Facts were facts. How was he supposed to spy on someone so… special? It was obvious to him now that Tara was an asset. Someone with such great power could be used. Controlled. Studied.
Whoever his client was, they obviously wanted to exploit her. The question now was whether he was going to allow it?
He turned back to Tara and watched the look of concern flood her eyes as he assessed her.
There was no doubt that she was attractive. Sexy as hell, actually.
Seeing her lift that piano like it weighed no more than a feather had been, disturbingly, a huge turn-on. But watching her fly. That had just been downright hot.
He’d never witnessed anything like it before in his life. Well, okay, he’d just watched Jess and Joe do some pretty cool tricks too.
“Is there anything else you can do?” he asked her as he moved closer. He couldn’t help himself, he wanted to be next to her. To smell her soft sexy perfume, to see those green eyes of hers close up once more.
He had a quick thought about watching them change colors as he kissed her. Seeing how they’d shift and go dreamy when he entered her.
As if she could read his mind, her breath hitched, and she sucked in her bottom lip, biting it softly between her teeth. The move had him holding in a groan.
He hadn’t realized that his hand had moved up to her shoulder until she glanced down at it. He dropped it and took a step back.
“No,” she said, shaking her head and avoiding his eyes.
He’d worked long enough in the field to know when someone was lying to him. Whatever other powers she held, she wanted to keep them to herself for now.
He turned around and thought about the consequences of turning her in to the person who was paying him. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions too quickly? After all, he hadn’t checked in with his client in the last few days. He hadn’t told them that he’d found her again. What could it hurt to stall?
“Why? Why does it matter to you?” she asked him.
He glanced towards the doors when another burst of laughter sounded. “No reason.” He walked over to open the door. “We’d better get back out there.”
When Tara passed him this time, he heard her breath catch.
“What?” he asked softly.
She turned her face towards him. “Who are you?” she asked quietly.
“I told—” He stopped when she shook her head.
“You told them what you wanted them to hear.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Who are you?”
“Colt,” he answered, unsure of what she was asking.
Her eyes ran over his face and locked with his, then she did something that shocked him. She reached up and ran a finger over his chin.
Thoughts of bending his head down and kissing her filled his mind. What would she taste like? How would her soft lips feel under his? Would she be full of passion, like he assumed?
As if she’d broken from a spell, she gasped, dropped her hand, and walked out of the room quickly. He followed her back out onto the covered porch and listened as the group continued to chat.
He had more questions but he didn’t want to come across as too nosy. Instead, he sat and watched the couples interact. Almost an hour after disappearing upstairs with her baby, Xtina returned downstairs to be filled in on the amazing things Tara could do.
Which of course was followed by requests for another show. This time when the piano was lifted, he was prepared, as he was when her feet lifted off the ground. What he hadn’t seen the first time he noticed now. The show seemed to drain Tara, making her look tired. When she sat back down beside him, she drank some tea and had some crackers and cheese and began to look better.
She didn’t mention the drain to the others, and he figured he would keep that information to himself as well. He was happy when Xtina asked Tara if there was anything else she could do.
Tara glanced at him before shrugging.
“I haven’t really explored too much more,” she answered.
“Why not?” Mike asked.
“Afraid?” Joe asked. Then he chuckled. “I know that when I started using my gift a little more, I realized how careful I had to be. Once, I was almost caught on a surveillance camera. Try explaining to the government why you decided to run across the border for a case of tequila.”
“You did not.” Liz slapped him playfully.
Joe chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I may or may not have.”
“Using my abilities drains me,” Xtina said. “Does that happen with you?” she asked Tara.
“I—” Tara started, but then Jess jumped in.
“Sure it does. I mean, look at her. She’s what? Thirty pounds underweight?” Jess shook her head.
Tara seemed to fall back against the chair, shrinking in front of everyone.
“Speaking of food,” Ethan broke in, “it’s about time we put those steaks on the grill. How about you help us out, Colt?”
“Sure.” Colt stood up, eager to help. It had been years since he’d grilled out, though he had always enjoyed it. Actually, cooking was sort of his thing. He found the task of making a meal more soothing than lifting weights.
As he followed the brothers into the kitchen to help prepare the food, he realized just how alike the two men were.
“Ex-military?” he asked after only two minutes alone with them.
“Yup,” Mike answered then narrowed his eyes at him. “Army?”
Colt nodded. “Special ops. You?” He could tell both men had served.
“Yeah. Ethan was in longer than I was,” Mike answered. “I retired and went into law, then started the cybersecurity business after an injury.”
“You?” he asked Ethan.
“Special Forces,” Ethan answered as he set the tray of steaks down on the counter. “Medical discharge last year. Now I help him out.” He motioned to his brother.
“Jacob is…” He let the question hang in the air.
“Our older brother we didn’t know we had until about two years ago,” Mike answered.
“But he’s family now,” Ethan added. “So, are you a good cook?”
Colt chuckled. “I was the best in my troop.”
“Oh!” both men said at the same time, smiling.
“Looks like we got us a new chef.” Ethan handed him the spatula. “You take the lead.”
“Don’t like to cook?” he asked the brothers.
“We drew the short straws tonight,” Mike offered.
For the next few minutes, the three of them worked together in the kitchen, marinading the steaks, making a potato salad, and oiling up some fresh vegetables for the grill.
“Do the ten of you hang out all the time?” he asked as he followed them out back towards the grill, holding a tray of steaks.
“No, just when we’re called in for a meeting,” Ethan answered. “Mike and I, our wives, and Jacob and Jess meet at least three times a week. But everyone else, only when we’re called in.”
“So, how did the gang come together?” he asked as he started heating up the grill.
While he cooked, Mike and Ethan sat across the outdoor bar area and told him the story of how everyone met.
He listened as they explained how the group had fought off Thanatos, the god of death.
Then they moved on to tell the story of how they had fought more gods a little over a year later and Liz had sent Aither, Nyx, and Erebus back to Tartarus for their eternal slumber.
“Don’t forget Hypnos,” Ethan broke into the story. “He helped Liz out a little,” he added with a shrug.
“Right.” Colt nodded. Okay, so the power thing was pretty cool, but now he was beginning to think the men were just straight-up nuts. He’d studied enough Greek mythology in high school to know the characters they spoke of. He didn’t remember every detail about each god, but at least he wasn’t at a complete loss.
“After that, Joleen and Mason came into town. Well, Joleen had always been in town, but then we had to send Thanatos away again. This time for good,” Mike said.
“We locked him up in a deep chasm on the moon along with Jess’s mother,” Ethan added.
“Okay,” he said slowly, glancing towards the back of the house.
Then suddenly, both men started laughing.
“You were joking?” He felt a sliver of relief.
“No, it’s just…” Mike shook his head. “I never really thought of just how crazy it would sound to an outsider.” He shook his head.
“Then again, we’ve never really told any outsiders before,” Ethan added.
Just then, Jacob came strolling over, carrying a case of beer. “Compliments of Joe.” He held them up. “They’re cold.”
Colt took a beer and sipped while he flipped the steaks.
“Did you catch him up on everything? I think Tara thinks we’re all nuts,” Jacob said, nodding back towards the house.
“I think Colt believes it too,” Mike said with a smile. “No one really believes it until you live through it. I know it took me a while to believe it after it happened. And I was there and saw it.”
“Yeah.” Jacob ran his hands through his hair. “Still can’t believe it all sometimes myself. Then Jess will cause something to float or she’ll disappear and reappear with something and—bam—I realize just how possible it all is.”
“Not to mention your wife saw them coming.” Mike motioned towards him.
The three men looked at him.
“Do you think it’s true what Liz said…” Ethan started, only to get a jab in the ribs from Mike.
“Later,” Mike said under his breath.
“Looks like the food’s about done,” Jacob interjected quickly.
The conversation turned to Mike and Ethan’s business. Thankfully. Here, at least, he knew that the men had some sanity.
While they talked about their new deal with Fanatics, they carried the food inside. The large table in the dining room had been set and everyone was gathered around, waiting for the food.
Wine had replaced the beer as the food was passed around. Once again, he sat next to Tara. He was slightly surprised at how much more relaxed she seemed than before.
If anything, he was a little more cautious himself. All the talk of fighting off gods didn’t really sit well with him.
Had the group suffered from a combined hallucination or had something really happened to them? At any rate, by the time the food was gone, he was pretty sure that everyone at the table, minus him and Tara, truly believed that gods were real and that they had indeed saved the planet from them multiple times in the past few years.
Shortly after sunset, Xtina excused herself and the baby once more, telling everyone goodnight. Then Jess and Jacob mentioned they had early mornings, and Jess turned to Tara.
“We open at five. See you there.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. He was thankful when Tara smiled and nodded in agreement. He could see the eagerness in her eyes and the truth that she was really sticking around town. At least for now.
Thankfully, he knew that she wouldn’t be taking off in the middle of the night on him.
Mike walked them out front as everyone else was leaving.
“If you want, you’re welcome to park the van where it is. We do have a guest room, but Xtina thinks you won’t take us up on our offer to stay in it,” Mike said.
“She’s right.” Tara nodded. “I’m more comfortable in my own place. It may be tiny, but it’s all mine.” She smiled. “Thank you. I will, however, agree to hook up to your water and power, if it’s okay with you.”
“Sure is. I had the connections installed a few months back for my parents, who just bought a huge RV. But they have decided to travel since my dad likes the open road.” He rolled his eyes. “They are just by the barn. It’s over here.” Mike walked towards the other building to the right.
Since he figured he could help, he followed along. Besides, he was kind of curious to see what the inside of her van looked like. Did she have a shower? A toilet? In the last month he’d never seen her check into a hotel to shower. She always came out of the van looking fresh and clean, which led him to believe there was more room on the inside than it seemed.
Mike and he stood back as she backed her van up next to the garage and opened the sliding door. To his surprise, there was not only a shower area with a toilet inside, but a full-blown kitchen, a small dining space, and a king-sized bed.
“Wow,” Mike said, looking inside. “It’s like a tiny home on wheels,” he joked.
“Thanks. I built most of it out myself.” Tara hooked up the power and water connections. “It had some parts when I bought it, but the rest I upgraded.”
He had to admit, he was more than a little impressed.
“You… live in this full time?” Mike asked.
“Yes,” she answered with a smile. “I guess you can say I like the open road too.”
“Not that I don’t enjoy a good trip, but…” He glanced back at the big house and smiled. “I’ve got a few things here worth sticking around for.”
Tara smiled. “Your daughter is charming.”
“She will be.” Mike chuckled. “When she does more than sleep, eat, and poop.” Mike reached out his hand. “Well, I’d better get inside and see to my women.” Colt shook his hand. “Goodnight.” He gave Tara a nod and then strolled back towards the house.
“They’re very trusting,” Tara said, mostly to herself.
“They’re all insane,” he added with a shake of his head.