FROM A DEAD SLEEP, Tess was awoken by her back hitting a wall. No, something… someone had hold of her. He was yelling. It was a him and he was mad. Fighting to get with it, she tried to breathe in, but was pulled forward and slammed against the wall again.
“Where is it?”
Oh… she shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes and wasn’t surprised Zeus was the one clutching her arms. Red with fury, he gnashed his teeth, hissing out the rage coursing through him.
“You fucking little bitch, answer me!”
Thrown to the floor, she was disoriented, still not quite in the moment. What was going on? There was light… from outside, daylight… but what time was it?
Something heavy hit her ribs so hard the air was forced out of her lungs. Scrambling away, she clutched at the pain in her side. Zeus’s anger was more than just hot, it was violent. He stomped over to grab her hair and pull her up. Yelping, she fought to use the wall for balance as she climbed to her feet as fast as possible.
“Stop!” she said, trying to push him away. “Just stop it!”
“You took them! You stole from me! After all that I—”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, though it wasn’t so easy to play oblivious when fear was ramping up. “What’s stolen?”
“Don’t play the innocent little fucking lamb with me,” he said, letting go of her hair to step back, though only a few inches. “You took the fucking keys, where are they?” He manhandled her into the closet, shoving her the last few inches. “Get them.” When she didn’t immediately move, he screamed in her face. “Now!”
“I don’t have them! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
That was the exact position she’d been afraid of finding herself in with him. In the closet, no exits, him blocking her way.
“I don’t fucking buy it,” he said, shoving her deeper into the closet. “You’re the only goddamn one here.”
“Maybe the staff moved something,” she said, feeling bad about putting anyone else in the firing line. “Or Byron, him or Hugo could’ve packed something by mistake.”
He grabbed her jaw to pull her closer. “You give them to me in the next ten seconds or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what?” she snapped, pulling on some bravado, shoving out of his grip. Though her body was more awake, her mind wasn’t. If it was, it would remind her not to aggravate conflict without an exit strategy. “You kill me? My father kills you. How will you get your precious Olympus back together then?” Though she wouldn’t reveal all, revealing some awareness may be the only way out. “You need something from me. I don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t, and I will figure it out.”
“You’ll figure out nothing,” he said, sneering as he looked her up and down. “You’re an ungrateful little bitch. I’ve kept you here, paid for your bullshit. I told you what would happen if you abused my kindness.”
“Great,” she said, retreating a few discreet steps, holding her hands open at her sides. “I abused it, what are you gonna do? Beat me? Do it! Parade me on camera to hurt him. Wait to see how long it takes my father to get on a plane with his posse of men to take me home!”
“Home,” he spat the word. “You don’t belong anywhere. I’ve spent a lifetime seeing to that. Your lifetime.”
Gritting her teeth, the truth of him was blinding. All the simpering and conversation wasn’t the truth. This was the man the Six wanted to kill.
“And, yet, somehow I’m still here,” she said. “And I’m at least one step ahead of you.”
He bowed closer. “Where are they?” he growled.
“Not here, that’s for sure,” she said, showing him a disgusted smile. “You think I’m that stupid?”
“I think touching what was mine was stupid. You’re going to learn exactly what it will cost you.”
“I won’t learn anything,” she said. “Because you need what I have.”
“Where are they?” he asked, grabbing at her things, pulling clothes from hangers and shoes from shelves. “No one steals from me.”
“Apparently they do,” she said, resting a shoulder on the bathroom doorjamb.
Her pose was relaxed, but deliberate. If he thought about laying another hand on her, she couldn’t get out of the apartment, but could retreat to the bathroom and lock the door.
His fists clenched at his sides as he turned on her again, his cheeks showing the tension in his jaw. “Where are they?”
“Gone,” she said.
“Gone where?”
“I mailed them… back to the States.”
Not entirely true. They were with Styx who may or may not be on a plane. Either way, the keys were going to end up on the opposite side of the ocean.
“You little bitch!” When he leaped forward, fist raised, she pounced back and grabbed the door in both hands. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I think they call it shifting the balance of power,” she said, her heart racing. “You want those keys? I’m your only chance of getting them back. The envelope has my name on it. Unless you feel like sauntering up to my father to ask for my mail, I’m the only one who can get them for you. I got a bunch of stuff delivered to Three’s house. Everything just gets piled up until I open it.” Not true, but Zeus didn’t know that. “I bet they’ll just sit there, completely unnoticed… unless you or one of your precious Six start snooping around looking for them. Hades would pick up on that interest in a flash, right?”
Goading him wasn’t a good idea either, but the confidence made it seem like she’d thought this out, like it was the plan. It wasn’t. Still, she was doing well thinking on her feet, especially with Zeus so vulnerable. He didn’t have trained operatives at his side. Even if he did, they were no match for the Olympus men in the desert house.
“I’ll send Balfour. It’s his house.”
Tess scoffed. “Yeah, right, while Hades and Poseidon are there with their men? Balfour doesn’t own squat. And if he thinks to touch anything of mine, my father will take him apart.” Or Daire would. “The mail is taken into the garage. I’m pretty sure there’s a sensor that notifies the guys someone’s in there.” A sensor called Daire. Hugo wouldn’t get much of a break from him. “Don’t believe me? Leave me here. Go yourself.”
Because she could go to an airport and fly to Miami while he was in Vegas searching for something that wasn’t there.
“You’re going to regret this.”
She’d regret not giving it a shot more. “What do you want to do?”
Byron and Balfour weren’t around to strategize and pander. Zeus had literally no back up. He’d probably believed keeping her in check would be no big deal. Playing the good little houseguest had lulled him into a false sense of security. On her own, she wasn’t a formidable foe, yet with a little help, it seemed she’d bested the man who underestimated her.
Hubris was what he accused her father of. Yet, Zeus was the one blinded by his own self-belief. That would be his downfall. It was this time. It would also be the reason he wouldn’t trust anyone else to retrieve the keys. If that was even an option. And it probably wasn’t. Anyone capable of taking on Olympus, he’d have recruited in a snap. As he liked to say, Olympus was his life. Contacts out with the organization were probably few and far between… and of the non-elite variety.
He swallowed, hard, none of his anger was gone, but he didn’t have much of a choice. “You have fifteen minutes,” he said in a low growl. “Get dressed. Pack whatever you need. I will have a man outside your bedroom, don’t even attempt to go anywhere.” Why would she? All she’d craved since arriving was leaving. He turned to go but stopped at the door to glare back at her. “There will be consequences for this. Enjoy the victory while you can. You remember what I said about mercy last night? Don’t expect any.”
She didn’t react and waited until he’d slammed out of the bedroom before blowing out a breath. They were leaving. Going back to the desert house. Maybe. She didn’t know for sure. As long as the plane took her back to home soil, she’d find her way. Somehow.
The journey was going to be a trial in itself. Trying to anticipate what would happen once she got there was impossible. One step at a time, that’s how she’d have to take it.
She leaped in the shower and got ready in less than seven minutes. Everything essential was tossed into her carpet bag. Everything else stayed behind. Nothing that Zeus provided meant anything to her. The cellphone had never been touched and her key was on a shelf by the closet door. Styx had returned it. Good. There was no evidence that anyone else had been there.
None except the missing items.
She put on her jacket and looped her bag around her arm. The money she’d amassed from her daily allowance was hidden in various items of clothing. Having spent a minimal amount, saving had been a priority. Never knowing if or when she might make a break for it, she’d done her best to prepare.
When the bedroom door opened, she was there waiting to step out into the hall. Zeus and a security agent were there too. The latter immediately stepped forward with a scanning wand.
“What is he doing?” she asked while the guy in black waved the thing in front of her. Zeus snatched her bag to dump its contents out on the floor. “What the hell?”
Once the guy was done with her, he went to the mess Zeus had made and scanned it as well. When it came up empty, Zeus just huffed and waved him away.
“Clean this up,” he demanded even though he’d been the cause of the mess.
She crouched to scoop her clothes back into the bag. “You think I’m hiding them on my person or in my things?” she asked, putting everything into the bag and closing it up. “Why would I do that? It wouldn’t make sense to move something from one place in your apartment to somewhere else in the same apartment.”
“You shouldn’t say another damn word,” Zeus said, stepping back to gesture down the hall. “Move.”
Doing as told, she went down the hall and smiled at the two waiting security agents. The show of force was ridiculous. Having no reason to run, she needed him to take her back across the Atlantic… or so he thought.
If he was trying to intimidate her, he’d failed. It wasn’t easy to hide her smile in the elevator. Either Zeus wasn’t bringing any of his things or he’d had other people take it downstairs because there were no suitcases with them.
The security agents marched across the lobby, flanking her even as they went out the automatic door. A car awaited them. One agent opened the door and got in, the other waited for her to climb in before getting in after her.
Fine. So she’d become some kind of international terrorist spy in Zeus’s eyes or something. Whatever. She just wanted to get home. That had been the plan for the day anyway. She’d play nice, be polite, and try her best not to aggravate the man who was clearly already on edge.
Checking her out with the wand had been smart. It would’ve been embarrassing to fly all the way home for her to produce them from her back pocket or something. When Zeus got in and the car started moving, she almost said that to him. At the last second, she thought better of it. As it was, they were doing what she wanted. Nothing she could say would make the situation any better, but she could make things worse for herself.
The keys. It all came down to these keys.
If they were using the same airport they landed at, the drive would be a couple of hours. With her bag tucked against her body, she wrapped her arms around it and watched the city go by. London was a great city, but she wasn’t sorry to be leaving it.
Already she was counting the seconds to takeoff. Zeus was glaring, not at her, just at the world, and she did feel bad for him. Sort of. She’d feel worse if he hadn’t flung her against a wall and forced her to the floor before kicking her. It had to be a kick. Her hand slid to her aching ribs. It hurt to inhale too deeply, every time she did, another pain quaked through her.
Measuring each breath, she took deliberate stock and wouldn’t complain. Soon, like within a matter of hours, she could be in Nevada again, maybe face to face with her Heart. That was too much to hope; she couldn’t let herself dream. Being too smug or appearing too happy could prompt Zeus to forget he needed her.
Home. She was going home. No matter what, she had to play it cool. Not too happy. Not too smug. Damn, it was hard. She was finally going home.