I blurted, “I think I’m being followed, and it’s… it’s… never happened before.”
“Okay.” She pulled back. “What can I do to help?”
“Well, nothing, actually.”
“Pardon?”
I shrugged. “I just wanted to see if I traveled across the world, that the feeling would follow. It’s like I’m in one of those television thingies being watched by people I can’t see. Perhaps you’ll feel it too, and I’ll know I’m not going barmy.” I paused. “I don’t know why I’m telling all this to you. It’s not like I need help. Are you sure you’ve told no one about you being able to travel through the in-between with me?"
“Yeah, I mean I’ve only told Cash. I don’t even think Jed knows, but he’s on our side.”
“Who’s Jed?”
“Oh my stars, you are slow today. My ex-probation officer. He thinks he owes Cash a debt for killing Tommy, even though he was bewitched at the time, and even though Cash is now Tommy, so if you think about it, he’s gone but he’s not gone? So, anyway, he’s pledged to Cash’s service. He’s right outside the change-room if you want us to go back and get him.”
“No. Don’t tell him I’ve been here.” Although, someone had been leaking information about Cash being the lost enforcer to the enemy. If it had filtered down to Jacine that the boy was special, then it’s possible they had a mole in their camp. “Have you told Jed about our mate’s secret identity?”
“You make it sound like he’s a superhero—well, I suppose he kind of is.” Roo caught herself in a snort. “No, I haven’t told anyone.”
“But this Jed bloke, he lives with you, yeah? Is it possible he’s overheard you two talking? I mean, what’s his special ability, does he have super hearing like your mate, the hunter?”
“Marc.” Roo threw her hands in the air, exasperated. “Stop it. Jed’s with us. He’s one of the good guys. I don’t even think he has any ability, he said he’s pretty low grade for a Player, he’s only got a small star map, besides, there’s no way—”
“Shh.” I held up his hand, cutting her off. I felt the slippery chill again. “It’s here.” I flared my eyes at her. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend that I turned up here with some information about… oh, I don’t know… The Heart Scarab. Tell your mate, Jed, that I’ve found the device that can hide the darkness of one’s soul, and that we need your Book of the Dead knowledge to unlock it. We’ll see if the information get’s back to the enemy. Then we’ll know who the mole is. Bonus points if you add something contrived like turtles, or coconuts. You should tell the hunter to keep a look out, too.”
“Okay, sure, but maybe it’s better coming from you. Cash hasn’t been home all week. Unlike you, he’s avoiding me, I think it’s because I disobeyed orders but I’ve been trying hard and I’m a little worried. Then again, maybe it’s the whole Soul-Eater thing—what?” Roo asked when she caught the look of sheer amazement on my face. “Do I have something in my teeth?”
I pulled a cardboard coaster across the table to me and created a pen out of thin air. I wrote my name on the cardboard, then slid it over to her.
“Eg—”
“Don’t say it!” I held my hand up.
“What is it?” Her adorable brows furrowed.
“It’s my true name. Memorize it.”
“Okay.” She made an over the top point to inspect the coaster. Seeing her lips form the shape of my name made everything inside me go tight.
“Got it?” I asked.
She nodded.
I sent my power into the paper to ignite it in her hands. She squealed and dropped it.
“Only a handful of people know that name, love. Speak it if you have a dire need of me. If I’m on this earthly plane, I’ll know. I’ll come.”
A flush rushed her cheeks. “Marc, I’m honored.”
“You should be.”
She laughed.
I couldn’t help but join her. “Love, you know I’ll always be there if you need me. I won’t ignore you.”
Her eyes seemed to glisten. But then—
“Do you feel that?” I asked. The air electrified in the confined space and the lights flickered.
Roo gave me shifty eyes and whispered. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s like we’re standing too close to the TV—like a two way TV!”
“I knew I liked you for a reason. Cheerio, love.”
Cash
Over the next week, I had managed to avoid returning to my loft by taking two more hunting jobs and translating the glyphs on the back of the scarab which had returned from the lab useless. The glyphs were close enough to a spell from the Book of the Dead. Not the real one of course. I’d texted a picture of the script to Roo and asked if it sounded familiar—she said no, which meant the scarab was a human knock-off. Close but no cigar.
When Roo enquired to my whereabouts, I blamed James’ condition for not being able to return home. It was half true. I stood vigil at his bed nightly, and the boy wouldn’t wake up. There wasn’t much I knew to do but show up because, I figured, when you had no one, then having anyone there was good.
I shifted in the seat at my desk and squinted at the beetle brooch in my hand. The team I sent back to the site turned up nothing. The man I’d left tied up had woken at some point and found a way to end his life. So all I had to go on was the scarab. Probably a red herring and worthless.
The results had come back from Bertram; my healing was on par with a human. At this rate, with my hungry paranormal abilities, I’d be dead within the next twelve months.
Some part of me welcomed that idea. I was tired. Beyond tired. I felt like I’d been fighting my entire life. The memories had been slowly seeping in, saturating my mind.
This bullshit drove me mad—constantly having to decipher the meaning of ridiculous and outlandish things for a shred of direction. At the start, finding my way through the Game had been incredibly vexing without an aligned House to guide me. I hadn’t grown up being taught the rules, and I’d spent a short few years under the tutelage of a mentor, and that was Urser. As soon as I’d discovered his House’s blatant disregard for life, I’d separated myself from him, but it left me lonely, confused and weak. Just like Roo was. And now, I was leaving her to the same fate I suffered. Anger brewed inside until I ditched the amulet against the wall. It hit with a thud and broke into pieces. A vial full of black liquid rolled back along the carpet and hit my toe.
I picked it up and twisted it in my fingers, inspecting the object. Possibly the substance James injected. Enveloping the tiny evidence in my hand, I resolved to take it to the lab myself and get it tested. There simply must be answers swimming in its viscous liquid.
In my haste out the office, I almost ran into a flustered looking Nell as I opened the door.
“Is it James?” I asked.
“Actually… it… uh.”
“Spit it out.”
She jumped, eyes widening. I softened my expression and tried again.
“What is it, Nell?”
“The phone.” She ran back to her desk and picked up the receiver to hand to me.
With a frown crunching my brow, I accepted the handset. “Yes?”
A hell of a racket blared at me.
“Cash?” came a crackly voice.
“Roo?”
I couldn’t quite make out what she said between the interference and more loud crackling.
“What the fuck is happening?” I shouted redundantly because the line went dead. “Roo?”
I stared at the handset as though it would come alive and start explaining, but it remained silent.
“Did you hear anything?” Nell asked, with a tightness to her words.
“No, it went dead. Do you know what that was about?”
“Ah.” She avoided eye contact as though she had something to hide, and her heart beat faster than its usual pace.
“You can’t lie to me,” I stated.
“I’m sure it sounded like she was unde
r attack. There was a definite hostile feel to that call.”
My chest constricted. “Shit.”
I handed Nell the sample. “Send this up to the lab, expedite the results and have them call me as soon as they get in.”
I made a dash for the elevator, forgetting my car keys, then doubled back. I shoved anything relevant into my arms, and bolted to the exit. Fuck! I’d only been gone for a few days and if she’d gotten herself into a mess…
I halted inside the elevator as the doors whooshed closed. My breath came fast and my pulse boomed in my ears. A cold sweat tickled down my neck to my spine at the thought of what could be happening to her right now. Who was attacking? Where? My house?
Shit. I tried calling her mobile phone. No answer. I pumped the basement garage button and then sent a message to my tech team to trace Roo’s phone. She could be anywhere.
As I closed the door to my car, I heard an ear piercing scream come from my loft.
Roo.
I bolted to the portico, waved my electronic key card and entered the complex through the wrought iron gate. My heart pumped in my throat as I rounded the building corner and neared my apartment door. When I arrived, I stopped in my tracks, nostrils flaring, lungs heaving.
What the—?
I placed an ear against the cold wooden entrance door. I could hear a woman panting and moaning. I heard flesh pounding against flesh. It sounded almost…
A female gave a long, drawn out moan.
That wasn’t from pain, that was from pleasure.
I sniffed at the door, unable to comprehend what happened beyond the door. Mingled sweat. Moaning.
Sexual?
Not a conflict of some sort. No enemy.
My heart thumped in my chest. I’d expected to find a massacre, a disaster or at least something I could fight with my fists. But this.
What was this?
I dropped my forehead to the door and clutched my chest, rubbing the fabric near my heart. This ache I had inside was wrong. It shouldn’t be like this. I closed my eyes and had flashes of indecent suggestion of what happened behind the doors. It pulled pure animosity to the forefront of my emotions. I was too late. I’d taken her for granted and now she was with someone else. All at once, I thought of how it felt when Roo hugged me the morning I woke from my nightmare. The day I’d almost killed her by crushing her throat. She’d felt so right. She’d come to me, comforted me, accepted me. That felt right.
This—more suspect sounds filtered through the door—this was wrong.
Without thinking any further, I slapped a hard palm on the door. It burst open, busting the locks from my unnatural strength. I strode into the living area, napalm coursing through my veins, but when I stepped into the open plan area opposite the in-house gymnasium, I went cold.
Roo lay on the floor fully clothed in fitness attire. Jed massaged her bare shoulder. PG not X-rated. It wasn’t what I expected. The ache in my chest eased a little, but still… Jed’s hands slid over her skin, kneading, rubbing.
Touching.
Her.
Jed glanced up and smiled innocently in greeting.
“Get off her,” I growled. Anger burned the back of my throat. I strode over in two giant steps and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. I lifted him off Roo and crushed him to the wall.
Jed blinked, eyes unfocused as his head hit the surface with a thud.
I breathed heavily through my nose. Words wanted to come out. Red pain wanted to be inflicted, but a sound and her scent restrained me. I shoved him one last time before I let go. I moved to Roo and bent down to gently guide her up. She grabbed her shoulder and winced, flinching back from me, resisting.
“What did he do to you?” I asked.
The dark look she gave me felt like a tangible slap in the face. I stepped back.
“You don’t have to be such a jerk about it. I accidentally dislocated my shoulder during training. It wasn’t Jed’s fault. He just had to pop it back in and then he was nice enough to take my mind off the pain while it healed.”
“I’ll bet.” I rounded on Jed who’d gone to the kitchen to help himself to some water.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jed glowered back at me.
“What it means is that if you were doing your job, she would never have been in a situation where her arm was strained enough to dislocate.”
“My job? Have I missed something, or is it my job to mentor her?”
“Fuck off.”
“Well, you weren’t here were you. Why don’t you show her how to do the basic lock and throw maneuvers?” Jed slammed his empty glass back on the granite bench top. The sound reverberated through the silent room.
I exhaled and pinched the bridge between my nose. I was blowing this all out of proportion. Never mind that I assumed there was something else going on behind the closed doors. They didn’t need to know that, and I’d be damned if I told them.
“I thought you were under attack.” I gave Roo the full force of my attention.
She stood up and flexed her fists.
“I didn’t say that. I tried to ask when are you coming back, but the line didn’t work.”
As if I could explain what happened, I walked over to the side-table where the cordless phone rested and picked it up. The handset was destroyed. Utterly mangled. I pinned Roo with my wild gaze.
Her large honey-brown eyes flared a moment, glimmering with a challenge her pink, pouty lips echoed. If I didn’t think it were illogical, I’d believed she wanted a volatile reaction from me, as though she’d planned it all along. Why?
“You did this?” I lifted the phone.
She shrugged. “It was an accident. I got… upset. I told Nell I wanted to know when you’d be home. That’s all.”
“Why did Nell tell me you were under attack then?”
“How would I know?”
I took another look at the phone. The plastic length had melted and warped where her fingers would’ve been. Black smokey lines radiated from those spots. I cast a glance at Jed.
Jed frowned, but shrugged and returned to his drink, dropping his gaze.
Right. Not your problem. Message received, loud and clear.
Roo was my concern, and I needed to speak with her privately.
I pulled out a business card from my wallet and handed it to him. “I’m sorry I jumped you. If you still want training, I need to you go to this address. My team needs help sweeping another site. Maleficent homicide.”
Jed lifted his brows but took the card. Did he expect a gold plated invitation? I explained: “I have the funeral. I can’t go. I’d appreciate having someone I trust there to oversee things.”
Recognition flooded Jed’s eyes. “Right.”
“Asap.”
Jed disappeared down the hall but I remained to remove the Scotch from the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard. I could feel her eyes on me, tracking me. Waiting. It was clear she set me up to bring me here. Was it also a far stretch to believe she set up the position she’d be in with Jed so that when I arrived, I mistook the situation? As I retrieved a glass, I thought handling the ex-sergeant was easy. Handling Roo—not so much. Every move I made, I was hyper aware of her presence. Knowing she watched me sent a lick of heat up my spine. Her glower coated me with tingling guilt.
I poured an inch of the amber liquid into the glass and felt that guilt grow heavy. Then I shot it back. The burn hit the back of my throat and instantly spread to my extremities, slowly unwinding my tension. I took another shot, returned the bottle to the cupboard, then cleaned my glass and let it air dry on the rack.
I could do this. Just not with Jed in the house.
Why was he taking so long?
The silence stretched between us.
“Are you packed?” I finally asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you want to know what’s been happening while you’ve been gone? It’s been over a week.”
The muscles in my jaw drew tight as my teeth clenched.
I allowed myself a glance down the hall toward Jed’s room and then flicked back to Roo. Her eyes lit up a fraction and her face slackened. Then something clicked inside her and she nodded.
“I’ll go and finish packing,” she said and left.
I did the same, retreating to my room to hastily pack an overnight bag. After Jed had left, I counted to ten in my head and then went to knock on Roo’s door. As I lifted my hand, the door swung open.
“I’m ready.” She pushed passed me.
Her body brushed me as she strode into the kitchen where she lay her overnight bag down. She busied herself with extracting a set of papers and set them down on the kitchen bench.
Although my heart skipped a merry dance, my feet were rooted to the floor, paralyzed at the sight of her. The late sun shone through the high loft windows and cast her body into a silhouette that glowed softly around the edges. As she read her notes, she ran her heated fingers through the ends of her hair, changing them from a wet, dark auburn to a dry, bright ember. Steam curled from her fingers and the scent of her fruity shampoo punched me in the stomach. Beautiful, she was beautiful. Her lips were rosy and plump, her glistening eyes, large and framed by thick black lashes and I’d better stop looking otherwise she’ll think I’ve got a learning problem.
But I got stuck on the site of her tailored black dress. It gave the impression she wanted respect, but from the way it hugged her curves, and the way she filled it out, I wanted to slide up the hem and run my fingers until the fabric bunched indecently. Tommy’s glistening metal chain dangled around her neck. The key landed heavily between the dip of her breasts. The sight of that object almost ripped a possessive growl of approval from my throat. It meant that she cared for me. At least, cared about that small part of me that had the ability to care back.
I swallowed. Christ was I in trouble. I already knew I was attracted to her, but now I was lost. Something folded when I thought she was in danger, and now, every neuron in my being was drunk on her.
But her avoidance of eye contact brought the shame of my recent behavior surging to the surface. I wasn’t worthy of her. I wasn’t. Gods, I was fucked up. One minute ready to pounce on her, ravage her like a beast, then the next, ready to leave.
The Game of Gods: Series Box Set Page 40