Brody crossed his arms over his chest. “And of course getting to show off your little tricks with your revolvers is just the icing on the cake,” he snarked, continuing his rant. “This whole job has been like a dream come true for you.”

   “Well, it was certainly better than sitting in that penthouse in Bigtime, waiting to take that guy out with a sniper rifle.” Roxy huffed. “There’s no fun in that. No thrill of the chase, no outwitting your opponent, no hunting them down and seeing the fear in their eyes before you pull the trigger.”

   It sounded like the two of them were some sort of ­tag-team hit squad for Tucker, traveling around the country and doing whatever dirty jobs he paid them to. I wondered just how many people Tucker had working for him. Maybe he was higher up in the Circle than I’d realized. Maybe he was actually one of the leaders, instead of just Deirdre’s minder and an errand boy like I’d thought.

   “Besides,” Roxy said, “working at the resort was the only way that we could come in and search for the jewels without tipping off everyone as to what we’re really doing here.”

   It took a moment for her words to sink in, but once they did, understanding flashed through me like a lightning bolt.

   The jewels. Of course.

   So Deirdre had swiped Sweet Sally Sue’s gemstones, but apparently, she hadn’t hocked them for cold, hard cash or used them to pay for the hotel renovations. She must have stashed them here at Bullet Pointe as her golden parachute, in case things went south with Finn in Ashland. Only Finn had killed Deirdre instead, and she’d never had a chance to come back to the resort and retrieve the diamonds, sapphires, and rubies.

   “Tucker knows that Deirdre hid those stones somewhere around here,” Roxy said. “And he has made it very clear that we’re not leaving until we find them.”

   “And I say that they’re not here,” Brody growled. “We’ve looked everywhere for those things. I don’t see why Tucker wants them so badly anyway. He’s got plenty of money of his own.”

   Roxy shrugged. “Sure, Tucker’s loaded, but Deirdre Shaw owed millions to him and his friends, and he plans to get at least some of that money back by whatever means necessary. It’s the principle of the thing. Besides, Tucker’s friends aren’t the kind of people you want to disappoint. He needs to smooth things over with them, even if it’s only by putting a small dent in Deirdre’s massive debt.”

   The giant stuck his lower lip out in a petulant pout. “Well, I still don’t see why we just can’t kill Blanco, Lane, and the other two and be done with this job already.”

   “Because Tucker thinks that Blanco might be able to find the gems with her Stone magic,” Roxy said in a patient voice, as though she were explaining something to a three-year-old. “Or that Deirdre actually told Finnegan Lane where she hid them.”

   “But you asked Lane flat out if he knew about the jewels, and he told you no.”

   Roxy shrugged again. “Maybe he knows something, maybe he doesn’t. Maybe Deirdre fed him some clue that he doesn’t even realize is a clue. Either way, I’ll get it out of him.” She paused. “Or Tucker will.”

   They both blanched a little at that. Apparently, they were well acquainted with how Hugh Tucker got answers from people. The image of Deirdre handcuffed to a chair, with cuts, bruises, burns, and deep, ugly bite marks all over her body flashed through my mind. Deirdre had worked for the vampire, and he hadn’t had any qualms about making her suffer, just because she’d disappointed him. I could well imagine how much more enthusiastic he would be in torturing me, Finn, Bria, and Owen if he thought it would get him what he wanted.

   “And Blanco?” Brody said, getting to his feet. “What do you want to do about her?”

   “Well, you were supposed to grab her so we could get her out of the way before we went after Lane.” Roxy tapped her own straight, perfect nose. “Not let her smash your face like it was a piñata.”

   The giant growled, but Roxy waved her hand, dismissing his anger. “We’ll take care of Blanco later. And if she can’t find the gems, or if Lane doesn’t know anything about them, and the stones really are gone for good, well, at least we’ll have a bit of fun with them before we leave.”

   She grinned, plucked one of the revolvers out of the holster on her belt, and started spinning it around and around, making the silver barrel glimmer in the afternoon sun. Cold rage surged through me at the way she’d so casually talked about torturing and murdering me and my loved ones—and how much she was going to enjoy it.

   This bitch was the one who was already dead. She just didn’t know it yet. And the Spider was going to be the one to put her down for good.

11

   I’d heard enough, so I shut off my phone and slid it back into my jeans pocket. I glanced over my shoulder, but the alley was still deserted, although people moved back and forth out on Main Street, heading from one block of shops to the next. Once I was satisfied that no one was paying any attention to me, I palmed a knife and looked at Roxy and Brody again, plotting the best way I could get close enough to kill them both quietly.

   My gaze moved from one side of the staging area to the other. If I could get over to that barrel full of lassos without being seen, I could crouch down behind it, then sprint over to that rack of saloon-girl costumes. Once I was in position there, I could step out from behind the clothes and hit Roxy and Brody with a spray of Ice daggers. If I used a big enough blast of magic, I could probably kill them both before they realized what was happening. Even if they survived my initial attack, I could always finish them off with my knives. They might let out a few screams, but I was willing to take that chance, now that I knew the torture they had in mind for me and my friends.

   I tightened my grip on my knife, feeling the spider rune stamped into the hilt press against the larger, matching scar in my palm. The sensation steadied me, the way it always did. I drew in a breath, reached for my Ice magic, and stepped out of the alley—