Instead of offering him sympathy, she said, "What matters is how you feel about Audrey."
"My heart yearns for her, but my mind thinks that it's all because of the poison arrow. What if I figure out I'm not interested in her at all after a while? It would be too painful for both of us."
"You know, Damien," said a hoarse voice, "that's not an unusual risk even for those who fall in love the normal way."
"Arthur!"
"Doctor Rizzo."
Damien had just enough time to rush to his side and squeeze his hand before a nurse came in and alerted the attending physician. He and Lucia stood against the back wall as vitals were checked and re-checked, and Rizzo's status was downgraded from "critical" to "serious." When all that was done and the nurse admonished them not to stay too long because he needed his strength, Damien and Lucia returned to their positions on either side of the bed.
"Like I want to go back to sleep right now," Rizzo scoffed. "I've been asleep for the past three days. Damien, my boy, you did magnificently. You found the sketch?"
"With a little help."
"And the imp?"
"Charlie and Maggie are going on critter cleanup today with Charlie's team. I wanted to go, too, but he insisted I take a day off."
"Good, good. Now about you and that young lady…"
"I just wish that what I feel was all me."
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because she's perfect for me. I've never met anyone like her." The words felt true to him even in spite of Cupid's arrow. But hadn't Maggie said the greatest effects were for the first twelve hours?
"That sounds like you, not the spell," Rizzo told him. "Remember, you went to see her at her job."
"Yeah, but that was professionally motivated. I wanted to give her an update." Damien's face heated in response to Rizzo and Lucia’s skeptical expressions. "Fine, a lot of it was me."
"And there's something else," said Rizzo. "Go on, spit it out. We won't judge."
The words tumbled out—did Rizzo have truth-spelling ability, too? "I don't want to be manipulated. If I'm going to be in a relationship, I want to have all my rationality available."
Lucia and Arthur exchanged an amused look, then Lucia asked, "And how will you know you have that?"
"I don't know." He ran his thumb over the top of a pink rose in the bouquet on the table beside Rizzo's bed. "But I won't feel so out of control."
"Look, Damien, when you were going into the temple to rescue her, were you focused on her or on the task at hand?" Rizzo asked.
"The mission, of course, and not getting caught. Even if it did end up being a trap, which I should have known."
"And then what?"
"I've already told you."
"But you knew exactly what to do?"
"Yes." Damien licked his lips, where he thought he could still taste her kiss. "It was standard procedure with some creative stuff."
"Then I think you answered your own question," Arthur said with a yawn. "I think Ms. Sonoma brings out the best in you, and you're scared to lose it."
Damien knew they were right. Working with Charlie had made him nervous because he might prove himself worthy to be promoted to detective, and now getting involved with Audrey would push him to grow in a different way. Hell, it had already propelled him past his fear of the supernatural and into the C.U. three times, and two of those had been before he'd been shot by Eros. He'd faced things he could have never dreamed up on his own. And he was still sane. If his mind was going to crack, wouldn’t it have already?
"You'll have your chance to talk to her soon," Lucia told him.
"Is it something you sense?"
"No, Maggie and Charlie are going to take her home once she's awake and has eaten something. We should go, too. Arthur is tired, although he doesn't want us to know."
"That's what I get for getting involved with a psychic," Rizzo grumbled, but he didn't protest. "What do you see happening to me next?"
Lucia grinned for a moment, but then her brows came together in a frown. "Retirement, but only partial. Your kind never fully rests."
"You know me too well."
The deserted ballroom had the despondent look of a party the morning after with tumbled chairs, decorations, and glasses strewn about the floor. Stray bits of magic sparked and fizzled, and Maggie avoided them when she rolled to the side and shot the last of the were-bats with a silver bullet from the pistol she rarely carried. The creature screamed, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The toad had already been bagged by the DCU—Demon Containment Unit—so she only had one more thing to do before the decontamination squad arrived.
"Maggie, did you get them?" asked Charlie when she called him.
"Yep. How's the imp?"
"Struggling and squeaking in the bag you gave me for it. The chocolate croissant was genius. I would've never guessed the things have a sweet tooth."
"Great. I'll be there to pick it up in a few."
She arrived at his office half an hour later. The leather sack on Charlie's office desk moved and squealed beside the revolver in a plastic evidence bag, but Maggie ignored it. Charlie stood by the window, his cell phone to his ear, and he waved her to have a seat. He continued his conversation while he closed the blinds between his office and the rest of the floor.
"Yes, Mr. Smith, we got what was responsible. Yes, Doctor Rizzo is awake and is expected to make a full recovery. No, thank you very much for your help. It was very noble of you to come to us with such honesty. I hope Daniel gets stabilized soon."
With that, he closed his phone with an emphatic click.
"Are all the loose ends tied up?" asked Maggie.
"As tied as they're going to be." He took a couple of plastic cups and a miniature bottle of red wine out of his drawer. "I'm not supposed to have these here, but I wanted to celebrate. This was a tough case."
She accepted the glass he handed her. "I'm technically not supposed to be drinking on the job, either, but what the hell?"
"Right." He sat beside her on the sofa and put an arm around her.
"Are you trying to make a move on me, Detective MacKenzie?"
He leaned closer, his blue eyes twinkling. "What if I am?"
She looked into her wine and saw dark shapes and visions on its surface. "You're putting yourself in danger."
"What?" He laughed, but it sounded nervous. "Are you a black widow in disguise?"
"No, Charlie, I'm cursed." She looked at him through lenses blurred by her tears and then closed her eyes. She could see the Oracle, the taut muscles of the girl's neck when she forced the words out and recited them. "If you are to love or to be loved, to share possession of heart and soul, then woe to he to whom this gift is given, for he will be destroyed." She opened her eyes and looked outside at the lacework of bare tree branches against the icy blue sky. "I saw it happen with my sisters. Igraine, Arthur's mother, lost her husband to battle and her lover to politics. Morgause was the smart one—she married for money—but she suffered much because her husband didn't love her. I'm afraid that if we were to come to an understanding, it would spell your doom."
"Oh." Charlie stood and walked to the window. "You know, Maggie, I sometimes forget who and what you are. You seem like such a normal woman to me."
"And that's why I like you so much, Charlie. You see the real me, the girl that played knights and outlaws with the boys so long ago. You're a good friend, but that's all I can ever let you be. I care about you too much to put you in danger."
"Any chance of breaking the curse?"
"I should have some down time. I haven't gotten my next assignment yet—it feels like there's something big brewing, but it may take a while to manifest—so I'll research it. Lucia reminded me that every curse has a key."
"You haven't looked into it before?"
"I have, but not recently. And when I did, work interrupted my search."
He turned away from the window, regret on his face. "Just try to make it quick. Some of us don't have forever
."
The lump in her throat would only allow her to nod in response.
Audrey dug her keys out of her purse to unlock the front door. Everything was harder with just one hand, and in her efforts to isolate the front door key from the rest of the mass, she dropped them. She reached for them and didn't even look up when Lucia's door opened. The pain meds helped, but they made her feel slightly off-balance, and she didn't want to move her head too much.
"Wow, Lucia, wait 'til I tell you…" She looked up into Damien's silver eyes. He bent over and retrieved the keys for her.
"Need help?"
"You're just all about rescuing me lately." She tried not to sound bitter.
He didn't say anything or laugh while he unlocked her door and stood back so she could go in. Athena went into a sniffing frenzy, and Audrey nudged her out of the way, grateful that Lucia had taken care of the cat while she was away.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked. "We have some things to talk about."
"I agree."
Her heart pounded, and she pointed him to the loveseat. She sat in her recliner and didn't object when he put a pillow behind her before sitting down himself.
"Do you want to go first, or shall I?"
He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "Look, Audrey, I'm confused right now. I feel like I've been trapped in several ways in the past few days, and I don't know what to do about it."
"You don't have to do anything about it," she said. "You can wait and see how you feel."
"But that's the thing. Part of me wants to wait…"
"And the rest?" She held her breath, hardly daring to hope.
He raised his head and looked at her, the confusion evident in his gray eyes. "And the rest of me is ready to rush in, and that scares me."
Audrey shifted a little, her shoulder throbbing again. At least she told herself the tightness in her chest was caused by her collarbone. "I'm afraid I'm not really in any place for a relationship, Damien. I just found out that Kyle cheated on me, and we haven't even officially broken up yet. I've got my own stuff to work through."
"Right. I'm sorry, I forgot."
"We need to just give it some time. Just call me. You have my number and know where I live."
Damien stood and came to stand beside her. He looked at her for a few seconds, and she felt like he looked straight into her heart. She swallowed but didn't say anything. If he was going to argue for what was between them, fine, but she was conscious of what Charlie had said, that pushing Damien into something would only drive him away.
"Is that what you really want?" He spoke quietly.
"I don't know what I want."
"Then that's all I need to know. You know where to find me."
She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see him leave, but she heard the door open and close, and he was gone. Then the door opened again.
"What in Hades do you think you're doing?" Aphrodite stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. She wore her designer jeans and "Goddess" T-shirt ensemble.
Audrey wanted to get up, but she couldn't. "Oh, gods, can't you just leave me alone? It's your fault I'm in this mess."
"Look, he's perfect for you." The goddess sat on the edge of the loveseat. "He's also very independent, so you'll be good for each other."
"This from the goddess who likes to make things more complicated."
"Right. I should turn you into a toad for that. But since you've done me a great favor in rescuing my son, and since I am sworn to uphold the cause of true love, I'll overlook it. Eros might be a pain in the neck, ass, or wherever his arrows land, but his magic won't work unless there's something there to magnify. It's not like in the old days, when he could make the most unlikely of matches happen. Now he's like a microscope—he calls what's already there to attention, but he can't create it."
Audrey mulled over her words. "I apologize, Your Radiance, I think I may have underestimated you."
"And I, you. You have enough troubles yet to come. Why pass up the chance to have a good man with you?"
A wisp of fear uncurled in Audrey’s stomach. "What do you mean?"
"I can't say. But trust me. No one comes away from a romantic encounter with Zeus unscathed."
And with that, she was gone.
Audrey looked at the phone. A number with the words, Damien cell—don't screw it up. was printed in calligraphy on her message pad.
"Who am I to argue?" she asked Athena.
"Meow."
"Right." She picked up the phone, left a short message for Kyle telling him it was over—in case there was any doubt—and dialed the number Aphrodite had left for her.
Damien had just turned on to Ponce when his cell phone rang.
"Lewis," he said without looking at the number. He guessed it was Charlie calling with an update about the imp.
"You said I'd know where to find you," said the voice he had given up hope of hearing again anytime soon. "Can you come back?"
When Damien reached Audrey's front porch, he found a dozen red roses in a vase on the steps. The note tucked among the flowers read, To make amends for all the trouble Eros caused. You're perfect for each other. She needs you. He put the note in his pocket, picked up the vase, and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
He opened the door and saw that Audrey still sat in her recliner, phone in hand.
"Um, these are for you."
"Wow. That was a quick florist trip."
"I had some help."
He set the flowers on the coffee table and sat on the loveseat, which felt warm like someone had just been sitting there.
"You wanted me to come back?" he asked. He didn't say anything else.
"Did you want to come back?"
He nodded.
Her smile melted the protective resolve he'd started to build around his heart again. "I made a mistake. I think we'd be quite good for each other, and I'm ready to try."
"I see. What changed your mind?"
"A visit from Aphrodite." She smiled and looked at the flowers. "I'm guessing your help was of divine origin?"
"I'm still getting used to the idea, you know."
"Me, too." She gave him the same grin she'd given him in the empty lot, which he'd interpreted as relief that there was another human as overwhelmed as she was. "And she said something strange. I have a feeling this story isn't over yet."
"Really?" He hoped she didn't see the fear that blossomed in his chest. Just because he’d accepted the supernatural and didn’t seem to be affected by it like his grandmother, it didn’t mean he liked it.
"Yes, and if the rest of it's going to be challenging like the first part, I need someone to help me through it."
"I thought you didn't want me to rescue you anymore." Not that he minded. She'd rescued him, after all.
"I'd prefer to work as a team. As equals. I'm just not a good damsel in distress."
"I see."
"What do you think?"
Five minutes ago, Damien had been ready to put all this god and goddess crap behind him and move on with his goals. Life shouldn't be that complicated. But when he looked at Audrey, he felt like he could handle anything. And he was willing to try.
"I might need to be rescued," he said.
"Oh?"
"Yes, from this horrible idea that I don't need a woman in my life."
She grinned. "I can handle that. But there's just one more question."
"What?"
"The morning I was in the hospital, did you dream about me? In a stone cabin with a fireplace?"
He couldn't help the wide grin that erupted when he remembered the dream. "And wine?"
"Yes. I don't think that was really a dream."
He got up and stood beside her chair so he could lean in and whisper, "Or maybe it was the best kind—a shared one." He put his lips over hers, and it was better than in the dream. She tangled her fingers in his hair, but he pulled away.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said.
"And I
don't think I can do more than cuddle with my shoulder feeling like it is."
"That I can definitely handle." He picked her up, brought her into her bedroom, and laid her on the bed. The cat followed them and curled up by her feet. "Hi, Athena," he said and scratched her behind the ears. "What if she really is the goddess herself? She might smite me."
"She's certainly bossy enough, but I doubt it. Besides, she always hid when Kyle came over. She didn't like him but seems to have accepted you right away."
"Just to make sure, you're officially broken up, right?"
She nodded. "Very."
He stretched out beside her on the bed and studied her. She still looked fragile, but strength shone in her steady gaze, and certain parts of him stirred to attention in response to the hunger in her eyes.
"What?" she asked. "Do I look different?"
He caressed her face and kissed her again. "You look beautiful and taste like chocolate and coffee."
Her green eyes met his, and she blushed. "I'm a mess," she said.
"Yes, but you're a lovely one."
"Wait here." She went into the bathroom and came out wearing a long T-shirt. "Do you have something you can change into to sleep?"
"I'll just wear my T-shirt and boxers, if that's okay."
"Very."
He took his turn in the bathroom, and when he came out, he found her watching for him. When he lay beside her, he put a finger under her chin and tilted her face toward his for one more kiss. She snuggled into him and was soon asleep, but his eyes wouldn't close, at least not right away. The strange events of the past few days played through his mind. Was it possible that his grandmother’s mistake had been to not seek out like-minded people who would have believed and supported her? Like Audrey.
My grandmother would have been proud, he thought and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Thank you so much for reading Tangled Dreams! It would be super helpful if you were to leave a review at the site where you bought it, and/or on Goodreads if you're reading it in paper. Reviews help out with sales rank and let other potential readers know that this is a group of characters that are worth spending time with.
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