BooksBarbecue
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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

His hoarse screams reverberated all the way down the street—and so did his threats. The other night, I’d just insulted Jake by getting the upper hand. Now, I’d humiliated him in front of his father. The Fire elemental couldn’t allow that to slide. Not if he wanted the old man to at least pretend to respect him.

Daddy’s orders or not, Jake McAllister was going to come for me, sooner rather than later, with all his Fire elemental-fueled rage.

And when he did, I’d gut the bastard—once and for all. No matter how many problems it might cause me.

14

14

Once Jake McAllister’s screams faded away, I glanced over my shoulder at Sophia. “Was it good for you too?”

“Hmph.” The dwarf gave me her usual grunt and headed toward the mop and bucket in the far corner.

“Leave the food where it is,” I said. “It’s my mess. I’ll clean it up later. Besides, we’re not going to have any more customers today. Go home, Sophia. Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

Sophia’s black eyes met mine. She grunted again and got the mop anyway. I sighed. Brick was more talkative and responsive than the Goth dwarf. So I got on my knees and picked up the broken dish and smashed bits of food. I’d just thrown everything away and washed my hands in the sink when the bell over the front door chimed again. I turned, a silverstone knife already sliding into my hand.

But this time it was just Finn.

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— 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 a family feud with the McAllisters? I thought you wanted to enjoy your retirement, live a nice, clean, simple life.”

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

Finn raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “C’mon, Gin. Just admit it. You like thumbing your nose at bad guys and showing everyone exactly how strong and capable you are. You always have. That’s why you pushed the McAllisters so hard today.”