by J. Kenner
Hale handed him a five. “So what did this Lothario look like?”
“Tall. Dark. Held himself sorta regal-like. Had a real polished way of talking.” He shrugged. “She seemed to know him, but I wouldn’t worry yet, Romeo. Maybe they’re just old friends.”
“Trust me,” Hale said, his stomach churning. “It’s time to worry.”
Mordi! The name echoed through Hale’s mind as he raced back up to his room, bursting through the door at a speed he usually saved for cross-country travel.
The belt still hung over the armrest of the chair.
He crossed to it, trying to act casual, but feeling a little nervous about approaching the thing when it wasn’t around Tracy’s waist. As soon as he got close enough, he grazed his fingers over it in the lightest of movements. No lightning bolts, no nothing.
Hmmm. He didn’t know the rules, but he had to assume that taking the belt to return it to Tracy wouldn’t be a violation.
Besides, as things stood, he didn’t have much choice. Mordi had Tracy. Mordi was Hieronymous’s son. The next step in the equation was pretty obvious. Once Mordi realized Tracy didn’t have the belt with her, he’d come traipsing back here—whether he was working for his father or not.
Which meant Hale could either wait to confront his cousin. Or he could take the belt, keep it away from Mordi and Uncle H, and return it to Tracy just as soon as he got her back.
Because he did intend to get her back.
Of course, waiting wasn’t really an option. Mordi was no fool. If he’d lured Tracy into his car, then he’d been to the hotel last night. He likely surmised what had happened. And he knew Hale well enough to know Hale wouldn’t just sit by and let his uncle abuse a girl he’d been with. He sighed, thinking of the way he’d acted earlier. No, he wouldn’t let Hieronymous hurt Tracy—no matter how he himself had hurt her this morning.
Mordi was probably taking Tracy to Uncle H right now. And worse, any minute he’d demand that Hale deliver the belt in trade.
Hale had no intention of delivering anything to Mordi, but Mordi didn’t need to know that. And if having the belt gave him that extra insurance in getting Tracy back, then so be it.
His fingers brushed the cool metal, and Hale stifled a cringe. He wasn’t stealing this. He was simply taking it into protective custody to return to Tracy as soon as he found her. That’s all. Nothing nefarious.
He considered saying the explanation out loud—just to make sure its enchantment was on the same page that he was—but time was wasting. Taking the belt this way was a risk, true. But it was a small one. And for Tracy it was a risk he was willing to take.
Before he could change his mind, he closed his hand around the belt, said a silent apology to Aphrodite, grabbed it up, and waited. Nothing. No lightning bolts. No deep voices from Mount Olympus. No dizzy feelings as he transformed from superhero to mortal.
Well, that was good.
Now for a quick test. He glanced around the room, looking for something to levitate, and finally decided on the pillows on the bed. In his mind, he tested their weight, then applied the slightest of pressure. Up they sprang. His telekinetic skills were working A-OK.
Another quick test, and he confirmed that his power of invisibility was working fine, too.
Presumably speed, strength, agility, and all the rest were functioning as well. Which only left his ability to understand animals. Considering he’d gone and abandoned Elmer for over a day, and the ruckus that would cause, he almost wished that power would disappear—at least temporarily. The ferret was really rather peevish when he felt abandoned.
But that was something he could worry about later. Right now, he needed to find out what trouble was brewing at Tracy’s house, and he needed to get there quick. His Ferrari was fast, but his propulsion cloak was better. Turning invisible, he whipped the cloak around his shoulders and took off from the balcony.
As the superhero flies, it wasn’t very far to Tracy’s house. In under five minutes he’d managed a perfect landing in her front yard. Not bothering to take off the cloak as he materialized, he raced to the front door and burst through—not sure what he was expecting, but hoping it wasn’t the worst.
Except for Davy tormenting Elmer with plastic cars on the entrance hall floor, no one was around to greet him. Well, damn.
He sighed, and became visible.
It’s about time you got here! Do you know how long I’ve been playing with this kid? Elmer immediately shrieked. And playing trucks? Don’t you think I’m a little old for this?
Hale ignored the ferret. “Zoe? Lane?” His voice echoed through the silent house. “Where are they?” he asked Elmer after a second.
Waiting for you, and leaving poor old Elmer to watch the kid.
Despite his fear that something terrible had happened, Hale still had to smile at the thought of the ferret as a reluctant babysitter.
“Unca Hale.” Davy toddled over, his arms out to be picked up. Automatically, Hale hoisted the kid, then pushed him back to get a good look at his freshly washed little face. “Where’s your mommy, big guy?”
“Kitcha.” One chubby arm pointed to the right, and Hale headed in that direction. Elmer skittered behind them.
Deep in conversation, Zoe and Lane didn’t even notice when he walked in.
“It could just be a coincidence,” Lane was saying.
“Could be. But I doubt it” Zoe ran her hands through her hair. “I want to know where she is. And whether or not the belt’s with her.”
“It’s not.”
At Hale’s pronouncement, both women turned to him. Immediately, Lane jumped to her feet and took Davy away. He nodded, then said, “I’ve got it.”
Zoe blinked. “You’ve got the belt? How? She gave it to you? Then we’re done. It’s all ov—”
“No. I took it.”
All the color drained from Zoe’s face. “You what? Are you crazy? You’ll be—”
“I’m fine. I didn’t steal it. I just took it. She left it in my room, and I saw it when you called. I grabbed it.” He looked his sister in the eye. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
His sister and Lane exchanged glances, then Zoe met his eyes. “I think you should follow me.”
22
“It’s all like this,” Zoe said, watching Hale’s face as he took in the disaster area that made up Tracy’s bedroom. It looked like a gang of marauders had whipped through. Clothes everywhere. Furniture slashed. Glass shattered. “Her room and the attic. All the other rooms.”
“The whole house,” Lane agreed. “We just got the entrance and the kitchen put back together. And Taylor and Hoop are cleaning the attic with Deena.”
Hale looked at both of them in turn, and Zoe noticed the way the color faded from his face as he held on tight to the doorjamb. “When?”
“This morning,” Lane said. “We came by to see how Tracy’s date with you had gone. The door was open and . . .” She ended with a shrug.
“Hieronymous,” Hale said, and he met Zoe’s eyes. “Uncle H sent someone to ransack the house.”
Zoe nodded. “At least Tracy was with you.” She paused. “Uh, until you lost her.”
Hale dropped onto the bed and started rubbing his temples.
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
Hale looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Zoe had the feeling that this wasn’t about the mission at all. That look was about Tracy and Hale—and a brand new bunch of feelings her brother just didn’t want to think about.
She turned to Lane. “Maybe you and Davy should see if the guys need any help.”
Lane nodded and took her child away.
As soon as she’d left the room, Hale’s eyes met Zoe’s. “She left me. She ended up with him—Mordi. We need to find her before she agrees to give him the belt.”
“But you already have the belt.”
Hale nodded. “But she didn’t give it to me. It’s still Tracy’s, and she can agree to hand it over to anyone.”
Zoe propped a hand on her hip, feeling mildly peeved. “That’s it? That’s your worry? That Mordi will sweet talk the belt away?”
“Yes, exactly. What else would it be?”
She sighed. “You might fool Lane, big brother. But not me. Since when have you ever been worried about Mordi? About anyone, for that matter. This is more than just the job. Tell me what’s really going on inside your head.”
On the bed beside Hale, Elmer started chattering, and even though Zoe couldn’t understand a word, she knew the tone of a lecture when she heard one.
“Zo.” Through the harsh tone of his voice, Hale’s concern was coming through loud and clear. “Can’t we do this later? We need to find her.”
“Zephron’s already on it. He’s tracking her by satellite. I contacted him right after we talked on the phone.” She aimed a gentle look in his direction. “You know there’s nothing more we can do.”
“We can scour this town. Fly over it. You can look through every roof. I can peer in every window. Hell, Zoe, we can go door to door.”
Zoe was amazed by her brother’s vehemence. “If she’s with Mordi, she could be in Venezuela by now.”
He blinked. “Venezuela?”
“Wherever.” She waved her hand, frustrated. “The point is, they could be anywhere.”
“We can’t just sit here not knowing.” Hale’s voice was frantic.
“Apollo’s Apples, Hale. Just tell me.” Their eyes met and locked. “Tell me, or I’ll tell you.”
“What? What will you tell me?”
“That you’re in love with her, of course.”
Her words started a whole new round of chattering from Elmer, but the only reaction she got from Hale was more rubbing of his temples. Damn her brother. She’d never met anyone more stubborn.
“You might as well admit it. It’s as obvious as . . . well . . . as the mess in this room.”
But her stubborn, stupid brother didn’t admit it. Instead he just looked her in the eye, managing to look sad and annoyed at the same time.
“Mighty Zeus! You’re so stubborn. You’ve got this whole we’re-superior-to-mortals thing going too far. Taylor’s right. I swear, you might as well join Hieronymous. That’s pretty much his party line.”
Anger flashed in Hale’s eyes, but still he said nothing.
“Well, say something already,” she demanded.
At first he didn’t say anything, then he looked away. When he glanced back again, the intensity in his eyes made her gasp.
“Why do you think Taylor’s not going to leave you?”
Not at all the question she expected, Zoe sank down onto Tracy’s now-unstuffed chaise lounge. “I just know,” she said at last.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
Zoe frowned, trying to read her brother. His whole life he’d made a point of telling her that mortal-Protector relationships didn’t work. Mortals leave, he’d say. And why bother with them, anyway, since Protectors were so much better. Sex with them was fine, but a relationship with a mortal was slumming.
She’d always assumed his short-lived flings with mortal women had been the product of his overdeveloped sense of superiority. But now she wondered. Did he dump women before women dumped him? Was his lifestyle a way of staying in control? Of not making the mistake their father made and falling for a mortal woman who’d left at the first sign of any weirdness? Considering their lifestyles, weirdness was certainly a daily occurrence.
“Zoe? I’m right, aren’t I? You don’t know that Taylor’s not leaving. He might leave tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “But he won’t. I know it in my heart.”
“And you think that’s enough?”
She looked him in the eye. “Yeah, Hale. I do. You have to have faith in something. Isn’t that what love’s all about?”
Hale ran his fingers though his hair. “I don’t know, Zo. I just don’t know.” He looked like he wanted to have faith, Zeus help her, he really did. But Zoe knew that a leap like this . . . Leaping off a building was one thing for Hale. Taking a leap that put his heart—and his ego—at risk . . . well, that was something entirely different.
Zoe met her brother’s gaze again, but at last his shoulders slumped. “Oh, Zoe. I can’t.”
She felt a hitch in her throat. “You’re missing out on a lot.”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just smarter.”
The corner of Zoe’s mouth turned up at the return of her brother’s old bravado. “I have faith in you, though.” In one quick step, she was at his side, her lips on his cheek in a soft kiss. “You’ll do the right thing.”
She stepped back, her heart dancing and full of mischief. “It’s about time you grew up, big brother.”
Mordi maneuvered his convertible down the Pacific Coast Highway, still unable to believe his luck. The one thing he’d needed more than anything—time alone with Tracy—had just been dumped in his lap. Or, more specifically, the front seat of his Porsche.
Twisting around, he glanced at her. The wind had whipped her long, fine hair into a frenzy, and she had one hand over her head as she tried to hold it in place. With her sunglasses on, he couldn’t see her eyes, but from the slump of her shoulders, he knew she wasn’t having the best of times.
Considering she’d entered the hotel last night with Hale and left this morning alone, the reason for her bad mood seemed obvious: his cousin and his oh-so-delicate way with women.
Mordi remembered well enough what Tracy had said in the food court. She wanted a man who loved her for herself, no matter who she was. Not exactly an on-point description of Hale. Not by a long shot. He was a one-night kind of guy. Perfect for such a mission as wresting away a belt like Aphrodite’s girdle through kisses and compliments, but awful for a long-term commitment.
Thinking of the belt, Mordi glanced at the girl’s waist, then frowned. Nothing. No belt. Not even the slightest hint of gold. He sighed. Wasn’t that just his luck? His first chance to try to sweet-talk the belt away from this girl, and she didn’t even have it! Which raised an interesting question: Had she left it somewhere? Or had Hale succeeded already?
“Thanks for driving me,” she said. She turned in her seat and flashed him a genuine, albeit watery, smile. “Sorry I’m such poor company.”
“Not at all.” Reaching over, he patted her hand, trying to muster a supportive expression. All the magazines said women wanted a man they could talk to. And Tracy had said it, too. Well, by Zeus, he was going to be that man. “Do you want to talk about it?”
There. That sounded very supportive. If he was lucky, by the end of the drive she’d have warmed up to him and spilled her heart. He’d convince her Hale wasn’t the man for her, and then ask her out on a date. By tomorrow night, he’d manage to get the belt from her, and Mordi would be the hero du jour.
Her shoulders rose and fell in a dejected little shrug. “There’s not a lot to say. I just spent the night with a guy, and I thought it went great—until this morning, when I realized that my idea of great and his idea of great didn’t mesh.”
“I’m sorry.” He frowned, trying to figure out what might have happened. If Hale was trying to get the belt, surely he wouldn’t have snubbed the girl. Then again, Mordi had seen the way Hale treated mortals. But the way Hale had been looking at this girl when Mordi had been spying . . .
“I probably shouldn’t even be talking to you about it,” she said. “You’re Zoe’s cousin, right?”
He tried out his most debonair smile. “Something wrong with that? You don’t like my genes?”
She laughed, and he was glad to put her at ease. “No. I mean, yes.” She gave herself a little shake. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with your heritage. It’s just that if you’re Zoe’s cousin, then you’re Hale’s cousin, too.”
“And he’s the guy you’re talking about?” Mordi made himself look surprised. “Well, that’s your problem.”
Turning in her seat, she looked at him over the rim of her sunglasses. “You think he’s w
rong for me?”
Mordi wondered how much hesitation would produce the proper effect. “Not at all.” He paused. Two seconds. Three seconds. That seemed about right. “Except . . .”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She sat up straighten “No. It’s okay. Please tell me.” She frowned. “Heck, I may have already heard it.”
“You mean from Deena and Lane at the mall.” He spoke the words without thinking. Immediately, she turned to him, her eyes wide.
“How on earth did you know about that?”
“Excellent question.” He scrambled for something reasonable. Hidden cameras? ESP? Certainly he couldn’t say he’d been her newfound friend Laddie. “I know Lane,” he finally answered. “She and I go way back.” Considering their last encounter, when Mordi had been trying to steal her necklace, he doubted Lane would claim him as a friend. But “way back” was more or less accurate. And it would make sense that Zoe’s cousin would know Zoe’s sister-in-law.
“Oh.” Tracy didn’t look convinced, but neither did she push the point. “Well, then you know what she thinks about Hale. Is it true?”
He frowned. The girl had jumped straight to the heart of the matter. Which could only mean one thing. She had it bad for his cousin.
Yet as much as Mordi wanted to malign Hale and get in good with Tracy, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. Frowning, he tapped a finger on the steering wheel. His father wouldn’t hesitate. Hieronymous would take this opportunity and run with it.
But if there was one long, hard, painful lesson that Mordi was learning, it was that he simply didn’t take after the man. He’d spent his whole life trying, but he’d never quite made it. And when push came to shove, all this annoying niceness came out.
Hale might be a womanizer, but unless Mordi had been seeing things, his cousin had been smitten with this mortal. Did he really want to ruin that? Or try to ruin it?
“I guess it’s true,” she said, clearly taking his silence as concession. “He’s a player. A shallow, cold-hearted player.”