Elemental Assassin 04 - Tangled Threads

replied.
    Owen knew that I was the assassin the Spider. He’d had his suspicions for weeks, ever since I’d gone toe-to-toe with a greedy dwarven mine owner—and had been the only one left standing at the end. A couple of weeks ago, I’d told Owen my deep, dark secret when I’d gone after Elliot Slater.
    Owen had been more accepting of my past then I’d ever dreamed he could be. He knew what a dark, twisted,violent place Ashland was, and he’d done his fair share of nasty things over the years too. Just to survive, just to keep himself and Eva safe. Owen didn’t begrudge me my strength, skills, or murky past, unlike another man that I’d once been involved with. His easy acceptance of me was one of the many things I liked about Owen.
    We’d both agreed that Eva had a right to know about my past as well, so I’d sat her down one night and told her what I did. Eva hadn’t been that surprised, especially since I’d helped out Violet Fox, her best friend, several weeks ago. Violet had told Eva how I’d saved her and her grandfather from being murdered by the dwarven mine owner who wanted their land and the diamonds he’d discovered on it. Violet wasn’t the only one I’d saved. I’d also kept Eva from getting fried to a crisp by a Fire elemental who’d tried to rob the Pork Pit one night while she’d been eating in the restaurant.
    Eva had been just as understanding about my past as Owen, mainly because my family wasn’t the only one that Mab Monroe had murdered over the years. She’d also killed Owen and Eva’s parents because of their father’s gambling debt when Eva was just a toddler. The two of them had been forced to live on the mean streets of Ashland, just as I’d done before Fletcher Lane had taken me in. Now Eva treated me like a big sister—a role I wasn’t sure that I was comfortable with, since I didn’t know where things were going between Owen and me.
    And the small fact that I hadn’t even told my own sister, Bria, who I really was.
    “Actually, you’ll be lucky if Gin shows tonight at all,” Eva said.
    Owen’s violet eyes narrowed. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
    Eva rolled her own eyes and put a hand on her hip. “It means you’ve been dating her less than a month, and you already gave her a freaking
key
, Owen.”
    “What was wrong with giving Gin a key?” he rumbled. “It’s not like I could keep her out of the house, even if I wanted to. I thought a key would make things easier, make her feel like she was really welcome here. This is the first time that I’ve dated an assassin. I don’t want to piss her off.”
    I smiled at his light tone, and logic. Two more things that I liked about Owen. He didn’t shy away from my past, or the fact that I could kill him as easily as sleep with him.
    “Don’t get me wrong. I like Gin—a lot. Certainly more than those bimbos you’ve brought home,” Eva said.
    “Hey, now. They weren’t bimbos. At least, not all of them.”
    Eva sniffed. “When their boobs are bigger than their hair, they’re bimbos, Owen. Trust me on that.”
    Owen grumbled something under his breath, reached into his box, and threw a wad of icicles at his younger sister. Eva snickered and ducked out of the way of the sparkling tinfoil.
    “So what’s wrong with Gin?” Owen asked.
    Eva shrugged. “It’s not that anything’s
wrong
with her. But she’s the Spider. Like, the best assassin
ever.
”
    “What’s your point?”
    “My point is that Gin’s not the kind of woman who’s going to be ecstatic when you give her a key after a few dates. There’s a little bit more to her than that.”
    Owen frowned. “You think it was too much? Too soon?”
    “Way too much, way too soon,” Eva replied.
    Well, I was glad I wasn’t the only one who thought so, although I wasn’t sure if I wanted Owen taking relationship advice from his kid sister, who wasn’t even old enough to legally drink.
    The two of them strung some more icicles on the tree for a minute before Owen spoke again.
    “I like Gin,” he said. “More than I’ve liked anyone in a long time. That’s why I gave her the key. Because I wanted to. Because I want her to stick around.”
    Eva looked at her big brother. “I know. Just remember that Gin’s not like anyone else you’ve ever dated. She’s not going to act the same as the bimbos, who would have started moving their stuff in and picking out wedding dresses the second you gave them a key.”
    Owen’s eyes