Web of Lies

by Jennifer Estep

  from the abrupt stop. The skin around his eyes was red Daddy’s orders or not, Jake McAllister was going to and irritated from the spicy food, but it didn’t compare come for me, sooner rather than later, with all his Fire to the sparks of hot magic that flickered in his hate-filled elemental-fueled rage.

  gaze.

  And when he did, I’d gut the bastard—once and for

  “C’mon, Dad,” Jake said, looking around the giant’s all. No matter how many problems it might cause me. arm and pleading with his father. “Let’s do the bitch. She’s not going to play ball with us.”

  Jonah McAllister looked at his son, then at me. He got to his feet and buttoned his suit jacket. “What have I told you about ruining people, Jake?”

  “That it’s more fun to do it slowly,” Jake muttered. Jonah nodded. “That’s right. We’ll see how Ms. Blanco feels in a few more days when she hasn’t gotten any customers, and she has bills to pay. Until then, Ms. Blanco.”

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  His green eyes went to Sophia and the mess she was mopping up. “Did I miss something?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “Jake McAllister just dropped by—

  14

  and he had his daddy with him.”

  Finn blinked. “Jonah McAllister came to the restaurant? What did he want? What did he say?”

  I shrugged. “Drop the charges against his son or else. It went downhill from there. Attempted bribery, threats of violence, the promise of my own murder. The Ashland special.”

  Finn sighed. “And let me guess; you told the McAllisters exactly what they could do with their threats.”

  I grinned. “You know me.”

  Finn shook his head. “Gin, do you really want to start once Jake McAllister’s screams faded away, I glanced over a family feud with the McAllisters? I thought you wanted my shoulder at Sophia. “Was it good for you too?”

  to enjoy your retirement, live a nice, clean, simple life.”

  “Hmph.” The dwarf gave me her usual grunt and

  “No, I don’t want to start a war with the McAllisters.”

  headed toward the mop and bucket in the far corner. Finn raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “C’mon, Gin.

  “Leave the food where it is,” I said. “It’s my mess. I’ll Just admit it. You like thumbing your nose at bad guys clean it up later. Besides, we’re not going to have any and showing everyone exactly how strong and capable more customers today. Go home, Sophia. Get some rest. you are. You always have. That’s why you pushed the You’ve earned it.”

  McAllisters so hard today.”

  Sophia’s black eyes met mine. She grunted again and

  “All right, all right,” I muttered. “So maybe my retiregot the mop anyway. I sighed. Brick was more talkative ment’s been a little more boring than I thought it would and responsive than the Goth dwarf. So I got on my be. So maybe it felt good to knock Jake’s nose out of joint knees and picked up the broken dish and smashed bits when he made the stupid mistake of trying to rob me. of food. I’d just thrown everything away and washed Maybe it felt even better to do the same to his old man. my hands in the sink when the bell over the front door But if I’d let Jake go that night, I’d have a dozen Jake chimed again. I turned, a silverstone knife already sliding McAllisters in here today, all thinking they could knock into my hand.

  over my joint for a quick wad of cash. You know it. AshBut this time it was just Finn. land’s all about survival of the toughest. It always has Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 154-155

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  been. Word gets out you’re weak or an easy mark, and Finn opened his mouth again, but I held up my hand you’re finished, no matter what business you’re in.”

  to cut him off.

  Finn shrugged his agreement.

  “Enough talk,” I said. “We have other people to deal

  “Besides, if I give in to the McAllisters now, they’ll with today, remember? Warren T. Fox. So let’s go get Viothink they own me, that they actually frightened me today. let and see what Grandpa has to say for himself.”

  Jake would start coming in here all the time, just to lord it over me. He’d think the restaurant was his own personal Finn and I left Sophia to clean up the remaining mess little fiefdom, take my money, and terrorize my customand headed over to Jo-Jo’s to pick up Violet Fox. Finn had ers. And I just couldn’t stand that. Not in Fletcher’s rescalled ahead to say we were on our way, and the two of taurant. Not when he worked so hard for so long to keep them waited on the front porch for us. Both sat in rockfrom paying protection money to anyone.” I sighed. “Being chairs that creaked and cracked with every pass back sides, it’s too late for all that now anyway. I pissed off Jake and forth. Jo-Jo had dragged Rosco’s basket outside, and McAllister again, embarrassed him in front of his father. the fat, lazy basset hound sat at the dwarf’s feet, snoozing He’s not going to forget that. He’s going to kill me—or at in a patch of sunlight that sliced across the porch slats. least try. He has to, or he’ll never have his father’s respect Sophia must have lent Violet some of her clothes, beagain. What little of it there was to start with.”

  cause the girl was dressed in a pair of black jeans and

  “And then what are you going to do?” Finn asked. a matching T-shirt with an enormous set of red lips on

  “You kill Jake, and Jonah will come down on you like it. Despite Violet’s full figure, the clothes sagged off her a ton of bricks. Hell, he might even get Mab Monroe frame. Sophia Deveraux had quite a bit more muscle on involved at that point.”

  her than Violet did.

  A few weeks ago, someone had set me up to be killed Jo-Jo wore one of her many pink flowered dresses and as part of a larger power play against Mab Monroe, to a string of pearls that were each as big as a giant’s tooth. try to wrest control of Ashland away from her. I’d gotten Her bleached white-blond hair was arranged into its typicaught in the middle, which meant I was already more cal helmet of curls, and perfect makeup covered her face. involved with the Fire elemental than I’d ever wanted As usual, the dwarf’s feet were bare, despite the Novemto be. ber chill in the air. Jo-Jo hated wearing socks. Said they I thought of that piece of paper in the file Fletcher made her feet hurt.

  had compiled about my family’s murder, the one with Finn and I stepped up onto the porch. Violet stood up, Mab’s name on it. Maybe I’d always been involved with but Jo-Jo kept rocking in her chair.

  the Fire elemental—I just hadn’t known it. “I’ll deal with

  “Sleep well?” I asked.

  Jake McAllister when he makes his move.”

  “As well as could be expected, I suppose. But Jo-Jo reEstep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 156-157

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  ally made me feel at home.” Violet gave her hostess a shy the vehicle had probably been stripped of everything but smile.

  the cigarette lighter. Hell, somebody had probably taken

  “Jo-Jo’s good at that. We should get going.”

  that too. Barracudas couldn’t pick a corpse any cleaner

  “Say hello to Warren for me,” Jo-Jo told Violet. “Tell than the white trash and gangbangers in Southtown. him I’ll be up that way for some more honey real soon.”

  “It might be okay,” Finn replied in a hopeful tone. “It’s Violet nodded. “Thank you. For everything.”

  just a Honda. Several years old at that. It’s not like I left Jo-Jo smiled at her. “No problem. Come on back my Aston Martin down there.”

  sometime, and we’ll work on your hair, darling.”

  He shuddered at the thought. Violet chewed her Violet frowned, and her hand crept up to her frizzy lower lip.

  blond locks. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “You have insurance, don’t you?” I a
sked.

  Jo-Jo speared her with a hard look. “Nothing a hot-oil Violet nodded.

  treatment and some deep conditioning can’t take care of.”

  “Then you can worry about your car later. Right now Violet’s confused frown deepened, but I grabbed her we need to go see your grandfather. You still want us to arm and pulled her off the porch before she could think help the two of you, right?”

  too hard about her split ends. Finn followed us, and we Violet nodded again. “of course. Like I said, the Tin walked out to his car. Since we were going to be tooling Man was my only hope. Now you’re my only hope.”

  up into the mountains today, Finn had decided to drive only hope? How very Star Wars. I grimaced. But his oh-so-rugged Cadillac Escalade instead of his Aston I didn’t tell Violet Fox how misplaced her trust in me Martin.

  was, how misguided, how laughable, even. That I only Violet stopped in front of the SUV and looked at us. brought death to people, not hope. That I was doing this

  “What about my car? Did you guys drive it somewhere rare, pro bono good deed out of my own fucking insalast night?”

  tiable curiosity more than anything else.

  Finn and I exchanged a look. Driving Violet Fox’s car

  “Come on,” I said, opening the door on the SUV. to a safer location had been the last thing on my mind.

  “Let’s go.”

  “We had to leave it in the parking lot,” I said. “We were more concerned with getting you patched up than Finn steered out of Jo-Jo’s subdivision and headed north. what to do with your car.”

  Following Violet Fox’s directions, we left the suburbs beViolet’s face paled. “You mean—you mean you left it hind and drove through the heart of Northtown, where the there in that Southtown parking lot? All night?”

  rich, richer, and richest lived. People didn’t have mansions Her concern was more than warranted. Leaving a car in in Northtown—they had estates. If not for the driveways, that neighborhood was just begging for trouble. By now, iron gates, and tasteful brick walls that could be seen from Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 158-159

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  the streets, you might have thought the area was deserted. buildings were also tin, the kind that made a slow, steady Because nobody with real wealth, magic, or power was rain sound like a classical sonata.

  gauche enough to let their home be seen from the road. The parking lot—if you wanted to call it that and not We drove on, still heading north. The terrain became just loose gravel, curved around the store like a crescent rockier, more rugged, as the rolling hills of the lowlands moon. A stop sign squatted off to the right, and the road gave way to knobby ridges and pine-covered mountains. came to a T, forcing you to go right or left. one of the Houses began to appear on the side of the road, although road signs pointed the way back to the interstate and they were far less grand than the hidden McMansions declared that this stretch of pavement was part of some that populated the Northtown estates. The road narscenic, tourist-trap highway. The other sign featured an rowed from four lanes to two and twisted back on itself arrow and the words Dawson No. 3. Less than a mile in a series of switchbacks that would give most folks nauaway. Interesting. I might have to go check out the coal sea. Instead of sleek sedans and chrome-covered SUVs, mine, after I met the illustrious Warren T. Fox. we began to pass dump-and coal trucks on the road. We got out of the car. Underneath my boots, the parkAfter about thirty minutes of driving, Violet pointed ing lot gravel vibrated with the sounds of traffic and tires out the windshield. “That’s it, just up ahead at the crosscontinually rolling across it. A low growl that told me roads.”

  the stones had seen a lot of people and cars go by in their Finn slowed, turned into a gravel lot, and parked. I time. Nothing sinister, just the everyday facts of life. peered out the window at the structure before us. The A smile brightened Violet Fox’s face and softened her two-story clapboard building might have been a home eyes, chasing away some of the lingering shadows from or perhaps a hunting cabin, once upon a time. Although last night.

  it was obviously old, the building sported a fresh coat of

  “You really love this place, don’t you?” I asked. white paint, with the shutters trimmed in a pale green. She nodded. “My parents died when I was ten. My Smaller, matching outbuildings squatted next to the main grandfather took me in and raised me. I’ve been helping structure, connected to it by short, covered walkways. him with the store ever since. It’s like my second home, Wooden steps led up to a front porch that was even you know?”

  wider than Jo-Jo’s. The porch ran the length of all three Violet Fox and I were more alike than she realized, buildings. Rocking chairs lined either side of the front because I did know. Because I felt the same way about the door, along with barrels topped with checkerboards. The Pork Pit. That’s why I’d reacted so badly, so defensively, tin sign mounted above the main entrance gleamed like when Jonah McAllister had come calling today—because a new nickel in the sun. Country Daze, it read in green he wasn’t just threatening my business, my livelihood, he paint that matched the shutters. The roofs of all three was threatening my home as well. A piece of my heart. Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 160-161

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  The last piece of Fletcher Lane that I had, since the old The porch stairs didn’t creak under my weight. They man was dead and gone and had left me nothing else but were too smooth and well-worn to do that. I walked up riddles to solve.

  them, opened the front door, and stepped inside. Violet started to walk ahead to the store, but I grabbed Country Daze was exactly what I’d expected. Scarred, her arm.

  ancient wooden floors. Displays of tourist T-shirts, key

  “Stay behind me.”

  chains, and other doodads. An odd assortment of tools

  “Why?” she asked.

  and outdoor equipment. Barrels full of rock candy, salt“Just do it, all right?”

  water taffy, and cellophane-wrapped sugary pralines. A Finn stared at me over the hood of the SUV. “You couple of coolers filled with old-fashioned glass soda botthink there’s going to be trouble inside, Gin?”

  tles. A few more with sandwiches and other snacks. Tables I shrugged. “I don’t know. But if this is such a popufull of honey, strawberry preserves, and apple butter. A lar place, why aren’t there more cars here? It’s lunchtime. revolving rack of cheap sunglasses. Nicer arrangements Folks should be packed in here, getting a sandwich or a of quilts, baskets, and other, more expensive handmade cold drink.”

  items.

  Finn’s green eyes flicked over the gravel lot. only one A large counter filled with silver jewelry formed a other car was parked in it, an anonymous navy sedan. His solid square in the middle of the store. An old man stood eyes drifted out to the road. A steady stream of traffic came behind it, one hand resting on a large shotgun with a and went at the crossroads, but none of the drivers looked scarred wooden stock.

  at the store, much less pulled into the lot. Finn’s face tightWhat little there was of his wispy white hair stuck up ened.

  over his forehead as if it had been shocked upright by my

  “It’s been quiet since Dawson started sending his men appearance. His eyes were dark and shiny, as though two over to harass us,” Violet explained. “People don’t like to chocolate caramels had been stuffed in his face. He was stop somewhere there might be trouble. Sometimes, we’re about my size, stooped with age from his original, taller lucky if we get five customers in eight hours. It’s probably height. His skin was a dark, burnished brown, marking just a slow day.”

  him as having some Native American heritage, most likely

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go find out.”

  Cherokee in this neck of the woods. Deep lines grooved I led the way, with Finn behind me and Violet bringhis face around his pinched mouth, as if he fr
owned a lot. ing up the rear. As we crossed the parking lot, I palmed But perhaps most unsettling was the fact he wore a one of my silverstone knives. If there was trouble inside, blue work shirt that could have come straight out of I’d be the first one to see it—and I wanted to be ready to Fletcher Lane’s closet. His dark eyes held the same fierce deal with it.

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  tell by his proud stance that this store was his life, his kingdom, and meant as much to him as the Pork Pit had to Fletcher. The man in front of me didn’t look anything like my murdered mentor, but in some ways, he was a mirror image of Fletcher. It unsettled me—and made me 15

  feel a softness toward him that he’d done absolutely nothing to earn. I didn’t need Violet to tell me this was her grandfather, Warren T. Fox. A crotchety old coot who’d probably just as soon cuss as look at you. I knew the type. I’d been raised by one.

  But Warren T. Fox wasn’t alone.

  There was another man with him, someone who needed no introduction, either. Someone I already knew all too well.

  Now I knew whom the sedan outside belonged to. It had Detective Donovan Caine.

  cop car written all over it. I just didn’t realize it belonged to my cop.

  The two men turned at the sound of my footsteps on the worn floor. Warren T. Fox frowned. Surprise filled Donovan Caine’s golden eyes.

  “Gin?” the detective asked. “What are you doing here?”

  “You know her?” Warren Fox asked. His voice was high, thin, reedy, like someone whistling through a broken flute.

  “Yeah,” Caine said in a low voice. “You might say I know her.”

  Well enough to sleep with me. Well enough to want to do the same again. Despite the fact I’d killed his former partner.

  I opened my mouth to respond when Finn and Violet entered the store behind me. The girl walked around Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 164-165

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