BooksBarbecue
Back Web of Lies
Chapters (38)
  1. Also by Jennifer Estep
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 1

“You’re only going to get stronger now, Gin,” Jo-Jo said in a quiet tone. “One day soon, you’ll be the strongest elemental in Ashland. Even stronger than Mab Monroe herself.”

Stronger than Mab? I didn’t know if that was a good thing, seeing as how the Fire elemental only used her power for destruction. All Mab used her magic for was to kill, hurt, and burn everyone who stood in her way. I might have been an assassin, but I didn’t want to be like her. Not now, not ever.

I curled my hands into fists, hiding the scars from sight, and tried to ignore the shiver that shook my body.

———

I spent the rest of the night at the Foxes’, resting up, and Finn came to get me the next day just before the crack of noon, as was his style. I was sitting on the front porch of Country Daze in some of Violet Fox’s borrowed clothes when he pulled up in his Cadillac Escalade. I’d already said my good-byes to Warren T. Fox, who was still inside with Jo-Jo Deveraux. Sophia was coming up later to pick up her older sister, who wanted to spend a few more hours gossiping with Warren.

Finn got out of the car and walked over to me. He slid his designer sunglasses down so he could peer over the top of the lenses. “Nice clothes.”

“Lovely to see you too, Finn,” I replied in a wry tone.

But I got up and hugged my foster brother anyway. He hugged me back as tight as he could.

“You ready to leave?” Finn asked.

I looked up at the tin sign mounted over the front door. Country Daze. Yeah, dazed was one way of putting everything I’d gone through the last few days. I stared at the gleaming sign a moment longer, then turned and smiled at Finn. “Let’s blow this gin joint. Take me home. Take me to the Pork Pit.”

34

34

The incident at the coal mine played out for the next week. Folks worked around the clock for days, digging, moving, and hauling earth and stone out of the way before they finally recovered Tobias Dawson’s body, along with those of his two giant workers. The coroner said both the giants and Dawson died of blunt force trauma.

Yeah, the cave-in had taken out the giants, but Dawson had died from those Ice daggers I’d launched into his torso. Too bad the evidence had melted away—just like always. Something I was grateful for.