* * *
Val sighed and lay back on her bed. The room was weird. Actually, the whole place was weird. Jenna seemed nice enough but was very standoffish. She didn’t know if it was just her nature or something else. Although Val had to admit she hadn’t really been in the best of moods when she came in.
She huffed a little and scowled at the ceiling. Apollo could be such a dick. Half the time she wasn’t even sure he knew what was coming out of his mouth before he said it.
But what a mouth it was when he was using it the right way.
She’d never had someone take control like that. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the kiss excited her in ways she hadn’t thought possible. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have experience. Well, she had a little experience. But obviously nothing like him. He was pure walking sex. Every piece of her ached for him.
Still, who had time for that stuff? It wasn’t like she had some easy life that she could just do whatever felt good. Besides, she had other things on her mind.
Val shook her head. This wasn’t the time to be thinking of super-hot kisses. Everything she’d worked for put her just a stone’s throw from getting what she wanted.
Sol.
The thought of the hybrid she’d only seen a few times on TV made her heart race. All her hard work was about to pay off as long as she stayed focused and didn’t let herself get distracted by stupid brown-haired kissing gods.
Picking herself off the bed, Val stripped out of her clothes and got ready to sleep.
Apollo would be by early, and she wanted to be ready.
Whatever he might think of her, she was a professional through and through. She’d get this whole place wired and still have time to meet Sol. Because she was just that good. There were some things she had to fudge, but this wasn’t one of them.
Val pulled out the papers from her bag and placed them on the bed. What to do with her most prized possessions? There weren’t many options.
She lifted up the end of the mattress and slipped them under. Better than nothing. Maybe she’d find something better later.
Val sighed and laid down on top of the mattress, her papers firmly under her. Tomorrow would be a new day, and if things went right, it would be the start of a whole new life.
Chapter Seven
Chilly air nipped at Val as she sat on the porch, watching the sun rise over the crest of the horizon. Parts were blocked by the trees, but the beams of light that came through made her smile. It was beautiful here. She could see why the hybrids had picked it.
It was quiet. The air was clean, and most of all, it kept them out of the public eye, which, from what she could tell, was a good thing given the nut jobs she’d encountered.
She took in a deep breath and let it out. Preparing herself for the day was becoming more difficult than she would have thought. There was just so much going on, and after what happened with Apollo, she wasn’t certain if she’d even be able to keep focused.
“There’s someone who is deep in thought.”
Val jumped, ready to take on whoever might come at her. The woman who had spoken to her raised her hands in surrender, and Val relaxed a little. The dark-haired woman was dressed in pink jogging clothes and had her hair pulled back into a pony tail. Earphones hung around her neck. She gave a knowing smile, and Val felt more at ease with her. A relaxed feeling came from the woman.
“I’m just the doctor,” she said and lowered her hands. “Just wanted to come and see the woman that was more controversial than myself.”
Val frowned and lowered her own hands, which she still had up in a defensive stance. “Me?”
The woman gave a wide smile and stepped forward. She thrust her hand out and waited. “I’m Rachel.”
Val took her hand. She couldn’t help the smile that came. Everything about this woman was exactly as it seemed. Open and honest. They were the best kinds of people. Less complicated and never seemed to be hiding who they really were.
“Val.” She grinned. “Wanna tell me why I’m so controversial?”
The doctor took a seat next to her.
“Well, let’s just say, the men here have a hard time welcoming people.” Rachel stared off into the morning sun.
“And you have first-hand understanding of this?” Val asked.
The pretty doctor turned and gave a sad smile.
“They have been through a lot,” she said quietly. “So if they aren’t the warmest, it’s with good reason. Just give them time.”
Val frowned. She didn’t know if she would be willing to put up with too much from the men here. Not only that, she didn’t have time for them to warm up to her.
The doctor stood. “You’ve got your work cut out for you with Apollo.”
Val sighed. That was about what she was thinking.
“That’s what I gathered,” she said.
“Just don’t lie to him,” Rachel said and stood.
Rachel stared hard at Val, and for a moment, she wondered if the other woman knew what she was up to.
“You’ll definitely be entertaining to watch.” Rachel grinned.
Val opened her mouth to respond but stopped when a car pulled out front. Her heart sped up as Apollo stepped out of the car. She could feel her palms clam up and her mouth run dry.
“Well,” Rachel said with a smile, “looks like that’s my cue to get out of here.”
She gave a small wave and popped her earphones back in. Before Val could even say goodbye, the other woman was jogging off the porch and onto the road.
The steps creaked as Apollo walked up and stood in front of her.
“What did she want?” he asked gruffly, a strange mix of irritation and something else quite different, she wasn’t quite sure, coming from him.
It was too early for this, and she hadn’t had nearly enough coffee.
Val stood and made her way to the door.
“She came to say hi,” she said simply.
Apollo followed her inside and into the kitchen. When she had gotten up, Jenna was already long gone but left everything out to make coffee.
She held up a mug for him, and he wrinkled his nose.
“I don’t know how you people can drink that crap,” he said and moved to the table.
Val poured another cup and added in cream.
“I don’t know how you can be up so early and not drink it,” she said. A sly smile crept on her face when she turned around to look at him. “Especially when you were camped outside the house until late.”
His face grew red, and she realized that unlike yesterday, his eyes were totally visible to her. She couldn’t help think that they were such a pretty shade.
He turned away from her stare and looked out the front window.
“It’s my job to keep an eye on you,” he said. His voice was low and menacing, but she suspected that was more from embarrassment than anger. The two were so close in him that it made it difficult for her to read his feelings accurately.
She sat across from him.
“So what’s the plan?” she said simply.
He looked over to her, clearly confused.
“With the rewiring,” she said and sighed.
He scowled at her.
“The main room,” he said gruffly. “I’ll take you there, and you can decide.”
She looked into his amber eyes and sighed. It was going to be a very long day.
* * *
Apollo sat in a chair across the room from her in the somewhat cramped office. They had been in there all morning, and instead of the great progress he had hoped for, he’d had to listen to her grumble and curse for the last hour. The words that woman used. It was enough to make him cringe at times.
His ears perked up when he heard Titus coming down the hall. Trying not to disturb her work, Apollo carefully moved into the hall.
Despite his irritation with the situation, Titus was still a leader that he wanted to have around and respected.
“How’s it going?” Titus said and
peeked in the room.
“Fine,” he said tightly as she cursed again.
Titus frowned. “Doesn’t sound like it’s fine. She giving you trouble?”
Apollo shook his head. “It’s not that,” he said. He didn’t really know what to say or what she was doing. For the last hour, she had typed in a few things into the central system and then glanced over at a sheet. Then cursed.
He started to shrug but stopped when she was suddenly standing near them. It wasn’t often that someone could get the drop on them. In fact, there was only one group that had been able to. That very reality made him tense.
Val leaned in toward the two men.
“Did you guys fuck with this stuff?” she asked.
Apollo cringed inwardly. Again with the cursing.
Titus frowned and stepped into the room, unfazed by her word choice.
“No,” Titus said, making his way to the central computer. “Why?”
She sighed from behind the leader as he tried to make heads or tails of what he was seeing. Val dropped to the floor and lay on her back as she messed with a few wires. Suddenly, the computer monitor started to crackle.
“You hear that?” she asked. Her voice was muffled from the desk.
“I don’t understand,” Titus said and turned to Apollo for help.
“Isn’t it supposed to make that sound?” Apollo asked. He looked over to Titus, who shrugged.
She gave a laugh as she rolled out from under the table. Val stared at him with such a smug expression that, for once, he really wished he did know a thing or two about this stuff.
“No,” she said and turned back to the screen. “There’s something with the system that’s just not right.”
Titus sighed and leaned back. “Well, what would that be?”
Val scrunched up her face and crossed her arms over her chest. Apollo could feel the sweat start to form on the back of his neck as he watched her prepare for battle.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be talking to you about it. I’d be fixing it,” she said. Her voice was all business as she stared down Titus.
He raised his brow. Apollo was pretty sure the only person who dared talk to Titus like that was Kate, and he was pretty sure that was only because she was bonded with him.
“Not another one,” Titus mumbled. Apollo nearly snorted at the comment. “Look, what does this mean for getting things set up?”
Val looked back at the screen and absently tried to tuck her too short hair behind her ear. It looked like a habit from when she might have had longer hair.
“It could be nothing,” she said as she scrolled through all the symbols on the page.
It all seemed like gibberish to Apollo. This wasn’t really his thing. In the end, Marius would have been much better suited to deal with all this. This situation was just one more burn to go with everything else poured on Apollo lately.
When Val turned around, he was surprised to see her looking so unsure.
“How sure are you that your systems haven’t been hacked?”
The men stood stunned. They weren’t. How could they be? Nothing had been set up by them, and if it had been, they wouldn’t have needed a foul-mouthed outsider.
A dark look passed over Titus. They should have been used to this by now, and yet each time was like another burn. Fresh and hot on the skin.
“And were we?” Titus asked.
Val looked to Apollo as if he might have the answers.
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “This isn’t like we would normally see with a hack. I just can’t really put my finger on it.”
Apollo pressed his lips together. Maybe she didn’t know what she was doing after all.
“Maybe we should bring in someone else,” he said and turned to Titus.
He ignored the huff that came from her.
“And who would we bring in?” Titus said.
Apollo shrugged his shoulders and ignored the pungent scent that was now filling the room.
“Someone who knows how to deal with this.” He nodded toward the computer.
Val stepped in front of him and, despite her small size, took up quite a bit of room.
“Listen here, dickhead,” she said and stepped even closer into his space. The air was so filled with her smell that he was nearly choking on it. Unlike before, this wasn’t the sweet alluring smell that had pulled him in. No, this was bitter and made his chest ache with need for fresh air.
Apollo gritted his teeth and tried to keep his temper in check. The last thing he needed to do was lose it in front of the one man that could relieve him of this hell.
“I know you all are used to the giant sausage fest you’ve got going on, but let me make one thing clear,” Val said and poked him in the chest. “You try and talk over my head, I’m going to have to start busting some balls. Literally.”
A loud laugh filled the door of the room, and they all turned at the sound.
“Sol,” Val whispered.
Apollo frowned. He didn’t like the way she said the name. As if it carried some meaning to her. It niggled at the back of his mind like a splinter and pushed him even more than he would have thought.
“Well, I can see things are going great here,” Sol said and grinned. “Couple of smooth talkers.”
The air near him turned sweet, almost sickeningly so. Apollo looked down at Val, whose face had gone stark white suddenly and then over to Sol.
“I need to use the restroom,” Val said. She slipped around Sol and rushed down the hall.
Titus raised a brow at him. “Vestal?”
He scowled. The idea of sharing that fact only pissed him off more.
“She’s…” Sol began. He frowned. “Different.”
“It doesn’t really matter what she is,” Apollo ground out. “She’s not going to be here long enough for it to matter.”
Titus ran a hand through his thick black hair and then stopped abruptly. Having it short now was clearly a challenge.
“We can’t get rid of her,” Titus sighed. “She’s cleared, and she seems to know what she’s doing.”
“But what if we’ve been hacked?” Apollo said, not backing down from his original thought. She was bad news right from the start. The fact they didn’t know she was a woman should have been a clear indication of that.
“Hacked?” Sol said.
Titus held up a hand. “We’ve been over this a thousand times. She’s cleared. And she was able to spot the issue, if there even is one.” He looked between the two men. “Let’s see how this plays out. She could be of real use to us.”
He was shaking his head, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. Titus had his mind made up, and that was all there was to it.
Sol cleared his throat. “Jenna has some notes for you,” he said to Titus and then turned to Apollo. “Doc said to remind you about your appointment.”
Apollo frowned.
“Just make sure she stays,” Titus said as he headed for the door and then stopped to look at him. “As much as you might not want to admit it, she’s the best woman for the job. All of them.”
Apollo thought about flipping him off but held his hands firm. Titus was not going to get to him on this.
Chapter Eight
Val flopped onto the mint green couch and closed her eyes as she rested. Today had been far more challenging than she could have ever guessed. Everything she tried seemed to be blocked by some weird interference.
She supposed she could take down the whole system, but that would mean everything they had would be useless, and the task would require for more work than she guessed they wanted. For starters, they would have to hire a team to come in and help. That sort of job was way too much for one person.
And a certain someone didn’t seem too keen on her staying any longer than she had to. All morning, Apollo had sat in the corner of the room, scowling at just about everything she did, his irritation filling the air around her. It wasn’t like she could help that there were issues. S
he didn’t put the damn system in. The last thing she needed was some walking muscle with a hard-on thinking he could push her around.
“Dick head,” she mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
Her eyes popped open, and she stared at Jenna, the quiet roommate that had been fairly scarce so far.
“Sorry.” Val gave a sheepish smile. “Not you. Just processing the day.”
Jenna raised a brow and took a seat in the chair next to her side of the couch. Her curly brown hair bobbed around her face. The whole place seemed to fit the somewhat mousy woman. Pale green furniture. Nothing that really stood out, but it was comfortable and clean. Val could appreciate a clean and simple place.
“Processing the day or a certain someone?” Jenna asked. Her glasses made her face look smaller than it was and, for some reason, gave her a childlike look.
Her mouth fell open, and she could feel her heart thump in her chest. Jenna knew. Somehow, she’d found out and now all her hard work was going to be ruined.
“Apollo can be…hard to know,” Jenna said but seemed to be having a hard time. “He just seemed so sure that he and Hannah were supposed to be together.”
Val breathed a sigh of relief and then frowned. “Hannah?”
Jenna nodded, and her cute curls bounced around. “She’s with Lucius.”
A good number of the men she knew something about, but the women were mostly a mystery to her.
“But he wanted to be with Hannah?”
Something in her chest hurt to even say it, and it didn’t make much sense to her. She didn’t have feelings for Apollo. Not real feelings. Sure, he kissed like the devil, and through his clothes, Val was pretty sure he had a body to match the kissing, but that was just physical attraction. There was no way she had feelings for him. At least those kinds of feelings. Pity. That’s what it was.
“That’s what the men are saying at least.” Jenna sighed. “If you can believe it, he used to be really friendly. He was probably one of the friendliest ones here. But something changed in him.”
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