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.