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“Tess,” Harry called at the same time Daire slid in front of her, stalling her progress.
Stopping dead, she held up both hands and backed away to redirect and go another way. Her plan wasn’t to run. She intended to go back to Hugo’s but couldn’t stand to look at Daire and Harry. Falling for the ploy once meant shame on them, falling for it again would be shame on her.
A hand locked around her arm, pulling her to a halt. The familiar grip wasn’t hard to identify, that didn’t mean she wanted to look at its owner.
The heat of his form moved in close to her.
“You go, I go. You know it, Little Red.”
She thrust her elbow into his gut. It wouldn’t have hurt his super-agent self, and he didn’t move, not until Harry strolled around in front of her. Only then did the man, who didn’t mind touching her as long as no one was watching, retreat.
“You are my daughter and my…” Harry stopped himself and glanced at Daire. “Ares.”
Somehow, by the way Harry said his name, Daire knew to back away. He went at least twenty feet, though didn’t turn his back on them. Widening his stance, he stood with his fists at his side, like a soldier.
“Tess,” Harry said, bringing her focus back around to him. “You’re my daughter and I love you. I worry about you. With Three… With all men.” She opened her mouth to respond, Harry got there first. “I know you said that you know men. Three is not just any man.”
“Your problem is nothing to do with the fact he’s a man. It’s nothing to do with the fact he might have a romantic interest in me.” She stepped closer. “You’re worried about Olympus. That one day loyalties will shift, or a decision will have to be made. You’re worried that one day we’ll end up on opposite sides… And you’re not worried about that because I’m your daughter. You’re worried because, God pity you for it, some part of you still loves mom.”
For a moment, Harry processed. Tess didn’t have a clue how he’d react to her observation. She just waited, giving him time to decide whether or not to lie.
“There is no part of my being…” he said, pacing his words as he flexed and curled his fingers at his sides. “Not a single atom in my body that isn’t full with the deepest love for your mother. I adored her, craved her, needed her. Death doesn’t change that although…”
“It still doesn’t feel real,” she said, familiar with the sensation.
“No,” he breathed out, “it doesn’t.”
“I don’t know if tonight was a genuine attempt to get to know me or if this is all part of some larger play.”
“Tess…”
She stepped away when he tried to touch her arm. “I can’t trust anyone right now, not with my confidence, not with my secrets.”
“You can trust me.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to say anything else. I have to be at Hugo’s house and he tolerates me better than the rest of you. You’re busy anyway. You want to get to know me? Fine. But it’ll be one step at a time.”
“We both have love for your mother,” Harry said. “We have that in common.”
“I would like to know more about your relationship with her.”
“I can tell you about it, though you won’t be able to understand most of it… You can’t know a relationship like that unless you’re in it.”
That was probably true. Tess wanted to bean Daire with something hard to show him just how good her pitching arm was… and that she didn’t like his games. Yet her father’s obvious love for her mom, and his need to protect it, prompted her to put that desire on hold.
“It’s late. I’m tired,” she said.
It wasn’t late by Vegas standards or most people’s standards, but Tess needed to apologize to Hugo before retiring for the night.
“Then we’ll take you home,” Harry said, opening his arm toward where the truck was parked.
Tess went to it knowing her father and Daire would follow. She’d told Daire more than once that loneliness plagued her. Spending so much time separated from him and dealing with the plotting even when they did see each other, was tiring. Without her mom, she was alone. Sometimes Tess was so sure of her feelings for Daire. Other times, she feared stumbling into another of his traps.
SEVEN
TESS DIDN’T HAVE a chance to apologize to Hugo after returning from the burger place. He wasn’t in any of the public rooms and seeking him out in his bedroom was a line she didn’t want to cross. For her sake, not his. In truth, she wasn’t disappointed not to see him.
The tense ride back in the truck had just added to the exhaustion of the evening. She’d left the Olympus duo in the driveway without saying goodnight. By the time she’d figured out that Hugo wasn’t around, bed was the only thing on her mind.
