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One corner of his lips twitched. “They don’t, I’m not Patch. Patch is a woman. She’s a good friend of the guys in there, an ally.”
“And you’re not? What will happen if I say your name?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Will you remember all of that?”
“Yes, but I—”
“Good. Then we meet in Miami.”
His hand opened again, in expectation of the item still in her grip.
On the brink of handing it over, another thought closed her fist again. “What if they’re not there?” she asked. “You said if the keys were there that you would get them, what if they’re not there?”
His obvious frustration came out in an exhale. “You want a signal?” He thought for just a few seconds. “Next to the sink in your bathroom,” he said. “I’ll lay a bottle on its side.”
“A bottle?”
“Yeah, like shampoo or lotion or whatever you have there.”
Nodding, she felt better that there would be a sign they were on the right track. Getting on a plane, fleeing for her life, would be premature if the keys weren’t in the apartment.
If they weren’t there, she and Styx could tail Zeus to find out where else he went. Maybe he had an office outside the apartment. Though he spent so much time in the office at the apartment that she doubted that. Maybe he had a storage facility or something, they could check that out too. Styx would know how. If the key wasn’t at the apartment of course.
“Or we could meet at the airport… do you want to meet at the airport?”
“Traveling together is too obvious,” he said. “And no point me being with you if you’re detained. If we’re separate, I can come save your ass if it gets in a bind.” That was true, though did imply he’d have a way to know if she got in trouble. “You gonna hand it over?”
“You’re not a very compassionate guy,” she said, unlooping the chain from her neck.
Giving it to anyone else felt wrong. But refusing to part with it could prevent her from getting on a plane. Daire would tell her to hand it over… wouldn’t he?
Miami was sort of their town. They’d spent a week living together there before crossing the country to the beta site. Well, her and Danny lived there. It was a different time, but still happy memories.
Putting the bullet in his palm, she let the chain gather around it. “It’s important to me,” she said, her heart aching when she let go of the metal and watched his fist close around it. “Please look after it.”
“Like it was my very own,” he said, putting it in his jeans pocket.
Clasping her hands under her chin, she retreated until the bed met the back of her legs, forcing her to sit down. Returning to the States would be the first step in reconnecting with Daire. Except she wasn’t going back to Nevada, she was going to Florida. It worked out for the best. Seeing each other would only make being apart harder in the long run.
Styx agreeing not to kill Zeus was tentative. They had to be patient. Until they had the Bolt and the Trident in their possession, and they could swing the pendulum of power to her Heart, they had to be patient. Olympus was what he wanted. She’d fight to ensure he had the power to make it everything he wanted it to be.
TWENTY-FOUR
“I’M PLEASED THAT YOU enjoyed it,” Zeus said as they entered the apartment the next night.
All things considered, it hadn’t been a horrible evening. Nerves almost got the better of her early on. She’d never been part of a real op before—staying behind in a hotel room didn’t count. Neither did making a phone call.
Worried about all that might go wrong, about what Styx would do if he was discovered, she’d struggled to pay attention. Zeus noticed but said something about her nerves being natural. At that point, she was more concerned with finishing the first glass of wine. Relaxing got easier after that.
Her role was divert and distract. Styx was doing the hard part, searching the apartment for the vital keys. So much rode on him coming through for the greater good.
As she and Zeus went into the apartment, Tess held her breath, glancing around for any obvious signs Styx may have left behind. No broken furniture or smashed art, no dead bodies or blood spatter… at least not in the entryway.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Zeus asked, helping remove her jacket.
After the show, they’d stopped for a drink, at her request. Although she’d been eager to check for horizontal bottles in the bathroom, maximizing Styx’s time was essential.
“Uh,” she said, scratching the side of her neck. “I don’t know if—”
