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“I know, baby,” he said. “You’ve been running a long time. Lost a long time.”
“I always thought I knew who I was,” she said, not fighting when he took the bag from her hand to put it on the vanity. “I thought I was strong and determined and sure. I thought I could handle anything.”
“You can.” Her head shook as it drooped. His fingers slid onto her cheek, losing themselves in her hair as he raised her attention back up. “Tess, you are the strongest person I ever met. Without a goddamn doubt.” That sounded like lip service if ever she’d heard it. “You are. Your mom died, you were alone, completely alone, and you didn’t give up. I go out there into the field with backup and almost limitless resources and there are times I waver. You don’t waver.”
“I’m wavering,” she murmured.
He smiled and adjusted his hold to run the tip of his thumb across her lip. “No, you’re not. You’re pissed at him and you’re hurt, but just like always, you had a plan before you even reached the closet. You’re not afraid to be out there on your own, without backup or resources. You do whatever you need to do. You find a way to get through it.”
“I need my suitcase from your truck. My sewing machine is too heavy to carry for long.”
“You are not going anywhere. My Heart, that’s what you called me, right? You were mine long before we ever walked into the Olympus control room… even if neither of us realized it.” When she tried to look away, he strengthened his grip. “Tess, I can’t make you happy. I can’t change who Harry is. He’s an asshole. Yeah, you should’ve known that when you realized I was the same. Takes one to raise one… But, baby, he does love you. He’s hurting over Carrie. He can’t show it, he doesn’t have the time, or the luxury… Three is on his way back into the country.” That surprised her, which he saw and acknowledged with a nod. “We don’t know what game he’s playing… He left because he feared Zeus, because he wanted to protect his ass by being far away from it.”
“Now that you and Harry are here, he’s not afraid.”
“Maybe,” Daire said, shrugging, watching his thumb stroking her lower lip. “We won’t know until he gets here. His flight is due to land in a couple of hours. It’s possible he is coming back to be a part of it, to bankroll whatever mission we need to take Zeus down… or he’s working with Z and we’ll have to scatter fast.”
“Scatter. Like the Exodus?” He nodded. Tess inhaled. “If it’s this easy for you to tell me, why can’t Harry do the same?”
“Harry loves you,” he said. “He’s notinlove with you.” Did she hear him right? His smile narrowed his eyes and lowered his volume as he bowed nearer. “You do the doe eyes and I’d find a way to switch the sun with the moon for you. I’d split the world in two if it would make you smile, Little Red.”
“You can’t be in love with me,” she said, though her heart grew with desire to lose itself in him. “Harry resents me for forcing him to walk away from my mom.”
“I will never blame you for us missing the life we could’ve had,” he murmured. “Giving me to the mission, to Olympus, it’s such a brave, honorable act. I am in awe of you, baby.”
She couldn’t blink, couldn’t drag her gaze from his, even as a tear rolled from her lashes. “You’ll be distracted, in the field, if you think of me. I couldn’t take another breath if you weren’t out in the world, keeping it safe… They used me, my mom, against Harry. They made him what he is, afraid to feel.”
The pad of his thumb slid across her lips again. “I will never be afraid to feel… not for you, my Heart.”
“We can never be together.”
“I know. Harry wouldn’t allow it and if anyone knew what I felt for you…”
They’d use her against him, just like they’d done with Harry and her mom. “I don’t want to be your weakness.”
He smiled, his lips wide and satisfied, showing his dimples and the mischief in his glittering eyes. “Too late.” Taking his thumb from the corner of her mouth, he wiped away her tears with both hands. “No one will ever know it. You don’t have to be afraid for me, Little Red. You don’t have to be afraid for the world.”
“What if I’m not strong enough? What if I change my mind and beg you to leave Olympus for me?”
“I would never have my Heart beg for anything… Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together. Even if we can’t be together, we will always know the truth.”
“That history is repeating itself?”
His smile vanished. “That will never happen. I’d raze the continent before I’d ever let anyone hurt you.”
“Thank you for being with her. I never got a chance to say that I… It means something to me. That she didn’t die alone,” Tess said, stepping closer and laying a hand on his chest to confess her own secret fear. “I don’t want to die alone.”
“You won’t. You’re not leaving here. You’re a part of this as long as I am. As long as I draw breath, you will be protected.”
Tess exhaled her pain and frustration. “You were supposed to be easy… How did we get ourselves into this mess?”
“Well…” he said, drawing the word in with his breath. “It all started with a little red Corvette.”
Her memory of that day brought a laugh to her lips. Daire pulled her close and kissed her head.
A mess was an understatement. There was still so much to resolve. So much to understand. Olympus owned Daire, and it was right that it should. The world needed him. The least she could do was respect that he’d dedicated his life to a calling. One that had been picked for him. From the moment he was born, he hadn’t been able to avoid it.
Tess was alone. Her mother was gone. Her father was unable to be a father. And Daire? His heart was hers, so it was her responsibility to do everything in her power to protect it… while shielding hers from the pain of its isolation. The past was gone, and she didn’t have a clue what lay ahead.
TO BE CONTINUED…
