Pulling away from her mouth was the second hardest thing he’d ever done, the first being giving his allegiance to Grimm the day he’d overrun the Vanir for the last time. He could barely catch his breath, but he needed to speak, to receive her voice in return. “You scared the fuck out of me.”
Her lashes lifted, revealing her eyes. Eyes that bored into him, filled with passion and frustration in equal measures. “I can take care of myself.”
That had to be one of the most frustrating things about Toni. That stubborn strength both drew him and annoyed him. “Do you always go in without backup?”
She glared at him, quite the feat considering the tip of his nose was brushing up against hers. “I asked for backup, but he refused.”
Fuck. “I told you why.”
“Screw it. I don’t care.” She pushed against him, startling him when he actually moved. For a split second he’d forgotten he was dealing with a Valkyrie. “Syd’s gone MIA. If Frederica doesn’t have her, who does?” She began to pace in front of the door as if they hadn’t just shared the most earth-shattering kiss in the history of forever. “And why did Grimm try to pretend to be my chief?”
“You were outside the protections and we’d do anything to get you back.” Or at least Nik would. He was fairly certain Sylvia would, too, which meant Slade and Magnus would be involved. Once those two decided to assist, it was only a matter of time before the rest jumped in. There was no way Morgan would miss a fight his twin was involved in, which meant Mjolnir coming out to play and random chaos ensuing.
She blinked at him, her cheeks flushing bright pink. “Seriously?”
He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He took another step back when she strode past him and into his living room. “Then why won’t… No. You said you won’t tell me, and I’m tired of asking.”
She hadn’t asked that much, but he understood. He wasn’t going to tell her anything simply because he couldn’t. Nik was a man of his word, no matter how much he might wish otherwise. “Things will happen as they were truly meant to despite Grimm’s meddling. You have to believe that.”
She put her hands on her hips, her head down. She was standing in front of a bank of windows, the setting sun bringing out the reds and golds of her dark hair. “I’ve seen a lot of shit in my time as a cop, Nik. It doesn’t always go down the way you want it to.”
“I’m the same.” He walked toward her as he would a spooked animal. He didn’t want her to start pacing again, angry at him and the world, but he couldn’t stand the defeated posture she’d taken. He’d rather have his warrior princess than a beaten-down cop who’d viewed far too much of the evil of mankind. He’d take her either way, but his princess could kick ass with the best of them. He’d make sure to be the rock the war-weary cop needed whenever she wished. “I won’t say I wish you hadn’t, because you’d gut me for it.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Damn straight.” She straightened her shoulders and turned toward him. “Syd has something they want, something they’re willing to kidnap her for. That’s the key.”
“We think she might be able to use a specialized computer to tap into Yggdrasil the way she would a network. If Sydney can do that, she can change things in the real world.” Syd might not have announced it, but she was essentially the Norse goddess of computers. The focus she’d had when she’d carefully held that cup over Loki, keeping the poison of the serpent from reaching his skin, her dedication to a man who was basically loathed by every other god out there, meant she’d had ample time to be alone. While working on the computer, that drive intensified, the loneliness alleviated, if only briefly, by the World Wide Web. Code was her bitch, the keyboard her plaything, and she controlled it all with glee.
Too bad others planned on using that for their own ambitions.
“If that’s true, I’ll be forced to stop her.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt someone who has the potential to be a friend—”
“She is a friend.” Toni’s eyes narrowed. “Unless, of course, she’s not.”
He blinked. Guess I’m in trouble. “There are things about me I can’t tell you, Toni. Things I’m forced to protect. And as much as I don’t want to, I’d be forced to fight to protect them even against someone I care for.”
Now she looked more confused than anything. “Because you’re the Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge?”
“Something like that.” He couldn’t tell her the truth, not yet, not until he’d talked to what was left of the Nine. Jarnsaxa was difficult to get ahold of since she’d died. Helheim didn’t have the best cell reception. Last time he’d visited he’d been lucky to get three bars, and that was in Hel’s palace.
He wasn’t called the Guardian just because of the bridge. He was the Guardian, the one who kept Yggdrasil safe. Guarding the bridge was just part of it.
He was something else as well, something he’d hidden a long time ago. Something Tyr should have remembered, but apparently hadn’t. He’d have to tell Toni eventually, but until the Nine gave him permission, he couldn’t. He was bound by oaths as strong as the roots of the World Tree, and only the Nine could allow him to break them.
“You’re as transparent as a teaspoon.” Toni rolled her eyes and once again walked past him.
Her fragrance filled his nostrils, a warm amber scent that had him following before he’d even consciously made the decision to do so. “I’m sorry. I’m going to find out if I can tell you my secrets, but until I get permission I need you to trust me.” That was as far as he could go now. His oath tingled along the base of his spine, threatening to yank him back to the home of the Nine at the base of the tree. Luckily, they lived on the opposite side of the tree from the Norns of Fate, so neither Urdr nor Verdandi could tune in to them. Even better, the Nine had threaded his life on their own looms, so neither Urdr nor Verdandi could ferret out what was to happen to him or even what his origins were. Skuld had, but she wouldn’t tell. The reborn Skuld seemed to be of the same mold as the old one, from what he’d gathered.
“Permission?”
Her question yanked him back from his thoughts. “Yes.”
She sat on the sofa and studied him thoughtfully. Then she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and began speaking in a distracted tone. “I’m not stupid. I’ve been reading the Eddas.”
Uh-oh.
“And I have them on my phone.”
Damn.
She started to read, her gaze never leaving the small, glowing screen.
“Once there was born in the bygone days,
Of the race of the gods, and great was his might;
Nine giant women, at the world's edge,
Once bore the man so might in arms.
Gjolp there bore him, Greip there bore him,
Eistla bore him, and Eyrgjafa,
Ulfrun bore him, and Angeyja,
Imth and Atla, and Jarnsaxa.
Strong was he made with the strength of the earth,
With the ice-cold sea, and the blood of swine.”
Toni stopped reading and looked up at him, her brows raised.
Nik shrugged his shoulders. What could he say? “My childhood was filled with battles over who stole whose shoes and who’d gotten to peek at Tyr naked.”
Toni chuckled. “Must have been hard.” She blinked. “Wait. Tyr is Travis. You saw Travis naked?”
“No.” Never ever ever. He’d stick to that to his dying day. “I’ve never seen any of the guys naked.”
She laughed, the sound low and filthy and going directly to his dick. “That’s your story, huh?” She shook her head. “Must have been fun, living with nine women.”
He shuddered. “Let’s just say I know more than I want about that time of the month.” He pointed to the kitchen. “In there I have a stockpile of wine, mead, and chocolate.” He pointed toward his powder room. “In there are three different kinds of sanitary napkins and four different kinds of tampons.” He pointed to the kitchen once more. “Don’t even ask me about t
he ice cream.” He rolled his eyes. “I have more ice cream in my freezer than Coldstone Creamery.” Then he pointed toward the coffee table, a large chest that reminded him somewhat of a pirate’s chest. “And in there are lots, and I mean lots, of Kleenex. Worst of all, though? They come wherever I’m living and rifle through my Netflix. I’ve watched Brokeback Mountain seventeen…no, eighteen and a half times.”
“Half?” She was biting her lip, her entire face lit with suppressed laughter.
“Imth and Eistla had a fight about a borrowed necklace. Not even a naked Heath Ledger could distract them.”
Her eyes went wide before she really started laughing. “Man, and I thought my mom could be intrusive.”
He bit back his smile. He couldn’t wait for them to meet Toni. They’d either love her or kill her.
Or both. He never gambled where they were concerned. He lost every time.
***
Frederica tied the robe around her waist and scowled. “You’re certain?”
Nadine nodded. “She was definitely here. I could sense her presence just before she left. She was looking for Sydney.”
Frederica began to pace. How dare that little human come onto her property? At least she hadn’t found Sydney. They’d moved her long before that blasted half-Valkyrie had shown up.
“Then our preparations weren’t for nothing.” She stopped and stared out the window. She’d left Luther and Henry upstairs waiting and was eager to return. “Set the trap and make sure you catch that annoying fly.”
Nadine bowed. “I’ll do my best.” She strode off, her cell phone to her ear, no doubt calling in the Jotun Frederica had hired to guard not only the estate but all her little plots as well.
They were some of the best bodyguards in the business, and unless Antonia Mancini had gotten much better than Frederica expected, they’d have no trouble taking down one tiny half-Valkyrie.
She couldn’t afford to have anything disrupt her plans. Sydney would find where that blasted serpent was or feel Nadine’s whip. Once Jörmungandr was under Frederica’s control she’d be able to demand anything she wished of Loki. She’d force him to leave Baldur’s side once and for all or risk losing his son forever. She’d also demand that he remain silent about their deal. Jörmungandr health would depend on it, as would Loki’s. If he told Baldur about their little agreement, Jörmungandr’s life would be forfeit.
As for the bastard monster that her granddaughter carried, she’d see about that once the brat was born. Baldur’s child she’d accept, but Loki’s?
Never. It, like his other children, would suffer for the sins of the father.
Frederica returned upstairs to the nice, warm bed she’d left not ten minutes before. She slipped the robe off her shoulders, loving the appreciative gazes of her men.
“So, gentlemen,” she purred, “where were we?”
Chapter 5
“Argh.” Toni collapsed back on her sofa. “Where the fuck is she?”
Toni had returned to her condo soon after the discussion about Nik’s mothers and found Sylvia and Val waiting for her. Their presence reminded her that she needed to concentrate on Sydney, not Nik’s weird parental issues.
She was missing something, something basic, and it was driving her crazy. Thinking of Nik didn’t help, but she couldn’t seem to stop. The man had invaded every aspect of her life. Worse, she needed him to help her find Syd.
It was a conundrum she hadn’t found the solution to.
Val sighed. “The fact that she wasn’t at Frederica’s bothers me.”
Sylvia bit her lip. “Could Grimm have gotten her?”
“It’s possible.” Val stared at the wall where Toni had been putting up Post-It notes in various configurations. If she’d had a wipe-away board she would have rather used that, but she was working with what she had.
She had a timeline going, along with suspects and notes on each, including their movements if she was able to discover them. So far, she had Frederica, Grimm, Nadine, and Adam.
“If Syd were human I’d be looking at motive.” She tapped the legal pad in front of her. “There’s no ransom note, so it’s not about money or to force us to divulge information. There’s no body, so we have to assume she’s alive, leaving murder out. With no communication from her kidnappers we have to assume Sydney was the one they wanted to take, and we still have no clue why. But, no, nothing about this is normal.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “Damn it. I’d rather go back to chasing that serial killer.”
“No, you don’t,” Sylvia scoffed.
“Uh, yeah, I do. Serial killers have patterns, ones you can figure out. It’s like putting puzzle pieces together until the picture begins to form.” She pointed at Sylvia. “You people—”
“You people?” Val muttered, his brows furrowing as his attention turned to her.
Toni ignored the interruption and kept right on talking. “…are like those impossible puzzles with the picture printed sideways on one side so you can never tell what the fuck you’re looking at until it’s completely done.” She tilted her head. “Oh look, it’s a…doggie?” She tilted it the other way. “Nope, a sailboat.” She gasped dramatically. “Ah, it’s a penis!”
Val sputtered out a laugh. “Damn it, Toni.”
She yawned. “Honestly. Being a cop is part logic and facts, part intuition, and you have to figure out how to balance them or you fuck up. When you’re a homicide detective and you fuck up, people die.” She tilted back in her chair and stared at the wall filled with yellow, blue, and pink Post-Its. “Frederica doesn’t have Syd at her home. Does Frederica have any other places to stash a kidnap victim other than her McMansion?”
Val glanced back at the notes. “Fensalir in Asgard, but I doubt she’d take Syd there. Nik would be able to find Syd if she had. Besides, she’d probably want to keep her activities secret from Grimm. Taking Syd to Fensalir would definitely ping Grimm’s radar and put her far too close to his grasp.”
“Are we sure Grimm isn’t working with his ex?” Toni twirled the pencil between her fingers. “Adam chased me all the way back to the condos and Grimm tried to pretend to be my boss.”
Val and Sylvia exchanged glances. “I don’t think so, but it’s possible.” Val shrugged. “Anything is possible with the Old Man.”
“Thanks.” She reached up to one of the blue notes and jotted the name of Frederica’s Asgardian home down. “We’re pretty sure Grimm doesn’t have Syd, right?”
“Right.” Sylvia pointed to one of the sticky notes. “It was Nadine who took her, not Adam.”
“She wouldn’t hand her prize over, either, not with how sour things have gotten between them.” Which left her wondering just what Adam had been up to. “So it’s safe to assume that she wouldn’t have handed Syd off to one of her minions, unless they have the magic behind making themselves invisible to Nik.” She wrote that down on Nadine’s note, adding to the Post-It line as she needed.
He snorted in disgust. “I doubt it. Frederica keeps her cards close to her chest. Not even her most loyal allies are told what she’s scheming until it’s far too late.”
“Sounds like she and Grimm are birds of a feather.” Toni rubbed her eyes. She needed to get some sleep soon or she’d be of no use to anyone, let alone Syd. It had taken hours to set up the crime map on her wall. She glanced at the computer screen, checking just in case Syd had managed to get a message to them.
Nope. No messages. With any other missing person’s case Toni would be worried the victim was dead by now. Syd had been missing for seventy-two hours and Toni was no closer to finding her. But Syd wasn’t human. If she’d shown up in Helheim, Hel would have come to inform them if only because Syd’s death would upset her family. Logan might not be married to Syd any longer, but she was his friend. Fenris and Slade would miss her as well, as they still considered her their stepmother. Neither of them had blamed Sydney for their own suffering at the hands of Grimm. In fact, they were grateful to her for taking care of Logan even after he�
��d asked for a divorce.
No. They’d never keep Sydney in Helheim, not without Logan’s approval. And he’d never give it.
“If she’s not with Frederica at her estate, she’s either stashed somewhere else or being held by Grimm. I can’t tell if Nik can see her and is keeping quiet on her location or if he’s completely blind to her whereabouts.” Something about that was nagging at her but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“He plays his cards close to his chest. I doubt he’d volunteer the information unless we ask him for it.” Sylvia’s tone was tart. Sydney’s silence was starting to get to her. They’d all hoped she’d contact them again somehow, but no dice.
“Mm.” Something else was bothering her, too. “Why take Syd? Why not Travis or Jamie?”
“Hmm?” Sylvia blinked, then widened her eyes. She appeared just as exhausted as Toni but she refused to leave until they had a plan of action. The fact that Syd hadn’t been in Frederica’s home was freaking Sylvia the fuck out.
“They both are good with computers. Hell, they’re in security, both physical and cyber. They should be better with them than Syd, who’s an amateur.” She stared at the wall and tapped the notepad with her pen again, her mind churning with half-formed theories. “What made Syd the best choice?”
Neither one of them responded.
“What made her vulnerable?” Toni leaned forward, her vision blurring a bit. She widened her eyes, trying to focus.
Sylvia sighed. “This is just a theory, but…she’s the only one capable of hacking. The others might be familiar with computers, but it takes a special set of skills and programs to hack a computer.”
She nodded, adding that to her wall with another Post-It. “Are you sure about that?”
“No, but we could double-check with Travis to make sure.” Sylvia flopped down into one of the chairs around the fireplace.
Hide and Seek (True Destiny Book 6) Page 4