by J. Kenner
Which was where the halfling child fit in. Hieronymous had methodically scoured all halfling performance records. Young Davy, unregistered as he was, had been a challenge, but Hieronymous had spent hours in the last year watching and reviewing past reports from the boy’s mortal elementary school, even stooping to interview the boy’s mortal teachers. It had been an unseemly task, but one that had paid off. The boy was positively brilliant.
Of course, the boy’s genius was to be expected. After all, blood would tell.
As it turned out, the little prodigy’s brain power was the perfect complement to Hieronymous’s already existing intelligence. Now all he had to do was steal it. Just a few more days and he’d be in a position to do just that.
No wonder he was in such a good mood.
Lane couldn’t move. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn’t. And so she just stood there like an idiot, staring at Jason, unable to do anything but blink.
He looked much like she remembered: dark and tan and masculine, his silvery eyes burning just the way they had so many years before.
Back then, she’d thought that look was seductive. Now she knew better. Now she knew it was dangerous.
For years she’d imagined their reunion—as if that would be a good thing. She’d fantasized about how she’d be asleep, how he’d slide naked between her satin sheets. In her fantasies, she could always afford satin sheets.
He’d press close against her, peeling off her clothes and leaving a trail of kisses on her newly bared skin. He’d silence her questions with a finger over her lips and then, after they’d made love until dawn, he’d tell her the previous years had all been a bad dream. He’d been there all along, and they were already living happily ever after.
Never in her wildest fit of imagination had she imagined Jason in cuffs, restrained because he’d kidnapped her son. Their son.
Why?
She blinked, forcing herself to glance from Jason to Deena. “What’s going on? Tell me what’s going on or I swear I’ll scream.”
Jason took a step forward, but one of the burly Protectors surrounding him held him back. A flash of anger crossed his face, quickly replaced by pity. Pity? How dare he? Her anger erupted, and she rushed forward to pummel him with her fists.
“Lane!” Deena cried out, pulling her away. “Lane, stop it!”
She struggled against Deena’s arms, wrapped tight around her chest.
“You have to believe me,” Jason was saying, his voice low and earnest. He shook his arm free of the nearby Protector’s grip. “They’re wrong. I tried to save him. And now he’s gone, and we need to find him.”
The intensity of his voice cut to Lane’s core, and she relaxed despite herself. An invisible band tightened around her chest, one that had nothing to do with the vise grip in which Deena held her, and she struggled to breathe. Once upon a time, she and Jason had known each other so well she could practically read his thoughts. Now, she didn’t know what to think. All she knew was that her instinct was to believe him. And that instinct terrified her.
He couldn’t be trusted. She should know that better than anyone. And she hated herself for thinking, even for an instant, that she could trust him now, when Davy’s safety was at issue.
“I—”
“Don’t believe him,” Zoe interrupted as she rushed over from the far side of the enclosure. Lane closed her mouth, grateful not to have to finish voicing her thought. She wasn’t sure what she’d intended to say, and at the moment she didn’t trust herself. With relief, she stepped back, happy to let Zoe handle the situation.
“I saw him,” Zoe continued, taking a step toward Jason. Her hands clenched into fists. “He took Davy somewhere, and if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to find out where.”
One of the white-cloaked Protectors sidled up to Zoe and whipped off a neat little salute. She turned to face him. “Well?”
“The rest of the park is closed and the few patrons who remained after the storm have been evacuated,” he reported.
“How—” Deena began.
“The MLO handled it,” Zoe answered, then turned her attention back to the Protector.
“Our search is continuing,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “But there’s no sign yet of the boy. The Council is exploring every possible location where the boy could have been taken off-site, and everyone who might have reason to take him.”
Zoe nodded, then motioned for the Protectors flanking Jason to leave. The one in white left as well, and Zoe’s expression hardened as she faced Jason once more.
“Dammit,” Jason said, speaking before she could open her mouth. “You’re not listening to me. That wasn’t me. I would never harm Davy,” he added, his face turning a deep shade of red under its tan. “Never.”
Lane rubbed her temples, completely confused and more than a little scared. With her free hand she grasped a handrail, grateful for the solid metal under her fingers. At the moment she needed everything solid she could get. Her world was tilting out of control. Her son was missing, her ex-boyfriend was being held by Protectors, and the stench of Hieronymous overlaid the whole scenario.
She squinted at Jason, not sure why he wasn’t more weirded out about being detained by superheroes. She’d deal with that later, though. Right now, she needed two things: her son and some answers.
As far as she could tell, everything possible was being done to locate Davy. She intended to do more; she intended to get the truth out of Jason.
She pulled herself up straight, and he turned to face her, his eyes unreadable. Yet even so, she couldn’t escape the impression that, despite so many years, those deep, unfathomable eyes still could see straight into her soul.
That feeling used to make her feel loved and special. Now it just unsettled her, and she grappled for a firmer grip on her handhold.
“Lane?” Zoe asked, concern evident in her voice.
Lane mopped her forehead with the back of her hand, realizing she’d broken out in a cold sweat. Despite starting out well, today had descended into a total nightmare. Her first instinct might be to believe Jason, but she’d trusted him once before and been burned. Now Zoe was here, saying he’d tried to take her son away.
Lane clutched the rail, a terrifying possibility hitting her. What if Zoe was wrong and Hieronymous wasn’t involved at all? What if Zoe had only assumed that? What if Jason was here because he wanted complete custody of his son?
Never.
She’d fight him to the ends of the earth. Who the hell did he think he was? Did he think he could hide the boy somewhere and she’d ultimately give up? Fat chance. He’d blown his opportunity to be a daddy, and if he didn’t like it, that was just too damn bad.
Spurred on by a renewed burst of adrenaline, she marched forward and poked Jason’s bare chest. “You aren’t taking my son,” she said. “Not in a million years.”
His jaw tightened, a muscle in his cheek twitching. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m trying to protect him.”
Zoe got right in his face. “Then why did you grab Davy and get the hell out of Dodge?”
Jason tried to throw up his hands, and twisted around to face Zoe. “Dammit, we’re talking in circles, and we’re wasting time. We need—”
“You cowardly son of a bitch,” Lane said, her patience snapping.
“Cowardly?” Deena said.
“Heck, yeah,” Lane said. Jason turned back toward her, and she poked him again. “After so many years, a judge would never award him custody of Davy if he went about it the legal way. But if he kidnapped Davy . . .” She trailed off, tears streaming down her face, too angry to voice the full thought. She poked him again for good measure.
His hand closed over her finger, and she tilted her head back to look at him, surprised by the fury she saw burning in his eyes. He said, “I’ll say it just one more time, and then I’m not saying it again. I didn’t take Davy. Hieronymous or one of his agents took him. I was trying to save him.”
; “Wait, wait, wait,” Deena said, holding up a hand. Everyone turned to her, but she looked only at Lane, her expression serious. “What do you mean, a judge?”
“A custody suit.” Lane aimed her glare back at Jason. “And believe me, after disappearing for so long, no judge would ever give you custody.”
Deena and Zoe exchanged glances.
“This is Davy’s father?” Zoe finally asked.
Lane nodded, then squinted at the pair’s odd expressions. “What?”
“It’s just that—” Deena began.
“We didn’t know that—” Zoe started.
“What?” Lane asked. Her nerves were frayed enough; she didn’t need her friends going loony on her.
“We’re just surprised that you never told us,” Zoe finally said. “That’s all.”
“He skipped out, remember? Kind of hard to introduce you if he’s not around. And you’ve known forever that Davy’s father”—she paused to shoot a scathing look Jason’s way—“left about three seconds after he learned I was pregnant.”
“Well, yeah,” Zoe acknowledged. “That we knew.” She looked at Deena again, and Lane twirled her hand, silently urging her to get on with it. “It’s just . . .” Zoe twisted her hands together, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “It’s just that after everything we’ve been through together, I’m surprised you didn’t tell me the truth.”
Lane opened her mouth, poised to ask Zoe exactly what truth she was talking about. But her friend continued, her words making Lane close her mouth tight. “I’m just surprised you never told us that Davy’s dad was a Protector.”
All things considered, Lane thought she was taking the news pretty well. True, she’d collapsed to her knees, but it was a controlled collapse, which, hopefully, gave the illusion that she hadn’t been blown completely away by the realization that the father of her child was a Protector.
Under the circumstances, of course, she probably should have figured it out on her own. After all, Hieronymous was hardly the type to be in cahoots with a mortal. But Lane wasn’t exactly thinking clearly, so she forgave herself for not being at the top of her game.
A Protector. She shivered, remembering an event from long ago, the old man’s words when she’d purchased the stone from Aphrodite’s girdle. The man had said it was tied into her destiny. She’d assumed he was a nut case. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Had she somehow been destined to have her life filled with superheroes? Certainly she’d lived the last few years on the fringes of Council activity. Heck, watching her friends fight the bad guys was what had prompted her to go to law school: she’d wanted to do her part in putting away the bad guys, too, even if her part was tiny and the bad guys were mortal.
Now, to find out about Jason, which meant that Davy—
She blinked, her thoughts finally gelling. “Davy’s a halfling?” she asked.
Jason nodded, taking a step forward. His gaze locked on hers. “I need to talk to you about that. You see—”
“You son of a bitch.”
He took a step back.
“We dated for over a year. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with you. And you didn’t think to mention this to me?”
“It’s a secret identity, Lane. The whole point of a secret is that it’s . . . well, a secret.”
“That’s a lousy excuse and you know it.”
“Would it help if I told you that I’d planned to tell you? In fact, I wanted to tell you the day you found out you were pregnant.”
She raised an eyebrow, not the least bit willing to concede any ground. “Oh, there’s a convenient story.”
“He probably didn’t tell you because he’s working with Hieronymous,” Deena said, her eyes shooting daggers at him.
Jason rounded on her with such vehemence that Lane held her breath, her hand pressed over her mouth. “I am not, and never have been, in alliance with that bastard. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll never, ever say that again.” Deena stepped back, her eyes wide, and Zoe took a protective stance in front of her. Lane moved forward and clutched Jason’s arm, her fingers tightening against his muscles, as if he still belonged to her. As if she still had some influence on what he said or did.
“Calm down,” she said, her body reacting in warm, familiar ways to his touch. She swallowed, knowing she should back away. She needed to get some space between her and this man—even when she was royally pissed off, she was still drawn to him. And his power over her, especially after so much time, terrified her. “Deena didn’t mean anything by it,” she added.
“The hell I didn’t,” Deena said, her hands on Zoe’s shoulders. She peered at Jason from around the other woman’s head. “I know what I saw.”
Jason’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reiterate his innocence.
Lane backed off, held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, time out. We need to find Davy. Everything else we can sort out later.” Even as she spoke, she felt removed from herself; detached from the part that wanted to curl up in a ball and just whimper until her son returned.
Zoe swung an arm around her shoulder. “Do you want to go sit down? We’re doing everything we can, and—”
“No.” Lane shrugged out of her friend’s embrace. “I can’t hang out on the sidelines. I need to know what’s going on. I need to help look for Davy. I need answers, and you guys are going to give them to me.”
“But—”
Lane held up a hand. “No buts. My kid. My rules.” She pointed to Zoe. “Tell me what happened here today.”
And Zoe did. Told all about how Jason or some Henchman—she wasn’t positive, since she hadn’t seen him—got her and Deena from behind and locked them up. And then how, when they escaped, they found that Jason had trapped Davy. They’d tried to get the child free, and almost had with the help of Shamu and some heroic dolphin, but in the end Hieronymous had won and Jason and Davy had soared off into the sky. Since she’d found Jason only moments later, Zoe had assumed the cyclone had been a diversion, and he’d stashed the boy close by.
“But I may be wrong about that,” she admitted.
Jason snorted. “About that and everything else.”
Zoe ignored him. “I have the Council searching for every possible location for Hieronymous.” She took Lane’s hand and squeezed it. Lane squeezed back, grateful for the support. “We’ll find him. No matter what, I promise you that.”
Lane nodded, then sucked in a breath for courage, turning to face Jason. “That’s Zoe’s side. What’s yours?”
“A shapeshifter,” he said simply. “A shapeshifter who took my form and took our son.” His mouth twisted into something resembling a grin. “And as for the heroic dolphin, I appreciate the praise.”
“You?” Zoe said. “Puh-lease.”
Lane frowned. Davy’s father was a dolphin?
He nodded. “My powers are piscatorial and cetacean related.”
“Huh?” Deena said, voicing Lane’s question.
“I can talk to fish. I can live underwater. And, as I already said, I can take a dolphin’s form.”
Deena crossed her arms. “Prove it.”
He nudged with his chin the rope draped over his shoulder. “Happy to. Untie me.”
Lane and Deena both turned to Zoe, who gnawed on her lower lip. After a second, she looked up. “The lariat dulls his power. If he’s going to prove it, I have to release him. But I can’t do that.”
“Why on earth not?” Lane asked.
“He might escape, and then we’d never find Davy,” Zoe explained. She gnawed on her lip again, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, but I have to follow protocol on this one. Don’t ask me why; I just do. I’ve got to do this by the book, and Protector protocol mandates that the cuffs stay on.”
“Hopping Hades,” Jason snapped. “Can you drop the bureaucratic bullshit? Following the Council’s rules isn’t getting us anywhere.”
Zoe licked her lips. “Yes, I remember the profile they did on you after you escaped from H
ieronymous.” Lane noticed the way she stressed the word escaped, as if she were being sarcastic. “You’ve never been big on following the rules or sticking with procedure, have you?”
“Not when the rules are wasting valuable time.”
Zoe just stared at him, holding Jason’s eyes until he finally spoke again, his eyes as cold as ice. “Dammit, what do I have to do to convince you? Hieronymous has my son. He has your nephew. Set me free so I can help find him. The Council’s Keystone Kops aren’t making any progress.”
He gestured across the enclosure, and Lane glanced that way, immediately noticing Boreas talking with another Protector. Neither looked particularly encouraging. Lane swallowed, a tear escaping as she thought of her baby with that monster and no one able to find him.
Hieronymous. She’d first learned of Protectors and the Council when the big-shot Outcast lord had sent one of his flunkies to steal a stone she’d bought—that turned out to be an heirloom of Aphrodite. Not that Lane had known it was special; she just thought it was cool. In retrospect, the event hadn’t turned out so bad; she’d survived the encounter relatively unscathed, and she’d met Zoe. But it had also been a little like losing her virginity—after that, she was one of the few mortals who knew.
Which meant she knew just how bad Hieronymous really was. Pretty damn bad. If Hieronymous had Davy—
“Why?” she asked, interrupting her own thoughts. “Why would Hieronymous want any kid, much less mine?” She turned to Jason, her hands on her hips. “Well?”
He shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
Zoe shifted on her feet, the looks she and Deena were trading making it absolutely clear that neither woman believed him. Lane wanted to; it had been hard enough believing that he’d left. Finding out now that not only had Jason ditched her and Davy but that he was a Protector and working for Hieronymous . . . She shivered. Definitely not something she wanted to hear.