By a Thread

invitation to an assassin like me. Come on down, take a free shot at me, and have a drink while you’re at it. I don’t imagine Dekes’s event will be any different. The only question is how easy it will be to get in. Right, Finn?”

He shot me a grumpy look. “Despite what you think, I’m not a magician, you know. I can’t just conjure up invitations out of thin air, especially since we’re not in Ashland anymore.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, okay,” Finn grumbled. “So I might have started working on getting us invites as soon as I found out about the press conference. I don’t think it will be too hard, since Dekes has basically invited everyone who’s anyone on the island. I actually do business with some folks who are friendly with Dekes, so the four of us can get in that way. Friends of a friend and whatnot.”

“No,” I said. “The three of you can get in that way. I’m thinking about taking another approach. Just in case things get a little messy with Dekes.”

“And what would that be?” Owen asked.

I smiled at him. “The great thing about throwing a press conference to announce your new multimillion- dollar casino is that you have to actually invite the press. The bad guys have to have someone to crow to about their accomplishments. So I’ll go in as a reporter. That should be an easy, plausible way to get a few minutes alone with Dekes. You can create some quick credentials for me, can’t you, Finn?”

“Sure,” Finn grumbled again. “I might as well wave my magic wand and do that too while I’m at it.”

“Oh, quit bitching,” I said. “You know you love little challenges like this. Schmoozing invitations and creating fake documents gets your blood pumping and makes you feel all clever and larcenous.”

He shot me a sour look.

“Anyway, I think it’s a good plan,” I said.

Owen reached over and took my hand in his. “But what about—”

He stopped in midsentence. He blinked for a few seconds before his violet eyes narrowed, his mouth flattened out into a hard, thin line, and his hand tightened on mine. I turned to see what he was glaring at—and spotted Donovan Caine standing in the door of the restaurant.

11

“What the hell is he doing here?” Owen asked in a flat voice.

Finn leaned to one side so he could see what Owen was looking at. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the detective, and he sent me a questioning glance, which I ignored, since I was focused on Owen right now.

“He’s Callie’s fiance,” I replied in a low tone. “He showed up here at the restaurant last night after I dealt with the two guys who were threatening her.”

“And you just forgot to mention that before now?” Owen asked, his eyes narrowed in thought.

I shifted on my side of the booth. I couldn’t exactly tell Owen that I didn’t know what to make of Donovan being back in my life any more than he did. The detective noticed Owen glaring at him and did a double take as well, as surprised by his appearance as Owen had been by his. The two men stared at each other for several seconds before Donovan squared his shoulders and headed in our direction.

“Incoming,” Finn muttered, letting out a low whistle and then a crashing sound under his breath, like a bomb was about to drop down and explode on our heads.

I kicked him under the table, trying to get him to shut the hell up. This was going to be bad enough without him making wisecracks. Finn winced, gave me a dirty look, and leaned down to massage his bruised shin.

Donovan stepped up to the booth. He nodded at Bria and Finn, then turned to look at me and finally Owen.

“Owen.”

“Donovan.”

The detective’s gaze fell to the table and Owen’s hand, which was still resting on top of mine. Donovan’s face tightened, and his lips turned down the slightest bit. I had no idea why. He’d left me, after all, come down here and gotten engaged to another woman in the space of a few months. So why did he look so pissed that Owen was holding my hand? And why did his expression make me feel just a little bit smug inside?

“I hear that congratulations are in order,” Owen finally said. “On your engagement.”

He put a little extra emphasis on the last word, but Donovan just nodded, not rising to the bait.

“They are. Callie’s a really special woman. I’m lucky to have her in my life.”

“You were lucky to have Gin in your life too, but you managed to fuck that up,” Owen said in a mild tone. “Callie seems like a nice lady. Let’s hope that history doesn’t repeat itself—for her sake.”

He gave Donovan a smirking, mocking smile, which caused the detective’s hands to tighten into fists and his whole body to swell up with tension. Donovan looked like he was another quip away from challenging Owen to a showdown out in the parking lot—or just reaching across the table and throttling Owen where he sat.

I tightened my grip on Owen’s hand. We had too much to do today for my current lover and past one to get into a petty fistfight in a restaurant full of people, despite the fact that part of me thought it would be pretty damn entertaining to watch. I might be the toughest assassin around, but the idea of two men brawling over me had a certain sexy appeal—especially since I knew that Owen would wipe the floor with Donovan. Oh, the detective would put up a good struggle, but Owen would fight dirty to win—just like I would.

Owen turned away from Donovan, dismissing him as unimportant, and laced his fingers through mine. I raised my eyebrows at the macho show, but Owen just grinned at me.

Donovan stood there staring at our linked fingers for a moment, that tight expression still on his face, before he shook his head. “What are the four of you doing here? And don’t tell me that you came just to get brunch.”

“Callie is my best friend,” Bria said in a quiet voice. “We’re here to help her, Donovan.”

The detective’s features darkened with anger. “I told Gin last night that I didn’t need or want her help. I’ll handle Dekes, and I’ll do so through legal means. That’s all there is to it.”

Bria looked at him, then over at me. I could see the struggle in her blue eyes. Part of her agreed with Donovan that it would be best to handle Dekes through the law. That’s what they were supposed to do, that’s what the two of them had sworn to do as cops. But the other part of her remembered Mab and all the awful things the Fire elemental had done to us over the years—things that there was only one kind of justice for.

“It doesn’t seem to me that legal means will work with Dekes,” Bria said in a careful tone. “Not after what happened to me and Gin last night.”

Donovan frowned. For a moment, a spark of concern shimmered in his golden eyes, but it was gone so quickly that I thought I’d only imagined it.

“You mean those four bodies found at the Blue Sands hotel? I got called out there bright and early this morning to work the case. Imagine my surprise when the coroner told me how they’d all been stabbed to death.” The sarcasm in his voice was thicker than a steak. Now, the only thing I saw in his gaze was anger.

Finn held up his hand like a student patiently waiting for the teacher to call on him. Donovan looked at him, and my foster brother smiled.

“Let’s go into the back of the restaurant,” Finn suggested in a cheery voice. “Too many eyes and ears out here for this kind of discussion.”

He was right. The brunch crowd had thinned out considerably, but more than a few folks stared in our direction, wondering who we were and why there was so much tension among the five of us.

“Fine,” Donovan muttered. “Follow me.”

We slid out of the booth. Brunch was my treat, so I left more than enough money on the table to cover our food and give the waitresses a generous tip. Then the four of us followed Donovan into the back of the restaurant. I didn’t look at Owen as we wound our way through the tables, but I could feel my lover’s eyes on me. He might have seemed nonchalant with Donovan, but I knew that Owen was pissed and probably a little hurt that I hadn’t mentioned the detective to him last night when I’d called.