Sin & Chocolate (Demigods of San Francisco Book 1)

by K. F. Breene

  Glorious muscles popped out along his frame as he reached and strained for hand- and footholds, making his way up the sheer face. Moisture glistened along his perfect back.

  My body was aching so badly that I almost didn’t notice the movement from the other side of the room.

  Shock and fear coursed through me. It was Mountebank Iams, his brow furrowed. He held a file folder, and nervous butterflies fluttered my stomach. Did he have my results?

  I pushed back a bit, losing sight of Kieran as he made it to the top of the wall, turned with one hand gripping the tiny ledge, and swung himself out of sight.

  “No way!” yelled the guy who’d fallen into the water earlier. “I thought for sure that one would knock him down.”

  “Pay up.” Another one put out his hand before they noticed the newcomer.

  A shiver collectively went through the group, their postures and expressions changing at the same time. Whereas before they’d been relaxed and loose, now they were wary and on guard. They turned to the mountebank as a group, their backs to Kieran, who’d moved on to another part of the course.

  “No one is allowed through here when Demigod Kieran is working out. You know this,” one of the guys said, the tallest of the group, with bronzed skin and huge arms.

  I grimaced and pushed back toward the shadows.

  “He asked that I bring…certain results”—the mountebank’s pause was smug—“as soon as they were in. And believe me, he’s going to want to see these.” He held the file folder close, clearly not intending to offer it up to the peons.

  The mountebank had better check his attitude, or he’d end up facedown in any one of the many pools of water around here.

  The guy who’d just gone for a swim, whose wet blond hair now stood every which way, glanced back to check on Kieran’s progress. “He’s almost done.”

  I expected them to get moving to keep pace. Kieran was flying through the obstacles, clearly having as much trouble here as he would on a stroll through the park. But instead the men had shuffled together to form a wall, blocking the newcomer from going any deeper into the man den. Their bodies remained poised and alert, clearly ready to react aggressively at a moment’s notice.

  I got the distinct impression it was a well-known fact that no one should be in here except for the Demigod and his chosen few. A sign wouldn’t have gone amiss…

  Like it would’ve mattered.

  A few moments later, a horn sounded, making the mountebank jump. He looked mostly calm and collected, but he’d been reading the postures of the guys around him. No doubt he could feel the tension in the air.

  Two beats later, and a blur of movement ripped along the walkway. Kieran stopped behind the guys. He rolled his shoulders, and the muscles along his robust chest flared dramatically.

  I swallowed audibly.

  “Well?” Kieran asked without preamble.

  His men parted like the sea before Moses.

  “Yes. Um…” Mountebank Iams held out the files, the sturdy paper trembling in his grasp. “It’s as you expected. Her power level is a class five.”

  Freezing cold dripped down my middle. That was impossible! A class five was the highest level of magic a non-godly type could have. Class fives could do fantastic things, like play with the elements, create illusions, or fly. There was no way I had that much power. There was clearly some mistake.

  Kieran opened the folder as silence trickled through the room. I could hear my heart pounding through my eardrums. He turned a page and kept reading. No one so much as shifted.

  I leaned forward, nowhere near that patient. Everything in my person wanted to yell, Welllll? while simultaneously telling him to throw those results away, forget this whole thing, and let me get on with my mundane life in the crack of societies. Or, if he really wanted to help me, he could put in a good word at my local ice cream establishment, where I was hoping to rise in the ranks to executive scooper if I played my cards right. I wasn’t cut out for class-five magic. It wasn’t in my nature, and certainly wasn’t in my bloodline.

  Not to mention, my magic didn’t have too many exciting manifestations. Unless you liked dead people.

  Even if I was a class five, it didn’t change anything. Not one thing. Kieran had to see that.

  “Has anyone else seen this?” Kieran asked, his voice even and flat and not giving anything away. I picked at my nail in unease.

  “No, sir, just as you requested.”

  “And her mother? Could she have passed this down?”

  “Well, sir, it’s hard to know without further analysis. Genetics can manifest in unique ways.”

  “So we’re blind to how this happened. With her mother deceased, and no recorded father, we’re at a standstill.” Kieran turned another piece of paper. I was dying to know what he found so interesting. “Is there any reason to suspect she knew any of this?”

  The mountebank’s mouth turned downward. “Given my briefing with the Authenticator, it seems unlikely. From her file, it seems as though she’s been struggling for most of her life, without access to training or guidance. She displays the characteristics of a mutt, and has reached for and honed that which would help her the most. I doubt she even has a name for what she was able to do in the assessment room today. As such, it would be interesting to study further. She could provide valuable insight to those of my craft…”

  Kieran snapped the file folder shut and held it to the side and slightly behind his body. The blond guy with wet hair took it without comment.

  “I have all I need from you,” Kieran said, his tone harsh.

  “Yes, sir.” The mountebank cowered and took a step back. “I understand, sir. I just want to press the point, sir, how extraordinary the events were in that assessment room today. I very much think further assessment—”

  “Get out,” Kieran barked.

  The mountebank flinched and took two more quick steps backward. He bowed submissively. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” He turned without another word and scurried from the room.

  After the door shut behind him, silence rained down. Nobody moved or shifted. I could hear myself breathing.

  “I want her watched,” Kieran barked finally, his eyes distant. “Day and night. Find out her schedule, what she does in her alone time, and who she communicates with. I want to know her better than she knows herself. Watch her wards, too. Run interference if someone tries to contact her. We’ll need to set up a training schedule, but first I need more information about her magic. Arrange for blood work. I want to know who her father is. Find out if he knows she exists.”

  Anger at his continued stalking shifted to furious tingles running down my back.

  My father? What did he have to do with anything? He was a one-night stand my mother had claimed not to remember. I’d figured she was lying, but hadn’t felt the need to press her. She’d always acted in my best interests. She’d also had a soft spot for assholes. If she’d thought I shouldn’t know him, or vice versa, I was good with that. I didn’t need more struggle.

  But hearing that Kieran would try to find him set me on edge. It felt like my entire life was being cracked open, changed, and I was powerless to stop it.

  What the hell is in that file?

  Anger rose like fire in my blood.

  It didn’t matter. My life wouldn’t change. Not because of more power, or some secret magic I apparently didn’t know about and certainly didn’t know how to use, and not because of some stranger showing up out of the blue and calling himself my pappy. I had two kids to take care of. My only important job was making sure they reached adulthood with enough of a head start to have a chance at life. Nothing else mattered.

  As for Kieran’s cronies following me around, watching everything I did?

  I barely kept from chuckling.

  My magic might not be able to grow things or fight people off, but I could arrange for an entire neighborhood of invisible busybodies to bombard these bastards. My spies were bored as hell and anxious to tattle. K
ieran’s guys wouldn’t be able to fart without one of my people knowing about it, and their hiding places would be given away instantly and constantly.

  “Get Jim reassigned and get people on him,” Kieran went on. “I don’t want him trying to take this further. If he does, or even breathes a word of it to anyone, get rid of him for good.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  “The records?” an intense guy asked, standing beside Kieran now.

  “Amend them with old data but a slightly improved magical score and post them. Don’t dally. I don’t want to give anyone a reason to look more closely. Make sure the distraction is up and running by the time you post the info. Put the originals on my private network. No one is to see those, do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” the man said, and a growing unease gnawed at my gut.

  I wanted to pull the ejection cord. I wanted to pack all this in, go home, and crawl under a rock. I didn’t know what was going on, but the implications had turned my blood cold.

  “Get it set up,” Kieran said, starting back toward where the mountebank had exited. “Keep me informed of when she goes to that pub. I want to know the moment she sets out.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I watched him go, followed by his groupies, thinking through the names I’d contact in the neighborhood. Hopefully most of them hadn’t yet allowed their boredom whisk them away across the Line. I only tended to check in when I needed something, and that was a rarity reserved for desperate matters only.

  I wondered if a few of them would like to stalk the stalkers, heading back to their homes and haunting them. No one enjoyed being haunted.

  Bing.

  The breath caught in my throat and everything in me froze solid.

  It was a text message. I hadn’t turned off my ringer.

  Kieran stopped abruptly, followed by his groupies. As one, they turned in my direction, too slowly. Predators ready to prowl.

  Bing.

  This couldn’t be happening!

  I couldn’t see eyes from this distance, just faces tuned in to the sound’s location.

  I knew the very instant Kieran recognized me.

  It was the same moment a wide smile flashed across his striking face.

  32

  Alexis

  “Get out,” he ordered his guys in a low, growling voice. An excited voice. The predator had spotted his prey.

  “Shit turds.” Heart suddenly rampaging, I burst forward and down the steps. He was across a sea of obstacles in a single moment. If I ran like hell, I had a chance to get to the door.

  Then what?

  I had no idea.

  “Where does she think she’s going?” I heard.

  “Get out!” Kieran demanded.

  No witnesses.

  “Batshit and tiaras.” I took the steps two at a time, catching one wrong near the end and pitching forward. I turned it into a roll, going a little sideways but stopping before I slammed into an obstacle beam.

  I was up and running in a flash, not superhuman, but fast enough. I dodged behind an obstacle and quickly scanned for another way out. Nothing but wall.

  Metal tinkled, and from the corner of my eye I saw a rope swing out from behind scaffolding. Nobody came into view.

  Bing.

  “Shut up, you bastard.” I saw more steps leading up to another platform, this one higher, but no outlet that I could see. I couldn’t chance going all the way up there to find a door. Besides, that wall probably signified the end of the gym. I’d have to cut across at some point.

  Maybe I could lure him over to this side while I cut across the other?

  He can move at superhuman speeds, you dumb shit. That won’t work.

  My inner dialogue was not very kind when faced with stupid ideas.

  Feet pounded on a hard surface before the sound abruptly ceased. I looked around wildly.

  The course looked clear. Nothing moved in my line of sight.

  A hard thump sounded, followed by two more.

  I paused where I was, breath coming quickly and heart pounding in my ears. That sound had been in front of me, in the middle of the two paths. But where?

  I stalked to the side, near a large obstacle, my feet edging toward the side of the walkway. I scanned all I could from my position leaning over the sparkling water. Nothing. No large bodies and no sound. He was waiting for me to go by.

  So maybe I had to go across instead.

  This is stupid.

  Yes, it is, inner asshole. But I have no other choice.

  Each obstacle looked harder to navigate than the one before it, but finally I found something that looked like some sort of balance exercise. A collection of round balls dotted an expanse of water. Going lengthwise would be a true challenge. Going across would only require courage and surefootedness.

  Amendment: this is really stupid.

  I annoyed even myself at times.

  Gritting my teeth, I prepared to tempt fate and cut across. But suddenly an idea clicked on the light bulb above my head.

  I turned back the way I’d come. There had to be a door at the end. Why else would there be a viewing platform on this side?

  Much better idea.

  I took a moment to turn off the ringer on my phone before I jogged as slowly as I could while remaining silent. A light squeak behind me sounded like shoes on a slippery surface. Then pounding, like someone trying to get out of an obstacle.

  Oh shit!

  I put on a burst of speed, no longer trying for quiet, just trying to get out of there before he could clear the obstacle. I passed the stairs to the viewing area I’d been on, not even sparing them a glance. All my focus was on getting to that theoretical door at the end.

  A shape swung from God knew where and dropped twenty feet directly in front of me. Kieran bent with the impact, and straightened slowly, his eyes shimmering with lust and malice.

  “Fuck. Fuck, fuck. Oh fuck.” I pivoted on a dime and was jumping before I’d thought it through.

  I grabbed a blue rope midair, my momentum swinging me over the water. But there was nothing on the other side to grab. I swung back, chancing a jaw-clenching glance behind me.

  He stalked up the walkway slowly, that devilish smile lingering on his handsome face.

  “Crap, crap, fuck, crap,” I muttered, looking around wildly. The rope was losing its swing. Soon I’d be hanging over the water. I needed to jump. But to what?

  “There aren’t many people who can sneak up on me, Alexis,” he said, his voice thick with eager anticipation. “Those who get caught trying…are punished. How should I punish you? It is in my power to do so. You’re on magical soil now. You’re in my house, and you must play by my rules.”

  “Fuckety crap.” I tried for more swing, but my hands were losing their grip and the rope wasn’t complying. I strained to the side, reaching for one of the pegs in a sideboard with a bunch of holes, barely wrapping my fingers around it. The wood came out of the hole, and I swung the other way. “What the…”

  “I’m almost disappointed I caught you. You were angry, weren’t you, hearing my plans? A girl like you would rebel against something like that. I wonder what you would’ve done to retaliate. I can’t say I don’t deserve it, but I can’t say I’m sorry, either.”

  I braced myself to launch off the rope.

  “No!” he shouted, his teasing tone gone in an instant. “You’ll hurt—”

  One of my hands gave out before I had the momentum right. I hardly flew forward at all, but my body somersaulted. I smacked the water with the side of my face, my mouth open to scream, and my hands and legs spread out like a frog.

  Bone-chilling water assaulted my mouth and pushed up into my nose. Cold rushed up over my head and body. My buoyancy slowed me and I paddled wildly up to the surface, already shaking from the plunge in temperature.

  A hand grabbed my arm, and I struck out, catching Kieran’s stomach with my foot. He only tightened his grip. It wasn’t the reaction I’d been going fo
r.

  I crested the surface and gulped for air. Water sloshed into my mouth, antagonizing a cough already in progress. I sputtered hoarsely. The primal fear of drowning clawed at me, and I struggled to get away from him. To swim and keep from going under.

  “I have you.” He yanked me, turning me as he did so.

  He trapped my back to his chest before two sure strokes moved us to the side of the pool. I might as well have been a baby for how easily he pulled me from the water, laid me out along the side, and knelt over me.

  I heaved, coughing up water and gasping for air. I couldn’t have run if I’d wanted to, not that it would’ve done any good. Horrible cold shook every inch of my body. My teeth chattered uncontrollably.

  “Why…so c-cold,” I stammered before taking another moment to cough up a lung. I hugged my arms around my middle. “F-feels…like…i-ice.”

  “C’mon. Let’s warm you up.” For the second time that day, he scooped me up and hugged me to his chest. Before I knew it, he was running with me, so fast that everything beside us blurred. “I keep it that cold as a punishment to the guys for falling in. They have extra…protection against…certain elements, so it needs to be cold enough to ice over. My magic keeps it from actually icing over.” I could tell he was choosing his words carefully, probably so as not to give away secrets. He apparently thought I gave two rats or knew anyone with friends they could tell. “I had other things on my mind when you were dangling above the surface. Without…protection, the temperature of the water will give most mammals hypothermia.”

  “Probably…n-not. W-wasn’t in…for long.”

  He lowered me onto a blue exercise mat still within the private obstacle course area, next to a bundle of sweatshirt. Without ceremony, he hooked two thumbs in the waistband of his sweats and slid them down his legs. Black boxer briefs hugged his powerful thighs and put a very large bulge on display.