Crazy in the Blood (Latter-Day Olympians) (32 page)

Speaking of… “What does this mean for the rest of us?”

“You’re free to go. Police will be by themselves in a minute to tell you so. You’ll have to keep yourselves available to testify.”

I stared at him, and he stared back. I was better at it, but then, I’d slept. “So that’s it?”

“That’s it. Except maybe for you. I have no idea what kind of charges there’ll be to your credit card over the state of that room.”

I laughed, surprising us both.

“That is the
least
of my worries.”

Rosen eyed me steadily. “Well, if the rest of those worries ever catch up to you, give me a call. But no more of that whammying crap or whatever you did to me. Next time I’ll have you arrested for assaulting a federal officer.”

“I’m not sure I can make any promises.”

“You could have lied.”

“As you just pointed out, you’re a federal officer. I think there are laws against that.”

“And you being so law abiding…”

“Exactly.”

“Just call us next time you get in over your head, okay? You’re not alone.”

No, I wasn’t. In addition to big brother, always watching, I had Nick and Apollo, Christie and Jesus. My merry misfit crew. I owed them…well, everything…but a huge meal at the very least. Breakfast or lunch or whatever the hell it was time for at this point. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d eaten, and if I didn’t find something to soak up the battery acid the station called coffee soon, it might just eat its way through my stomach.

One by one, we were all released and gathered in the lobby. Jesus was the last, because apparently he’d mouthed off to one of the detectives about his shabby treatment and the complete heinousness of the man’s tie and was subsequently held a bit longer in the fervent hope they could find something to charge him with.

My heart hurt at the sight of him with butterfly bandages marching from his right eye up to his hairline and the claw marks at his neck from one of Dionysus’s crew.

“Don’t worry,” he said at my horror. “It makes me look dangerous, no? There will be many waiting to comfort me. And the tale—by the time I tell it, it will be beyond recognition.”

“Of that I have no doubt.”

I looked around at my people—Christie with no worse than a fat lip, Apollo and Nick, who’d thrown themselves into the fray, a little worse for wear, but nonetheless too sexy for the room.

My heart was full and my stomach empty.

“Come on, all. Breakfast or…whatever. I’m buying.”

As long as the hotel charges hadn’t yet hit my credit cards and I could still afford it.

But first, we had to swing by the hospital. I had to see Uncle Christos and let him know it was all over. I hoped he’d be in a condition to appreciate it.

The others waited for me in the lounge as I ventured to his room alone. If he was…not himself…he probably wouldn’t appreciate the audience when he got back to rights. And he
would
. The Karacis family was tough. Nuts were like that…hard to crack.
Eccentrics
, I heard in Yiayia’s voice. Whatever.

But when I got there, he wasn’t alone. Someone had beaten me to him. I pushed his door open quietly, in case he was sleeping, and found a woman at his bedside, her back to the door. She didn’t turn at my entrance. I didn’t think she was even aware of it.
 

Detective Beverly Simon had eyes only for Uncle Christos. And he had eyes only for her. They held hands like teenagers, and as I watched she bent to kiss him.

That was enough for me. I ducked out quickly and quietly. Christos was in good hands. He and I could catch up later. For now, it was clear enough that all was well.

Breakfast beckoned.

About the Author

Lucienne Diver is, in no particular order, a wife, mother, book addict, agent, sun-worshipper, mythology enthusiast, beader, travel-junkie, clothes horse and crazy person. She writes the
Vamped
series of young adult novels for Flux Books. Her short stories have been included in the
Strip-Mauled
and
Fangs for the Mammaries
anthologies edited by Esther Friesner (Baen Books), and her essay “Abuse” is included in the 2011 anthology
Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (
HarperTeen). Look for her first
Latter-Day Olympians
novel,
Bad Blood
, also from Samhain. Long and Short Reviews calls it, “a delightful urban fantasy, a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan, and a true Lucienne Diver original." Come visit her website at
www.luciennediver.com
.

Look for these titles by Lucienne Diver

Now Available:

Latter-Day Olympians

Bad Blood

Some will rise, others will fall…

Heroes Lost and Found

© 2012 Sheryl Nantus

Blaze of Glory, Book 3

Jo Tanis is still recovering from her near-death experience in Las Vegas when she receives a mysterious postcard from Harris Limox, who claims to have a promising lead on the whereabouts of the Controller. Over her boyfriend/guardian Hunter’s objections, she sets off to a sleepy Oregon town to ferret out the truth.

The Controller is more than just a disgruntled super. He’s a rogue Guardian who was presumed dead and is now armed with a slew of high-tech hardware that not only makes him physically superior to the supers—and therefore almost impossible to destroy—he’s got the ability to detonate the implants in the back of all supers’ necks.

In Oregon, Jo meets a surviving Alpha super, Kit Masters, whose wild plan to capture the Controller could put an entire town of innocents at risk. But instead of successfully talking her former idol out of his disastrous bid to regain former glory, Jo finds herself betrayed and trapped in her worst nightmare.

Fight her former teammates, or die.

Warning: Super brawling, super loving and a super-hot ending!

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Heroes Lost and Found:

Peter tapped Rachael on the shoulder. “Want to hit the club again? One last spin on the dance floor?”

She stared at him, her face rotating between confusion, want and fear.

“We’re all here.” Steve cracked his knuckles. “No one’s gonna hurt you with us around. Go have a good time with Peter. Just…” He waved a thick finger in the air. “No men back to the room. Either of ya. I ain’t gonna clean up your sloppy seconds.”

Peter laughed and pulled Rachael to her feet as she blushed. The two of them walked off to their individual suites, leaving Steve, Hunter and myself in the main room.

The muscleman turned to me, suddenly serious. “Do you want me to go with you? I know Harris. We weren’t too tight, but we were buddies. Alone doesn’t mean you have to go alone.”

“Let me think it over,” I replied. “I’m not going to say I wouldn’t appreciate the company, but I don’t want to split the team up too much.”

“Versus you going off on your own. Again,” Hunter grumbled.

I ignored him and kept my attention on Steve and Jessie, who was still linked in from Toronto. “I need you with the rest of the team. If something goes down, they’ll need your muscle.” I addressed the screen, “I’m going off for the night, Jessie. Give David hugs and kisses, but don’t expect me for lunch tomorrow.”

“He’s gonna be pissed.”

“He’ll get over it. That or he’ll short-sheet my bed.” I faced Hunter. “Dinner first, fight later?”

He got to his feet, shaking his head. “Women.”

“Tell me about it.” Steve stretched out his arms and tucked them behind his head with a world-weary sigh. “That’s why I’m a player. Love ’em and leave ’em, just make sure you keep the keys to the car and extra clothing in the trunk.”

I rolled my eyes as I headed out of the suite, hearing the two men laughing behind me.

The walk down to the suite I shared with Hunter seemed longer than usual. I reached the door and unlocked it with the cardkey, leaving it ajar for Hunter.

What I needed was a master plan on how to deal with Dykovski and his stolen tech.

What I was about to get was a rip-roaring fight with my new boyfriend.

Whoever said the life of a superhero was all bells and whistles was full of crap.

There was a small first-aid kit in the bathroom left over from my recent adventures in spelunking. I grabbed some antiseptic cream, gauze pads and bandages and headed for the living room to wait.

I settled down on our own black leather couch, stretching out on the cushions. The television remote control lay on the coffee table, just within reach. I didn’t bother trying to get it.

The door slammed shut.

Hunter sat down beside me and offered his left hand in silence.

The cut wasn’t deep, nothing more than a nasty set of scratches from the splintered wood. I cleaned it out thoroughly and dabbed an obscene amount of cream on it before applying the bandage.

“You’re not seriously considering this.”

I looked up. “At least you didn’t call me Shirley.”

The joke fell flatter than a bad pancake.

He put his bandaged hand on my thigh. “Jo, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Running off on your own is going to get you killed. Hell, it almost got you killed once already. Even in Vegas a good player knows when to walk away from the table.”

I pointed at the folded postcard where it lay on one of the side tables. “Then what do I do about that? He sent it to me, Hunter. He didn’t send it to Toronto to wait until we got home. He didn’t send it to you or to David. He sent it to me, here. He knows we’re here and what we’ve been dealing with. It’s immediate and it’s happening now and I have to go.”

“You think it’s got something to do with Dykovski. Which makes it even more dangerous.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I almost lost you two weeks ago, Jo. I don’t want to let you go running into the street to play in traffic.”

“It’s Harris. I owe him at least the opportunity to hear him out.”

“It could be a trap.”

“It could be. But Harris wouldn’t do that to me. To us.”

“Are you that sure?” Hunter stroked my cheek. “What if he’s hooked up with Dykovski? I know he promised you he wouldn’t go back to the dark side, but who knows what’s happened? If he couldn’t hack it out in the real world, it might be damned enticing to flip sides.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I admitted. “But I can’t not go.” I locked eyes with him. “He helped out when he didn’t have to. I trust him not to set me up.”

“So let’s all go. We’ll throw the team onto a bus and chug on out to Buttcheek, Wherever.”

“And make Harris a target for Dykovski,” I shot back. “If Dykovski’s monitoring us through the media, he’s going to follow us out there along with all the news vans. Harris doesn’t have a jammer. If he gets to Harris before we do, jumps ahead of us, the guy’s as good as dead.” I drew a thumb across my throat, the meaning clear. “The more people who go, the more media it attracts. We can’t take that risk, not with Harris or any other supers.”

“Okay.” Hunter stood with a resigned look. “I know when you’re being stubborn. But at least wear my jacket.”

I blinked in confusion as I pushed myself into a sitting position. “Not that I don’t mind wearing your shirt when we pause for a snack, but…”

He laughed. “My mission leather, silly.” A few long strides took Hunter to the giant closet where he pulled out a black leather jacket.

In all the confusion and drama I’d forgotten about our new toys. Jessie had jumped through some fancy hoops to give us a practical uniform we could use, body armor being the most important. No one was pulling punches because we had to look pretty for a photo shoot after the fight.

“I can monitor you nonstop.” Hunter nodded towards the small computer tablet lying on the far table. “At least do that much for me. Between the link and the camera, I’ll be able to track what’s going on, and if you need help, we’ll be on the way.” He threw the jacket on the couch beside me. “Give me something here, Jo. Don’t make this into a full-fledged brawl.” He grinned. “I can think of better things to do for our last night in Las Vegas.”

I picked up the jacket. My own had been shredded in the mine collapse that had almost cost me my life and had cost Lamarr his.

“Lost my pants too.”

“Not interested in replacing those.” He advanced on me with a smile, knowing he’d won a concession. “In fact, I like it when you don’t wear any pants at all.”

I fondled the leather for a second before putting it to one side. “How about we call it a win for me and we order up dinner?”

“And what do I get for losing?”

“Anything you want.” I gave him my best come-hither look. “That is, after we eat. I think I’m going to need a lot of energy for tonight.”

He almost broke a leg trying to get to the phone.

Something old, something blue, something deadly…what else is new?

Keeping Secret

© 2012 Sierra Dean