Even more hate burned in Jo-Jo's eyes, making it look like she had two chunks of white quartz glowing in her face. "You're no friend of mine, Harley Grimes. You never were, and you never will be. So get out of my house. You weren't welcome back then, and you sure as hell aren't welcome now."

I kept my face blank, but my mind was spinning at the man's identity. Harley Grimes. I'd heard that name before, when Jo-Jo had told me how he'd kidnapped and tortured Sophia years ago. Grimes had even forced Sophia to breathe in elemental Fire, ruining her vocal cords.

My gaze snapped to Sophia, who was still lying on the floor. She stared back at me, and once again, I saw the fear in her eyes - fear not just for herself but for all of us.

She knew what Harley Grimes was capable of better than anyone.

So I turned my attention to the men surrounding us, looking for any weaknesses that I could exploit. A few seconds of inattention, a tremor in a gun hand, something, anything, that would give me an opening to attack - or at least let me put myself between Grimes and everyone else.

Grimes smiled again and let out a soft, sinister laugh.

"Of course I'll leave you in peace, Ms. Deveraux. I'm not a monster, after all. Besides, I've finally gotten what I came for - what you and Mr. Lane took from me all those years ago."

He turned away from Jo-Jo and jerked his head at the two men guarding Sophia. They reached down and hauled the Goth dwarf to her feet. Sophia winced and clutched a hand to her left thigh. Blood had soaked into her black jeans there, and more blood trickled out of the gunshot wound on her left arm, which peeked out from beneath her T-shirt sleeve. Grimes, Hazel, and their men must have jumped her somewhere, maybe in the alley behind the Pork Pit, and put a couple of bullets into her, trying to subdue her so they could kidnap her. Sophia must have managed to escape and had come to warn Jo-Jo. But Grimes had known exactly where she would go, and he'd followed her to finish what he'd started.

"Oh, Sophia," Grimes purred. "How I've missed you."

He stretched out a hand, as though he were going to caress her cheek, but Sophia snapped out, trying to bite off his fingers. Grimes snatched his hand back at the last second, his face full of disbelief, as though he didn't understand why she wouldn't welcome his touch after he'd had her shot and threatened her sister. He regarded her for a moment, then casually flung his hand out and slapped her across the face.

The sharp crack reverberated through the room like a clap of thunder, and the hard, brutal impact made Sophia stagger back, along with the two men holding her. Oh, yes. Grimes was definitely strong, thanks to his giant and dwarven blood.

But even worse, he put a bit of his Fire magic into the blow, and flames flashed between them as his skin touched hers. The stench of burning flesh filled the salon.

After a moment, Sophia slowly raised her head. The imprint of Grimes's hand had been seared into her left cheek like a brand.

Even more Fire magic flickered in his eyes, making them burn a dark, dangerous brown. "I'd hoped that we would start out on better terms this time, but I'm going to enjoy teaching you to mind your manners around me once again. It seems that you've forgotten."

Sophia's nostrils flared with rage, but that was her only response.

The man holding on to my arm winced at Grimes's threat, as though he'd been on the receiving end of his leader's wrath in the past. He was so busy staring at Grimes that he didn't notice when I eased my right hand behind me, reaching back toward the buffet table. My fingers slid across the smooth surface until I felt something cold, hard, and metal. I stretched back a bit more, hooking a fingertip on the edge of the metal and dragging it toward me.

My hand closed around my knife a second later. I tightened my grip, feeling the spider rune stamped into the hilt pressing against the larger, matching scar on my palm. Owen had made this knife for me, and I was going to enjoy putting it to good use on Grimes, Hazel, and their band of miscreants.

"You leave her alone, Grimes," Jo-Jo snarled. "Sophia doesn't belong to you. She never has, and she never will."

Grimes turned to face her again. "It seems that you've forgotten something too, Ms. Deveraux. That I take whatever I want, and that whatever I want is mine. And I've been missing Sophia for a very long time now."

"You aren't leaving here with her," Jo-Jo snarled again.

"Not as long as I'm still breathing."

Grimes regarded her for a long moment. "Well, I have to admire your protective instincts, if nothing else. But this problem has a very simple, very easy solution."

"And what would that be?" Jo-Jo asked.

He smiled, showing off his perfect teeth again. I knew what he was going to do, but before I could move, before I could react, before I could fucking stop it, Grimes reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a gun, and shot Jo-Jo in the chest.

Chapter Four

The bullet punching into Jo-Jo's body tore her loose from the men who'd been holding her. She gasped in pain, and her head snapped back against the wall, but she didn't go down.

So Grimes shot her again.

This time, Jo-Jo's bare feet slid out from under her, and she crumpled to the salon floor.

Bria, Sophia, and I all surged forward, struggling to get free of the men who were guarding us, but a ball of Fire magic flashed to life in Hazel's hand. She spun around in the middle of the salon, laughing, the skirt of her red dress rippling out around her like waves of blood.

"Give me a reason," she said, smiling at us all in turn, her magic making her eyes gleam with a dark, sadistic light. "Any reason at all."

I looked at Sophia, but she shook her head at me. She didn't want Bria or me to get shot - or worse, if Hazel had her way. I ground my teeth together in frustration, but I stopped fighting. I had my family to think about, and there was too much danger of Hazel burning Bria or

Sophia to death before I could kill her. Not to mention the fact that Grimes and the rest of his men could open fire on us at any second.

Sophia realized that I was standing down - for now - and she carefully pointed her right index finger at Jo-Jo, then raised her black eyebrows at me in a silent question.

She wanted me to save her big sister, no matter what happened to her in the meantime. Sophia was willing to sacrifice herself for the rest of us. She knew that the sooner Grimes and his men left with her, the sooner Bria and I could help Jo-Jo. My heart squeezed tightly, but I nodded back at her, telling her that I understood.

Grimes stared down at Jo-Jo, his face perfectly calm and composed. She was slumped against the wall, her skirt up over her knees, her legs sprawled out at an awkward angle. Her breath puffed out in short, painful, ragged gasps, and her hands pressed tightly over the two gunshot wounds in her chest. Blood oozed out between her fingers, dripping down and painting ugly crimson roses on her pretty pink dress. Scarlet specks also covered the white pearls around her throat.

I hoped that she might reach for her Air magic and heal herself with it, but I realized that I didn't know if she could actually do that. Even if she could, maybe the pain was simply too great for her to concentrate on her magic, or maybe using her Air power now would sap what little strength - and life - she had left.

When Grimes was sure that Jo-Jo wasn't going to get up, he gestured at some of his men. "You four, stay behind and make sure that Ms. Deveraux dies, then follow us back in the second car. I'm rather tired of knowing that she's alive."

His gaze focused on me, then on Bria, and he smiled again. "There's no hurry, though. I got what I came for, so take a few minutes to amuse yourself with these two, if you want. Just be sure they won't be able to speak to anyone about it after the fact."

The four men let out dark, delighted chuckles at the thought of raping and killing Bria and me, but they weren't nearly as cold and sinister as the black rage beating in my heart. I ignored the men and looked at Bria.

My sister's blue eyes blazed with anger. I nodded at her, and she nodded back. We knew what we had to do now.

Grimes stuffed his gun back under his suit jacket, then gallantly flipped his gray fedora back up onto his head.

He leaned forward and mockingly tipped his hat at Jo-Jo. She glared at him as best she could, but her eyes were glassy and slightly unfocused with pain.

"I would say until we meet again, but we both know that's not going to happen," Grimes said. "But don't you worry, Ms. Deveraux. I'll take real good care of Sophia for you. Just like I did before. In fact, I plan to give her my full attention in the days and weeks ahead. After all, we've got a lot of lost time to make up for."

Jo-Jo made a strangled sound, but Grimes had already turned his back on her.

He stepped through the salon doorway and crooked his finger at the two men still holding Sophia, who tightened their grip on her and started dragging her toward the doorway. Hazel stood to the side and watched, that ball of Fire magic still burning in her hand.

But Sophia wasn't going without a fight. She grabbed on to one side of the doorframe, holding on with one hand and stretching the other out to her sister.

"Jo-Jo!" she rasped, a plaintive wail to her low hoarse tone that I'd never heard before. "Jo-Jo!"

"Sophia!" Jo-Jo screamed in return, holding out one hand and reaching for her.

The two men had their hands around Sophia's waist, trying to drag her away, but the dwarf was stronger than they were, and she could have held on forever - if the wood hadn't cracked.

One second, Sophia was hanging onto the doorway.

The next, the wood had splintered off into a long shard, sending her flying back into the hallway with the men.

They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, the men shouting and Sophia snarling.

"Now, now. We'll have none of that," Hazel said.

Stepping into the hallway, she grabbed Sophia by her hair, jerked her up, and slammed the ball of Fire magic into her back. Sophia screamed, but after a moment, the flames licking at her T-shirt were snuffed out. Sophia had Air magic, just like Jo-Jo did, and she was using her power to push back against Hazel's Fire.

But it didn't work.

As soon as the flames disappeared, more Fire flashed to life in Hazel's palm, and she shoved it into Sophia's back, causing her to scream once more. That gave the two men she was fighting a chance to latch on to her again and start dragging her down the hallway.

Sophia fought them - she fought them with all the strength and magic she had, but it wasn't enough. Not with Hazel burning her over and over again and laughing the whole damn time. The more Sophia struggled, the more magic the Fire elemental used on her, and the more she cackled with glee, until her light, pealing chuckles rang through the entire house.

Sadistic bitch.

As difficult and painful as it was, I shut the sound of

Sophia's screams and agony out of my mind and focused on the four men left in the salon. They weren't at all concerned about the elemental battle raging in the hallway.

The two men who'd been guarding Jo-Jo started kicking the dwarf, adding to her injuries, while the two men holding Bria and me decided to listen to Grimes's advice and have some fun with us.

The man guarding me tightened his grip on my arm, his fingers digging into my skin. "Don't you worry, honey," he said, leering at me. "I'll treat you real good."

"Really?" I said. "Is that so?"

He pulled me up flush against his body. "Oh, yeah. I'll give it to you so good that you'll be begging me for more."

I coldly smiled into his face, then whipped my right hand out from behind me and stabbed him in the throat with my knife. I yanked the weapon out as brutally as I had driven it in and followed up my first fatal blow with another furious punch to his heart. He was dead before he hit the floor.

He wasn't going to be the only one, though - not by a long shot.

I shoved the dead man away, grabbed another knife from the buffet table behind me, and headed toward Bria's man. He was so surprised by what had happened to his buddy that he gaped at me. He didn't notice Bria drop her hand down to her side or the bluish white light that flickered in her palm as she reached for her Ice magic.

Bria drove her elbow into the guy's side, making him grunt, release of her, and stagger back. But she wasn't about to let him get away. Instead, she whipped around, grabbed his jacket, pulled him forward, and shoved her hand into his face with one smooth motion.

Then she unleashed her magic on him.

The bluish white glow of her Ice power intensified, burning as brightly as a star, and a frigid sensation blasted through the salon, colder than any winter day. A second later, the light faded, and Bria let go of the man.

He thumped to the floor, his whole head encased in two inches of elemental Ice. If he wasn't dead already from the extreme, sudden frostbite, he'd suffocate soon enough. I was already turning to the two men kicking Jo-Jo, but

I made a mental note to tell Bria how impressed I was by the creativity - and viciousness - of that display of her power. I'd have to remember that particular trick.

The last two men finally noticed that Bria and I were fighting back. A little smarter and quicker than their friends had been, they raised their guns and fired at us.

Crack! Crack!

Bria and I both dived for cover behind two of the salon chairs. The bullets hit the chairs, sending bits of fluffy white fabric puffing up into the air like snow. Bria had managed to snag her straw bag in the confusion, and she quickly upended it and grabbed the gun that came tumbling out. She clutched the weapon with her right hand as another ball of elemental Ice pulsed to life in her left palm.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The men continued to fire at us.

"Go!" Bria shouted. "Get Sophia! I'll cover you!"