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THE FRICTION BETWEEN REYFYRE and me seemed to grow as all our unspoken shit festered between us. Thankfully, it was only a few days after his lack of trust announcement that New York City came into view.
I stared at the city looming before us with my jaw dropped open. The tall buildings reflected the sunlight like mirrors, intimidating me into silence. I had never seen a city like this. Sure, Asgard had Odin’s castle, but that was one building looming over everything else.
This was something different and almost too big for my brain to comprehend.
Reyfyre leaned toward me. “Your mouth is hanging open.”
I snapped my jaw shut and glared at him. “You did not prepare me for this.” I waved at the view getting closer and more overwhelming every minute.
“Welcome to New York City, Kara.” He grinned. “This is one of hundreds of cities across America, but it is the biggest.”
I gawked at the city. It was stunning in the morning light. And it was a far cry from the mud and brick huts I saw in Greece. The human race had evolved beyond measure. And yet, Odin and Thor still reigned over them with an iron fist.
“If they could build this, why did they just lie down and surrender to Odin?” I asked softly as we approached the marina.
“Because they have nothing that can kill a god. None of their best weapons, human or otherwise, was a match to Thor and Odin’s power.” His lips curved into a frown. “We need to establish ourselves here as Karen Johnson and Ray Davis.” He pulled out the licenses and handed me mine. “Do not lose this.”
I tucked it into my back pocket as Reyfyre docked the boat. He turned off the engine and glanced at me. “We need to pack our clothes.”
Without waiting for me, he headed downstairs.
I followed in time to see Reyfyre pull a suitcase from under the bed. It had wheels on one side and after he slammed the bed back down, he unzipped the bag and started to pack our remaining clean clothing neatly. Once he had our things tucked into the suitcase, he retrieved the laundry bag from the bathroom and spread it over the top of the clean clothing before zipping up the bag.
I stepped aside as he deposited the suitcase in front of me. He went to one of the thin floor-to-ceiling doors and pressed his thumb to the pad under the latch. It unlocked and swung open. Inside his locked cabinet were more weapons: guns tucked into the doorframe, along with some interesting knives. There were a couple of rifles like the one he carried from the bedroom along with our swords. Stowing them quickly, he closed the door and repeated pressing his thumb to the pad. The click of a lock engaging filled the silence.
“It would have been nice to know we were armed to the helm.” I crossed my arms.
“Now you know. But only a blade can be used to kill a god.” His gaze met mine before he focused on the kitchen, opening cabinets and taking stock of the food. He did the same with the refrigerator.
He handed me what was left of the eggs and a milk carton. “The rest of the things in here will keep.” And then he slid his stockinged feet into his thick snow boots, slipped on his jacket and waited expectantly for me to do the same.
After being in heated accommodations, the slap of cold wind as we disembarked from the boat hit like an ice storm. “How long will this cold continue?”
He chewed his lip and started up the dock. “I think we have another six weeks until spring kicks in down here. I’m hoping we can find a furnished apartment by then.” He spoke over his shoulder as he led the way into the marina. He headed straight for the counter and unfolded a piece of paper, handing it to the clerk. “Did Mr. Allaire leave anything for me here?”
The clerk glanced at the paper he was handed before looking up at Reyfyre. “Let me have a look, Mr. Davis.” He stepped away into the back room, rummaging around for a few minutes. When he came back, he handed a slim envelope to Reyfyre with a smile. “Does Mr. Allaire’s boat need any repairs?”
“Not to my knowledge, but I believe he said to make sure you do a service check before you dry-dock it?” The statement came out in more of a question as Reyfyre pocketed the envelope.
“Yes, sir. We do a thorough inspection before we store it. Do you happen to know when Mr. Allaire is coming into town? His contract doesn’t specify when we should have it ready for him.”
“He mentioned he wanted me to do a return run in the fall, so I’d assume he’ll want it during the summer, but you never know what his timing is.” Reyfyre smiled. “I’ll catch you in the fall.”
“See you then, Ray.”
He turned and escorted me out of the building, keeping his smile on his face until we were off the property. Then it dropped completely. “I didn’t expect to be gone quite this long, so my accounts here are probably near depleted. And I don’t have access to Allaire’s accounts yet.”
“Who the hell is Allaire?” I asked, still carrying the eggs and milk while he rolled the suitcase behind us.
“That is my real surname.” His side-eye told me to keep it under wraps. “Just like yours is Mist.” A dimple appeared in his cheek before he squashed the smile. “Karen,” he added as we crossed the road.
I crinkled my nose at him.
“Karen Johnson,” he said with a smirk. “I figured Karen would be easy for you to remember, especially under stress.”
“Just like Ray?”
He nodded. “It’s close enough for me to stop before I get to the fire part of my name. And I don’t think Odin or Thor knows my surname. Otherwise, my accounts would have been drained dry. It was my mother’s name, but she took my father’s surname when they married, so there’s no trail back to it.”
“So Allaire is rich?” I waved back toward the marina.
“By what standard?” He glanced up at the towering buildings surrounding us. “If you’re comparing my wealth to a king?” He nodded.
“In comparison to Odin?” I only had the opulence of his castle as a comparison.
Reyfyre’s eyes squinted as he pressed his lips together. “Before he stole the riches from the wealthy here on Earth, my family surpassed him. But they were only able to hide away a fraction of their wealth. But I’m still in the top one percent on Earth. I just don’t have access to it until I take down that bastard. I’ve done my best to keep it hidden. There are some things like the boat that has a steady stream of money tagged for its upkeep and storage, and there was no provision for the person who moved it from place to place to live on it. That would have raised too many flags.” He glanced at me. “So, for now, we are poor and have to live that way. It keeps us under their radar.” His blue eyes flicked to mine, punctuating his statement.
As soon as we crossed over from the marina into the city proper, Reyfyre grabbed the milk and then took my hand in his as he propped the milk against the suitcase handle and dragged it along behind him as we were swallowed by the New York City crowds.