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“You shouldn’t say another damn word,” Zeus said, stepping back to gesture down the hall. “Move.”
Doing as told, she went down the hall and smiled at the two waiting security agents. The show of force was ridiculous. Having no reason to run, she needed him to take her back across the Atlantic… or so he thought.
If he was trying to intimidate her, he’d failed. It wasn’t easy to hide her smile in the elevator. Either Zeus wasn’t bringing any of his things or he’d had other people take it downstairs because there were no suitcases with them.
The security agents marched across the lobby, flanking her even as they went out the automatic door. A car awaited them. One agent opened the door and got in, the other waited for her to climb in before getting in after her.
Fine. So she’d become some kind of international terrorist spy in Zeus’s eyes or something. Whatever. She just wanted to get home. That had been the plan for the day anyway. She’d play nice, be polite, and try her best not to aggravate the man who was clearly already on edge.
Checking her out with the wand had been smart. It would’ve been embarrassing to fly all the way home for her to produce them from her back pocket or something. When Zeus got in and the car started moving, she almost said that to him. At the last second, she thought better of it. As it was, they were doing what she wanted. Nothing she could say would make the situation any better, but she could make things worse for herself.
The keys. It all came down to these keys.
If they were using the same airport they landed at, the drive would be a couple of hours. With her bag tucked against her body, she wrapped her arms around it and watched the city go by. London was a great city, but she wasn’t sorry to be leaving it.
Already she was counting the seconds to takeoff. Zeus was glaring, not at her, just at the world, and she did feel bad for him. Sort of. She’d feel worse if he hadn’t flung her against a wall and forced her to the floor before kicking her. It had to be a kick. Her hand slid to her aching ribs. It hurt to inhale too deeply, every time she did, another pain quaked through her.
Measuring each breath, she took deliberate stock and wouldn’t complain. Soon, like within a matter of hours, she could be in Nevada again, maybe face to face with her Heart. That was too much to hope; she couldn’t let herself dream. Being too smug or appearing too happy could prompt Zeus to forget he needed her.
Home. She was going home. No matter what, she had to play it cool. Not too happy. Not too smug. Damn, it was hard. She was finally going home.
TWENTY-SEVEN
THE PLANE WAITING FOR them was smaller than the one they’d arrived in. Tess was put in a corner and ignored. Thank God. As soon as the wheels left the runway, relief flooded her; they were finally returning.
Vegas never looked so good.
Until leaving it, she’d taken her home country for granted. That was how she explained away the overwhelming rush of emotion when her feet met Nevada tarmac. Her bag was dumped in the trunk of the sedan while the wand-waving security guy from London herded her into the back.
Trying not to assume what would happen next, she ignored Zeus and stared at the back of the driver’s head. Going straight to the desert house was a pipedream. That was proved when they drove to Hugo’s hotel. At least it was familiar, that was something.
How much time would she have if she sneaked away? How would she sneak away? Another pipedream. Just like getting her bag from the trunk. The same insistence she’d used in London fell on deaf ears. In the high-roller suite, she tried it again. Zeus gave the security guy the nod. Without ceremony, he picked her up, put her in one of the bedrooms and locked the door from the outside.
Being a prisoner wasn’t fun, though it was overdue. Zeus could’ve put her under lock and key from day one. From there, trapped in a room so close and yet so far from her Heart, all she could do was pace and wait.
Tess was left there for so long that it eventually became impossible to stay awake. Her day had been inordinately long having left London in the morning and flown back in time to relive some of it over again.
Despite her jetlag, when the lock on the door clicked, her eyes opened. Maybe it was trauma from the previous time she’d woken in a bed, but she quickly logged as many details as she could. Daylight. Vegas. Alone. But not for long. Leaping out of bed just as the door opened, she used it as a shield against Zeus and his security buddy.
“Time for your errand,” Zeus said.
The security guy came over, a length of thin rope stretched from fist to fist.
“What is that?” she asked, glancing around, seeking an avenue of retreat. “What are you doing?”
“You are going to get those keys back. Today. Now,” Zeus said as the security guy grabbed her arm.
“Let me go,” she said, fighting to pull back. “Let me fucking go!”
“If you don’t struggle, it will go much faster,” Zeus called over the top of her protests.
The guy got one loop around her wrist. Capturing the second wrist against the first, he wrapped the rope around to tie it tight so her hands were palm to palm.
“What the hell do you need to tie me up for?” she asked, glaring past the security guy.
He was bigger than her, stronger, and an asshole, as was the one by the door calling the shots. The goon was just dancing to his master’s tune.
“To remind you who’s in charge,” Zeus said. “I’m taking no chances.”
