they had on my way up to the hotel, and I obliged them because too many other workers were around for me not to. I didn't want to do anything suspicious to attract anyone's attention, much less have one of the performers text Roxy or Brody and complain about the saloon girl who was giving the guests the cold shoulder.

Finally, I slipped off Main Street and made it back to the staging area behind the saloon. A few folks were milling around under the pavilions, talking, laughing, and texting, but they were all just regular workers, instead of being part of Brody's giant outlaw gang, and I didn't see anyone holding a copy of my Wanted poster. Once again, I smiled and nodded at everyone I pa.s.sed. They all gave me cursory smiles and nods in return, then went back to their conversations, although the costumed cowboys went the extra step of tipping their hats at me. How gentlemanly.

I wandered through the pavilions, looking at all the costumes, fake weapons, tools, barrels full of la.s.sos, and other supplies. As I roamed around, I made a mental inventory of things that might be useful to me later on tonight, and I also picked up the one item that I needed right now-a pair of st.u.r.dy-looking tweezers. Not exactly the precision tool I wanted, but it would have to do.

When I'd finished with my examination, I left the staging area and went back onto Main Street. I wandered along the wooden sidewalks, peering into the storefronts, and searching for a shop that was crowded enough that the workers would be focused on the customers, but not so busy that I couldn't roam around freely inside. The Silver Spur, the clothing shop, fit the bill, and I went inside.

Yet again, I smiled and nodded at everyone I pa.s.sed, but the tourists in here were too busy shopping to want me to pose for pictures. Lucky for me, the restrooms were in the very back of the store, well past the dressing rooms, where the majority of the foot traffic was. I headed into the women's restroom, which was empty, slipped into one of the stalls, and locked the door behind me. I closed the toilet lid, sat down on it, and let out a deep breath.

Then, finally, at last, I was able to pull the snow globes out of my dress pockets and examine them.

Up close, they were cheap, flimsy things, not the expensive, heavy ones like my mother had had all those years ago. And Deirdre hadn't done a good job of securing the gems inside either, since more and more of them started coming loose as I turned the Main Street globe upside down in my hands.

The globe was like a mason jar, with the wooden base s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g down into the gla.s.s. I quickly took off the base, set it aside, and got down on my knees on the bathroom floor. A drain was embedded in the tile between my stall and the next one, so I held my palm up like a sieve, carefully tipped the globe over, and poured all the water out of the gla.s.s, letting it trickle out of my hand and fall away into the drain below.

I went slowly, only pouring out a little of the water at a time, and making sure not to lose any of the precious stones. Once all the water was gone, and the gems were drying on a wad of toilet paper, I picked up the wooden base, which had the Main Street scene screwed into it, and used my stolen tweezers to gently pry the rest of the jewels out of the Bullet Pointe sign and other places where Deirdre had glued them down.

Five minutes later, I had an impressive pile of diamonds, along with several other stones. I dropped them all into one of my black velvet bags, then repeated the process on the other two globes.

When I was finished, I hefted the velvet bag in my hands. Without the gla.s.s and the water around them, I could clearly hear the gemstones' murmurs, which were loud, vain, and proud enough to let me estimate their value. At least ten million dollars, if not more. Nice. While that was only a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of millions that Deirdre had owed the Circle, every little bit helped.

Even more important, now I had something that Tucker wanted, and he was going to give me my friends in return.

Oh, I wasn't stupid enough to think that the vampire would honor any trade agreement we might make. I fully expected him to double-cross me at the least and kill me at the worst. But I would be ready for Tucker, Roxy, Brody, and all the others. I might be stuck in their theme park, but this Spider could spin her own traps and webs.

I had more work to do, so I put the bag of gemstones aside, drew out some of the other things I'd swiped from Deirdre's jewelry wall, and went to work with the tweezers again. Once I was finished with that second project, I got to my feet, opened the stall door, and threw the empty snow globes into the trash. Then I went over to one of the sinks to wash all the glitter off my hands.

I'd just finished drying my hands when my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my dress pocket and checked the message. It was from Silvio, naturally. He'd made good time driving down here, since it wasn't quite five o'clock yet.

At the restaurant. Wearing a gray hat.

Well, that was interesting. Looked like my a.s.sistant had taken my suggestion to disguise himself to heart. I texted him back.

On my way.