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His smile suggested he enjoyed her description. “No, but what I need, only you have the power to give.”
“What is it?” she asked, unable to imagine what she could offer.
At the hotel, Garrick’s guy would’ve had access to her possessions. The Beast held the balance of whatever was hers. Tracking that down wouldn’t be a challenge for the great Poseidon.
“Not what. Who.” Standing up, he opened the two mystery doors. “My men bought some things for you to wear.” Behind the first door was a long, walk-in closet. The central door led to a bathroom with a shower over the tub. “Take your time, bathe, dress, come downstairs when you’re ready.”
He went toward the exit.
Before he got there, she asked, “How many men do you have?”
“Five,” he said. “You shouldn’t fear them. They were trained by your father. Their allegiance to him is absolute.”
“Olympus men,” she said, thinking about the plan suggested in the Beast to gather them up. “You brought them here.
“It’s a long story, Pandora,” he said, opening the door. “Like I said, take your time, then come down and join us. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
He departed and closed the door. Such a brief introduction, yet the promise of answers gave her hope. Leaping up, she wobbled and cradled her head, remembering a little late that she hadn’t got over her slumber yet.
Poseidon, the man they’d thought passive, was being proactive. Tess wanted to know everything. How long he’d been there, what his plan was, and what he wanted from her. She’d have to pace herself while catching up with reality, but lingering wasn’t an option. Answers were finally within reach.
THIRTY-THREE
THE HOUSE, SORRY, MANSION, was gorgeous. With tiled floors, curved and straight corridors, it was easy to be awed by the place. And get lost in it. The rounded wall opposite her bedroom concealed a circular area that overlooked an office/boardroom. Beyond, a mezzanine revealed vast living space dominated by a towering fireplace.
Even that was dwarfed by two-story high windows showcasing the huge stone and slate patio out back. Everything was big, expensive, flashy. Was that just Vegas, or did the obvious wealth say something about Poseidon’s benefactor?
After a few wrong turns, she found a staircase to descend and followed another long curving corridor on the lower floor. Voices became clearer, though not enough to pick out specifics. She stopped in the fireplace room. A glass door with some kind of external water garden stood opposite the raised seating area. It looked like there was a path. Like an exit.
If she wanted to get out of there—
“Pandora!”
The shout startled her. Straight ahead, Poseidon stood at the other side of the fireplace. Garrick. Maybe it was better to think of him as a human than an invincible deity.
“Come and join us,” he said, stepping aside to gesture her over.
Her answers were there. That’s what Tess kept saying to herself. Answers… and if the various deep voices she’d heard were any measure, a bunch of guys too.
Past the column of the fireplace was a long dining table surrounded by aluminum-back chairs and a fish tank wall. More wealth. Of course a regular wall wouldn’t do.
Garrick gestured for her to continue with him. A pool table at the far end of the house was the first thing visible in the next area. The huge retro kitchen only got a passing glance. Five men stopped or turned to look at her; it felt right to return the favor.
Like it was show and tell or she was some art exhibit, they drank her in from head to toe and back again.
“Beguiling,” one of the two men standing by the pool table said.
“But will she bring misery to the human race?” the other asked.
“Yes, you’re right,” Garrick said, putting an arm around her to draw her deeper into the room. “We have Pandora.”
Those who weren’t playing pool were sitting in the various seats or at the low curved bar next to it.
“She’s hot,” one of the seated guys said. “Don’t see Hades in her at all.”
“None of you met her mother,” Garrick said, ushering her around in front of him. He laid his hands on her shoulders. “She was beguiling too. Pandora, meet your father’s soldiers. Boze, Lowe, Zip, Milo, Albany.”
As he said each of their names, the men raised a hand to offer a wave or casual salute.
