She nodded and called for the old man. If he was surprised to see her in another form he didn’t act like it. A few moments later the man came back with an assortment of teas and treats. Very efficient.
“Kataya, Thorne. What a pleasant surprise to see you both together,” Thanatos said, suddenly appearing before them. He reached down and poured himself a cup of tea.
Thorne declined when he was offered a cup. His mind was racing with how best to approach Thanatos. As much as he hated to admit it, they had a lot in common.
“Kataya, I’m glad to see you are safe. I was worried when you didn’t come home. Now I see I needn’t be concerned.”
“I wasn’t with Thorne last night. He just found me today.”
“After we talked,” Thorne threw in. He didn’t want Thanatos to think he’d known all along where she was, because he hadn’t.
“Your wife. She was your soulmate, wasn’t she?” Thorne asked, watching Thanatos closely.
He took a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, I believe she was.”
“I’m not going to try to appeal to your senses about love. I think you believed me when I said that Kataya was my wife reincarnated. And it will come as no surprise that she is my mate. And yes, I’d like to grovel at your feet and ask you not to kill off the world so I can have more time with her, but I’m not going to do that.”
Thanatos took a sip of his tea, and Thorne couldn’t help but think how absurd this all was. He was having a tea party with a daemon who wanted to blow up the world.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. About life in general, and how we turn out the way we do. Because when we’re born there is no hatred or malice. In every single one of us there is a spark that is ours alone—that no one can touch. There has to be. Yeah, we try to bury it beneath our hardened shells but it’s still there. Whether we like it or not. Do you know why?”
Thanatos shrugged.
“Because the Creator did not make us the way we are. We did it to ourselves.”
“Fuck that, they made us this way.”
Thorne laughed. “Did they? I guess in a sense they did, but at the end of the day we all have free will. We let them get to us. So day by day we hid that little spark deeper and deeper. Until we were the only ones that knew it was still there, and perhaps some random stranger we decided to help when we thought no one was looking. Because we couldn’t stop ourselves.
“Don’t look at me like that. I know you’ve done it, too. And if we’re really lucky, someone comes along and does something so surprising it knocks our world off kilter. They give us a chance. They love us anyway. I heard it took your wife many lifetimes for you to come around. For some reason you were worthy of her attention.”
“I don’t know what you want from me, Thorne.”
Thorne leaned back in his chair. “I guess I figure if there’s hope for you, then there’s hope for me. Turn the other cheek, brother. Killing off the human race will not bring back your family.”
“Ah, but it will bring a smile to my face.”
“Will it? I think we both know better than that. Not to mention the fact that you know better than most that even death is not death. And you know the Creator. He’ll forgive you, and then throw you in another dimension to work out your karma with the same assholes you’re trying to get rid of now. It’s a vicious cycle, man. Why not just end it now? Stop giving those idiots so much power over you.”
Thanatos grunted. He knew Thorne was right.
“You want to take down these weak ass humans? For what? Hell, most of them barely make it through the day. They are doing enough to themselves to bring them to extinction. Why not let the natural order take its course?”
When Thanatos took another sip of his tea Thorne noticed a slight tremor in his hand. “They are weak, it’s really quite pathetic. A runny nose could keep them in bed for a week.”
Thorne nodded in agreement. “Hell, too many cheeseburgers can put them in the grave. Leave them alone, Thanatos. They’re here working off karma and attempting to make themselves better people.”
Eyes narrowing, Thanatos cleared his throat. “I had not thought of it in those terms.”
“Trust me, I’ve had an eternity to think of how to get revenge of those fools, but I always come back to the same answer. They aren’t worth it.”
“And tell me, Thorne, what would I do if I decided to turn the other cheek as you say? I can’t go back to The Realm. You have no idea how much anger the mere sight of Apollo brings me.”
“I can begin to imagine. You brought out the same rage in me, and yet here we are having a chat. Some crazy shit, isn’t it? Why not stay here? You could work with The Sicarii. Or stay here and be the most powerful man on the Earth.” Thorne paused. “As long as you don’t plan on causing it to implode from within.”
Thanatos’s laugh was so erupt Thorne figured it even surprised him. “You want me to work with you? Or be the President of the United States?”
“Why not both?”
Lost in thought, Thanatos ran his large hand along his jaw.
Who knew what was going through his head. Under normal circumstances, Thorne wouldn’t have given a shit what the outcome would be, but he had a lot riding on the world ending. He’d just found his other half once again and didn’t want to be ripped apart before they even really got to know each other.
And what he’d said could be true—that they would meet up in another dimension—but he wasn’t willing to take that risk. She was still a mortal and their rules didn’t quite work the same way. With his luck, they’d end up worlds apart.
“What do you say?”
Thanatos looked up, but it wasn’t at Thorne. Instead, he was looking at Kataya.
“You must hate me,” he said with no heat to his voice.
Rising from her chair, she walked over to him and got down on her knees before she grasped his hands in her own. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I don’t care what you’ve done. You’re the only person that has treated me like I’m worthy. You’re the father I always wanted but never had. And if you decide to blow us all to smithereens … well, I’ll still love you.”
Thanatos turned into his daemon form. “Do you really think you can still love me? Because this is who I am, Kataya.”
“I have to say the red eyes are a bit freaky, but yep I still love you. If you want me to help you get revenge on the ones that have done this to you, I will do whatever it takes.”
Thanatos pulled back. “How can you offer me that?”
“I want you to be happy, Thanatos. Even if it means taking the rest of us down with you.”
Thorne wanted to strangle her. What the hell was she doing? She was going to mess up the delicate foundation he’d laid to turn Thanatos around.
Quiet. Athena’s words echoed in his head.
“Fuck it,” Thanatos said, turning back into Geoffrey. “I’m not going to take away your happiness for my own. Like Thorne said, it would probably be for naught.”
“Does that mean you’ll be joining us at The Sicarii?”
“That depends. Is the President of The United States allowed to be a member?”
Thorne cracked a grin and let out a relieved sigh.
Athena, Nike, and Benny flashed into the room. Apparently they’d had front row seats. “Thanatos,” they all said in unison.
He looked up, but was not at all surprised.
“Can you put aside your plot for revenge? Do I have your word?” Athena asked.
They all knew she alone wielded enough power to smooth things over with the other gods.
“You have my world that I will not sabotage Earth. However, I cannot promise you that I will not kill Apollo the first chance I get.”
“That’s between the two of you. But for what it’s worth, he really didn’t know your family would be affected.”
Thorne turned in his seat. “Why were they?”
He momentarily cast his eyes downward before he looked back up and met Thorne’s gaze. “My wif
e was a half-bred of sorts, too. Although she was not mixed with humans, she was half Asgard.”
Thorne glanced at Benny, but he shrugged in reply to his unanswered question.
“It was not well known,” Thanatos stated with regret in his voice.
It still amazed Thorne that secrets were able to be kept with all of their powers.
“Thorne, you’ve kept your end of the bargain. Therefore, your demands will be granted.”
Thorne’s eyes went to Kataya’s. “How do you feel about spending eternity with me?”
She looked at Athena, who nodded in agreement. “He’s all yours if you want him. As well as immortality.”
“If we go back to The Realm, what would happen to Thanatos’s chance at presidency? He’d need a wife at his side.”
“We’re not going to The Realm. I’ve made my home here on Earth. And if Kataya wants to be a polygamist it’s fine with me.”
Kataya moved to his side and whacked him on the shoulder before standing on her tippy-toes to give him a quick kiss.
“If everyone is an agreement, I’ll speak to the others.”
Everyone nodded their heads, and Athena and Nike disappeared.
“So I hear you’re one of us now,” Benny said, reaching his hand across to Thanatos.
They shook hands and Thanatos rose to his feet. “It seems so. I think we should leave these two alone. You want to tell me a little more about your society?”
Thanatos and Benny walked away, leaving the two of them alone.
Reaching into his pocket, Thorne pulled out a thin gold band imbedded with rubies. “Kataya, would you do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?”
“My God, aren’t you cocky. Why would you get a ring for me? We’ve barely spent any time together.”
Thorne felt only a tad bit embarrassed. “I’ve carried this with me every day since the day you died when we were last married.”
“Oh. Ohhhh. Wow, that’s sadly romantic.” When she held out her hand, he slid the ring on and it fit perfectly.
“Yes. God help me, but I will be yours forever.”
Now or Never
Truth or Dare
Unintentional Virgin
Stay tuned for a serial novel on Benny
A.J. Bennett
A.J. Bennett lives in Nashville, Tn with her husband and bulldog. She’s addicted to coffee, popcorn and books. To find out more about A.J checkout her website. www.ajbennettauthor.com
If you’d like to keep updated with latest release please sign up for AJ’s mailing list.
Julia Crane
Find Julia online at juliacrane.com Interested in receiving updates on Julia’s books? Join her mailing list! She’ll only email about her books and will never share your information with anyone.
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed Hired Gun #2, please consider leaving a review where you purchased it. It would be greatly appreciated!
Hired Gun #4 Page 6