Unraveled

  “What are you doing now?” he sneered. “Trying to cop a feel?”

  I ignored his taunt, shoved my hand past the belt buckle, curled my fingers around the gun, and yanked on it as hard as I could.

  Brody frowned, realizing that I was, in fact, not trying to cop a feel. “What the—”

  The gun slid free of the holster. I snapped up the weapon, pressed it against the side of his head, and pulled the trigger.

  CRACK!

  The sound seemed as loud as a stick of dynamite exploding in my ear, and blood sprayed all over my face, stinging my skin with its shocking warmth. For a moment, Brody’s eyes widened, then everything inside him just—stopped. Without a sound, his hands fell away from my throat, and he pitched forward on top of me. I waited several seconds, but he didn’t so much as twitch, and I felt more and more of his blood dripping down my face and neck. The giant was dead.

  I heaved and grunted and finally managed to shove him off me before slowly getting to my feet. I dropped his gun in the mud, bent down, and put my hands on my knees, just trying to get my breath back. Brody was lying on his side, his fingers stretched out in my direction, his sightless eyes fixed on me in a silent accusation that I knew all too well.

  I held my hand up, as though I were tipping the brim of an imaginary cowboy hat at him. “The outlaw Gin Blanco wins again.”

  26

  Something exploded inside the saloon, causing more flames to shoot out the busted storefront window and driving me away from Brody’s body. The fire also reminded me that I still had work to do tonight. Now that Brody and the giants were dead, I needed to get to the hotel to help Silvio and the others save the rest of our friends.

  I held up my hand, squinting against the glare, and looked out over the muddy mess around the water trough, searching for the knife that I’d lost in my fight with Brody. There it was, lying in a puddle, the hilt just visible through the thick, sloppy mud. I started to bend down and reach for it—

  Crack!

  A shot rang out, and I screamed as a bullet blasted through my left arm, close to where I’d already been shot earlier today. Once again, elemental Fire erupted in and around the wound, burning hotter than the flames still shooting out of the saloon. Roxy hadn’t come into the park with Brody and the giants, but she was here now, and the bitch had shot me again with one of her Fire-coated bullets.

  I pitched forward, right into the middle of the large puddle, with mud splashing all over me. But the thick, gloppy mud actually doused the Fire, although the magic continued to burn and burn in the wound itself. Curses and snarls spewed out of my lips, and I fought to get the pain under control. Even as I slopped around, I kept expecting another bullet to tear through my body at any second—

  “Well,” a familiar, snide voice called out, “that was certainly dramatic.”

  I raised my head to find Roxy and Hugh Tucker standing in the middle of Main Street.

  And they weren’t alone.

  Finn, Bria, and Owen were behind them, standing off to the far side of the street. Their hands were bound tightly in front of them with thick lassos, while black bandannas had been stuffed into their mouths to keep them quiet. My friends all looked tense and angry, but no visible cuts or bruises dotted their faces. It didn’t seem as though they’d been tortured, and they all nodded at me, silently telling me that they were more or less okay. Relief flooded me. Good. That was good.

  What wasn’t good was the half a dozen giant guards that flanked my friends. Tucker might have sent Brody and his outlaw gang into the theme park after me, but the vampire had realized that he would need more men, and he’d planned accordingly. Still, I’d put a bigger dent in their numbers than I’d expected, and the odds were far more even now than they had been before.

  Especially since the rest of the Blanco gang was lurking around here somewhere.

  I didn’t glance around, but I knew that Silvio, Phillip, Lorelei, and Ira had to be nearby. They would have seen Tucker leaving the hotel with our friends, and they would have followed him down here.

  Unless the four of them were already dead—killed trying to rescue our friends at the hotel. . . .

  Dread filled me, washing away my relief, but I pushed the emotion aside. I wasn’t going to let myself think like that. I couldn’t. Not if I wanted to rescue Finn, Bria, and Owen. Silvio and the others were waiting for the right time to strike, just as I’d asked them to. I had to believe that, just like I had to believe that we were all going to get out of this cursed theme park alive—and that I wasn’t going to die in the next minute or two.

  Roxy stepped forward, her revolver pointed at my head. Her gaze flicked to Brody’s body, and rage flashed in her pale green eyes. “Get up,” she growled, focusing on me again. “Slowly. Any sudden moves, and I’ll put another bullet through you.”

  I slowly raised my hands up out of the mud and staggered to my feet. I risked a glance down and realized that my knife was still sticking up out of the puddle. I stepped in front of it so that they wouldn’t see it lying on the ground.

  Tucker looked at me, then at Brody lying dead in the street, and finally at the still-burning saloon. “Well, you’ve certainly made a mess of things here.”

  I grinned. “What can I say? I just can’t help myself.”

  “She killed Brody,” Roxy snapped. “So cut the cute chitchat and let me shoot the bitch again already.”

  Tucker gave her a cold glare. “Not until I get what I came here for.”

  The vampire snapped his fingers, and the men guarding Finn, Bria, and Owen raised their weapons, shoving their guns up against my friends’ sides.

  “Give me the jewels or my men will kill your precious little friends right in front of you,” Tucker hissed.

  I knew that he meant it, so I didn’t hesitate. “Okay, okay. Just take it easy. I’ll give you what you want. They’re in one of my vest pockets. So tell Annie Oakley there to hold off her sharpshooting.”

  Roxy growled, but I gave her a sweet smile in return. Tucker jerked his head at Roxy, who lowered her gun to her side, although she kept her finger curled around the trigger, ready to snap the weapon up and shoot me the second I did anything suspicious.

  I held my hands out to my sides, then slowly brought them in to my chest. Then, just as slowly, I unzipped one of the pockets on my wet, muddy, bloody silverstone vest, drew out a black velvet bag, and held it up where Tucker and Roxy could see it.

  “Here are your pretty little rocks. Every single one of them.”

  “Go get them,” Tucker snapped at Roxy.

  She pressed her lips together, clearly pissed at being ordered around like a simple servant, but she walked down the street toward me, her gun still in her hand, clearly itching to shoot me again. I tensed, thinking about ­reaching for my Stone magic to harden my skin, but I’d exhausted almost all the reserves in my spider rune ring and necklace. I’d only be able to protect myself one more time from her bullets, and I didn’t want to waste the few scraps of magic that I had left. Not yet.

  So I stood there and waited, wondering if Roxy was going to be stupid enough to get within arm’s reach of me.

  But she was too smart for that, and she stopped about ten feet away. “Throw the bag over here. No tricks, or your friends die.”

  “No tricks from me.”

  I gently tossed the bag about five feet in front of me, so that it landed in between us in the middle of the street. Roxy kept her gaze on me and her gun at the ready as she sidled forward, bent down, and scooped up the bag, but I didn’t make a move. I wouldn’t risk my friends’ lives like that.

  While Roxy straightened up, I looked past her. Finn and Bria both had tense, worried looks on their faces, and they kept glancing at the men guarding them, hoping for an opportunity to try to take them down.

  Finally, I stared at Owen. He looked back at me, his violet eyes steady on my
gray ones, not the least bit afraid, completely confident that I would get him and the others out of this. When he was sure that no one but me was looking at him, he winked, then turned his bound hands so that his fingers were pointing off to my left. I didn’t look in that direction, but I knew what he was trying to tell me—that Silvio, Phillip, Lorelei, and Ira were in position and ready to help. Owen must have spotted them at the hotel.

  My heart lifted. We still had a chance to get out of this. As much as I wanted to wink back at him, I kept my face blank, not wanting to give Tucker, Roxy, or the guards any inkling as to what was going on.

  Roxy stepped back and tossed the black velvet bag over to Tucker, who easily caught it. The vampire hefted the bag in his hand, opened the drawstrings, and tipped the contents into his palm. Diamonds, sapphires, and rubies flashed under the lights and the flames from the saloon fire, and I could hear the stones softly singing about their beauty.

  Satisfied, Tucker nodded, dropped the jewels back into the bag, and closed it up tight before slipping it into the pocket of his black suit jacket. “Why, Gin, you surprised me. You actually gave me what I wanted. Just like that.”

  I shrugged. “You didn’t give me much of a choice.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Tucker murmured. “And I believe that this concludes our business for the evening.” He grinned, and I knew what was coming next. “Actually, this concludes our business forever. Kill her.”

  He gestured with his hand. He hadn’t even finished the motion before Roxy grinned, whipped around, and shot me.

  * * *

  I’d realized that this little scenario only ended one way—with Roxy shooting me—and I could have reached for my Stone magic to protect myself. But I chose not to. Because Roxy was pissed that I’d killed Brody, and I was betting that she’d want to make me suffer before she finally ended me.

  And I was right.

  This bullet just grazed my right arm, but I still screamed, especially as the elemental Fire exploded again, searing my skin with its hot intensity. I staggered back and slapped at my arm, using my mud-covered fingers to snuff out the Fire as best I could. My friends surged forward, trying to shout through the bandannas stuffed in their mouths, but the guards held them in place. Tucker crossed his arms over his chest, amused by the whole spectacle.

  “I could use you for target practice,” Roxy said, spinning her revolver around and around in her hand. “But that wouldn’t be very sporting of me. We’re in the Old West, so let’s settle things the old-fashioned way. How about a showdown, Gin? Just you and me and our guns in the middle of Main Street. Winner take all.”

  She didn’t wait for me to answer. Instead, she gestured at Brody’s gun, which was still sitting in the middle of the mud where I’d dropped it before. “Pick it up.”

  I hesitated, wondering how I could twist this to my advantage—

  Crack!

  This time, the bullet grazed my outer left thigh. More elemental Fire seared my skin, and the stench of my burned flesh filled my nose, making my stomach roil. I gritted my teeth, slapped out the Fire as best I could, and pushed the pain away, locking it down tight. I could handle a little pain, a little Fire, a little charred skin. As long as I got to dish out a whole lot of death in return.

  “I said pick it up,” Roxy snarled. “Right fucking now.”

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “You want your high-noon showdown, Sheriff Roxy? Fine by me.”

  Keeping one eye on Roxy, I limped over to where the gun was and slowly bent down, trying to pick it up without collapsing to the ground. I stretched out my fingers toward the gun—

  Crack!

  A bullet hit the butt of the gun, making the weapon skitter out of my reach and elemental Fire explode under my fingertips. I snarled and slapped my hand against my thigh, once again snuffing out the flames, although not the continued searing burn they left behind.

  Laughter rang out, sounding almost as loud as the gunshots, as Roxy, Tucker, and the guards yukked it up at my expense. I looked up. Roxy grinned, a cruel light flashing in her eyes, and gestured for me to try again.

  So I sighed and limped forward, realizing that I had no choice but to play her sick game. The only good thing about it was that everyone was focused on me now, including the giants guarding Finn, Bria, and Owen, who’d lowered their weapons from my friends’ sides. I hoped my suffering would give Silvio and the others a chance to finally make their move.

  But right now, I had another round of torture to endure, so I gritted my teeth and stretched my hand out toward Brody’s gun again, knowing what was coming next—

  Crack!

  More Fire, more burns on my skin, more laughter from Roxy, Tucker, and all the guards.

  I smothered the latest round of Fire, slowly straightened up, and glared at her. “No wonder you have all those stuffed animal heads in your office. You are one sadistic bitch.”

  Roxy crooked an eyebrow at me. “Well, Gin, if you don’t want to play along, I guess I’ll just have to use you for target practice after all.”

  Before I could snipe back at her, the bitch snapped up her gun and shot me again.

  Crack!

  This bullet punched into the meaty part of my left thigh. More of that damn elemental Fire exploded and seared my skin, adding to the agony of the wound. Roxy hadn’t grazed me this time, but she wasn’t done playing with me either, since the bullet hadn’t hit anything vital. A painful, through-and-through wound, but not debilitating.

  Still, I screamed louder than I had before, staggered forward, and crumpled in a heap in the middle of the mud, as if I were done for. I thought it was pretty convincing, as far as pratfalls went.

  “Mmm! Mmm!” My friends’ muffled shouts filled the air, but they could do nothing to help me.

  Roxy grinned and strutted over to me, spinning her gun around and around in her hand, making the pearl handle and silver barrel flash, and doing all sorts of fancy trick moves with the weapon. I did my own trick move, digging my hand down into the mud, and curling my fingers around the hilt of my knife that was still buried there. I also reached for the last remaining scraps of my Stone magic, getting ready to pour the power out to harden my skin one final time. I’d only get one shot at this, and I had to make it count.

  This time, Roxy kept coming until she was within arm’s reach, looming over me. “You know, I don’t have a human head in my office, but I think that I’ll make an exception for you, Gin.” Her eyes gleamed with sly satisfaction.

  “Never going to happen, sugar—”

  Before I could finish, she snapped up her gun and shot me in the face.

  27

  At least, Roxy tried to shoot me in the face.

  At the last second, I lunged out of the way, slithering forward through the mud. But the bullet from the close-range shot still punched into my left shoulder. I grunted at the hard, bruising impact and flash of Fire, but my Stone magic kept the bullet from actually tearing through my body. Roxy snarled and started to pull the trigger again, but I didn’t give her the chance.

  I gritted my teeth, raised my knife up out of the mud, and stabbed her booted foot. This time, Roxy was the one who screamed.

  Such a sweet, sweet sound.

  She tried to shoot me again, but I ripped my knife out of her foot and swiped it across her wrist, making her drop her trusty revolver. She staggered back, trying to get away from me and desperately reaching for the second revolver on her belt, but I threw myself forward, tackled her around the knees, and knocked her ass down in the mud. She tried to kick me away, but I grabbed hold of her shiny rhinestone belt buckle and used it to pull myself up on top of her.

  Then I raised up my knife again and slammed it into her chest, right next to that shiny silver sheriff’s star pinned over her heart.

  And I didn’t stop.

  I stabbed her once, twice, three times, each wound as dee
p, brutal, and deadly as I could make it. Her blood spattered against my face and hand, but I didn’t mind the warm sensation. Not at all.

  Roxy screamed and screamed, clawing for her gun all the while. She managed to get her fingertips on the pearl handle, so I raised up my knife a final time and snapped it down, driving it all the way through her hand and into the squishy mud below.

  “Never bring a gun to a knife fight,” I hissed.

  Roxy gurgled once, as if agreeing with me, then her body went slack and still under mine.

  As much as I would have liked to slump down in the mud next to her, Tucker and the guards were still here, still alive, so I yanked my knife out of her hand, rolled off her body, and staggered to my feet.

  Tucker was already stabbing his finger at me. “Kill her, right fucking now—”

  Crack!

  Crack! Crack!

  Crack!

  More shots rang out, but this time, the Blanco gang were the ones firing.

  With all the guards’ attention on me, Silvio, Phillip, Lorelei, and Ira had finally decided to strike. Somehow, Silvio and Ira had managed to sneak up onto the second-floor balcony of one of the storefronts and were firing down at the giants, while Phillip and Lorelei were doing the same thing from their position behind a food cart down here on street level.

  Finn, Bria, and Owen immediately threw themselves to the ground, out of the line of fire.

  Crack!

  Crack! Crack!

  Crack!

  One giant fell, then another one. Bria scrambled over and pulled a dead giant’s gun out of his hand. She tossed it over to Finn, then fumbled to get the giant’s second weapon out of the holster on his belt. Owen was also grabbing the weapon from the dead giant closest to him.

  My friends battling the giants meant that only one man was left. I scanned the street for Tucker.

  But the bastard wasn’t here.

  My head snapped left and right, searching for him. I hadn’t gone through all this just to let him get away now. So where was he? Where was that sneaky rat bastard—