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She nodded, pleased to see his interest grow. “To do that they need…”
“The three keys,” he said, pushing his shoulders off the wall. “We need to know where he’s keeping the Bolt. It will be somewhere close. It’s the link to his power. There’s no way he leaves it somewhere he can’t check on it.”
“That’s good,” she said because it could mean the key was in the apartment. “We need to find the Trident too.”
“Poseidon has that,” he said, but when her head began to shake, his brow lowered. “Zeus took it from him?” Her shake became a nod. “He has two keys… what’s the bet that’s why the beta site is next on the agenda…? He must think he can manipulate Harry into bringing the Scepter. That’s why he’s keeping you close; he’ll take you there and wait for Harry to show up… Though I don’t know why Byron would be there for that…”
Occupied by his own pondering, Styx wandered around. Her blood might be behind the need for Byron’s presence, who knew? And Harry didn’t have the Scepter, so he couldn’t trade it for her life. The thoughts ran through her head, for some reason, the words didn’t come out of her mouth.
Her attention followed his progress to the dresser. “If you think they’re in the apartment, I could look for them.”
“You need time to do that,” he said, turning around to prop himself on the furniture. “And you wouldn’t know where to look. They won’t be somewhere obvious and if he’s worth his salt, which he is, they won’t be together. Still, he’d want them somewhere he could get to them fast, in case he has to bail out.”
Styx had valuable experience. Useful, necessary experience.
“What about tomorrow night?” she asked. “He’s taking me to dinner and to the theater. We’ll be out for hours, and he doesn’t like the staff in the apartment when no one’s home. I can give you my key.”
“Perfect,” he said. “And if I find them, I can stick around to finish the job.”
She pointed a finger. “No. You can’t kill him until we get confirmation from Harry.”
“We?” he asked, scowling. “Are you gonna kill him if daddy tells you to?” When he put it like that… No, she hadn’t ever killed anyone. Her hand dropped as she faltered, which seemed to tell him what he needed to know. “You’ve gotta know this is risky. If he finds out you had anything to do with it…”
“I’m willing to pay that price.” It wasn’t that she wanted to lose her life, but if it took some power from Zeus and gave it to Daire, then she was all for it. “We’ll have to regroup the following day, so you can tell me if you got them.”
“If they’re there, I’ll find them,” he said. “Make sure you’ve packed your essentials before you go out with him. Next morning, you get in a cab and go to the airport… Don’t leave anything incriminating behind, that means burn my brother’s letters if you haven’t already. Keep the passport hidden.”
“I’ll sew it into the lining of my jacket,” she said, omitting the fact that was also where she kept Daire’s letters.
“That,” he said, pointing at her cleavage. Glancing down, she saw only the gift Daire had given her. “You won’t get through security with it. And you’re carry on only, don’t check any bags. If anyone’s watching at the apartment, walk out with what you’ve got on, just like on any other day. Do not raise suspicions or they’ll be at the airport first and you won’t be going anywhere.”
Her fingers curled around the long metal bullet. “What do I do with it if I can’t check a bag?”
“Trash.”
She gasped and actually stepped back, which brought her hard up against the wall. “No! No way.”
“It doesn’t look like any priceless family heirloom, so whatever it is, it can be replaced.”
Being pissed at his suggestion wasn’t fair. In his defense, he didn’t have a clue. Styx didn’t know what it meant to her… or that his brother had given it to her seconds before she tempted him into sleeping with her for the last time.
Marching away from the wall, she kept him in her sights. “My mother’s ashes are in this,” she said, pinching the chain in two fingers to dangle it between them without taking it from her neck. “There’s no way I’ll put it in the trash. I’ll buy a damn suitcase and fill it with clothes before I’d toss her away like that.”
Although there was no sign of an apology in his eyes, he did present his palm. “Give it to me.”
Unsure whether that was a good idea, she grabbed it in her fist again. “No.”
His head fell to the side. “You trust me enough to tell me all kindsa secrets that others would murder to know, but you don’t trust me with your trinket?”
“I don’t even know when I’ll see you again.”
His hand closed. “In Miami,” he stated. “There’s a club called Fox Den; will you remember that?” She nodded. “Go inside, turn right and cross the bridge. There’s a bar, tables, booths, maybe people, ignore all that and go through the curtain marked private on the far wall.”
“The curtain?”
He nodded. “There’ll be guys in there, maybe a lot of them. Tell them you’re a friend of Patch’s.”
Her brows rose. “Patch? Why do they call you Patch?”
