Tied In Knots (Immortals Book 7)

by LJ Vickery

  “Charlie? I have someone I want you to meet.”

  Charlie looked up…and up…past muscled thighs and a lovely washboard abdomen into the blushing face of a stunningly dark and beautiful man. He seemed completely uneasy with his nudity as he shifted from foot to foot.

  “This is my cousin, Dorian.” She turned. “Dorian, this is Charlie Dunsky.”

  The man held out a hand. “My pleasure,” he murmured, and she stifled a giggle. Ah. A breast man. He was trying very hard not to look at her nipples. She wondered if he’d become one of those nudists who kept a tally between brown versus pink.

  “Charlie,” he started, bringing his slightly dazed eyes to her face. “I don’t want you to panic, but I’m a friend of the group back in the Blue Hills.”

  Her eyes widened. So it wasn’t the nudity making him nervous. It was the fact that he’d been sent to hunt her down.

  “Obedience put two and two together when you talked and figured out who you were running from.” He gave a wry smile. “The names Marduk and company don’t leave much room for mistaken identity,” he admitted. “She figured out my connection to them and called me. I came immediately.”

  His smile attempted to put her at ease, but she wasn’t buying it. She pinned him with a stare. “If that’s the case, then you just traveled three thousand miles in fifteen minutes,” she scoffed. “Either that, or by coincidence, you were already here,” she spit out, growing angrier by the minute. “And that’s one coincidence too many.”

  Frustration ate at her. A lot of things hadn’t been exactly normal with Absu and company, and until this point, she’d ignored it, feeling that she’d get some intel eventually. But with what had occurred a few minutes ago with Maity, the whole secret agent enclave on the East Coast thing didn’t cut it anymore.

  After she’d called Teri, Charlie and Maity had left the lobby, heading back to their cabin for hats. But while searching for her key, Charlie remembered she’d handed it to Maity as she and Bee-Dee had cleaned up from lunch. She could only assume it now lay buried in the vast expanse of the sandbox. She’d let her frustration out, demanding to know from her lip-trembling daughter―as she plunked her down and pawed through the sand―where she’d put the key.

  Within seconds of her tirade, Planchette had approached the play area. What looked like conferring had taken place between feline and toddler before Planchette walked once around the sandbox, stopped short at a pile that looked like any other, and dug delicately. The key had been easily uncovered. The cat had then sat back on her haunches and preened while Maity clapped. It had been the final straw in a plethora of incidents that Charlie had purposely ignored. She wasn’t stupid. Things hadn’t added up.

  With her brain about to burst, she resurrected every suspicious occurrence, angrily enumerating them for Bee-Dee, Dorian, and for the smug cat.

  “You know that Absu’s wound healed pretty damned quickly, don’t you?” She rapped sharply on the wood of the sandbox while ignoring the nude pair and watching the cat blink slowly. “And then there’s the way everyone in the Blue Hills house seems to know what others are thinking before anyone has even spoken. Including my own daughter,” she said accusingly to the feline who merely lifted and licked one paw.

  “And what about the dungeon?” Charlie added. “Who has a real dungeon these days?”

  The cat’s tail twitched while Charlie continued to rant. “And Absu,” she’d hissed. “Standing in the corner of my room two nights ago after truncated sex. I’m certain he was larger than normal and had white patches on his skin. And dammit, he growled his words.”

  Charlie didn’t receive an answer from the cat, but sure as shit it was entirely possible, because an almost human smirk crossed its haughty little face.

  Now Charlie turned her eyes to Bee-Dee; her long-time friend who, if she wasn’t mistaken, hadn’t aged in the dozen years since Charlie had last seen her. Another fact to pigpile on the heap of shit that kept getting larger and larger.

  She shook her head at the almost amused twist to Bee-Dee’s mouth, and knowing she’d get half-assed answers there, Charlie spun and pinned Dorian with a stare.

  Compressing her lips at Bee-Dee’s exquisitely proportioned cousin, she rose to her feet and jabbed a finger into his dark, furry chest. It felt good to get a look of panic from such a hearty male. He’d tell her what she needed to know.

  “Okay,” she snarled. “Spill it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Well. It wasn’t what she’d been expecting. The, uh, warlock…yeah, warlock ran a hand over his face. It had taken him fifteen minutes of descriptions and demonstrations before both he and Obedience had run out of steam, which left Charlie steaming mad.

  Also, she was not totally convinced of all the bullshit they’d spun. She stalked from the sandbox, clutching her key, and went into her cabin, slamming the door behind her. Bee-Dee would take care of Maity. Charlie needed confirmation of what she’d been told. She stabbed at more than touched the numbers on her phone.

  “Really, Ken? Gods? Warlocks?” She didn’t let her brother speak when he picked up. She remained incredulous and livid after the tale Dorian had relayed. Confronting her brother would unravel the real truth of what the witchy-man had said. Even by phone, she’d be able to tell if Ken was lying.

  “Calm down, Charlie. I’m at work, and surrounded by guys who are really into drama.” She knew that Ken tried to maintain a voice of reason. But was that even possible? She was asking about freaking immortals.

  He continued. “They spilled the beans, huh?” Was that a chuckle? “You have every reason to doubt what you’ve been told, and you’re probably pissed off that nobody let you in on stuff before, but everything Dorian said is true. I lived at the Blue Hills for weeks, and despite how crazy it sounds, the people back at the compound are gods and goddesses. Dorian, Angie, and Addie May are witches,” he huffed. “And FYI, the last bit was news to me too. I pretty much just got off the phone with Marduk, who filled me in on where and with whom you’re staying, and Bee-Dee’s roots blew my mind. Back when we stayed at her place for vacations, I didn’t have a clue.”

  Charlie reeled, lightheaded from his response. She didn’t notice that Bee-Dee had entered the cabin, or that her hands were guiding Charlie to a chair.

  Dammit. Ken was telling the truth. His conviction wasn’t feigned. And what’s more, all his workmates had to know too. Dear God…hah. Dear gods. Charlie nearly choked on a hysterical laugh. “Is Absu there?” She could feel that her face had turned stone cold.

  “He’s here, Charlie,” Ken replied hesitantly.

  “Then put him on the phone,” she demanded. It was not a request.

  “Um, I can’t, sis. Didn’t they tell you?”

  “Tell me what?” Charlie braced herself for more bullshit.

  “He’s, uh, invisible.”

  That was it. The last straw of her sanity. Charlie let out a frustrated howl and passed the phone to Bee-Dee with fingers that had gone numb. She could hear Ken’s voice calling, “Charlie? Charlie?” But her head twirled with more than she could handle.

  Bee-Dee kept one eye glued to her while putting the phone to her ear. “Hi, Ken. It’s Bee-Dee. Your sister’s not able to talk anymore.” She looked at Charlie, who couldn’t form a coherent word as she stared, unblinkingly at her friend. “I think she’s in shock.”

  ****

  On the East Coast, Jake was once again headed to the airport. He’d be in LA well after the gods arrived, but in plenty of time to mobilize his ground forces to make sure that Charlie and Maity stayed safe.

  After the scrying bowl incident at noon, he’d been dispatched to Logan. Dorian had already made it to the West Coast, and the balance of the gods were even now misting off to California. The deities would keep their distance from Charlie so Beletseri wouldn’t be able to trace their god energy to her, only going to Charlie’s aid if Beletseri discovered the Chosen’s whereabouts. None of them knew how long that would be. The goddess
had an uncanny way of remaining one step ahead of them, but they were taking every precaution. Waylon―with his retinue of five―and Dorian would hold vigil at the camp in case of an emergency.

  Jake closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat after boarding. No one had gotten much sleep last night, considering the shakedown at the airport. But he’d had even less than the gods. A trace of a smile passed over his face.

  After he, Anna, the three gods, and the warlock had left the parking garage―with Matthew held in some kind of spell by Dorian―they met up with the oddest group of blue individuals accompanying the gods at the docks. There was a water taxi to take them back to Quincy, but the blue guys had begged off and instead dove into the frigid black waters of Boston Harbor to speed away, flashing underwater like iridescent plankton. He’d been told by Marduk that they were Lauernley of Rhine Valley Lorelei fame, and even though locked into the god mind network, they didn’t share the power to disappear or travel quickly over dry land. They could swim like lightning, but needed human transportation where no water existed. Sure enough, the group had been waiting near the compound’s cars when the boat docked with all the gods on board.

  The gods had chosen not to mist home. They were all too curious about Anna, who looked so much like Tess and Holly that it was uncanny. Marduk and Dagon had hovered and were particularly protective of their mother-in-law, while Huxley sat quietly by her side during the ride home, gently stroking her hand.

  Anna hadn’t said much, but kept looking toward Jake to make sure he hadn’t disappeared. She was completely overwhelmed, and it seemed he’d become her lifeline.

  When they’d arrived outside the compound, Anna’s mouth had fallen open for the hundredth time that night, and her knees had threatened to buckle when the door was thrown open by her two daughters. Tess and Holly, already having some of the story via head link from Huxley, rushed headlong out into the snow to embrace the woman who more resembled a third sister than a mother. The whole scene had been emotional and full of tears, but only the beginning of the night’s waterworks. When everyone had finally settled into the kitchen for late night tea, Anna had told her story. Jake recalled it nearly word for word.

  “My welcome has been more than I could ever have hoped for,” she’d started, gazing at the three siblings. “Considering that I…gave you up when you were so young.” Her words had woven around the Abelards, with both Tess and Holly quietly telling their mother that they remembered her voice from the past. That it had always flitted through their consciousness.

  That made Anna cry again.

  “I was selfish.” Their mother took a restorative sip of tea to speak again. “When I met your father, I should have walked away. It was 1983, and I was already forty-five years old. I was well aware that something wasn’t right about me. I hadn’t aged a day since my twenties.” She looked at both of her girls, and obviously saw the same face on them that she’d been seeing in the mirror for at least fifty years.

  “I’d never found anybody I wanted to settle down with, but when Fitz came along, it was almost like I had no choice. He made me laugh.” She spread her fingers in a gesture of defeat.

  Her audience stayed quiet, and Anna looked toward her children, regrouping and then clearing her throat. “Your father’s name was Fitzpatrick Hobson. He was a big man, a logger up in Vermont. I was a cook in the barracks that served as the site’s canteen. I can’t say that it was love at first sight, but Fitz, in his whirlwind way, romanced me with everything he had. He swept me off my feet in all regards and shot down every excuse I gave him for why we couldn’t be together.” She lowered her head. “I was weak. And I was pregnant before we really even knew each other. He was thrilled,” she revealed. “I was terrified.”

  Another deep breath, another sip of tea. “He was a very good man, and I understood the implications of that. He’d be a good father to you kids when I was finally forced to leave. I had no expectations of a happily ever after. In five years, maybe ten, Fitz would notice I wasn’t aging, and I’d have to abandon all of you. I refused to marry him, which tormented his soul, but I couldn’t give in. He wasn’t mine to keep. None of you were. But life never gives you what you expect.” Her gaze went softly to the twins.

  “Your father loved you girls with everything he had. You were his world, and he would have done anything for you.” Anna laughed, remembering. “He’d ride you both around on his shoulders, neither of you more than ten months old, showing you off to the whole camp. Everybody knew you both and loved you. When I became pregnant with Huxley, Fitz was over the moon.” Her eyes clouded with the memory as she shifted her focus to Hux. “He never got to see you.” She groped for his hand and squeezed it. “He died in an accident before you were born.”

  Jake could all tell Anna had a hard time relaying the next part of her past.

  “Fitz was the yard boss, and due to his responsibilities, he was everywhere at once. This particular day, he’d cut down some fresh timber with his crew, and they’d used the cranes to load their big, nine-axle logging truck. There was an icy rain coming down, and despite all sorts of precautions, the thing got stuck.” She sucked in a breath. “It happened so quickly. Fitz had leaned down under the truck to see if they could lay out a bed of chips to gain traction when the clutch slipped. He was crushed instantly by the back wheels.”

  She paused for a long time, her face devastated.

  “I’d quit working after you twins came.” Her voice turned steady again. “We’d lived solely on Fitz’s salary. But after he was gone, it was impossible for me to care for you girls and work. Especially being eight months pregnant at the time. So I relocated to Maine, where some friends told me of a woman’s shelter.” She shook her head sadly. “I stayed there until I delivered. And I fooled myself into thinking I could find work and keep you kids, which I quickly realized was a pipe dream. With few skills, I couldn’t find a job that paid enough to provide for daycare, so we simply existed.

  “We were living on public assistance in a one-room apartment, and I was going to stay twenty-five for the rest of forever, at least as far as I could figure. I knew I’d have to give you kids up sooner or later, and I decided the break should be made sooner. Before you got older, and before I ruined your lives with uncertainty and poverty.” Anna closed her eyes, refusing to look at anyone. “The day I signed the papers at the agency was the worst day of my life. I believed Fitz’s death had destroyed me, but giving up you, my babies…” The waterworks began again. “It was like ripping out every human thing I had left inside me.” Her words caught in her throat, and Anna fought to stave off overwhelming emotions. She finally raised her head. “Everything else, you’ve been able to put together, or have heard from Jake. I went off the grid, taking jobs for cash only and moving every five or seven years so no one would find out about my ‘condition.’ I believed I had somehow been cursed, that I was doomed to live like this for eternity. A freak of nature.”

  Tess had no longer been able to stand it. Her eyes, as well as many others in the room, had been soaked with tears. She’d thrust her chair back, strode toward her mother, and hugged her as tightly as she was able. Her emotions had been high. Having just given birth to her son, she could clearly empathize with the wrenching pain of having to give up not just one child but three.

  “Oh, Anna…Mom,” Tess cried. “Not in a million years will we ever let you be alone again,” she sobbed. “I promise.”

  She’d been joined by her siblings, who had surrounded their mother. Anna’s shoulders heaved with the remembered years of pain, and there hadn’t been a single dry eye in the house. Seconds, or maybe minutes, had ticked by before Holly finally broke the tension.

  “Dammit.” She tried to laugh through her tears. “You have one postpartum woman and three more very pregnant females here. We may never stop crying.” Her humor had the desired effect. The group spluttered, sniffed, then giggled, with everyone hugging Anna equally hard.

  Marduk had finally broken it up to remi
nd them, or the guys at least, that there was still the issue of Matthew. The asshole had been cooling his heels in the least comfortable of the dungeon cells, and they had to confront him.

  “Okay.” Lenore wiped her eyes and squared her shoulders. “I’m in on that.”

  Jake realized Lenore knew Matthew better than anyone else, having worked with him back in Plymouth. She wouldn’t be denied her pound of flesh. Not that there would be any beatings. Marduk had explained that the dark hours were for intimidation; the time to instill fear into an enemy of the horrible things he would endure if he didn’t comply.

  Several gods had then departed the room, and apparently done a tremendous job confronting Matthew, listing all the ways they were going to torture him unless he gave up Charlie’s last known location. Of course, that was hours before they got the good news about Charlie from Dorian. But before that piece of intel had hit, the group of would-be interrogators had emerged back on the main floor, shuffling from the elevator. Matthew apparently had insisted over and over that Charlie had disappeared on her own, long before they were supposed to meet up. He’d admitted they’d tried to entice her to Boston, had purchased a plane ticket to that end, but had been equally as firm that the girl hadn’t joined them as planned.

  Marduk had assured everyone that, at first light, he would call the Underworld queen’s sister, Ishtar-Dinatu. One of her skills entailed the ability to sort truth from lies, and she would decide which one came from Matthew’s lips. This way of truth extraction would also save on clean-up. Of course, in retrospect―now that Charlie had been found―the goddess hadn’t been needed.

  As a precaution that what Matthew said was true—that Charlie had gone off the grid on the West Coast—Marduk had sent Waylon Blau and his men on an ocean swim down the coast, through the Panama Canal, and up to LA. A five-hour trip that put them ready to mobilize at seven that morning California time. Since the blue men shared the god’s mind network, Marduk gave them lessons in the GTS―God Transceiver Station―that Shamash had concocted. It was an old microwave oven tweaked to get signals from towers and dishes across the world. It worked great for long-distance communication.