Jennifer Estep Widow's Web Excerpt with Giveaway!

WIDOW’S WEB EXCERPT: 

     I walked over, leaned against the desk, and pointed my paintball gun at Owen. “You should have known better than to let Finn talk you into drinking so much at Northern Aggression. Drunken challenges issued to assassins to have them test your security rarely end well for the challenger. Or challengers, in this case.”

     Finn stopped trying to scrub the paint off his shirt long enough to glare at me again.

     “As I recall, I wasn’t drinking alone, and you and I had quite a bit of fun later on that night,” Owen said in a husky voice.

     “Maybe.” I agreed with a grin. “But Finn was the one who bet me dinner at Underwood’s that I couldn’t kill you both by the end of the month. So you only have yourselves to blame.”

     Finn sniffed his displeasure. “You still didn’t have to ruin my suit.”

     “No,” I agreed. “I didn’t have to ruin it. That was just an added bonus.”

     He narrowed his eyes, but I just gave him my most innocent, gracious, beautific Southern smile.

     “Well, it’s getting late, and I’m supposed to head over to Bria’s,” Finn said. “And I obviously can’t go looking like this.”

     I rolled my eyes at his put-upon tone, but Owen just laughed.

     “Go,” Owen said. “Get cleaned up. We can finish our business tomorrow.”

     “Say hi to Bria for me,” I added in a sugary-sweet voice.

     Finn grumbled something under his breath about what I could do with certain parts of my anatomy before packing up his papers and briefcase and leaving.

     “Well,” Owen said after Finn had shut the office door a little harder than necessary. “You got us both, just like you said you would.”

     I grinned. “That’s what people pay me for. Or used to pay me for.”

     He raised an eyebrow. “Good to know retirement hasn’t lessened your skills any.”

     I shrugged. We both knew I couldn’t afford to let myself get rusty. Not now, when so many folks in Ashland and beyond would love nothing more than to see me dead. Back in the winter, I’d finally managed to kill Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who’d run the Ashland underworld for years. Pro-fucking-bono, as it were. Mab had murdered my mother and sister when I was thirteen, and her death had been about revenge to me more than anything else. But the Fire elemental’s demise had left a power vacuum in the city, and now every lowlife and not-so-lowlife was clawing for that power, position, and prestige. Some of them thought the best way to do that was by killing me, Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider.

     So far, I’d put all the challengers in the ground along with Mab, but they just kept on coming. A few weeks ago, I’d brought up the idea of testing and updating the security at all the places I frequented, including Owen’s home and office. There was no point in making things easy for my would-be murderers. Then, Finn had piped up and suggested we make it into a contest—with him and Owen trying to outwit me. Of course, that hadn’t turned out exactly like Finn had planned, but I was happy with the outcome. I always liked to win, no matter what game I was playing.

BIO INFO:

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times bestselling author. Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. Widow’s Web, the seventh book, will be released on Aug. 21. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more information about her books.

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Oh poor Owen! I'll help clean you up. I don't mind at all... *fans self* Guess I should be careful since Gin isn't getting rusty... *nervous laugh*

Anyhoo...

Jennifer Estep is generously giving away the newest in Gin's adventures, Widow's Web!! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter. It's US only. Good Luck!!

Widow's Web 

I used to murder people for money, but these days it’s more of a survival technique. 

Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town.

Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back in town, she thinks he’s hers for the taking.

Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen. But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly scheme, even if it leaves my love affair hanging by a thread.

a Rafflecopter giveaway