Beside me, Tucker shifted on his feet, as though suddenly uneasy. The motion was almost imperceptible, and I seemed to be the only one who noticed it, but it told me something important: Tucker had killed Butler.
I thought someone had been watching me in the woods that night. Tucker must have waited until I’d gone back inside my mansion before he’d grabbed Butler’s body, dragged the dead hit man through the woods, stuffed him into a vehicle, and driven away.
But why kill the hit man only to turn me over to Clyde now? Once again, Hugh Tucker was playing a game that only made sense to him.
“Well?” Clyde asked. “How did you kill Butler?”
“He made too much noise breaking into my house,” I lied. “He had an unfortunate accident and cracked his head wide open on the stone patio in my backyard.”
Clyde grinned. “Nice, Lorelei. Very nice. Why, that gives me the perfect idea for how to get rid of you after I get my diamonds.” He gestured over at the stairs. “I’ll snap your neck, bring you back here, and toss you down the steps. Everyone will think you came outside to admire the view and tragically slipped on the snow and ice and fell to your death.”
I snorted again. “Please. This is Ashland. The city of crime, corruption, and secret Circle societies. No one in their right mind will believe that my death was anaccident.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care what people believe. Only that I get my diamonds, and you wind up dead.”
I opened my mouth to snipe back at him, but he snapped his fingers, cutting me off.
“Actually, I have an even better idea.” Clyde grinned again, then lifted his gun and aimed it at Tucker. “If I’m going to get my hands dirty, then I might as well kill Hugh too.”
ChapterEight
Tucker tensed ever so slightly,although he gave Clyde a bored look, as if the gun aimed at his chest was of little consequence. “What are you doing? Put that thing away.”
Clyde laughed, but it was a low, ugly sound. “Oh, please. How big of an idiot do you think I am? I tell a few folks that I’m getting Lorelei’s shipping yard one way or another, and the next thing I know, you’re calling and just begging to come work for me.” He shook his head. “I’ve never claimed to be the smartest guy in Ashland, but I’m not completelystupid.”
“Pointing a gun at me is most definitely a stupid thing to do,” Tucker said, his voice as cold as the wind gusting over the terrace.
Clyde laughed again. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, tough guy. I saw how you looked at Lorelei the night we ran into her at Underwood’s—like she was a big, juicy steak you wanted to sink your fangs into. And then what do I find tonight? The two of you sucking face in the bathroom like a couple of teenagers who can’t keep their hands off each other.”
I glanced at Tucker, but he was focused on Clyde, his face as hard as I’d ever seen it. Another man, a smarter man, would have been very, very concerned about the barely restrained rage glinting in Tucker’s eyes, but, like Clyde had said, he was far from the smartest man in Ashland.
“So as soon as I get my diamonds, you’re also going to have a fatal accident, just like Lorelei is.” Clyde jerked his head at Tucker. “Move. Now. Or I’ll forgo the accident part altogether and shoot you where you stand. I need her to get into the shipping yard, not you.”
Tucker’s lips flattened out into a thin line, and that muscle twitched in his jaw again. He kept staring at Clyde, as though debating whether his vampiric speed would let him attack Clyde before the other man pulled the trigger. But Tucker must have realized that not even he was that fast, because he moved to the right.
Two of the giants stepped forward and clamped their hands around Tucker’s arms, but he looked at me instead of them. His lips quirked up into a tiny grin, and I found myself smiling back at him. Hugh Tucker was a survivor, just like I was, and we were going to get through this—together.
Clyde turned away from the two giants, thinking they were capable of handling Tucker. Definitely not the smartest man in Ashland. This time, he jerked his head at me. “Come here. It’s time to take that ride over to your shipping yard.”
Just like Tucker, I did as commanded. Not because I was afraid of Clyde shooting me but because it got me—and especially him—closer to the icicles hanging off the edge of the resort roof.
“What else did Raymond tell you about me?” I asked.
Clyde’s eyebrows drew together in thought. “Not much. Just that you were a whiny bitch who couldn’t keep her mouth shut and was always crying to her mama about every little thing.”
“Whiny bitch?” I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Raymond was never very creative. Not with his insults and especially not with his magic.”
“What does that matter? Your brother is dead, and you’re going to be joining him soon enough.”
I grinned. “Oh, it matters quite a lot. Raymond might not have been terribly creative with his magic, but I am extremely creative with mine.”
“Like I give a fuck about your magic,” Clyde growled. “Now, come along quietly, or I’ll shoot you in the kneecap, and you’ll be too busy screaming to do anything else.”
“Sure,” I replied, holding my hands up. “Whatever you say.”
Clyde eyed me, but he took a step back and glanced over at the third giant. “Go get the car—”
The second he looked away, I snapped up my hands even higher and blasted the resort roof with my Ice magic.
