Venom in the Veins by Jennifer Estep
A small red glow burned in the inky shadows, and a giant wearing a black leather jacket and a black knit toboggan stepped out of the doorway and onto the sidewalk. The giant sucked in a little more of his cigarette, then flicked it away. The butt hit a nearby car and bounced off, shooting off a few hot sparks that the cold wind quickly snuffed out.
The valet was sitting on his stool, with his head down, texting on his phone, so he didn’t notice the offending cigarette. Even if he had, I doubted the valet would have called out and confronted the seven-foot-tall giant. That was a good way to wind up with some broken bones.
The giant blew the last of the cigarette smoke out of his nostrils like a dragon from some old Bellonan fairy tale, then stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and ambled along the sidewalk, going in the same direction as Mosley.
Maybe it was the hard, flat expression on the giant’s face, his anonymous black clothes, or the way he glanced up and down the street, making sure that the area was still deserted, but somehow I didn’t think that littering was going to be the only crime he committed tonight.
Mosley was growling into his phone again, so he didn’t notice the other man. The dwarf stopped at the corner long enough to glance around and make sure no cars were coming down the street, then crossed over to the next block. The giant did the same, then followed him. Several of the streetlights were busted out on that block and the one beyond, bathing the entire area in shadows.
It was the perfect spot for a mugging—or worse.
“Um, Gin? Are you getting in the car?” Finn leaned over the console and looked up at me. “Or are you just going to stand there with the door open and let the snow swirl around inside and ruin my leather seats?”
I tossed my purse down onto the passenger’s seat, then unzipped my jacket, shrugged out of it, and put it in the car as well. “Drive around and pick me up at the far end of the street.”
He frowned. “What? Why?”
“I’m going to take a walk. Make sure Mosley gets to his car okay.”
“Is this about that Vera woman again?” Finn sighed. “I told you that you were just being paranoid—”
I shut the car door, cutting him off. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was being paranoid. After all, Vera didn’t seem to be hanging around on the street anywhere, but I’d learned a long time ago that it was better to be paranoid than not, especially in this town.
The loud smack of the car door slamming shut echoed down the street, causing the giant to stop and look over his shoulder. I ducked down and scooted forward behind the car parked in front of Finn’s Aston Martin so the giant wouldn’t see me.
Finn peered at me through the windshield, an incredulous expression on his face. He clearly thought I had lost my mind. I made a shooing motion with my hand. He rolled his eyes, but he cranked the engine, steered his car away from the curb, and zoomed down the street.
Finn took the first right at the end of the block, and the rumble of his car quickly faded away. The giant stayed where he was on the sidewalk, staring in that direction. But Finn must have made another turn and disappeared from his line of sight, because after a moment, the giant relaxed and headed after Mosley again.
I followed him.
I crept along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, moving parallel to the giant. I stayed low so that he wouldn’t spot my head over the tops of the cars and tracked him through the windshields and the gaps between vehicles. I also palmed one of my silverstone knives. I didn’t know for sure that the giant was up to no good, but I was going to be prepared in case he was.
The giant looked around again, as if double-checking to make sure no one else was around, then quickened his pace, heading straight toward Mosley, who was still talking on his phone. Mosley stopped at another corner, glanced around for traffic, crossed the street, and stepped onto the next block.
The giant also stopped at the corner to check for traffic. While his head was turned in the opposite direction, I hurried around one of the cars and sprinted across the pavement so that I was now on the same side of the street as the two men. But instead of stepping out onto the sidewalk behind Mosley and the giant, I stayed in the street, still creeping from car to car and keeping the vehicles between us, so that the giant wouldn’t look back and spot me on the sidewalk behind him.
Mosley walked about halfway down the block and stopped at his car, a very nice black Audi. He was still talking on his phone, and he paced back and forth on the sidewalk, clearly wanting to end his call before he got into his vehicle.
“The auction is tomorrow night…too late to change anything else…doesn’t matter about the flowers anyway…” Snippets of his conversation echoed down the street, although the gusts of wind and ice quickly drowned out his words and blew them away.
Since Mosley had stopped, the giant slowed his pace as well, pausing to light another cigarette, as though he was just out for a late-night smoke and stroll. All the while, though, he inched closer and closer to Mosley.
The dwarf finally noticed the giant, and he nodded, politely acknowledging the other man’s presence. The giant nodded back, keeping up a friendly façade as he ambled along, still smoking. But the giant didn’t move past Mosley, and he didn’t turn around and wander back in the opposite direction. That alone told me that he was up to no good. Although if he was going to mug Mosley, he should go ahead and do it now, while the dwarf was distracted by his call.
So what was the giant waiting for? And what did he want with Mosley? I didn’t know, but I was going to find out. I tightened my grip on my knife. One way or another.
While Mosley talked and the giant smoked, I moved from car to car, creeping closer and closer to them. Neither one of them spotted me, so I left the street, skirted around the back of an SUV, and crouched down next to the sidewalk. Then I peered around the side of the vehicle and drew in a breath, getting ready to leap out and take the giant by surprise from behind.
“We’ve talked this thing to death,” Mosley growled. “There’s nothing else left to say. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Good night.” He tapped the screen, ending the call. “And good riddance.”
Mosley shoved his phone into his pants pocket and drew out his car keys, grumbling to himself, although I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He shook his head, as if trying to clear away his frustration, then lifted his key fob to unlock his car—
The passenger’s-side door opened.
Mosley stopped cold, shocked by the unexpected movement, which gave the giant plenty of time to flick his cigarette away and come up behind him.
A woman climbed out of Mosley’s car, shut the door, and stepped onto the sidewalk in front of him. Long, wavy brown hair, dark eyes, red stilettos, and a slinky red dress now covered by a black coat.
Vera might have left the restaurant after Mosley had turned her down, but she hadn’t given up on him—not at all.
Instead, she had come out here and broken into his car to lie in wait for him. And this time, she’d brought along some giant backup to make sure that she got exactly what she wanted from the dwarf.
Chapter Three
Mosley quickly shook off his shock. His eyes narrowed, and he backed up and angled himself to the side so that he could see Vera and the giant at the same time.
“Who are you?” he asked. “And what are you doing in my car?”
Vera stepped forward. “You really should have let me pick you up in the restaurant. The evening would have been a whole lot more pleasant for you. For a little while, anyway.” She shook her head. “But you just had to be difficult, so now we’re going to have to do things the hard way. Isn’t that right, Eddie?”
The giant cracked his knuckles. “Yep.”
Mosley glanced at Eddie for a second, before focusing on Vera again. “What do you want? My phone? Wallet? Car?”
She let out a low, mocking laugh. “Please. If I’d wanted your phone or wallet, I would have pickpocketed them at the restaurant. And, as you can see, I didn’t nee
Eddie cracked his knuckles again. “Don’t you know it.”
Mosley’s mouth hardened into a tight, thin line, and he slid his keys back into his pocket. He flexed his fingers a few times, even as his gaze moved from Vera to Eddie and back again, as if he was warming up and debating which one of them to tackle first. I admired his brawler instincts, but he didn’t have to worry about his attackers.
Because the Spider was here, and I was more than happy to take care of such things for my friends.
Vera must have realized that Mosley wasn’t going to go quietly, because she grabbed something from her red clutch, then tossed her purse down onto the sidewalk. She flicked her wrist, snapping open a black metal baton, like the kind a cop might use to subdue a suspect.
“Now, why don’t you be a dear and get in the car?” she asked. “The three of us are going for a ride.”
Mosley stared at the baton in her hand. He didn’t make a move toward her, but his body tensed, and his hands clenched into fists, as if he was still thinking about resisting.
“Do you really think this is the first time I’ve been threatened by a couple of punks?” he said.
Vera twirled her baton around in her hand with expert ease. “Nope. But it’s going to be the last time unless you do exactly what I say. Now, be a good boy, and hand your keys over to Eddie. Right now. Before I crack open your skull and let you bleed out all over the sidewalk.”
Mosley kept staring at her, still debating his options.
Eddie must have grown tired of waiting, because he stepped up, grabbed Mosley’s arm, and tried to force him forward, but the dwarf dug his heels into the sidewalk and stayed put. Eddie’s dark eyes narrowed, and he tightened his grip and tried to shove Mosley forward again. But Mosley was strong, just like the giant was, and he held firm in his stance, determined not to be moved.
Vera kept twirling her baton around, watching the two men seesaw from side to side, pushing and pulling against each other. All three of them held their positions, each one debating who would lash out first and break the tense stalemate.
I was waiting for something too, or, rather, someone—Finn, who should have been here by now.
Impatience filled me. How long did it take to drive around a couple of blocks—
A pair of headlights popped on at the far end of the block, and Mosley, Eddie, and Vera all winced and threw their hands up against the bright, harsh, unexpected glare.
Finn zoomed his car in their direction, wrenching the wheel and hitting the brakes so that the vehicle stopped sideways in the middle of the street. Mosley, Eddie, and Vera all instinctively backed away from the car, even though they were still standing safely on the sidewalk.
And that was my cue.
I surged to my feet, hurried around the side of the SUV that I was hiding behind, and sprinted forward, heading straight for the giant, since he was the closest.
Eddie must have heard the slap of my boots against the pavement, and he spotted me running toward him. He cursed and shoved Mosley away. The move took the dwarf by surprise, and he lost his balance, staggered forward, and smacked face-first into the brick wall of the nearest storefront. Mosley let out a low groan and put a hand up against the wall for support, clearly dazed.
Eddie turned toward me and fumbled under his coat, drawing a gun out of the waistband of his jeans. I ran up to him and slashed down and out with my knife. Eddie jerked his arm back at the last second, so that my blade slammed into his gun instead of his wrist, but the blow was still hard enough to make the weapon slip through his fingers and clatter to the pavement.
I stepped forward and kicked the weapon away, sending it skittering down the sidewalk behind me, well out of Eddie’s reach. I whirled back around to the giant, but he recovered faster than I expected. Before I could lift my knife and attack him again, Eddie darted forward, reached out, and locked his hand around my throat, trying to choke me to death.
“You think you can cut me up? No fucking way!” he yelled.
I whipped up my knife to stab him in the chest, but once again, he was faster, and he bent down, grabbed hold of my leg, and hoisted me up and off my feet all in one smooth motion. Eddie lifted my entire body high over his head, supporting me with both hands, like I was a gym weight that he was easily bench-pressing. Then the giant growled and stepped forward, heading toward the curb.
Uh-oh. This was going to hurt.
I barely had time to grab hold of my Stone magic and harden my skin into an impenetrable shell before he bellowed out an angry roar and slammed me down onto the hood of Mosley’s car.
SMACK!
My hips and legs crashed into the hood, severely denting it, while my head and elbows snapped back against the windshield, cracking the glass in three separate places.
Despite the protective shell of my Stone magic, it was still a brutal, bone-bruising blow, and hot, sharp needles of pain exploded in my body, stabbing into my head, my spine, and all the way down my arms and legs. My brain sloshed around like warm gelatin inside my skull, and my knife slipped from my twitching fingers and clattered to the street. I felt like a cartoon character who had been shoved out of an airplane without a parachute, had slammed into the ground at warp speed, and then had an anvil dropped on her for good measure.
SPLAT!
“How do you like that?” Eddie growled. “Not so tough now, are you?”
He lunged forward to grab me again, but I shook off my daze, brought my foot up, and kicked him in the face. His nose made a loud, satisfying crunch under my boot, and he yelped and staggered away.
“Probably about as much as you liked that.” My words slurred together, telling me that I probably had a concussion.
Finn threw his car into gear, opened the door, and surged to his feet, waving at me. “Gin! Move! Now!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vera running toward me, her metal baton held high overhead. So I threw myself to the left, rolling off the opposite side of the car. I hit the pavement, which was even harder than the car hood, and more hot needles of pain stabbed through my body. That second hard landing also made my brain slosh around again. I lost my grip on my Stone magic, and my skin reverted back to its normal, vulnerable texture. I let out a low groan that was quickly drowned out by another, louder sound.
Crack!
Vera slammed her metal baton into the windshield right where my head had been, shattering and spraying glass everywhere. The sharp shards rained down on me, slicing into my head and hands and making me hiss with even more pain, but it was better than the alternative. If not for Finn’s warning, Vera would have split my skull open like a ripe melon.
Finn cursed and dove back into his own car, probably reaching for the gun he kept in the glove box. Eddie must have realized what he was doing, because the giant ran straight at Finn, his hands held out in front of him like he was going to slam the car door shut and crush my brother between it and the metal frame.
Vera snapped up her baton again and came around the car after me, but I reached down, grabbed a handful of broken glass off the street, surged to my feet, and tossed it straight into her face. She screamed in surprise and turned to the side, throwing her arm up to shield her face from the flying shards.
I scooped up my knife off the ground and headed after Eddie, determined to cut him off before he got to Finn. I could have thrown my knife at the giant, but he was so big and strong that a blade in his back probably wouldn’t slow him down, much less kill him outright. So I aimed lower. This time, I reached for my Ice magic and sent a spray of daggers shooting out at the giant’s legs. A couple of Ice daggers punched into his left calf, making him yelp. His leg buckled, and he pitched forward, severely off-balance.
Finn’s head snapped up at the giant’s yelp, and he finally realized the danger. He quit fumbling for his gun and leaped out of the way just as Eddie barr
CRACK!
To add injury to injury, Eddie’s skull snapped back against the asphalt with a loud, sickening impact, and blood immediately started pooling under his head. The giant didn’t so much as twitch after that, and I knew he was dead from the massive head trauma he had just suffered.
Finn whirled around and flashed me a thumbs-up, telling me he was okay. I nodded back at him—
“Enough!” Vera hissed. “That’s enough!”
Eddie might be dead, but she was not.
I whirled around, expecting to see Vera raising her baton to try to bash me again, but she had another, better plan in mind. She sprinted back across the sidewalk to where Mosley was still slumped against the storefront wall. She grabbed the dwarf, spun him around, and laid her baton across his throat, using him as a human shield.
Finn and I raced forward, leaving the street and hurrying back up onto the sidewalk.
“Stop! Stay back!” Vera hissed again. “Or I’ll crush his windpipe!”
She dug her baton into Mosley’s throat. He winced at the hard length of metal digging into his skin, but he remained calm and still, even as he blinked away the rest of his daze.
“Who are you?” I said. “Who sent you? What do you want with Mosley?”
Vera opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and pressed her red lips together. Her dark gaze flicked up and down the street, as if she was afraid that someone else was here and watching her.
“Nobody sent me,” she finally snarled. “This is my territory. Mine and Eddie’s. All I wanted was to pick up a rich sugar daddy for the night. Have some drinks, a nice dinner, and then roll the guy for everything he had on him. But you two just had to come along and play hero, didn’t you? You ruined our plan. You ruined everything!”
She stared at Eddie lying in the street. So much blood had pooled under his cracked skull that it almost looked like his head was resting on a glossy scarlet pillow. Vera sucked in a ragged breath, and tears gleamed in her eyes. But she wasn’t ready to give up yet, and she backed up a couple of steps, dragging Mosley along with her. She wet her lips, her gaze darting around again, this time looking for a way out. But there wasn’t one, and we all knew it. Still, I tried to reason with her.