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I glanced at Xander, who shrugged his shoulders, and then back at Simon before answering, “Your wife has Nerine sequestered in the solarium until six o’clock.”
“Doing what?” He moved closer to me.
“Training. The same thing Nyx and Nerine have done every other day for the last five weeks.” Xander closed the lid to his computer and studied Simon.
“Training on what?” The clenching of Simon’s jaw and the flash of concern in his green eyes had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
“What do you mean what? I don’t know—plants, flowers, whatever she needs to learn for the botanical garden project.”
“First of all, the plants she needs work with are at the botanical gardens in the city. Hence the reason for keeping Nerine away from her house if anything went down. And second—” Simon set his hands on the long table and loomed over us. “Are you saying you didn’t even go in the room to see what they have been doing for weeks?”
“Your security team barred us from the room,” I countered. “We don’t need to be with her every second of every day.”
Simon shot Kas a look over his shoulder and then shook his head. “Just once, I’d like for her to let me know she planned to do it her way.”
“In her defense, you probably would have tried to stop her.” Kas’s response garnered an angry scowl.
“Want to loop us in on this plan? And its effect on what we’ve discussed?” Xander’s tone broached no argument, telling me his temper simmered, readying to blow.
If Simon were playing some game behind our backs with Nerine and kept us out of the loop, not only would Xander lose it, I’d punch the motherfucker in the face.
“Keep your shit together. Nothing has changed with what I have in the works for the fake Angelos. We have everyone nearly in place.” He held my gaze. “Could have used your assistance with some of the discussions in Athens, but as you are playing bodyguard, I guess it’s forgivable.”
I held in the urge to tell him to fuck off.
I wasn’t under his umbrella and held no loyalty to his family. Still, his backing and power would give back Nerine her empire.
“So what have you decided to do with the angel behind our backs?” Xander asked, the irritation still very evident on his features.
Drakos lifted a brow in Xander’s direction, giving him the not-so-subtle indication that he needed to toe the line of respect. The shit Xander pulled with Andraius would never work with this one.
Kas answered, breaking the tension. “Nyx believed it was time to teach Nerine how to defend herself. Having Nerine help Nyx with the botanical garden project was a cover. However, his goddess decided to move up the timeline of the plan without telling him why.”
“Let’s go find out what she’s been up to.” Simon continued to glare at Xander, who still hadn’t backed down. “Xander, I understand your feelings about her, but remember who I am. Our history won’t stop me from knocking some sense into you.”
As if the words snapped him out of the haze of anger, Xander nodded. “I apologize.”
“I should let Theios Alex do it. He’d probably have you scrubbing toilets,” Simon said as he strode to the hallway leading toward the solarium.
I noticed Xander visibly grimacing, knowing that was what would happen if Theios Alex got wind of Xander mouthing off to our most prominent ally.
“We’re going to go in through the back. Make sure to keep your voice down. This way, my goddess won’t be aware of our presence until after the session.”
“Stevie will know the second we enter the room,” Kas observed.
“That’s her job. The point is to stay out of the way until they finish.”
Simon led us through a set of double doors leading out onto a terrace and then to a movable glass wall that he shifted to the side.
We all stepped inside and stood behind a lattice covered in thick ivy.
“You’ve gotten damn good with the balance.” Nyx complimented Nerine as they stood in the middle of what looked to be a giant training mat in the center of the room. “Remember to use that to your advantage.”
Then someone else added, “It will give you time to counter an attack because your opponent will be too busy thinking they can get a surprise attack on you.”
I tried to scan the room to see who spoke, but the woman was in the shadows.
“For the love of God,” Simon muttered and gripped the back of his neck. “She has her involved in this? Fuck me.”
