Sharpest Sting

by Jennifer Estep

  By the time I finished my calls and texts, Bria was parking in the gravel driveway in front of Fletcher’s house. I reached out with my Stone magic and did my usual checks, but no one was lurking around.

  Bria and I got out of the van and hustled inside the house. We went to the den, and I set the silverstone box on the coffee table. I was too curious to wait for everyone else, so I opened the box, grabbed the ledger, and used one of my knives to slice through the plastic. Then I sat down on the couch and studied the book.

  It was a simple black ledger, just like the one Mason had shown us the other day. No letters, runes, or other marks adorned the cover or spine, although the pages had yellowed with age.

  Bria sat down on the couch beside me. I looked at her, and she nodded back. I drew in a breath and let it out. Then I slowly cracked open the ledger to find…

  Numbers—rows and rows of numbers.

  I frowned. Not what I’d been expecting. I flipped through the pages, but each one was the same—long sequences of numbers handwritten in neat rows.

  “What do you think this means?” I asked.

  Bria tapped her finger on the open page. “Those look like account numbers.”

  My frown deepened. “Accounts for what?”

  A sharp knock sounded on the front door, and a key scraped in the lock. “Gin! Bria!”

  Familiar voices sounded, floorboards creaked in the hallway, and Silvio, Owen, and Finn hurried into the den. Finn checked on Bria, and Owen came over to me. Silvio stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, still annoyed with me.

  Owen hugged me tight, then pulled back. “Why didn’t you tell us what you were planning?”

  “Because Mason has spies everywhere, and Bria and me slipping away from the bridal shower seemed like the quickest, easiest, and safest thing to do. Besides, I didn’t know for sure the ledger was buried in the cemetery. But it was, and now we just have to figure out what it means.”

  I opened the ledger again, and everyone gathered around as I turned the pages.

  Finn’s eyes narrowed. “Let me see that.”

  I handed over the ledger. He sat down on the couch and flipped through several pages, running his index finger down the rows of numbers. A minute later, he stopped and lifted his green gaze to mine.

  “These are bank accounts,” Finn said.

  I reared back in surprise. “Are you sure?”

  He shrugged. “Well, I can’t be absolutely sure without taking the ledger to First Trust, logging into our system, and comparing the account numbers. But at first glance, yeah, I’d say these were bank accounts. See these numbers?” He pointed to one of the rows. “Every account at First Trust starts with that same sequence. And some of the other starting sequences belong to different banks.”

  Bria frowned. “Why would Mason care so much about a ledger filled with bank accounts? Unless…”

  “Unless the accounts have money in them.” Silvio finished her thought. “Serious amounts of money.”

  A harsh, bitter laugh tumbled out of my lips. So this was all about money. Of course. I should have known. Most things were, especially in Ashland, and especially when it came to the Circle.

  “Why are you laughing?” Owen asked.

  I gestured at the ledger. “Because this is Fletcher’s leverage. This is how he got Mason to let him leave the Circle. Somehow Fletcher got his hands on this ledger, which means he probably had access to these accounts.”

  “Dad must have held Mason’s money hostage,” Finn said, thinking out loud. “Dad probably set it up so that he was the only one who could access the accounts. He probably returned a little bit of the money each month so long as the Circle left him alone. Sort of like a reverse blackmail scheme. Only instead of demanding money from someone to keep a secret, Dad gave money to Mason to keep from having to work for the Circle.”

  It was another Reverse Trojan Horse, just like the move Fletcher had used so we could assassinate Liam Carter’s client all those years ago. I’d always known that Fletcher was clever, but in this case, his sheer audacity impressed me. You had to be stone-cold to pull off a scheme like this, especially against someone as powerful as Mason, someone who kept trying to capture and torture the information out of you.

  I thought about the dreams, the memories I’d been having of Wade Brockton, the accountant Fletcher had been sent to kill. Brockton must have been the one who actually embezzled the money from the Circle. That was why Billings had tortured the accountant and Fletcher—the giant had wanted to know where the ledger and the money were.

  I wondered if Fletcher had encouraged Brockton to steal from the Circle, if he’d seen the accountant as a way to finally get out from under Mason’s thumb. And Mason must have been the person Fletcher had wanted to kill that night, although it hadn’t happened.

  The more I turned my theories over in my mind, the more sense they made, but something about this whole situation still didn’t add up. I tried to put my finger on what it was, but the answer eluded me.

  “But the Circle has millions of dollars at its disposal,” Bria said. “Why would Mason suddenly care so much about a ledger that’s been missing for years?”

  “You’re forgetting that Deirdre lost a good chunk of the Circle’s money with her outlandish spending and risky investments. Plus, Tucker wasn’t able to get his hands on those jewels Deirdre stashed at the Bullet Pointe theme park. And Damian Rivera’s estate will be tied up for years with lawsuits by the families of the victims of Bruce Porter, aka the Dollmaker serial killer.” Finn ticked off the Circle’s recent misfortunes on his fingers. “So Mason probably needs the missing ledger and the money it contains.”

  He was right. The Circle’s coffers had been severely depleted in recent months. Still, I wondered how much money Fletcher had stolen from Mason—and what my uncle was planning to do with the funds. He must desperately need the money for something. Otherwise, Mason never would have revealed himself, much less told me about the stolen ledger.

  “So now what?” Silvio asked.

  I looked at Bria, Finn, Owen, and Silvio. They all stared back at me, patiently waiting for me to reveal our next move. My heart squeezed tight. We might have found the ledger, but that didn’t change the fact that Mason had more elemental magic than I did and could still kill everyone I loved.

  I drew in a breath and let it out, knowing there was only one thing we could do. “We’re going to give the ledger to Mason.”

  “What?” Finn asked in an incredulous voice.

  “No, Gin,” Bria shook her head. “No.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Owen asked.

  “There has to be another way,” Silvio chimed in.

  My friends kept chattering, but I held up my hands, and they slowly quieted. “Mason Mitchell is the strongest elemental any of us has ever seen. Even if I could get past Emery and her giants, I still don’t know how to actually kill Mason, since he can use his Stone magic to block any attack I make. So I have to turn over the ledger. That’s the best way to keep you guys safe.”

  “But what about what Dad wanted?” Finn asked in a harsh, accusing voice. “He left that ledger in the Circle cemetery for you to find, Gin. Not me or Bria or anyone else. He wanted you to have it.”

  My heart twisted at his words, but I ignored the sensation. “I know that Fletcher wanted me to use the ledger against Mason. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “How?” Bria asked. “It’s the end of the business day. There’s no way we can get to First Trust and check the accounts before the bank closes for the weekend.”

  “We don’t have to check the accounts today,” I said, grinning. “All we have to do is make a copy of the info.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Finn and Silvio got busy copying the ledger. Finn took photos of each and every page with his phone, then texted the pictures to Silvio so the vampire could upload them to his cloud storage. Owen went along behind them and double-checked to make sur
e they didn’t miss any pages or pictures.

  While the guys worked, Bria and I showered and changed. Thirty minutes later, I walked back into the den to find Bria and Owen looking over Finn’s and Silvio’s shoulders. Finn put down his phone, while Silvio tapped a final few keys on his laptop.

  “It’s done,” Owen said, looking over at me. “We copied all the pages and account numbers, so we’ll still have access to the information even after you give the ledger to Mason.”

  “Good,” I replied. “Even if we can’t access all the accounts before he does, I still want to get an idea of how much money is left in them and how much Fletcher was paying out to Mason every month.”

  My phone rang. I pulled the device out of the back pocket of my jeans and checked the number on the screen. Unknown. But I had a funny feeling I knew exactly who was calling.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Gin.” Mason’s voice snaked into my ear. “Hugh says you have something that belongs to me. I want it. Now.”

  My fingers curled around the phone. So Tucker had ratted me out after all. Of course he had. He hadn’t gotten the ledger for himself, so he’d tattled to my uncle that I had it. The vampire was once again playing both sides against the middle.

  Bria, Owen, Finn, and Silvio looked at me, and I mouthed my uncle’s name. They all tensed, worry filling their faces.

  “Bring the ledger to the Pork Pit,” Mason said. “You have thirty minutes.”

  “Or else?”

  “Or else I’ll crush your restaurant—with Sophia inside.”

  My fingers curled even tighter around the phone. “You’re bluffing. Sophia’s not there. I sent everyone home early.”

  “I never bluff, Genevieve.”

  Several sharp sounds rang out, like Mason was snapping his fingers over and over again. After that, silence. And then…

  “Sorry, Gin,” Sophia’s voice rasped through the phone. “I was waiting for some customers to finish eating when Emery and her men came inside. They made me keep the restaurant open. There are more people eating now.”

  An icy fist of dread clutched my heart, but I forced myself to stay calm. “It’s okay. I’m coming to get you. Just hang tight.”

  Sophia didn’t answer, but Mason came back on the line.

  “Ledger. Pork Pit. Thirty minutes. Or Sophia dies, along with everyone else unlucky enough to want barbecue tonight.”

  The bastard didn’t wait for a response. He hung up on me.

  * * *

  The thought that Sophia was in danger, that she might already be hurt, made me sick to my stomach, but there was nothing I could do but give Mason what he wanted. I couldn’t let her die, and I couldn’t let him execute the innocent people eating in the restaurant. My friends and I made a hasty plan, and we left Fletcher’s house five minutes later.

  Silvio drove as fast as he dared on the curvy mountain roads. Owen was in the car with us, while Finn and Bria were following in another vehicle, taking the curves just as quickly. Eventually, Finn turned his car down another road and headed off toward the salon, since I’d asked him and Bria to watch over Jo-Jo.

  I also texted Jo-Jo and told her what was going on, but she didn’t respond. She was probably still busy with her last few salon clients of the day.

  I also texted Liam Carter, but he didn’t respond either. Worry rippled through me about where he was and what he might be doing, but I forced myself to push the emotion aside. Liam was probably busy overseeing the last-minute details for Mallory and Mosley’s wedding tomorrow. Either way, neither he nor Jo-Jo could help us right now, so I silenced my phone and put it away.

  Fifteen minutes later, Silvio steered his car through the downtown loop and stopped at the other end of the block from the Pork Pit. The restaurant’s neon sign was lit up, illuminating the two giants guarding the front door and the three black SUVs sitting at the curb.

  “Why does Mason want to meet here?” Silvio asked. “Why didn’t he insist you go back to the historical association mansion?”

  “Mason probably came here so that Emery and the giants could grab someone to use against me, and they got lucky and nabbed Sophia. Besides, it would have taken more time for them to drive back to the mansion, and Mason doesn’t want me to have the ledger a second longer than necessary. That’s probably why he decided to stay here.” I paused. “And because he’s a petty son of a bitch.”

  “What do you mean?” Owen asked.

  I gestured at the sign of the pig holding a platter of food over the front door. “Making me hand over the ledger in Fletcher’s restaurant is the perfect way for Mason to thumb his nose at the old man one last time.”

  I looked past the two giants and the three SUVs and studied the flow of traffic on the street and the sidewalks. It was just after six o’clock, and most folks were heading home. A steady stream of cars cruised by, and dozens of people strolled along the sidewalks. I eyed the vehicles and the faces, but no one paid any attention to Silvio’s car. It didn’t seem like Mason had planted anyone in the crowd to keep an eye out for us. Then again, he didn’t need to. He had Sophia, which was all the leverage he needed to get me here.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I muttered.

  Owen and Silvio nodded, and the three of us got out of the car and slowly approached the restaurant. I went first, clutching the ledger, while Owen and Silvio watched my back. The two giants stationed outside snapped to attention when they caught sight of me, and one of them knocked on the window, signaling the other guards inside—and Mason, of course.

  The giants moved out of my way. I ignored them, yanked open the front door, and stepped inside the Pork Pit.

  At first glance, everything seemed normal. Several folks were sitting at the tables, chowing down on barbecue sandwiches, baked beans, fries, and onion rings, completely oblivious to the danger lurking around them. My gaze roamed over the six giants in black suits who were positioned around the restaurant. Two in a booth by the front door, two more in a booth next to the restrooms, and the final two at a table close to the double doors that led into the back of the restaurant.

  Emery Slater was perched on Silvio’s usual stool at the counter, watching Sophia, who was plating up thick wedges of freshly baked cornbread. A murderous expression filled the Goth dwarf’s face, and she kept glancing at a cast-iron skillet on the counter like she wanted to snatch it up and slam it into Emery’s face. I knew the feeling, but neither one of us could attack the giant. Not with all the innocent people in here.

  “What do you want us to do, Gin?” Owen asked in a low voice.

  “Help Sophia fix food and wait on the tables, and make sure that everyone pays up and leaves as soon as possible,” I murmured. “I don’t want people to panic, but the sooner they get out of here, the better off they’ll be.”

  Owen crossed the storefront, stepped behind the counter, and tied on a blue work apron. Silvio joined him, and the two of them started helping Sophia fix sandwiches, spoon up baked beans, and pour drinks.

  That left me to face Mason.

  My uncle was lounging in the same booth by the storefront windows where he’d sat yesterday. Hugh Tucker was at a nearby table, and he seemed to have completely recovered from Lorelei stabbing and punching him in the Circle cemetery. Pity.

  I slid into the booth and set the ledger on the tabletop. Mason stared at it a moment, then focused on me.

  “Hugh said you found the ledger buried in my cemetery,” he said. “Where was it, exactly?”

  Surprise surged through me, but I kept my face blank. It seemed Tucker hadn’t told Mason the ledger had been buried in the vampire’s grave. Why wouldn’t Tucker reveal that? It seemed like such a trivial thing to hide. Still, if he wasn’t going to admit to it, then neither was I.

  “It was in Mab’s grave. Buried in a silverstone box about a foot down.”

  The lie slipped easily off my tongue. Not a flicker of emotion crossed Tucker’s face, and I held my breath, wondering if he was playing a game and wo
uld call me out on the lie to further ingratiate himself with Mason. But Tucker didn’t say anything, and the moment passed.

  Mason shook his head and let out a low, amused laugh. “Clever Fletcher. He put it in the one place I never thought to look.”

  He laughed again, then reached out and took hold of the ledger. I also reached out, wrapping my hand around the opposite end.

  Mason’s amusement instantly died. Tucker tensed, as did Emery and the other giants, along with Sophia, Owen, and Silvio.

  “What’s in here that’s so important?” I asked.

  Mason tilted his head to the side and studied me with narrowed eyes. “Don’t play dumb, Gin. You were too curious not to look inside.”

  I shrugged. “Of course I looked inside, but all I saw were nonsense numbers.”

  Mason studied me even more closely, but I stared right back at him, my face absolutely calm and blank. He tugged on the ledger, and I let him yank it away. Mason set the book off to his side of the table, out of my reach.

  “Despite all this unpleasantness, my earlier offer still stands,” he said. “Come work for me, Gin.”

  I jerked back in surprise. Now that he had the ledger, I’d expected him to leave as quickly as possible. Maybe even try to kill me on his way out the door. Not offer me a job again. “Why on earth would you want that? You could never, ever trust me. Not after all the horrible things you’ve done to my family.”

  “Our family,” Mason corrected, then shrugged. “You have some unique talents, Gin. Talents that are being utterly wasted slinging barbecue. If you worked for me, we could change Ashland for the better. Just think of all we could accomplish—together. No one would be able to stand against us. Not the underworld bosses, not the other members of the Circle, no one.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “I’ll give you this. You certainly paint a pretty picture.” My chuckles faded away. “But my answer is the same as before—I will never work for you.”

  “Then you’re as foolish and shortsighted as Fletcher was.”