DAIRE’S NEXT LETTER scared her. His anger. His frustration. She didn’t know what to make of it. Reading the words over and over, she heard them in his voice.
I’d tell you to try that one again, but you’d still get it wrong. My asset? Just stab me in the gut next time. The pain will be less and I won’t have to be this mad.
It’s been two weeks. How the hell long are we going to let this go on? Z strutting around that damn room like he’s the guy in charge? Never pissed me off before. I never questioned the chain of command even when I didn’t agree with what was going on. I couldn’t sleep, I can’t sleep, because I can’t stand that the asshole took you away like that was his right. It’s not his right. And I can’t fucking believe you’re insisting I sit on my hands. I can’t take it. I don’t know what I’ll fucking do. I can’t concentrate. I need to know you’re okay. I need to touch you, to feel you.
You’ll tell me I’m wrong. You always fucking tell me I belong to Olympus. Why doesn’t it feel that way anymore? Why does it feel like the organization that took me in, that was always my home, my purpose, why does it feel like it’s sucking the life out of me? Losing you is like losing air, losing what I need to survive. It’s worse than any sucker punch. Worse than a bullet or a blade.
I’ll do it, okay? I’ll take the punishment, the torture, the beating, whatever it takes. I’d choose to endure anything other than this. Other than being so far from you. I have to be at your six. Want to have your back. If something happens and I’m not there… Fuck, baby, God help the world.
Peace. That’s what you said in the meeting. We need peace before there can be a restoration. How can that happen? How can there be peace when I’m consumed by so much fucking rage?
I’ve never been like this. I can always pull it back. Always redirect or ignore any emotion or reaction. Why can’t I forget that you’re not here? Why does it feel like your fingerprints are tattooed all over me? Like the only thing that matters is grabbing hold of you and keeping you close?
I keep thinking about a line in one of the letters I took from you. You are my meaning and my reason. I get it now. Those words mean something to me. Something so different than they did before.
These meetings. The words spouted by all parties. Once upon a time, they would’ve meant everything to me. Now I can’t concentrate on a syllable. If you’re there on the screen, I can’t think. You’re a drug, LR. My drug.
If you’re not there? Damnit, there’s no better reason to start a war. None.
Even this, it should be a chance to trade information. But I can’t care about that. Baby, give me a signal. Please. I told you I’d never have my Heart beg for anything. But yours will beg for you. Temptress, please.
We found the line. Several of them. Guess your benefactor rigged the place before he left. Smart and stupid because now he has seven guys baying for his blood.
Damn, even that fuck gets to share space with you. I can’t fucking concentrate. Everything comes back to you.
We’re working on putting Gamma on its feet and I’ve ID’d your suite. It’ll get special attention. Extra special. It’s about all I can do for you now.
Don’t worry about my mission. I know you panicked about the letters when you heard I have to go to D.C. H won’t touch the mail. No one will. And I won’t be gone more than seventy-two hours… unless you raise the gate and let me loose.
Give me another chance at my primary mission and I won’t let you down again. I swear it, baby. For the first time, I understand why men fall on their swords at the command of another. I’d give my life for a mission. I’d give it to you for nothing.
I ask you again. Beg you. Give the word, Temptress.
How was she supposed to reply? There were so many things she ached to say. So much love that had to remain contained. Any hint of weakness or vulnerability could lead to him ruining everything by rushing across the Atlantic.
In her letter, she tried to make that clear to him. Coming to terms with their lack of a future threw so many emotions into the melee. All she wanted was for him to be safe. Happy. That meant cutting her out of his life as soon as possible.
Every day it grew more difficult, every minute. How much longer could she endure it? Her heart hurt. Every night, the tears came. How she wished to be in his arms again. In the Beast. In the night. Just them. Together. Alone.
It wasn’t easy to hold onto hope. She wanted to see him again but had to face reality. It may not happen. Maybe they’d be apart forever. One day, if she ever got a chance to walk away from Olympus, she’d have to walk away for good. That meant walking away from her Heart.
London was a wonderful city. Beautiful and vibrant. But she didn’t care. Couldn’t care.
Styx was some comfort. It had been nine days since they’d first met on the park bench. So far, they were no further forward in figuring out what Zeus wanted. Every once in a while, he’d bring up the assassination and she’d argue against it.
Until reading Daire’s letter, she’d had no doubt he yearned for Olympus. Zeus was Olympus. It was that simple. But he was hurting. Her Heart begged for a signal. He needed her to call him to her side. If she asked him, he’d come, that had never been in question. Not asking was supposed to save him from making a choice. It was her show of strength, to prove she could persevere.
But his letter…
The heaviness in her heart accompanied her up in the elevator back to the apartment. He’d said he couldn’t concentrate. The cursing, the tone, the anger, the need, she felt all of it. Persevering had never been so tough.
Being around Zeus was irritating. Being away from her Heart? Agony. Believing he was focused and in control, she’d put up with both.
A disciplined Daire was what she saw on the screen during the video meetings. There had been three since the one she’d walked in on. Progress was being made at Gamma; something Daire had shared in his letter too. In her reply, she’d hinted hold-ups wouldn’t be unwelcome. If he was hurrying believing it would bring her back to him sooner, he wouldn’t appreciate her request to slow things down.
She wanted to sleep, but it wasn’t even dinner time yet. Going through the front door, she prepared for another meal charade. The sight of suitcases stopped her dead. Luggage? Did that mean they were leaving?
Styx hadn’t come through with the passport yet, but that wouldn’t matter if they were leaving. Suitcases. They had to be leaving.
It was too much to hope that they’d take her back to Vegas. If they switched to somewhere else, another country, somewhere further away, her line of communication to Daire would be severed. Cautious, she had to be cautious and restrain her hopes.
In search of answers, she hurried through the apartment and came across Byron on the phone in the large reception room. He held up a finger when she rushed over, mouth open, desperate to ask what was going on.
“Yes… No problem. Thank you.” Byron hung up the cellphone and tucked it into his pocket. “Tess.”
He put his hands on her shoulders; it didn’t occur to her to shrug them off. “What’s going on?”
So much for cautious hope. Zeal drove her actions and her emotions.
“We have business,” Byron said, rubbing her arms. “Back in the States.”
Her inhale had to be filled with joy, but hiding her reaction was the furthest thing from her mind. Before she had the chance to say anything another voice joined them.
“It will be just you and I for a while.”
Zeus.
Spinning around, she noticed him in the far corner. “Just… us?”
“Yes,” he said, approaching. “Byron and Balfour will return to the US. It’s time to bring our new Two and Five into the fold. They’re meeting Six over there.”
If her head wasn’t reeling, she would ask about Four. The enigmatic Four who no one ever talked about. Thinking wasn’t easy while coming to terms with the reality of the immediate future.
“They’re leaving me here,” she said, blinking at him. “I’m staying here.”
“Yes,” Zeus said, stopping just a few feet away.
Maybe he’d read it in her expression. The rage that begged her to slap him right across the face. The fuck. Anger was hot and easier to feel than the true pain tearing at her insides. Thank God she didn’t have a direct link to Daire in that second. He wanted a signal? She’d give it loud and clear. She’d summon him to her side and beg him to take down the smug bastard who knew exactly what was going on in her head.
Not exactly. No. She knew something he didn’t. The Ares he considered so precious was drifting further and further away from the cause because the damn principals couldn’t get their acts together. The particular one she was looking at anyway.
“Good,” she said, only because it was the exact opposite of what he expected her to say. “I have tickets for a matinee this week.”
Oh, she’d never known rage. Daire had said that in his first letter to her. He’d never known rage until he met her. She got it. Understood how someone, anyone, having the power to manipulate others could twist the knife and turn up the heat of anger.
She’d never been so tempted to give Styx the go. Assassination sounded good for the first time. After Byron and Hugo were gone, they might have a chance to end this.
One and Three were leaving the country. Although it was a disappointment to be staying behind, the change highlighted a new issue. One day she might have to walk out the door without warning. There wouldn’t be time to say goodbye or strategize with Styx. They needed a contingency plan.
“We didn’t intend to leave so abruptly,” Byron said. “An opportunity arose. One we can’t miss.”
“What kind of opportunity?” she asked.
“Our associates are in proximity,” Byron said. “We should be able to approach both. Negotiations may be difficult, so I apologize in advance if we take up too much of our host’s time.”
Zeus? Was that who he was talking about? From the smile the men exchanged, she figured so.
“It’s all for a good cause,” Tess said, restraining her impulse to be snide. “Olympus comes first, right?”
“It does,” Byron said, buying the act, though it wasn’t so clear if Zeus did. “It was a pleasure meeting you. It won’t be long until we see each other again.”
“It won’t?” she asked, recognizing the prospect of gathering intelligence. “When will we see each other again? Are you coming back here after your meeting?”
“It could take several days,” Byron said, his brow descending as he looked past her to Zeus. “Maybe a couple of weeks… I assume Beta will be the next time we see each other.”
Oh, she liked that. Beta meant the beta site. She’d been there before. That was where she’d met Harry.
As her mind worked, Zeus grabbed her arm to pull her across the room. “You should get ready for dinner.”
Ha! Now who was angry? Z swung her towards the hallway, throwing her out of the room. Obviously, he didn’t like the former president being so honest. Although it was difficult, she restrained her immature desire to laugh in triumph. Yes, she had something to go on. Finally. The beta site was in Oregon, USA, the coordinates were branded in her memory. She’d be going home… Sometime. Eventually. Which was more than she’d known a few minutes ago.
In her bedroom, she dropped back to close the door with her weight. What did they need to do at the beta site? Demo it, Daire had said that was in the cards. She wouldn’t need to be present for that. It was another piece of the puzzle. Intel was the key to survival. In that second, she felt just a little closer to her Heart.
Someone moved in the hallway beyond her room. She didn’t think anything of it, the uniformed grunts were always going here and there. Her mind was elsewhere until she heard a voice.
“Are we ready to go?” Hugo called out.
“Yes,” came Byron’s reply, his voice a little quieter.
“I should say goodbye to Tess. Is she back?”
“Leave her,” Zeus demanded, radiating irritation. “You need to go.”
“What’s wrong?” Hugo’s voice receded as he said the words.
She wouldn’t hear much with them in the foyer. Taking a risk, she rolled on the door and curled her fingers around the handle to open it, slow and silent.
“I’m sorry,” Byron’s quiet words were the first she heard. “Honesty is important for trust. We should tell her.”
“If she knows, then she has power,” Zeus hissed. “Her blood has to be living, I can’t just slit her throat. Ignorance means less resistance. The more she knows, the more she’ll demand. It’s a ridiculous situation.”
“Tess has strength, and her loyalty isn’t set,” Byron said. “She’s no victim. This is the chance to empower and educate her. She has taken this in stride… with grace. She’s smart enough to handle it.”
“That’s not your decision,” Zeus said, his confidence in full force. “And it’s time for you to leave. Both of you. Keep me apprised of your progress. Any difficulties, contact me immediately.”
Although they wouldn’t have to if Six was going to be there. Lowell would keep his bestest buddy in the loop. The front door opened as Zeus issued orders to the men taking the suitcases.
She closed the door and headed into the bathroom.
Her blood. They needed her blood. Zeus needed her blood. For what? Intel was the key to survival. If Daire knew her blood was needed for some ritual or whatever, he’d have told her… wouldn’t he?
A question mark hung over Styx. It didn’t feel like he was deliberately withholding, but he was Olympus trained. Should she tell him about the blood? It was a hearty slice of intel. Valuable intel. Living blood. What did that even mean? At least it confirmed no one intended to kill her. Not until after whatever the blood thing was about.
If knowing they needed her blood gave her power, she’d give Styx power by telling him too. So many secrets. Some she kept by deliberate choice; others made good sense. She had until tomorrow to figure out what to tell her ally.
A knock on the outer closet door came just as she turned the shower on. Uh… that wasn’t a good sign. She hurried through to see who was there.
Zeus. No apology, no hesitation.
“This is my bedroom,” she said. “My private space.”
“It is,” he said. “But I didn’t think you’d hear me at the door.”
And how did he know she was in the bathroom? That wasn’t the first time he’d hinted at knowing more than she was comfortable with.
Without flinching, she asked, “What do you want?”
Starting a fight in her bedroom, with Byron and Balfour gone, wouldn’t be wise. Not that she’d expect them to defend her. Still, if Zeus wanted to change the nature of their association against her will, he could trap her in a room that locked in a matter of seconds.
“Since it’s just us, I thought I would take you out for dinner. Will an hour be long enough for you to get ready?”
“Out for dinner,” she said, suspicious. “Like a date?”
He laughed. “As much as I would enjoy telling your father that we were romantically involved, I think it would be best to keep things between us professional.”
Between her and him or between him and Harry? It didn’t really matter. He’d twisted her words to make it seem like she’d requested more of their relationship.
“I don’t mind eating in,” she said. “I’m used to it.”
“Then we’ll eat in the private dining room or on the balcony, which would you prefer?”
Either way sounded too romantic. Pancakes by candlelight in the Beast came to mind. That was the only place she wanted to think about romance and the only man she’d consider it with.
“Out then,” she said, despite discounting the idea a moment ago. “I haven’t seen enough of London nightlife.”
“Good,” he said. “Perhaps we can go to your matinee together as well… and some evening shows too. I didn’t know you enjoyed the theater.”
“Not something I got much of a chance to try at home,” she said, still uncertain of the man.
His being relaxed and at ease didn’t make her less suspicious.
“Then this is your chance,” he said. “I’ll see what we can put together.” Without asking, he picked up her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I look forward to this opportunity. We’ll get to know each other better… personally. I’ll come back in an hour.”
Leaving her in the closet, more than a little confused, he went out of her bedroom and closed the door. He’d said they should keep things professional, then that they’d get to know each other personally.
Why couldn’t she have slipped into Byron or Hugo’s luggage? Damn, she envied them… and their distance from Zeus.
Being his sole form of entertainment wasn’t a role she wanted. If they were going to eat alone and socialize, she didn’t want him getting ideas or to like him either. Intel was her mission. Listening could lead to learning; eavesdropping on Byron had worked out.
Daire didn’t slip up with intelligence, so it was a good bet that Zeus wouldn’t either. Still, anything she could remember might help later, even if it didn’t seem relevant. Her Heart might recognize something as useful even if she didn’t. She’d hoover up the information and then pray that Daire would be able to piece it together.