Jennifer Estep - Widow's Web

I loved Owen, but hearing him talk about Salina last night, hearing him tell me that he’d once been in love enough with her to actually want to marry and spend the rest of his life with her, well, it had jarred me a little more than I’d let on—and a whole hell of a lot more than I’d wanted it to.

I didn’t begrudge Owen his past relationships, his past lovers, his past emotions, but I got the impression there was something different about Salina—something he couldn’t admit to himself even now. I didn’t think he had really let go. Salina had left town so abruptly, so mysteriously, that Owen hadn’t gotten any more closure than I had when Donovan had hightailed it out of Ashland. Sometimes Owen and I were far too alike for the other’s good.

But the hours ticked by, and customers came and went with no signs of trouble, and I was slowly able to lose myself in the rhythms of the restaurant, in the mixing, stirring, and baking that helped soothe me when I needed it the most. And I definitely needed some soothing today.

I might be a woman worried about her lover’s ex, but most of all, I was still the Spider. So I did my due diligence and checked in with Finn. He’d gotten Fletcher’s folder of information from Bria and was now hot on the trail of some rumor about the water elemental poaching giants from the other crime bosses to build up the ranks of her own fledgling criminal enterprise. He hadn’t been able to verify anything yet, but if Salina was doing that, it confirmed my theory that she was back in town for more than just revenge on Kincaid. It would also indicate that she’d been planning her return to Ashland for a while now, that maybe she’d been back in town even before she’d killed Katarina Arkadi a few days ago. Whatever Salina was up to, Finn would figure out what it was, and then I could decide how to act on the information—and whether or not she needed to get dead.

Part of me wanted to just go ahead and kill her for the horrible way she’d tortured Eva all those years ago. She certainly deserved it; if it had been anyone else I would have already been happily plotting her demise. But two things were stopping me. One was how Owen’s face had softened when he’d talked about her last night. The other was my own memory of her frantic screams as she’d watched her father being burned to death.

Seeing her father brutally murdered by Mab right in front of her, being forced to fend for herself after that, trying to create a new life, a new family, threatening and killing anyone who did her wrong or got in her way. The irony was as sharp and pointed as one of my own knives twisting into my gut. Because in many ways, Salina and I were quite alike—right down to how ruthless we were with our enemies.

Those were the thoughts that occupied me through the lunch rush, but the day wasn’t all doom and gloom, especially since Roslyn Phillips came in around two o’clock.

Roslyn was simply one of the most gorgeous women—inside and out—that I’d ever had the pleasure of knowing. When the vampire stepped into the restaurant, every eye, male and female, turned in her direction. The men were lustful, the women envious. I had a little envy myself when it came to Roslyn. Her toffee-colored skin was as flawless as could be, and smoky black shadow rimmed her eyes, making them seem just a shade darker than her skin. Today, the vampire madam wore a black sundress with white polka dots, along with strappy black sandals with small kitten heels. The simple cut of the gown highlighted the perfection of her body and her generous curves. A glossy white headband held back her black hair, and her red lips formed a perfect heart in her face. Roslyn looked like she’d just stepped out of some old Hollywood movie—she was just that glamorous.

Roslyn smiled and headed in my direction. Putting her white clutch on the counter, she took the seat closest to the cash register that I was perched behind. She eyed the book in my hand.

“What are you reading now, Gin?”

I held up the cover where she could see it. “ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. For my next literature class.”

“I approve. That’s one of my favorites.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you liked to read, Roslyn. Why, we’ll have to start ourselves a little book club.”

The vampire chuckled, showing off her small, perfect fangs. “Oh, I doubt I could keep up with you when it comes to that.”

I used one of the day’s credit card receipts to mark my place in the book. “So what will it be?”

Roslyn ordered her usual grilled cheese and water. Despite her protests, I also gave her some of the chocolate chip cookies I’d baked fresh that morning. We talked back and forth over the counter while I helped Sophia fix her food. Roslyn sank her teeth into the grilled cheese with relish, and she even ate two of the cookies.

Finally, the vamp finished her food and pushed her empty plates away, then met my eyes. “Xavier told me what happened last night on the Delta Queen .”

I nodded. I’d expected nothing less; she and Xavier had been a couple for some time now.

She stared off into space, a thoughtful look on her face. “You know, it doesn’t surprise me that Salina finally came back to town.”

I frowned. “You know Salina Dubois?”

Roslyn hesitated. “No, not Salina. But I knew her father, Benedict. Once Xavier told me what happened and that you were involved, I thought I’d come by and tell you what I knew about him. Salina’s mother died when she was young, and Benedict was often . . . eager for female company. I was one of his favorites for years, right up until I started Northern Aggression.”

Before she’d opened her nightclub, Roslyn had spent years working as a hooker in Southtown, like so many other vampires in Ashland did. All vamps needed blood to live, but lots of them also got a high off having sex or even other people’s emotions. For those folks, doing the deed gave them the same sort of enhanced senses, increased strength, and quickened reflexes that other vamps got from downing a pint of O-positive. Thus, the number of vampires involved in Ashland’s skin trade. Why not get laid, paid, and powered up all at the same time? And since vamps could walk around in the sunlight just like the rest of us, you didn’t even have to wait until dark to get your freak on. All you had to do was walk down the Southtown streets any time—day or night—and you’d find at least one vampire hooker looking for a client, and her pimp waiting in the wings to beat you to death if you didn’t pay up promptly for services rendered.

“So what can you tell me about Benedict?”

Roslyn shrugged. “Other than his sexual preferences, not much. He was just another wiseguy who thought he was stronger than he really was. An Ice elemental.”

“At least until Mab put him in his place for that mistake.”

Roslyn nodded. “That she did.”

I asked the vamp a few more questions about Benedict, but she didn’t know anything else about the old mob boss. Still, I appreciated her coming by, and I gave her my thanks.

She nodded. “So what are you going to do now? About Salina?”

“It’s . . . complicated.”

She grinned. “Most things are when it comes to you, Gin. But I’m a good listener, if you need someone to talk to.”

This was the second time today someone had offered me her ear, which was something of a new experience for me. Assassins aren’t naturally in the habit of spilling their guts to just anyone, and Fletcher had always taught me to keep my emotions bottled up tight. Hell, I’d never even had a real girlfriend before, someone I could talk to about such things. Oh, I knew I could tell Jo-Jo anything, but she was more like a mother to me than anything else. Sophia would listen to what I had to say, but she wouldn’t say much in return. Sure, Bria was my sister, but we were still getting to know each other, still working on our relationship. The truth was that Roslyn was the closest thing I had to a female confidant, so I told her about all the bombshells that had been dropped on me last night, including the fact that Salina had been Owen’s fiancée.