Free Pros and Cons by Jenna Black Page A

straight, letting the ball roll through and ending his game.
    â€œWhy ask for ideas when you already have a plan?” he inquired with one of his cocky smirks.
    So much for my attempt to make him think the plan was his idea. I was just going to have to hope he thought it would be fun anyway. Here goes nothing, I thought, resisting the urge to cross my fingers.
    â€œMy first thought was to use Heather and Doug as bait and try to lure Fowler into doing something incriminating that I could catch on video.”
    Jack snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh, brilliant!” he said. “Because this Fowler guy is likely to come after Tweedledum and Tweedledumber personally. It’s not like he might, you know, send one of his hit-man buddies to take care of the problem for him.”
    I gritted my teeth. “I said that was my first thought. Generally, when someone tells you something was their first thought, it means they came up with something better.”
    â€œThen maybe they should have skipped right to the something-better part. Just sayin’.”
    I was letting him get to me, and I knew better. Although if I somehow, miraculously, didn’t let him get to me, odds were he’d just try harder, so maybe giving in early and often was the key to maintaining my sanity.
    â€œDid you know your ears get red when you’re pissed off?” Jack asked, really enjoying himself at my expense.
    â€œFascinating. My heart rate and blood pressure go up, too. And I start fantasizing about slow and painful ways to kill people. So, now that we’ve got all that out of the way, how would you like to play the role of Wayne Fowler in the sting I just described?”
    One of Jack’s gifts from his divine ancestor is the ability to shape-shift. I’d seen him turn into a huge black hellhound, a fluffy white poodle, and a perfect doppelgänger of Konstantin. I doubted he would have any trouble duplicating Fowler.
    â€œHmm,” Jack said, rubbing his chin as he mulled it over. “Not bad. Saves you from having to persuade Fowler to show up in person. And reduces the chances of anyone getting killed.”
    â€œWe can also be sure you’ll say something incriminating enough to put Fowler away.”
    Jack looked doubtful. “Might be hard to get him put away on words alone. Would you mind if Doug got roughed up a bit? If I physically attack him, it’ll be much more convincing to a jury. You can spring out of hiding to save the day before it gets ugly. And don’t worry, I won’t touch your paying client.”
    I stared at him long and hard. His logic made perfect sense, but with Jack, I always had the sense that there were layers upon layers of motives. Was it really necessary to use violence, or was Jack merely making the suggestion because he thought it would be more entertaining and dramatic?
    â€œYou don’t want to set up this elaborate sting and then have him convince a jury he didn’t really mean it when he threatened to dismember your client,” Jack wheedled when I hesitated.
    Dammit, he was right. We had to catch Fowler in action, not just talking.
    â€œFine,” I agreed grudgingly. “Just remember, he’s human and breakable.”
    â€œI’ll be very gentle with him,” Jack promised with an earnestness I’d have been a fool to believe. “I’ll have to pay Fowler a quick visit so I can impersonate him.”
    I decided not to think about just what kind of mischief Jack might get into during this visit. What I didn’t know couldn’t hurt me, right? Besides, I had other things to worry about.
    â€œAnd I’m going to have to persuade Doug and Heather to show up for a meeting with a guy they’re sure wants to kill them.” I had a feeling that was going to be a daunting challenge. Especially when my plan ultimately required they reveal to the police that they’d been attempting to blackmail Fowler. I