Sharpest Sting: An Elemental Assassin Book

by Jennifer Estep

  I winked at him. “So do you.”

  Owen grinned, then stepped back.

  Bria walked down the aisle next, and Finn helped her up. He murmured something in my sister’s ear that made her blush and give him an adoring gaze. Finn winked at her, then returned to his side of the dais.

  The classical music trailed off, and an expectant hush fell over the ballroom. The opening strains of the traditional wedding march sounded, everyone stood, and Lorelei and Mallory stepped into view. A chorus of appreciative oohs and aahs rang out. Lorelei escorted her grandmother down the aisle, and Mallory smiled and nodded at everyone.

  I looked across the dais at Mosley, who was smiling widely. Finn clapped his boss on the shoulder, and Mosley smiled even wider.

  Lorelei and Mallory reached the dais. Silvio helped Lorelei step up, while Mosley did the same for Mallory. Mosley kissed Lorelei on the cheek, then took Mallory’s arm. She grinned at him, and the two shared a quick kiss.

  “Hey, now,” Lorelei drawled. “You have to get married first before you start the honeymoon.”

  Laughter rang out. Mallory and Mosley grinned at Lorelei, then shared another quick kiss that made everyone laugh again.

  The amused chuckles faded away, and the guests took their seats. Mallory and Mosley faced the minister, who cleared his throat and began the traditional speech.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”

  * * *

  Mallory and Mosley’s wedding went off without a hitch, and several minutes later, they kissed yet again—this time as husband and wife. The happy couple walked down the aisle, smiling, waving, and soaking up the hearty applause of their friends and family.

  Mallory and Mosley left the ballroom, as did the rest of the wedding party. For the next thirty minutes, Bria, Lorelei, and I posed with Mallory and Mosley, along with Finn, Owen, and Silvio as the photographers took shot after shot.

  Once that was done, we went to the grand ballroom in the center of the country club for the reception. White, blue, and silver ribbons hung from the ceiling, along with those ever-present wedding bells and hearts, while tiny white fairy lights adorned orchid-covered trellises all around the room. Crystal vases full of white and blue orchids perched on the tables, which were covered with pale blue linens. An impressive buffet had been set up along one of the walls, and the tantalizing scent of freshly baked bread curled through the air, along with other delicious aromas.

  The wedding guests had already dug into the buffet, and everyone was eating, laughing, talking, and drinking. Mallory and Mosley moved forward and were immediately swarmed by well-wishers. A few minutes later, a swing band started playing, adding even more buoyant cheer to the occasion.

  Finn spun Bria around on the dance floor, while Lorelei boogied with Silvio. Owen and I danced for a while too, and then he danced with Sophia while Jo-Jo whirled around with Cooper Stills, her gentleman friend. Roslyn and Xavier also grooved to the music.

  Eva Grayson, Violet Fox, and Catalina Vasquez were giggling with Elissa Daniels, another college student, while Jade Jamison, Elissa’s older sister, was talking with Dr. Ryan Colson, her significant other, along with Phillip Kincaid and Warren T. Fox. All our friends were here.

  The only thing that dimmed my enjoyment was the bodyguards wandering around the perimeter and Liam Carter, who was standing at the end of the bar, surveying the crowd, a worried frown on his face. Then again, it was his job to be worried, even when everything was going well. I watched him for a few minutes, but nothing changed, so I put my own concerns about Liam out of my mind and focused on the festivities again.

  The reception continued into the afternoon, although the crowd and the party finally started to wind down around six o’clock. After eating my fill from the delicious buffet, I slow-danced with Owen.

  I sighed with contentment. “This has been one of the best, happiest, most relaxing days I’ve had in…well, I don’t know how long.”

  “You mean because you haven’t been in one cemetery or another, digging up graves?” Owen teased.

  “For starters. Seeing you looking so debonair in your tuxedo didn’t hurt matters either. Neither did those delicious desserts on the buffet.”

  Owen arched an eyebrow. “Well, it’s good to know I rank higher than desserts on your list of likes and priorities.”

  I tapped my index finger on my lips, pretending to think about it. “I don’t know. Those mini chocolate lava cakes were awfully good. What are you going to do to top that, Grayson?”

  Owen spun me around and gave me a wicked grin. “Oh, I can think of a few things. They mostly involve getting you out of that gorgeous dress.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Tell me more—”

  My words died on my lips, and I stopped dancing right there in the middle of the floor. For a moment, I didn’t understand what was wrong. Then I realized that all the stones of the country club were muttering, as though they had been violently startled awake. Even worse, I could feel the impending violence rushing through each and every one of the stones, like a hurricane about to blow us all away.

  “Gin?” Owen asked, still holding on to me. “What’s wrong?”

  I opened my mouth to answer him, maybe even shout out a warning, but I never got the chance.

  Gunshots rang out, and people screamed and ducked behind tables and chairs. I whirled out of Owen’s arms, reached through the slit in my skirt, and grabbed the knife holstered to my right thigh.

  Emery Slater stormed into the ballroom, along with several giants.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Emery raised her gun and fired more shots into the air, as did the other giants. Most people screamed again and hunkered even farther down behind the tables and chairs. A few frightened folks ran over to the glass doors on the far side of the ballroom and tried to wrench them open, but the doors were locked.

  People rushed by Owen and me, the panicked force of them almost pushing us both down to the dance floor. I tightened my grip on my knife, kicked off my silver stilettos, and headed toward Emery.

  Owen grabbed my arm. “No! You can’t fight them all, Gin!”

  “I have to try! Get everyone out of here!” I yelled back at him over the continued screams, shrieks, and shouts.

  Someone bumped into us, tearing Owen away from me. He tried to move forward, but the rushing crowd pushed him farther and farther back.

  “Gin!” he yelled again. “Gin!”

  The panicked guests swept Owen all the way off the dance floor, and he ended up close to where Lorelei, Mallory, and Mosley were standing.

  My head snapped back and forth, and I scanned the ballroom, searching for my other friends. Finn and Bria were over by the bar. Like me, they were trying to head toward the danger instead of away from it. So was Silvio, who was coming up on my right side. Sophia and Jo-Jo were also trying to fight their way through the crowd toward me.

  Finally, my gaze landed on Liam Carter, who was standing beside the open ballroom doors, along with several of his bodyguards. Liam was clutching his phone in one hand and his gun in the other, but instead of engaging the wedding crashers, he and his people were clearly standing down.

  Anger sizzled in my chest. This time, Liam was here, in the midst of the danger, but he wasn’t lifting a finger to help me or anyone else. No matter whose side he was truly on, I had thought him a good enough person not to stand by while others were needlessly hurt. Apparently, I had been wrong. Bitterness washed through my body, churning alongside my anger.

  Liam must have sensed my disgusted gaze, because he looked in my direction. He shrugged, as if to say there was nothing he could do.

  Well, he might not be willing to do anything, but I sure was.

  The giants moved forward, still firing their guns into the air. By this point, everyone had fled from the dance floor, leaving me a clear and open path, and I raced toward the closest giant. He saw me coming and aimed his gun at me, but I snapped up my hand and flung a spray of Ice
daggers out at him. The daggers punch-punch-punched into his throat and chest, and he toppled to the floor without making a sound.

  Crack!

  Crack! Crack!

  Crack!

  The giants kept firing their guns, so I focused on the next-closest one. That man also aimed his weapon at me, but his gun click-click-clicked empty, and he had to stop and reload. I closed the distance between us and sliced my knife across his throat. He too dropped to the floor.

  I whirled around, searching for the next target, but more giants with guns poured into the ballroom. Emery let out a loud, ear-splitting whistle. The giants stopped shooting, but every single one of them pointed their gun at the crowd. Across the ballroom, Emery stared me down, her meaning crystal clear. Surrender, or watch people die.

  I had no choice but to jerk to a stop, my bloody knife still clutched in my hand.

  The giants quickly spread out, taking control of the ballroom. People huddled on their hands and knees, their faces shocked and pale, their eyes wide with fear. No one moved, although a few whimpers and soft, muffled sobs rang out.

  Mallory, Mosley, and Lorelei were still standing together. Lorelei had positioned herself in front of the dwarven couple, and her fingers were twitching, as though she wanted to unleash her Ice and metal magic against the giants. She looked at me, and I shook my head. Lorelei’s lips pressed together, but she could see how badly the odds were stacked against us. We couldn’t attack—not without getting a whole lot of innocent people killed.

  I glanced around the rest of the ballroom. Owen was close to Lorelei, while Finn was standing by himself, his hand against the small of his back, ready to draw the gun he had hidden there. Bria was next to the bar, her eyes narrowed, her hands curled into tight fists. Just like Lorelei, my sister looked like she wanted to blast the giants with her Ice magic. Anger filled Sophia’s and Jo-Jo’s faces as well, and they seemed ready to unleash their Air power on the intruders.

  Phillip Kincaid was hovering over Eva Grayson, who was huddled on the ground, while Xavier was doing the same thing to Roslyn, and Ryan Colson was shielding Jade Jamison and Elissa Daniels. Warren Fox and Cooper Stills were watching over Violet Fox and Catalina Vasquez, who were crouching behind a table.

  A couple of giants stepped forward and aimed their guns at me. I tossed my bloody knife down onto the dance floor, then grabbed the second weapon holstered to my left thigh and threw it down as well.

  Once Emery was sure the ballroom was under her control, she moved forward and stopped in front of me. She glanced at the two dead giants on the dance floor, then focused her hazel gaze on me.

  “You really should have given Mason what he wanted. Now he’s going to kill you in the most painful manner possible.” Emery paused, a sly grin spreading across her face. “Actually, forget I said that. I’m going to be quite happy to watch while he crushes your bones and then twists you into more pieces than a bag of pretzels.”

  I frowned. “What are you talking about? I gave Mason the ledger. What more does he want?”

  The giant shook her head. “Don’t play dumb with me, Blanco. I don’t like it, and neither does your uncle.”

  For a moment, I thought she was mocking me, but her tone was cold and matter-of-fact. I’d done something to piss off Mason, although I had no idea what.

  But it was going to cost me—maybe everything.

  Emery waved her gun at me. “Come along quietly, and I’ll tell my men to stand down. Otherwise, they’ll start shooting, and they won’t care who they hit or how many times.”

  Several horrified gasps rang out, along with more whimpers of fear and choked, muffled sobs. The sounds made my heart squeeze and icy worry shoot through my veins. I didn’t care what happened to me, but I couldn’t let all these innocent people suffer because of my mistakes.

  I glanced around the ballroom at my friends again, but their faces were as grim as mine. Owen, Lorelei, Finn, Bria, Sophia, Jo-Jo. They all knew I didn’t have a choice—and exactly what would happen once Mason got his hands on me.

  Behind Emery, several more giants streamed into the ballroom, although these men were wearing the blue suits and white-orchid lapel pins that marked them as working for Liam Carter. They too had their guns out and ready.

  One of the men whispered something in Liam’s ear. He nodded, then walked over to stand beside Emery. Liam’s blue gaze locked with mine. Something flickered in his eyes. It almost looked like regret, but the emotion vanished in an instant, replaced by cool, calm confidence. He had made his choice, and now we all had to live—and perhaps die—because of it.

  Liam turned to face his new employer. “The perimeter is secure. You’re clear to move out with Blanco. No one’s going to stop you, and I have your vehicle ready and waiting at the curb.”

  “You bastard,” a low voice hissed.

  I glanced to my right. Silvio was the one who’d spoken. The vampire’s hands were clenched into fists, and he was glaring at Liam like he wanted to punch the other man in the face—repeatedly.

  “You bastard,” Silvio hissed again. “You traitor. You’re supposed to be on our side. Gin paid you to be on our side.”

  Liam shrugged. “And Mason Mitchell offered me a far more lucrative contract. It’s just business, Silvy. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Silvy? Seemed like Mosley wasn’t the only one with a nickname.

  An angry flush stained the vampire’s cheeks. “Don’t you dare call me that.”

  Emery rolled her eyes. “A lover’s spat? Now? Really?”

  Liam shrugged again. “Unfortunately, things didn’t get that far, although not for lack of trying on my part.”

  He grinned at Silvio, who gave him another murderous glare. The vampire shifted on his feet, and his eyes narrowed, as if he was calculating the distance between the two of them and wondering if he could bury his fangs in Liam’s neck before Emery and the other giants shot him.

  Liam realized it too. Silvio snarled and charged forward, but Liam coolly snapped up his gun and pulled the trigger.

  Crack!

  A single shot rang out, and a bullet whizzed by Silvio’s ear and blasted into one of the doors on the far side of the ballroom. The glass shattered, making people scream again, although the panicked cries quickly faded away, swallowed up by a tense, uneasy silence.

  Silvio flinched and stopped short, although his gray eyes narrowed with even more fury.

  Liam smirked at the other man. Then he spun toward me, snapped up his gun again, and pulled the trigger.

  Crack!

  Another shot rang out. Liam took me by surprise, and I didn’t have time to reach for my Stone magic to protect myself. The bullet punched into my upper left arm, making me scream and stagger back. Still, the hot, throbbing sting of the wound was nothing compared to Liam’s betrayal. I should have known better than to trust him. Now all those hungry sharks were breaking through the glass walls of the watery tank of worry in my stomach and coming to take a bite out of me, just like Mason would in real life.

  “Gin!” Silvio yelled.

  He started to rush over to me, but Emery waggled her gun at him.

  “Ah-ah-ah. You stay right where you are,” she purred.

  Murderous rage filled Silvio’s face, but he once again stopped short.

  I grimaced and looked down at my wound. The bullet had blasted through my arm, a through-and-through, and blood was running down my skin. More blood had spattered onto my bridesmaid dress, and the drops looked like purplish-brown sequins dotting the blue fabric. Still, it could have been worse—so much worse.

  My mind whirled, thinking about that, and I raised my gaze to Liam. “You traitor,” I snarled. “You’re going to pay for that.”

  Liam kept his gun trained on me. “Shall I shoot her again?” he asked Emery in a bored voice. “Perhaps in the leg?”

  “No,” Emery replied. “Mason wants her in one piece—more or less. He wants to be the one to punish her.”

  She gave me a smug grin
, then swept out her hand to the side. “Move, Blanco. Now. Or my men start shooting.”

  Once again, I looked at my friends. Owen, Finn, Silvio, Sophia, Jo-Jo. Mallory, Mosley, Lorelei. Everyone else. Finally, I focused on Bria. Her lips trembled, and tears gleamed in her blue eyes. My baby sister knew better than anyone what sort of gruesome fate awaited me at Uncle Mason’s hands.

  I shook my head, silently telling her not to risk coming after me, but her nostrils flared, and her mouth flattened out into a hard, thin line. She wasn’t going to listen. Owen and Finn also had similar mulish expressions. Like it or not, they were going to try to track me down. My heart squeezed tight with worry, but all I could do was hope that Bria and the others could somehow survive whatever confrontation they might have with Mason.

  Because I probably wasn’t going to.

  “Move,” Emery commanded.

  Even though it broke my heart, I turned away from my friends and shuffled out of the ballroom.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A couple of giants led the way, with Emery behind me and the rest of her men flanking us, their guns up and ready to shoot. In the distance, I heard Liam Carter’s voice drift out of the ballroom.

  “We’re going to lock the doors. If anyone attempts to come after us, a couple of very nasty rune bombs will explode,” he called out. “Trust me when I say that you don’t want to be the one who tries to open these doors.”

  More shocked gasps and soft sobs rang out, but I pushed them out of my mind and focused on what I needed to do. I might have a couple of holes in my left arm, but now that we were away from everyone else, maybe I could at least kill Emery before the rest of her men either shot or beat me to death. I’d much rather go down fighting here than let Mason torture me.

  We were quickly approaching the front entrance, and I reached for my Ice magic. As soon as we walked through the doors, I was going to shatter the glass with my Ice power, then turn around and blast my enemies with every bit of magic I had—

  We passed a mirror on the wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Emery flexing her fingers. I reached for my Stone magic and whirled around, but I was too slow. I didn’t harden my skin in time, and the giant’s fist plowed straight into my face, just as it had done that day outside the Posh boutique.