To Die for... Duty E-Book

Scarlett Finn

• Herausgeber: Moriona Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Run. Hide.
 
It’s ironic, isn’t it? I’m doing it again.
 
Styx keeps me safe while I drive him insane.
 
My Heart could need me. He could need his brother. I’m a burden greater than the one I carry.
 
As our ranks expand, suspicion and paranoia temper choices.
 
Who is on our side? Who wants what we want?
 
We.
 
For all the doubts, all the uncertainty, we fail to see what’s right in front of us. 
 
I fail to see it.
 
The threat is growing. It’s getting closer. I feel it but until I face it, I can’t comprehend the terror.
 
Grief strikes when we least expect it.
 
There’s no way out. No way forward. We have to save ourselves to save the world.
 
But I’m weak. Incapable. My strength dwindles.
 
How does love do it? Endure even when it’s stretched and frayed?
 
Secrets become betrayal and then…
 
Survival means sacrifice. Others are willing to surrender.
 
For me? I hold on. I can’t let go. I should but it’s too much.
 
How do I get through this when I can’t have the only thing I want?
 

Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery. Suitable only for ages 18 and over.
 
 
Read this steamy romantic suspense series in order for optimum pleasure...
 
To Die for Truth
To Die for Honor
To Die for Virtue
To Die for Duty
To Die for Love

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2022 Scarlett Finn

Published by Moriona Press 2022

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

First published in 2022

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. It may not be used to train AI software or for the creation of AI works.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover Design by Shepard Originals

www.scarlettfinn.com

TO DIE FOR…

To Die for Truth

To Die for Honor

To Die for Virtue

To Die for Duty

To Die for Love

Read them in order for maximized reading pleasure.

For other titles from Scarlett Finn, please read on after the story.

Click here if you’d like to leave a message for Scarlett.

Enjoy!

CONTENTS

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-EIGHT

TWENTY-NINE

THIRTY

THIRTY-ONE

THIRTY-TWO

THIRTY-THREE

THIRTY-FOUR

THIRTY-FIVE

ONE

“YOU’VE GOTTA MOVE FASTER, LADY.”

Styx tugged on her arm, forcing her to keep going. Try as she might to keep up, their fitness levels were just too disparate. It didn’t matter that she ran every day and tried to build up her strength with whatever random items were lying around camp. She was not Olympus strong.

Her bare feet slowed them down, which was probably the only reason he’d let her stop to change in a hidden corner not far from camp. All the while she’d been aware of him hissing at her to hurry up.

“We have been moving for an hour,” she said, out of breath.

That was a guesstimate. Given it felt like a week to her tired legs and scraped up feet, an hour seemed a reasonable suggestion.

“It hasn’t been that long,” he said, still dragging her in his wake.

With each forceful, prompting tug, he came closer to jerking her shoulder right out of its socket.

“We haven’t heard shooting or fighting,” she said. “It could’ve been Garrick and the other guys.”

It suddenly occurred to her that every step they took away from camp would have to be taken in reverse when her guide decided it was safe to return. Not only that, if they did hear shooting, she’d want to be close, in case Daire needed her.

“Stop!” she hollered, yanking her hand free of his.

Styx whirled around to grab for her again, but she leaped back, preventing him from getting hold of her. “This isn’t a game, Tess. We need to move.”

“Why? Where are we going? You and Daire were supposed to go on a hike, not us. Just tell me what the hell is going on.”

His scowl betrayed his impatience, but he added a disgusted exhale just for good measure. “We don’t know who was en-route to camp. If it was Garrick and he wants to take down Zeus then we might have an ally. It could just as easily have been Zeus come to obliterate us.”

“Shouldn’t you be down there with them?” she asked, thrusting an arm behind her, pointing at their path. “You need to help them.”

“Hades has to be there to deal with whichever principal showed up. If it was Zeus, there’s a chance he can keep him talking. Then Ares might be able to sneak up, do what he can.”

Some sick part of her was excited about the potential outcome that could erase their worries so soon.

Except it wouldn’t be that simple. “There were vehicles, more than one,” she said. “I don’t know how many, but that means more than one guy.”

“Yeah,” Styx said, pushing his shoulders back.

His resentment about her slowing him down began to make sense. To him, she was dead weight. It was only then, illuminated in the shards of moonlight breaking through the trees, that she realized their pace wasn’t the only thing angering him.

“You’re mad at me.”

“Yeah. You need to build up your stamina, start endurance training.”

If her father hadn’t been so adamant about not training her every time she’d asked, maybe keeping up wouldn’t be so difficult.

“Make the case to Harry when we get back,” she said, peering into him. “But that’s not it. You’re mad because you want to be there. You want to be back at camp.”

“With my unit? Yes,” he said. “I do.”

Her presence meant his assignment was babysitting instead of murder.

“Then go,” she said, leaping out of the way, stopping just short of grabbing him to push him back down the incline. “Get your butt back there.”

“You need to be protected.”

She opened her arms. “No one’s going to get me out here,” she said, figuring if she was lost, there was little chance of anyone else finding her. “I’ll stay right here. I won’t move.”

It wasn’t wrath or upset that surged through her. Hope bloomed over every other emotion. She wanted Styx with Daire. Wanted the brothers to have someone watching their backs. If that meant she had to spend a night in the woods on her own, so be it.

“My orders—”

“I don’t give a damn about your orders,” she said, swallowing the lump forming in her throat. “Think about it. I want you down there and you want to be down there. No one expects you to be in the shadows. If they’re in trouble, they need you sneaking up on them. Don’t you think they’ll forgive you for disobeying orders if you save their lives?”

“No,” he said, his expression relaxing some. “Hades would never forgive anyone for disobeying orders for any reason.”

“Daire will forgive you.”

He licked his lips before smiling. “For leaving you in the middle of nowhere on your own? Have you met him? What’s the thing he says about eyes on?”

Anything that reminded her of their relationship gave her a thrill. “His eyeline. It’s easier for him to keep me safe if I’m in his eyeline.”

Actually, it was her who’d put it that way first. In all the time Styx had been racing ahead, dragging her along, she hadn’t been in his eyeline. She might have told him that, except he was only just beginning to chill. Probably best not to be antagonistic.

“Right. And he can’t do that right now ‘cause he’s busy watching Hades’s ass and making sure you’re not pursued.”

Some of that anger was creeping back in.

“Do you think I like being the weakest member of the herd? Slowing you all down?” she asked. “I don’t want you here. I want you with Daire. I always want you with Daire because I know you watch each other’s asses. Harry refuses to train me to protect myself in any way. I know how to handle a weapon, but he won’t even give me one of those.”

“You’ll have to learn,” he said, the hood over his eyes descending further when they flicked to her abdomen. “If you have something other than your own life to protect.”

Turning around, she started to go back the way they’d come. “I am not talking about that with you.”

“You’re going the wrong way,” Styx called after her. “We’re not going back there.”

“You can go wherever you want,” she said, knowing she’d be of little combat help if anything was going down. “I am going back.”

“Stop,” Styx said, grabbing her shoulder to whirl her around. “You are so goddamn stubborn.”

“I will do whatever it takes to protect the man I love,” she said, vehement in her certainty. “Whatever it takes. If that means putting myself in the path of a bullet, it’s what I’ll do.”

Maybe all she’d be able to do. If she went down as a human shield, it would be her choice. Harry would only have himself to blame for not giving her a fighting chance when he refused to share the tools to do anything else.

“And if you’re carrying his child?”

Talking about a potential pregnancy was one thing, factoring it into decision making when it might not even exist was a step too far.

“Then Harry will be pleased he doesn’t have to worry about it,” she said because her father was damn sure she should never carry Daire’s kid.

Standing in the darkness, braced to hear any hint of a ruckus near the distant camp, the situation became so real that a new kind of gravity weighed on her.

“Daire won’t let—”

“You have to look after him,” she said, feeling the true burden of what it was to be loved by a man who felt responsible for everything. “If something happens to me, you have to promise, you can’t let him self-destruct.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before.”

Styx had been the one to accept them without hesitation. Harry didn’t like her and Daire being together for a bunch of reasons. Most of which she understood. What she didn’t understand was why Styx had chosen that moment to judge something that he’d never had an issue with before. Usually, he was their supporter. He put himself in the position of mediator, using careful comments to talk down Harry or Daire when they were building themselves toward a confrontation.

Breathing out, she sagged. Her whole body revolted against the idea of getting embroiled in another argument. “Please,” she said on a sigh. “He’s your brother and he loves me. He didn’t choose to and I didn’t force myself to love him… We know that it’s crazy. We know it breaks rules and is a ridiculous position to be in when the weakness could get us killed. Please… don’t make him fight you too. He’s already fighting on so many fronts.”

“I’m standing here with you. Not him.”

“And if I had the energy to argue with you, I would. But your brother led me one way, screwed me senseless and then dragged me back. You’ve had me racing up this damn mountain like there’s gold at the summit. I just don’t have it in me to justify myself to another judgmental ass… What can I say that will make this better? Nothing. I can apologize for loving him or for making him love me.” Which wasn’t something she’d done on purpose. “But will it change anything? I’ll still love him. He’ll still love me and we’ll still be racing away from any chance of being there for him.”

Styx came closer, relaxing his grip on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I know, I… He says you focus him. Me bringing you up here was as much his idea as Hades and it’s not just about your protection. If Ares could fight and watch you at the same time, he’d probably tie himself to you.” As he smiled, so did she because Tess couldn’t deny that was probably true. “If he knows you’re up here, safe with me, then he can focus. You don’t want him searching camp for you after every punch, trying to keep you in his eyeline while assholes are sneaking up on him.”

“No one can sneak up on Daire,” she said, thinking of all the times he’d heard potential danger long before she’d detected a whisper. “He’s always alert.”

“Until you’re in the mix,” he said. “Maybe when you’re alone he can do it, but remember what happened when I made that crack about joining you in the shower in the Miami apartment? I did that on purpose, to show how he can be distracted by you. And that was just a comment. Imagine what would happen if he saw someone hurting you, detaining you.”

He’d go nuclear. “God, this is a mess,” she said, backing up to sit on a fallen log. She needed the rest and time to think. “How can we do this? I mean, how can I ask him to stay focused and still be around to distract him…?” Running a hand up over her hair, she pushed it from her forehead to look up at him. “Do you think I should leave?”

He frowned. “Leave?”

“If I lose myself, if no one can find me—”

“Ares will find you,” Styx said, coming over to join her on the log. “He found you before, remember? That was before he was crazy in love with you. I bet he knows you better now, so it would be easier to hunt you down. If you split… Shit, Lady, if you split, I don’t even know what he’d do. No, that’s a lie, I know what he’ll do. He’ll drop absolutely everything to track you. He won’t care who’s pursuing him or what’s being missed while he’s doing it either.”

“He hates it when things are missed.”

“Yeah, he does.” Styx put an arm around her. “You think leaving will make any of this easier on either of you? Here, with the unit, you have allies who can protect you. Until we have Zeus or he’s dead, you can’t be anywhere except with us… You just have to trust that when we say run or hide, that we’re doing it because it’s best for you. We give you those orders or drag you away because it’s what’s best for the whole. We’ve considered all the outcomes and scenarios, and everyone is where they’re best placed to do the most good for the unit. If you’re given an order, you have to carry it out. We have to trust that you’ll carry it out.”

“Or…?” she said, peeking around at him.

“If one soldier doesn’t carry out their orders, they’re not trusted by the others. That makes them a liability. In your case, I’d bet Hades would be just as willing to tie you up and stuff you in a closet, if it meant your protection.” Tess didn’t doubt her father was capable of that. “In the case of a ground assault, the orders were to put you in the truck and drive… Imagine how far from camp we’d be then.”

Too far for her to avoid a meltdown. Leaving Daire behind like that would probably end her. “Least my feet wouldn’t be all cut up,” she said, figuring he knew just how loathed she’d be to drive away from her love.

Styx shirked the pack from his back. “Are they bad?” he asked, sliding off the log to crouch in front of her and unlace her boots. “You picked good footwear.”

“I’m not an idiot,” she said, watching him pull off the boot and then peel away her sock. “I knew what Harry meant. Most of the damage was done before… when Daire was bringing me back.”

“‘Cause you lost your shoes out there?” he asked, smirking as he examined the sole of her foot. He propped her heel on his thigh and reached over to retrieve some kind of ointment from his pack. “And your panties?”

She gasped. “You were spying on me getting dressed?”

He laughed. “They were hanging out of your sweater pocket when we stopped.”

Please God let that be the truth. “You’re brother’s a real gentleman.”

“My brother will have his ass handed to him when Harry finds out you were getting busy in the woods,” Styx said, rubbing the ointment into her foot.

The massage felt good. Even the sting of the medicine didn’t diminish it. She tried to remember the last time she’d had any kind of massage… and came up short.

“Us going out there gave him valuable intel… sooner than he’d have got it if we just stayed at camp.”

He took some bandage from the pack and began to wrap her foot. “And the sex?”

“That was… me,” she admitted. “Damn it’s always me tempting him over that line. He’s right about me. I am a temptress.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother him.” He finished with one foot, putting her sock and boot back on before moving to the other. “You know Hades didn’t have a chance to say, but…”

“Say what?”

“Even if it is Garrick down there with Olympus guys, Hades doesn’t think it’s a good idea to be open about your relationship. Not until we know more. Until we’re sure they’re on our side.”

Because if they weren’t, then learning Daire had a weakness they could exploit, one they wanted to exploit to get JARR anyway, would be a coup.

“I can do that,” she said, noting his surprise in the way his focus jerked up from his task. She laughed. “What? You think I’ve never hidden my love for him? Maybe it’s not easy and maybe I don’t always like doing it, but if it’s best for him…”

Most days, she thought Daire would be better off having never met her. She never believed the opposite. But hiding their feelings, as best they could, should at least offer a glimmer of protection to him. Otherwise, she may as well just hand herself to her enemy and tell them to threaten her to win Daire’s allegiance.

He went back to treating her foot. “Okay, but I’m just saying, you weren’t great at it in London.”

“I didn’t know I had to be great at it,” she said. “I didn’t know you were looking for signs. Besides, I’ve learned a lot since then. I can fake it.”

Styx snickered. “Wait ‘til I tell Ares that.”

She socked his shoulder. “Don’t challenge him to prove otherwise. You just told me to keep us a secret. Might be difficult if you’re brother’s not on board. I’m not great at saying no to him.”

More than once she’d tried. Since their early days together when he was Danny, if he wanted her, he got her. She didn’t even have to be thinking straight to be seduced. Her mind could be anywhere. Her stress level high and still her Heart would wheedle his way in.

“I know a good spot not far from here where we can set up camp.”

“Camp?” she asked, concerned and relieved. “You’re not going back to help them?”

“Whoever is down there,” Styx said. “Hades needs time to assess the situation. If it’s safe, when it’s safe, they’ll let us know.”

“There hasn’t been any fighting.”

“You keep saying that, but it doesn’t prove anything. If they’ve been taken—”

“Taken?” she repeated, slammed by horror. “Oh my God.”

Who would have the ability to steal trained professionals like her love and Harry? Maybe it wasn’t that simple. Drugs could be in the mix and they had no idea how many men had descended on their allies. Anything was a possibility.

“If they’ve been taken,” Styx said, deliberate in his intention to finish the sentence he’d started. “They’ll need us to go get them.”

“That was Harry’s order? If they were taken, we should go get them?”

“No,” Styx said. Putting her foot on the ground, he stood up, brushing his hands together. “His order was to run and hide you.”

He offered her a hand, which she took to let him pull her onto her feet. “You literally just said no one should ever disobey a direct order.”

A wild and mischievous smile took his lips as he leaned in closer. “Yeah, but I’m a rebel, haven’t you heard?”

Disruptive was the word Daire had used to describe his brother. As much as she wished Styx would use that angle of his personality to return them to camp then and there, she had to trust he knew what he was doing. It wasn’t easy. Sometimes she wanted to go against Daire just to be there with him. But she didn’t doubt he was smart and careful. She needed to have faith in him and his abilities.

Camping for one night wouldn’t be the end of the world. She just couldn’t make any promises about how much she’d sleep knowing that she’d left her love behind.

TWO

THE TEMPERATURE PLUMMETED at night. Maybe it was her mood or just that she’d taken the Beast and real blankets for granted. She did sleep. At some point, the anxiety overtook her and she passed out. Waking up cuddled next to Styx was a shock, but not one that bothered her after she shoved away from him only to realize how cold it was without his body heat.

They hadn’t lit a fire or eaten anything either before setting up the tent or after waking. On the ground, huddled in Daire’s sweater, she watched Styx pack everything into his big Bergen backpack.

“Can we go back now?” she asked.

It had been the first question on her mind the moment after she opened her eyes, but she’d held off from asking it. Unless he answered in the affirmative, her mood wouldn’t lift.

“Let’s find out,” he said, fastening the backpack and slinging it onto his back. “Come on.”

He started to stride away, so she scrambled to her aching feet to rush after him. “How will we find out?” she asked, noting that they weren’t going up or down.

From what she could tell, they were heading toward the water, though the rise they’d ascended would leave them somewhere on the ridge. That was just fine. The thought of an early morning swim in potentially frigid, near freezing water didn’t appeal in the slightest.

“I have a scope.”

“What does that mean?”

It might be a relief he wasn’t yanking and tugging at her like the previous night. Except for the fact she had little choice but to follow him. Yesterday, she’d been ready to rush back into camp to do whatever she could for Daire and Harry. In the cool light of a dewy morning, she understood how dangerous that could be. Presenting herself, their weakness, could do more harm than good.

“It means we have to look for a sign,” Styx said, pausing where the trees ended, though there was another ten feet to the edge of the ridge.

He hunkered down and took something from the thigh pocket of his pants. A little telescope. Crouching with him, she looked out over the ridge. The water and their height separated them from the camp, but it was visible in the distance. The Airstream wasn’t difficult to see, especially when it caught a glint of the sun rays still scattering themselves wide, maybe only an hour or two after first appearing.

“What’s the sign?” she asked, eager to know what they were looking for. Though without the scope, all she could really see were shapes and colors. “Can you see other vehicles?”

“Two,” he said, “which isn’t bad. Means no more than ten.”

Those didn’t sound like the best odds. “Ten against two?”

He glanced away from the scope to look at her. “I’ll remember to tell Ares you doubted him.”

“I don’t doubt him,” she said, standing up when he did. “I just prefer it when there isn’t the chance he had to face off against ten automatic weapons.”

Styx tucked the scope away in his thigh pocket again. “We didn’t hear gunfire, remember? And that those vehicles are still there suggests they weren’t taken.”

“Doesn’t mean they’re not being tortured though, does it?” she asked. “They could be tied up over there, beaten, anything.” When he started to move again, she followed. “That’s it? Don’t I get to see?”

“No,” Styx said. “I saw what I needed to.”

“What did you see?” she asked, wishing his pace was more urgent. Last night he couldn’t move fast enough, that morning he was much more leisurely. “Are we going back?”

“What do you think?”

Glancing around, she took note that they were descending rather than the opposite. “We are going back. How do you know it’s safe?”

“Last night you were all for rushing down there. Now you’re scared?”

“I’m not scared,” she sneered. “I do want to go back. I just want to know how you—”

“The tailgate was down.”

She thought about that for a second. “The tailgate was down?” she asked. “On the truck?” He nodded. “And that’s the sign? How do you know they’re not just unloading something?”

“Because it was down when I checked earlier too. Everything’s in the same position.”

“Wait, how did you…? When did you check earlier?” As far as she knew, they’d been together every second since leaving camp. “You left me alone in the tent?”

His smirk didn’t amuse her. “I was careful, Lady. No point waking you… I went back and forth between the tent and the viewpoint a few times.”

So sleep must have found her sooner than she thought. Either that or he’d slipped her something. “If you knew it was safe last night, why didn’t we just go back?”

“Orders were to keep you away all night. We need a cover story and us out on a trek worked.”

“So we were out on a trek,” she said. “An overnight trek? Together? Alone?”

Telling the new arrivals they’d split because they feared the newcomers’ intentions wouldn’t be the best way to start a new alliance.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

“If I was going on an overnight trek with anyone, alone, it wouldn’t be you.”

“Yeah, it would,” Styx said, still smiling. “‘Cause Hades would never let you and Ares go off together, chances are, you wouldn’t come back.”

True story. Not for a while anyway. Tess was good at tempting her lover into bed, and at tempting her Heart to go against his better judgement… which maybe wasn’t something to boast about. More than once he’d reminded her that all she had to do was ask and he’d take her anywhere she wanted to go, even if that was a million miles from the security of their unit.

Their unit. That seemed like a joke. Even if those who were at the camp were loyal to Harry and Daire, she wouldn’t know them. Wouldn’t know it. The only thing that she could trust was Daire’s word. If he told her to trust the people there, she would. Not that she’d be comfortable with them. Chances were those people would have to go into battle with her Heart. They could be responsible for him keeping or losing his life.

She couldn’t be argumentative. She had to be the perfect, amiable hostess. Those men, whoever they were, either wanted to end her love or protect him. Even though she couldn’t admit to anyone that Daire was actually hers, she wouldn’t give anyone any excuse to be combative. Unit cohesion was the most important thing. She could smile and laugh and be a silent companion to the group. Yeah, it might not be her natural state, but she’d do it for Daire. For his life.

Retrieving one of the power bars from her pocket, she opened it up to start eating. Styx glanced at her, then the bar. “You want one?” she asked, plucking out another to offer it to him.

He took it to begin eating. “Where did you get those?”

“The Beast,” she said.

“Panties and power bars, maybe you’re not an idiot after all.”

She just sneered at his snicker. “I’m surprised you don’t have food in that big pack of yours.”

“I do,” he said, chomping on the bar she’d provided.

“Then why are you eating mine,” she said, lunging across him. “Gimme that back.”

He just held his hand out of her reach. “You offered.”

“Why didn’t you offer me yours?”

“I don’t know how long we’ll be out here,” he said. “I wasn’t just gonna start handing things out before I knew whether we were going to camp or hike to town.”

The prospect of hiking to town was so daunting that she didn’t even dare ask how long it would take or the distance from here to there.

“Daire always feeds me.”

Another scoff of a laugh escaped him. “Yeah, but I think he’d object to me feeding you the same thing the same way.”

She frowned. “What are you—” Realizing what he meant, she threw the back of her hand against his arm in a gentle slap. “Yeah, that’s disgusting. I would object too… So would you when I bit down hard.”

They kept on going. Both finished their food and Styx took the wrappers to stuff them in his pocket.

“Did you and Ares talk out there or was there only one thing on your mind?” he asked and glanced her way. When she wasn’t quick to reply, he kept going. “I know you think it’s none of my business, but the truth is, if you’re carrying an Olympus kid—”

“Elysium.”

“What?”

“That’s what we decided to call it,” she said, retrieving her water bottle.

“You want to call your kid Elysium?”

“No!” she said, lowering the bottle from her lips. “Olympus is dead. It won’t come back in its previous form. So we decided to call the new organization something else. Elysium is what we came up with.”

“You had time out to talk and you brainstormed company names?” he asked. “You guys have some weird idea of dirty talk.”

“We were done with sex by then.”

Truly they never were and she didn’t think they ever could be. Just thinking about him got her ready for another roll in the forest and he was nowhere in sight. Still, thinking about how she felt out there compared to how she’d felt the previous day when they were both in camp, there was more zing in her step. Whatever happened, she felt ready, invigorated, prepared to take on the world. The biggest difference between that moment and yesterday’s was the duration between intimate bouts.

That seemed a pretty good measure to her of just how important sex was in their relationship. She’d done her duty by refilling his stores not long before they were descended upon. Except with Styx’s message from Harry that they should keep their relationship under wraps, they may not have a chance to refill those stores again any time soon.

“You’re really not gonna tell me?” Styx asked after they’d gone another few yards.

“Tell you what?” she asked. “What is it you want to know?”

If anyone should be giving him information about their relationship, it should be Daire. Still, she wanted to at least know what the guy was so curious about.

“Are you pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” she said because it was a straightforward answer. “How would I know that? I’ve been stuck out here for eleven days now. Harry and me were with Asclepius before that, traveling from Miami, which we left just a few hours after you and Daire. When would I have had the time to do a pregnancy test or see a doctor?”

“But it’s possible?”

“Anything is possible,” she said. “You must’ve heard us having sex. Telling you we were together wasn’t a prank. We really are together.”

“And you’re not careful? Hades seemed to think you used rubbers.”

“This is exactly the conversation I didn’t want to have,” she said, catching a loose leaf from a low branch as they passed. “Daire said it, our methods of birth control are our own. Besides, nothing is a hundred percent.”

“When was your last period?”

“Not your business,” she said in a sort of sing-song voice, figuring Daire would prefer to control the flow of information to his own family.

“Okay, but say you are, what would be the plan? Would you keep it or… not?”

Again, still not his business, yet she understood everyone’s need to plan ahead. “It doesn’t feel good to be evasive,” she said. “But I don’t have answers. I can’t promise anything until I know something.”

Anticipating her honest reaction in a hypothetical was impossible. Maybe she would be so fiercely protective that she’d run and hide even from Daire. Maybe she’d be flat out terrified of what might happen to her and her child. Maybe she would consider aborting if the reality of carrying Daire’s baby overwhelmed her. She couldn’t really see it going that way, but no one knew anything for sure until they were in a given situation.

THREE

IT TOOK MORE THAN twice as long to get back to camp as it had to flee the previous night. She wouldn’t have minded the same pace both ways. They didn’t go straight back to camp either. Although she noticed they were taking an indirect route, she didn’t say anything. He’d have his reasons. Though he’d said the signal it was safe to return was on show, he may assume the situation could’ve changed since they last checked.

As they came around a tall bundle of boulders, they almost walked straight into someone. A guy… Broad, built solid, definitely Olympus. The rifle in his hands was already pointed their way, but Styx raised his hands then lunged forward to grab the barrel to throw it aside.

Thinking there was going to be a fight, she almost leaped back behind the boulders. Before she did, the men started laughing and slapping their palms together.

“I should’ve taken that shot,” the guy said.

“You hesitated,” Styx said. “Hades will love that.” He stepped aside to grab her shoulder and haul her forward. “Pandora, Coltrane. Coltrane, Pandora.”

“Harry told me you were out here,” Coltrane said, scanning her figure, not in a sexual way, it seemed he was curious. “And that we had a passenger.”

“She’s a little more than that.”

Styx kept hold of her when he and Coltrane fell into step walking in the direction of camp.

“Yeah. She’s our ticket back. Sure can’t live like we have for the last year,” Coltrane said. “We shouldn’t be spread all over.”

“Guess we know where you fall on the debate about the future,” Styx said. “Garrick with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Who else?”

“Boze, Lowe, Zip, Milo.” Those were the guys who’d been in Vegas. Minus Albany. “Rice, Kingsley.”

Styx stopped to look at his colleague, letting her go as he did. “Kingsley is at camp?”

“Yep,” Coltrane said, smirking. “You are in for a rough ride, buddy.”

The normally relaxed Styx tensed, she didn’t see it in his form as much as the almost sulking scowl that took over his features. “Whatever.”

The guys started to walk again, so she hurried along with them. Quickly adding everyone up, they had nine soldiers and two principals. Not bad odds… though she couldn’t be sure of that until they knew who Zeus had working for him.

“What is Garrick’s plan?” she asked, figuring that if they were going to walk the rest of the way together, she could at least try to figure this Coltrane guy out.

He glanced at her, but only for a second. “I heard you weren’t shy.”

Damnit. During their walk, hadn’t she told herself to be a happy, friendly, easy person to get along with? That didn’t really gel with an interrogation. Already it seemed that she was making enemies. The whole damn situation was frustrating. If she couldn’t get answers from others and she wasn’t allowed to talk to Daire, how was she supposed to be kept in the loop? Her father sure wouldn’t be having any heart to hearts with her. Garrick was his equal and both of them were superior to the soldiers. They’d take the reins and everyone would follow orders.

Everyone else anyway. She might not want to rock the boat while they were in training camp. But it was her blood they’d need for JARR. She wasn’t going to just trot along and offer it unless she knew it wasn’t going to be used for anything nefarious.

“Would be interested to know how he got you and Rice on board,” Styx said. “Don’t think you took him at face value.”

“Boze got us on board. Him and Lowe. ‘Cause if P had rocked up on his own…”

“Yeah, that’s what we figured.”

“Felt good to see Ares again, I gotta tell you. Wouldn’t say it to his face but…”

Styx and Coltrane shared a snicker. “Yeah, guy already thinks enough of himself.”

It was difficult not to get in on the teasing when they were talking about her love. She figured she’d let the boys be boys and refrain from letting them know that Daire had the goods to back up his confidence and then some.

“So what’s the plan?” Coltrane asked Styx.

That was annoying. So it was presumptuous for her to ask about Garrick’s strategy, but just fine for Coltrane to quiz Styx on theirs?

“I leave that to the higher ups,” Styx said. “I go where they point. Kill who they point at.”

“Yeah,” Coltrane said. “We’ve got guys still out there… We’ll need to bring them in. You got numbers?”

“No,” Styx said on a shrug, planting a hand on her back to push her forward a few steps, so she didn’t lag behind. “No way to know.”

“Can’t say I’m sorry we were on Zone when this happened. Wish the damn thing was better though… We’ve lost guys, right?”

“You can bet on it,” Styx answered. “You hear about Albany?”

“Yeah. Should never have happened. What the hell are we doing killing our own? What was he trying to do? Was it a warning?”

In her opinion, Zeus obliterated the Vegas house in the midst of a temper tantrum. There was no denying he’d been pissed, at her specifically. That meant she had to accept some level of responsibility for Albany losing his life.

“Who knows what’s going on in his crazy head,” Styx said.

“Someone needs to figure it out,” Coltrane said, coming to a stop. “This is as far as I go.”

“Stand alert,” Styx said, smacking Coltrane’s upper arm in what was probably supposed to be a friendly gesture.

Coltrane turned to go back the way they’d come. She was still watching him when Styx took her arm to guide her back onto the route to camp.

“Why isn’t he coming back to camp?” she asked.

“Because he’s on perimeter duty,” Styx said. “It’s his duty to keep everyone inside safe.”

From that side anyway. The only way anyone would know where they were, or be able to sneak up on them, was if there was a mole in camp. Given they’d just taken on a bunch of new members, that was a possibility. Just because Styx shook the guy’s hand didn’t mean she trusted him.

“I don’t know how you do this,” she murmured. “The paranoia is driving me insane.”

“What do you have to be paranoid about?” Styx asked. “You think your guy’s gonna let anything happen to you? What do you think he would do to the rest of us if we let it happen?”

“Who is Kingsley?” she asked, recalling his reaction to learning that guy was with them. “What does he have against you?”

“Nothing,” Styx said. “Quit asking questions.”

“You know, I’m really going to try to get along with everyone. But if I think you guys are cutting me out or on the wrong path—”

“What?” Styx asked, stopping to whip her around toward him. “You wanna be careful before you threaten anyone around here.”

She swallowed, not because she was afraid, but because she didn’t want to get emotional and start an argument. It would be dangerous to be distracted by an argument any time, but so close to camp, when they hadn’t declared themselves, that would just be stupid.

“It’s not a threat,” she said though could forgive him for thinking that. “I know you have a lot to consider. But, at the end of the day, it’s my blood that’s needed to free JARR.” He frowned. “Regardless of what happens to me after, that in itself is a big responsibility and it’s on my shoulders, no one else’s.”

“You’re going to be protected. Ares wouldn’t—”

“We have no way to know how this will play out,” she said. “And I’m still not convinced that I can trust what either side will do with the information stored in JARR. It’s temptation. Even with the best intentions, there will be…” The hue of his frown became something else; his attention began to drift. “What?”

“JARR,” he murmured. A second later, he closed his eyes and hissed out a breath. “Goddamnit.” Grabbing her wrist, Styx tugged her along, much as he had the previous night. “Come on.”

Their pace was as punishing as it had been on their departure. Whatever had occurred to him, it had changed the urgency of their journey.

“What?” she asked, jogging to keep up. “What did you figure out? What are you—”

“We’ve gotta get back. We need to talk to Ares.”

They did? Tess didn’t know why, but if they were heading for her Heart, she didn’t have any worries about whatever would happen when they got there.

Camp wasn’t much further away. Within ten minutes, they broke from the thin line of trees that tapered from the end of the woods behind the Beast. Styx didn’t slow down. There were people dotted around. One by the water. Another at the tree line. Someone else wandered in the distance, near the path into camp.

When they were noticed, the various people paused to look their way. They probably wondered who’d gotten through the defenses. At least they would until they recognized Styx. Once they did, they went back to their patrols.

By then, she had noticed who was standing next to the Beast. Her Heart. Standing alert, just as he had the first night she’d met Harry. Styx didn’t have to drag her half as hard when she had Daire in her sights. He didn’t flinch. It was incredible how he could be so aware and yet completely ignore them at the same time.

They were no threat; he knew that even better than those patrolling elsewhere. As they came closer, Styx swung her around to put her body in front of his. As a shield, there wouldn’t be a better one against Daire, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was a head shorter than Styx. Kind of left an important part exposed.

Putting Daire at the entrance to the Beast was smart if Harry and Garrick were in there, which it seemed safe to assume. It was their roving headquarters. Ironic that Daire was the one who’d acquired the thing, yet he was the one most often kept from the inside.

Harry wouldn’t mind if his most valued lieutenant overheard whatever conversation was going on inside. Well, he’d mind least if Daire heard anything. And the guy on the door was the last line of defense. If any enemy got through their patrols, they’d have to face Daire before getting to the valuable principals. Daire wouldn’t let that happen. It was as simple as that.

Styx’s pace didn’t let up until they got right up to Daire who didn’t move away from the door. His momentum was such that he actually propelled her right up against Daire. Her Heart still didn’t flinch and Styx didn’t pull her away, so there she was, stuck in a sandwich between the brothers.

“You’re not getting in,” Daire said.

He seemed to be looking straight ahead and definitely wasn’t looking at her. But his brother was blocking her Heart’s view if his intention was to keep an eye on things.

“We missed something,” Styx murmured, laying his hands on her upper arms.

The comment caused Daire’s blind focus to shift to his brother. “Missed what?”

“JARR,” Styx said. “We missed something.”

From the twitch in his brow, she could tell her Heart didn’t understand. His brother didn’t seem to be in any hurry to fill him in. Although she didn’t know what Styx had deduced, she did know what had sparked his comprehension.

“I said it was a big responsibility on my shoulders,” she said, ignoring how Styx’s grip strengthened. “That I wasn’t sure I could trust either side with it. Even with the best of intentions, it’s temptation and it’s on me if it gets out there.”

Styx’s hands slid a little higher. The brothers remained fixated on each other. “It’s on her… if temptation—”

“Shit,” Daire exhaled.

Trying her best from her restricted position to get some hint of what was going on from either of them, all she saw was Styx slow nod. “What?” she asked, frustrated. “What is going on?”

“We have to keep this close,” Daire murmured so quietly that she almost didn’t hear him.

“My Heart.”

On a blink, his attention dropped to her. “Styx told you? We keep this under wraps.”

“I don’t know what either of you are talking about,” she said. “Safe to say I can’t tell anyone something I don’t know.”

“I mean this,” he said, a tinge of longing polluting his otherwise severe gaze.

“You wanted the guys to know.”

“Things have changed,” Daire said, setting a glare on his brother. “You’ve gotta keep her in your—”

“In my eyeline, I know,” Styx said.

The conversation was so quiet, so discreet, it was obvious they didn’t want any hint anyone could listen in, even those in the trailer.

“Kingsley gonna be a problem?” Daire asked.

That name again.

A tremor of tension vibrated through Styx. “No. No problem.”

“Pandora comes before everything else,” Daire said, demonstrating exactly how to threaten someone.

“I get all of the aggravation and none of the sex.”

Her Heart wasn’t amused by his brother, she inhaled through her nose. “No one’s getting any of that any time soon,” she murmured.

If they were a secret, they couldn’t take the risk of anyone catching them in an intimate position. They didn’t have only Styx and Harry to concern themselves with anymore. There were others. Highly trained others. Who may or may not be loyal to them.

“Take her to town with you,” Daire said. “Do not let her out of your sight.”

“Why are we suddenly so worried about me?” she asked. “I know we’ve been worried about me for a while, but you should share whatever you’ve just figured out… Share it with me. You’re the only two I trust here anyway.”

“Keep it that way,” Daire said.

Behind him, the door made a sound, so Daire stepped aside to let it open. Her father stood on the threshold.

“You’re back,” he said to her.