Read Online Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jennifer Estep
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her face and filled out her chest.
Square black glasses gave her a slightly brainy air. Her sandy blond hair was cropped short, and the rain outside had turned it into a mound of frizz. Her dark brown eyes and pecan-colored skin whispered of some Hispanic or maybe even Native American heritage. The Cherokee still inhabited the mountains around Ashland, and more Hispanic folks came to the city every summer to pick strawberries, tomatoes, and other crops. Once the picking season was over, lots of the migrants stayed and put down roots.
I continued my examination. She wore jeans faded from wear, not design, and a heavy black turtleneck sweater that made her eyes seem darker than they were.
Scuffed sneakers, a heavy jacket, some silver hoops in her ears. Nothing on her cost more than fifty bucks. Which didn’t inspire confidence about her even being able to afford an assassin like the Tin Man.
The words Tin Man had also gotten the others’ attention.
Finn peered at the girl over the top of the financial section. Sophia looked up from the celery she’d been chopping for her macaroni salad.
“Tin Man?” I asked. “That’s a funny name.”
The girl, Violet, forced out a smile that wilted under my cold gray gaze. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
“There’s nobody here by that name. No old man, either.”
Not anymore.
Out of sight below the counter, my thumb traced over the hilt of the silverstone knife that I’d palmed. Violet Fox might look about as dangerous as a wet kitten, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t working for someone else. Maybe someone who wanted to hire the mysterious Tin Man.
Someone looking for revenge. Or maybe even the cops.
Didn’t much matter who. If the girl breathed wrong, she was going to die where she stood.
Violet chewed her lower lip. For a moment, I thought she might ask me about Fletcher again. But after a moment, her shoulders drooped in defeat.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said in a tired voice. “He couldn’t have helped me anyway. Sorry to bother you.”
She turned to go. I glanced at Finn, who shrugged. He didn’t know what to make of it either. Sophia grunted and turned back to her celery.
“He couldn’t have helped you with what?” I called out.
Curiosity. Something the old man had instilled in me over the years. Fletcher Lane had always wanted to know everything about everyone, and he’d taught me to be the same way. Now it was the one emotion that always seemed to get the best of me, no matter how hard I tried to squash it.
The girl, Violet, turned to look at me. “Oh, um, well, it’s sort of personal—”
That’s all she got out before someone started shooting at us.
5
A bullet smacked into one of the storefront windows.
The sharp, sudden burst of sound caught the girl’s attention.
Her head snapped toward the front of the restaurant.
“What was that—”
That was all the Violet got out before I darted around the counter and threw myself on top of her, forcing her to the floor.
“Oof!”
We hit the ground hard. I knocked the wind out of the girl, but I didn’t care. Until I figured out what she wanted with the Tin Man, Violet Fox needed to keep breathing.
I didn’t have to worry about Finn. Like me, he knew exactly what that particular sound was and had heard it too many times before to ignore it now. Somehow, he’d already wormed under one of the tables, with several chairs further shielding him. Finnegan Lane had an excellent sense of self-preservation.
Sophia stood by the back counter and kept chopping celery. She didn’t even look up at the crack of the gunshot.
Bullets didn’t worry her. Dwarves were even tougher than giants, and Sophia could take a couple bullets in the back. They’d catch her in hard muscles long before they hit anything vital. Elemental magic was just about the only thing that could quickly penetrate a dwarf ’s thick skin. And even the majority of that would only make her angry, instead of doing any
Square black glasses gave her a slightly brainy air. Her sandy blond hair was cropped short, and the rain outside had turned it into a mound of frizz. Her dark brown eyes and pecan-colored skin whispered of some Hispanic or maybe even Native American heritage. The Cherokee still inhabited the mountains around Ashland, and more Hispanic folks came to the city every summer to pick strawberries, tomatoes, and other crops. Once the picking season was over, lots of the migrants stayed and put down roots.
I continued my examination. She wore jeans faded from wear, not design, and a heavy black turtleneck sweater that made her eyes seem darker than they were.
Scuffed sneakers, a heavy jacket, some silver hoops in her ears. Nothing on her cost more than fifty bucks. Which didn’t inspire confidence about her even being able to afford an assassin like the Tin Man.
The words Tin Man had also gotten the others’ attention.
Finn peered at the girl over the top of the financial section. Sophia looked up from the celery she’d been chopping for her macaroni salad.
“Tin Man?” I asked. “That’s a funny name.”
The girl, Violet, forced out a smile that wilted under my cold gray gaze. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
“There’s nobody here by that name. No old man, either.”
Not anymore.
Out of sight below the counter, my thumb traced over the hilt of the silverstone knife that I’d palmed. Violet Fox might look about as dangerous as a wet kitten, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t working for someone else. Maybe someone who wanted to hire the mysterious Tin Man.
Someone looking for revenge. Or maybe even the cops.
Didn’t much matter who. If the girl breathed wrong, she was going to die where she stood.
Violet chewed her lower lip. For a moment, I thought she might ask me about Fletcher again. But after a moment, her shoulders drooped in defeat.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said in a tired voice. “He couldn’t have helped me anyway. Sorry to bother you.”
She turned to go. I glanced at Finn, who shrugged. He didn’t know what to make of it either. Sophia grunted and turned back to her celery.
“He couldn’t have helped you with what?” I called out.
Curiosity. Something the old man had instilled in me over the years. Fletcher Lane had always wanted to know everything about everyone, and he’d taught me to be the same way. Now it was the one emotion that always seemed to get the best of me, no matter how hard I tried to squash it.
The girl, Violet, turned to look at me. “Oh, um, well, it’s sort of personal—”
That’s all she got out before someone started shooting at us.
5
A bullet smacked into one of the storefront windows.
The sharp, sudden burst of sound caught the girl’s attention.
Her head snapped toward the front of the restaurant.
“What was that—”
That was all the Violet got out before I darted around the counter and threw myself on top of her, forcing her to the floor.
“Oof!”
We hit the ground hard. I knocked the wind out of the girl, but I didn’t care. Until I figured out what she wanted with the Tin Man, Violet Fox needed to keep breathing.
I didn’t have to worry about Finn. Like me, he knew exactly what that particular sound was and had heard it too many times before to ignore it now. Somehow, he’d already wormed under one of the tables, with several chairs further shielding him. Finnegan Lane had an excellent sense of self-preservation.
Sophia stood by the back counter and kept chopping celery. She didn’t even look up at the crack of the gunshot.
Bullets didn’t worry her. Dwarves were even tougher than giants, and Sophia could take a couple bullets in the back. They’d catch her in hard muscles long before they hit anything vital. Elemental magic was just about the only thing that could quickly penetrate a dwarf ’s thick skin. And even the majority of that would only make her angry, instead of doing any
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