by Lynsay Sands
His gaze slid over her bare shoulders where she’d tugged the peasant blouse to the side to ride her upper arms and she explained, “It’s strapless.”
“Oh.” He nodded.
As they entered the kitchen, Divine added, “Pretty pink with white lace trim along the bottom. I’m wearing matching panties too.”
Marcus stopped dead in the doorway as if he’d been shot and after a couple steps, Divine glanced back at him and almost smiled at the expression on his face. She didn’t know what little devil had made her say that. Really, it had surprised her as well when the words had slipped out, but the expression on his face . . .
Goodness, the man looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. He was also looking at her as if he could see the undergarments she’d described right through her clothes. For some reason that sent a thrill of excitement through her.
“Yo! Marcus?”
Divine glanced past Marcus to the stairs. Vincent was halfway down, hanging over the railing to peer into the kitchen at them through the kitchen door Marcus held open with his body.
Marcus turned to peer at the man and then cleared his throat. “Yeah?”
“Make sure you throw some ice cream in the cooler too. I want to make us some of my famous super-duper sundaes later while we’re relaxing.”
“Right. Ice cream.” Marcus nodded.
“And the fixings,” Vincent added.
“Right. Fixings.” Marcus nodded again.
Divine couldn’t see his expression, but whatever it was made Vincent suddenly frown. “You do know what fixings are needed for sundaes, right?”
When Marcus didn’t respond Vincent clucked impatiently and yelled upstairs, “Honey, can you throw a couple pairs of shorts and some T-shirts in a bag for me? Marcus hasn’t eaten in more than two millennia. If we leave it up to him we’ll be stuck with Puppy Chow or something.”
“You have a puppy?” Divine asked curiously.
Vincent lowered his gaze back to them and grinned. “Yeah. We dropped her at the vet’s last night. She was being operated on this morning. Spayed,” he added and then frowned. “We were supposed to pick her up at four.” Raising his head he yelled, “Jackie, we forgot to pick up Little One at four.”
“Crap,” they heard from upstairs. “I think they’re open until eight. I’ll call.”
Divine raised an eyebrow. “You don’t plan on bringing her along to, do you? I mean, what if they set the RV on fire again or blow it up this time or something?”
Vincent stiffened and then raised his head and yelled, “I’ll call the office and have someone pick her up if they’re open. They can take her to the kennel tomorrow until we get back.”
“Oh, but—”
“It’s safer for her,” Vincent interrupted.
There was a pause and then Jackie sighed. “Okay.”
Vincent nodded, but didn’t look pleased himself as he came down the rest of the stairs to join them in the kitchen. Once there he commented, “You know, Bastien should really have some of his scientists look into developing nanos for dogs.”
“Why not just give our nanos to the dog and see if it takes?” Divine suggested, crossing the kitchen to a set of double doors she suspected was the pantry. She was right, she saw once she opened them.
“Because that wouldn’t work,” Marcus said with a laugh.
“Why?” Divine asked absently as she flipped on a switch, lighting up the small room lined with shelves. A survey of the contents on the shelves left her a little bewildered. There were fruits and vegetables. She recognized those, but there were a ton of other items she didn’t recognize. What the devil was Spam? she wondered.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Divine glanced over her shoulder to see Marcus in the doorway, peering at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. Shifting uncomfortably, she asked, “About what?”
“About why our nanos wouldn’t work for dogs,” he said. “I mean, they were made to work with the human anatomy and chemistry only. The scientists who made them programmed them that way. They—”
“Scientists?” Divine interrupted with surprise before she could catch herself. She hadn’t realized the nanos that made her so strong and gave her such a long life were man-made. She’d thought . . . well, she supposed she’d just assumed they were a part of every immortal, as natural as gills on a fish. That immortals were maybe a different species to humans or something.
Divine hadn’t been educated on the origin of immortals before she’d been kidnapped, and certainly Leonius hadn’t had any desire to teach her anything that didn’t have to do with horror and pain. Once she was free of him, her time had been taken up with running and hiding and constantly moving to avoid the great and monstrous Lucian Argeneau. It had left little time to ponder the origins of her people or the source of their nanos.
“Divine,” Marcus said slowly. “Did no one teach you about—?”
“Of course they did,” she interrupted sharply. Turning away, she picked up a can of Spam as she added, “I was just pulling your leg.”
A long silence passed, and then Vincent said, “Marcus, come help me with this, will you?”
Divine remained completely still until he moved away and then let her breath out on a sigh. She should have just admitted that she didn’t know, but she hadn’t wanted to look stupid in front of Marcus. Divine had no idea why that should be the case. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that, and not knowing something didn’t make her stupid. It just meant she didn’t know something. It did not take away from all the things she did know. No one could know everything there was to know on this vast planet, no matter how many years or centuries they’d lived. For instance, she had no clue what Spam was and didn’t care who knew that. So why did not knowing their origins bother her and make her feel ignorant?
Sighing, Divine set the can of Spam back on the shelf. She wasn’t packing anything she didn’t recognize . . . which was pretty much everything in a can or box in the pantry. Shaking her head, she grabbed a folded bag from the shelf, opened it, and began to place vegetables into it.
Thirteen
“I’m just so glad that you’re both all right,” Madge said, beaming on both Divine and Marcus.
“Yes.” Managing a smile, Divine nodded and then changed her expression to an apologetic one. “I’m really sorry, Madge. I thought I’d left a note to let you know that Marco was taking me to get a new RV. I guess in all the excitement and chaos I just forgot. Or maybe it just got mislaid. I was sure I left that note.”
It was at least the twelfth time Divine had told that lie. She was beginning to find it hard to keep her smile in place as she repeated it, but then the past eight hours had been a bit harried. They’d arrived at the carnival site to find it empty The only evidence that it had ever even been there was some yellow police crime scene tape that had caught in the branches of a tree at the edge of the grounds and was fluttering in the hot, dry breeze.
Divine, Marcus, Vincent, and Jackie had headed straight to the police station from there and then the fire department. As Vincent had suggested, the arson investigator had quickly recognized the fire as deliberately set. Divine had apparently been the number one suspect at first. At least until they learned from various witnesses, both carnies and townies alike, that she had been in town when it started, had returned to find it in flames, and was now missing. When Marcus’s absence had then been noted, he had become the prime suspect for both the arson and her kidnapping.
There had been no other choice but for Divine, Marcus, Vincent, and Jackie to use a combination of finessing memories, influencing thoughts, and even a touch of mind wiping to turn the situation around. By the time they’d finished, the whole ordeal had turned from arson and kidnapping to nothing more than an accidental fire with no insurance claim, no one injured, and nothing of real note about the entire episode. They’d then ensured the file went missing, both hard copy and digital.
After that had been taken care of, they’d followed the carnival
to its next scheduled stop. They’d arrived at the fairgrounds where the carnival was set up to find the midway silent and dark, and the carnies relaxing in the back lot after a long, hot day.
Divine had headed straight for Madge and Bob’s RV with Vincent, Jackie, and Marcus following her. But by the time she’d arrived at the older couple’s home on wheels, most of the carnies were following as well, every single one of them eyeing Marcus suspiciously and asking if she was all right, but leaving any other questions until she reached Madge and Bob.
There was a pecking order in carnivals and as the owners, Madge and Bob were Ma and Pop, King and Queen. The others left it up to them to get the answers they wanted and merely surrounded Divine and the three strangers accompanying her as they made their way to the Hoskinses’ RV.
Well, most of them had. Someone had obviously run ahead to tell Madge and Bob that she was back because the couple had been coming out of the RV when Divine led Marcus, Vincent, and Jackie to it. The mortal couple had greeted Divine with relief, ignoring the three people with her, even Marcus, until she’d explained that while the arson investigator had first mistaken the fire for arson, he had now determined it had been accidental, an electrical fire that had ended with the propane tank blowing up. She’d then explained that Marco had found her distraught after she’d stumbled away from her burning RV, had comforted her, and then had offered to help her replace the vehicle so that she could get back to work and that’s what they’d been doing the last couple days; visiting used RV lots and the bank to arrange for a replacement.
“Well, I’m just glad the fire inspector realized his mistake and informed the police it was an accident before they arrested poor Marco,” Madge said now.
Bob snorted at his wife’s words. “He’d have been lucky to have been arrested. If Marco had returned to us alone instead of with Divine alive and well at his side, our boys would have strung him up, no questions asked.”
“Yes,” Madge agreed solemnly, and then patted Marcus’s arm as if to soothe him. “Well, fortunately, he didn’t. He brought her back, and with friends too to help us.”
Divine’s smile became decidedly forced at this comment. Vincent had quite caught her by surprise when he’d informed Madge and Bob that he and Jackie were friends of hers who had come to help in any way they could, and who wanted to set up a gourmet candy apple stall with another couple, Tiny and Mirabeau, right next to Divine’s fortune-telling spot. She had been just as surprised when Madge and Bob had embraced the idea with enthusiasm, until she’d realized that Vincent and Jackie were using their special skills to influence the couple and ensure they thought it was a good idea.
It seemed that so long as she stayed with the carnival, Divine was going to have a trio of bodyguards/babysitters on her butt. Actually, a quintet of bodyguards/babysitters, she thought, recalling this unknown Tiny and Mirabeau.
“And your timing couldn’t be better,” Bob announced. “Jack’s submarine ride died on him today. We’ll move it out in the morning and you can park your RVs side by side where it was.”
“Oh yes,” Madge said happily. “That worked out well.”
“Not for Jack,” Divine muttered and then asked. “Can’t he fix it?”
“Divine honey, that ride is more than fifty years old,” Bob said dryly. “Jack has fixed and fixed it, but frankly I think this time it’s done in.”
“He had a technician out today, but he said the parts would cost a good couple thousand dollars by themselves,” Madge told her solemnly. “And Jack just doesn’t make any money on that ride anymore.”
Bob grunted and nodded. “It’s a kiddie ride that even the kiddies find boring. A bunch of yellow tubs that go round and round.” He wrinkled his nose. “Not much of a thrill. He’ll probably either sell it for scrap or as an antique online or something.”
Madge nodded in agreement. “We were just going to put an ‘Out of Order’ sign on it and leave it in place so we didn’t have a hole on the midway where it had been positioned,” she admitted, and then added brightly, “But now that you and your friends are here, we’ll have the boys take it down so you can pull the RVs in for the night.”
“Oh no,” Divine protested as several of the men moved forward, apparently volunteering for the duty. “I don’t want the boys to have to trouble themselves at this hour.”
“Oh now, Miss Divine, it’s no trouble,” Jack said, moving through the crowd to join them. “It’s trailer mounted. We just have to take the fencing down around it and haul the trailer off. It won’t take more than a couple minutes. Besides,” he added dryly. “I can’t stand to look at the damned thing. It’s given me nothing but grief for years now. I’ll be glad to get it out of my sight, and then out of my hair. I’m happy to move it.”
“Great,” Divine said dryly as Jack headed away with several men following him.
“Why don’t you take your friends and go get your RVs,” Madge suggested. “By the time you walk there and drive back, I guarantee the submarine ride will be gone and you can pull right in.”
“Great,” Divine repeated weakly as Marcus took her arm to urge her away. She’d been rather hoping that they’d have to split up the RVs and park them in different spots along the midway. Or that they wouldn’t have been able to fit them both in at all and the second RV, with Marcus, Vincent, and Jackie in it, would have had to be parked somewhere in the back lot, well away from the one she intended to use. That would have given her at least a little space to maneuver and manage her escape. She certainly needed to get away from her bodyguards/babysitters before Lucian arrived. But it seemed even fate was against her in this endeavor. Seriously, what were the chances that the submarine ride would drop dead, leaving a space just big enough for two RVs to park side by side in its place?
Pretty good, actually, Divine acknowledged. The damned thing seemed to break down pretty regularly. Although this was the first time the breakdown had been something that Jack couldn’t repair himself.
“Oh darn, Divine!” Madge called suddenly.
Divine paused abruptly and turned to see the woman waving her back. After a hesitation, she turned to Marcus and suggested, “Why don’t the three of you go ahead? I’ll catch up. She probably just forgot to tell me something.”
He didn’t even hesitate, but said at once, “I’ll come with you.”
“Are you going to join me in the toilet too when I have to use it?” Divine asked sweetly, and when his eyes widened in surprise, she said in a firm voice, “I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time, Marcus. I don’t need an escort to walk over and talk to Madge, and I don’t like tripping over people every time I move. I’d appreciate a little space. You can either wait here while I see what she wants, or go get the RV, but you are not going to follow me around like a guard dog.”
Marcus eyed her solemnly for a moment and then nodded his head and said, “As you wish.”
Divine had no idea what that meant. Was he going to go get the RV or wait here? And why the hell was Vincent now chuckling softly? Shaking her head with bewilderment at the pair of them, Divine turned and headed back toward Madge. She’d taken only a couple steps though when she heard Jackie say softly, “Tiny loves that movie.”
The comment was just as bewildering to her as the men’s behavior was, but Divine merely rolled her eyes with exasperation and continued on to Madge. Honestly, she didn’t know what to make of the three of them. They had been kind; had given her blood, a bed, and clothes; and had taken care of her while she’d healed. They also appeared sincere in their intention of finding out who was behind the attacks on her and her RV. But she’d heard them talking. She knew they suspected she was Basha, and she knew Lucian was coming. Why hadn’t they just kept her chained to the bed and held her there until he arrived? Why this charade of friendship and caring?
Divine didn’t understand and didn’t have time to figure it out. She needed to lose the trio, leave the carnival, and start the next chapter in her life of running and hiding.
“Come,” Madge said when Divine reached her. Catching her hand, she then turned to lead her back toward her RV. “I almost forgot.”
“Almost forgot what?” Divine asked, following the woman.
Madge didn’t answer, but led her to the small enclosed trailer they always kept attached to the back of their RV. She quickly unlocked the door, pulled it open, and then beamed at Divine. “I bet you thought it was gone forever.”
Divine raised her eyebrows at the comment and shifted closer to the woman to peer inside the trailer, a smile pulling her lips apart when she saw the motorcycle inside. She’d forgotten all about the vehicle she’d left lying in the dirt in front of her burning RV the night Marcus had been injured.
“Madge, you’re an angel,” she said, stepping forward to run one hand gently over the handlebar. This was her ticket to freedom. It was how she was going to escape. All she had to do was give the trio waiting for her the slip for even five minutes, hop on the bike, and ride away. Turning, she gave Madge a quick hug. “Thank you. Can I leave it with you for now?”
The woman’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but she nodded readily enough. “If you like. I suppose the new RV doesn’t have a built-in storage space to keep it like your old one did.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Divine agreed, and then admitted, “But the RV I’m using right now is just borrowed. I’ll have to wait on a custom made one for special storage spaces like that. But I won’t make you hold on to the bike for that long,” she assured her. “I’d just rather leave it here for now. Tomorrow or the next day I’ll probably swing by to pick it up. If that’s all right with you?”
“Of course,” Madge assured her, closing the door. “It’s no problem at all.”
“Good,” Divine murmured as she watched her attach the lock once more, and it was good. She really hadn’t wanted to dip into the woman’s mind and make her agree to keeping it for her. But she would have. She needed the motorcycle, and she needed Marcus and the others not to know about it.