Chasing Adonis (30 page)

She nearly wept when Ares pinned Shane that first time, but
her anguish turned to relief when Shane retaliated so quickly. Thus went her
spirits as the match progressed: low, then high, then low and high again.

With the battle tied at two pins apiece and the third down
taking an interminable time between the two combatants, Shane’s strength
sagged. She could see it in the slumping shoulders, the slower movements, the
heaving of his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

But she also noted that fierce determination she’d learned
to count on. His mouth set in a grim line, his eyes narrowed to mere slits, and
he charged like a snorting bull for the umpteenth time. Hope flourished anew
inside her when Ares fell backwards with an oomph.

Until the image appeared.

At first, Adara had no idea who the woman was. But then the
figure spoke to Shane, and Adara knew. It had to be his late sister, Cassia.

“Where is my son, Shane?” she cried. “Where is Tyler while
you’re here fighting a useless battle? You promised to protect him. You swore
he’d always come first in your life.”

From her vantage point above the action, she could see the
tiny bits of light and matter that made the vision look more solid than it
actually was.

But Shane didn’t have that benefit. To him, the transparent
figure probably appeared as real as anything else in this place. He stood
transfixed by the specter, hands held out in supplication as he argued with
it.  “He’s safe, Cassia, I promise you.”

Adara’s heart sank at his defeated tone. If her eyes could
shoot flaming daggers at Ares, he’d be a charcoal briquette by now. What a
heartless bastard! To use Shane’s love for his lost sister to win this match
was the lowest form of cheating.

And poor Shane was falling for it. Her mind screamed at him,
begging him to hear her thoughts.
Don’t listen to her, Shane. She’s not
real. The bastard is trying to trick you. She’s a figment of your imagination.

As if he’d heard her pleas, Shane shook himself out of his
stupor. With a roar of outrage, he charged at Ares once again, head low.

Still, the apparition called to him. “You’ve let me down,
Shane. Just as you did when I was alive. How could you not know how Frank
abused me? You didn’t see the bruises because you didn’t want to. He hurt me so
badly. You could have stopped him. I’ll never forgive you for that.”

Adara’s hand immediately sought the comfort of her
fludee,
only to come away empty. Tyler. She’d turned over her talisman to Tyler,
who needed the protection it promised. Adara would have to settle for nibbling
on a fingernail and hope Shane wouldn’t release his hold on Ares, in favor of a
heated debate with a ghost. But, thankfully, he didn’t give up his headlock on
Ares. As the two wrestled in the temple’s center, Cassia’s shadowy voice filled
the room with bitter memories.

“Look at my throat, Shane. Do you see the bruises from his
fingers? He threatened to hurt Tyler, too. Why didn’t you protect us from the
monster? How could you let Frank kill me?”

The painful questions evoked tears that Adara couldn’t hold
back, no matter how she sniffed. But these were not tears of sadness. No, they
were tears of rage. Rage at Ares for conjuring this model of Shane’s deepest
shame, rage at herself for getting into this mess, rage at Aphrodite for
refusing to give her up five thousand years ago, rage at the witnesses
clustered around this debacle who did nothing to stop it.

“And now you’ve abandoned my son,” the phantom moaned. “My
little boy lies alone, sick, and in need of comfort. Why aren’t you there with
him where you belong? Should he have to lose another parent when he’s only
begun to feel secure again?”

The accusations were obviously taking their toll on Shane.
He faltered, falling to his knees, and Adara realized it wouldn’t be long
before his strength finally gave out.

Well, she wouldn’t allow the death match to continue to some
gruesome finale.

Reaching for the hilt of the dagger Ares had slipped into
her mesh prison, she made a decision. No doubt the plunge would kill her. But
in her monologue of grief, the phantom that was Cassia spoke one truth. A
little boy named Tyler lay in a hospital bed in Florida, waiting for the return
of the only parent he now had left.

Shane had a reason to go on with his life. A five-year-old
child with a crooked, gap-toothed smile and a passion for an animated stegosaurus
named Prufrock. Resolve firm, Adara began sawing at squares of the net with the
dagger.

~~~~

Bile rose in Shane’s throat as he tried to ignore the
agonies his sister had suffered at her husband’s hands. The warnings Nemesis
had given didn’t prepare him fully for Cassia’s arrival. Yet it made sense.
Ares had summoned up his greatest weakness, just as she’d advised he would.

Of course, knowing that Ares conjured Cassia’s image to
distract him during their battle did nothing to appease his ever-present guilt.
Her laundry list of wounds and allegations weakened him as if personally
inflicted with the sting of a plied lash. Every word sliced into his skin and
sapped another ounce of the small reserve of courage flowing through his
bloodstream.

Still, he strained to overcome Ares’s merciless onslaught,
closing his ears to Cassia’s accusations, focusing on his need to save Adara.
While the match continued endlessly, arm and leg muscles screamed in agony,
fighting to keep his body upright. At last, a strong fist connected with his
jaw, sending a frisson of pain into his teeth. Bottle rockets seared his field
of vision, and a tremendous pressure knocked him to his knees.

I’m sorry, Adara. I did the best I could…

He dared one last look upward before he surrendered to
Ares’s might. A glint of light caught his eye, and he spotted the dagger in her
hand, rubbing against the ropes that held her captive above him. Sweet Mother
of God, from that height the fall would kill her. “Adara, don’t!”

His cry came too late. The last of the rope frayed, and with
a coarse-sounding tear, the net yawned open, spilling its precious contents.
Dread gave birth to one last spurt of adrenaline, jerking him to his feet, arms
outstretched in a futile attempt to catch her.

Undaunted, Ares followed in an apparent effort to pin Shane
one last time. The three bodies collided in a bone-crushing heap with Ares on
the bottom, pinned beneath Shane and Adara.

The moment Ares hit the ground, the imagined form of Cassia
disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Shane barely noticed. Closing his eyes, he
cradled Adara’s still body against his chest and waited for Death to come for
him, too.

The sudden burst of applause shocked him into pushing his
eyelids up one final time. Zeus stood over the tangle of arms and legs, a wide
smile on his face as he clapped in a slow and steady rhythm.

“Daddy?”

Adara’s surprised question filled Shane with elation. She
was alive!

“Yes, my daughter. It is I. You have made me very proud
today. Can you move, my child? I believe your hero would like to be certain you
have sustained no injuries from your dramatic entry into the fray. Is that not
so, Shane Griffin?”

Stunned, Shane could only nod. He released his grip on
Adara’s waist. His heart nearly flew out of his chest when she stood easily and
offered him a smile and a hand-up.  “You’re not hurt?”

She shook her head while pulling him to his feet. “I suppose
you and Ares cushioned my fall.”

Even after he stood upright and steady, he didn’t release her
hand. He gripped her tighter and pulled her close until the top of her head sat
tucked beneath his chin. Only then did he know for certain that she was safe.
“You scared the hell outta me. You know that, don’t you?”

She giggled against his chest, making the hair that lay
beneath his shirt crackle and dance at the sound and heat of her breath. Three
words lingered on his tongue, ready to explode from his mouth with just the
slightest hint of acceptance from her. But stubborn pride bit them back. Not yet,
his conscience told him. Not in front of all these strangers. When he finally
told Adara he loved her, it had to be in the perfect setting. She deserved
nothing less.

“Damn you, Zeus,” Ares grumbled, rising to shake the dust
off his clothing. “You interfered.”

“No one interfered, you fool,” Nemesis replied. “You
miscalculated. You thought Adara’s love for Shane to be her greatest weakness
and hoped to use that heartfelt power for your own cross purposes.”

Tedior Pha floated forward, hands on hips as he glared at
Ares. “You should know by now that love is
never
a weakness, Ares. Love
is the mortal world’s greatest strength.”

“Nemesis,” Zeus said. “As I decreed, you will devise Ares a
punishment suitable for his misdeeds.”

“What misdeeds? I vowed I would not harm Adara, and I did
not.”

“But in your zealousness to recapture Aphrodite,” Nemesis
reminded him, “you mistreated an innocent child—a child who has already known
too much tragedy in his young life. And as such, Zeus has entrusted me to set
retribution for your arrogance.”

Ares stood tall and straight then spat on the ground at
Nemesis’s feet. “Do your worst.”

“Very well.” Her arms rose into the air, forming a “Y” with
her body. “Ares, god of war, you are hereby sentenced to…”

“Come, my children,” Zeus interjected, leading Shane and
Adara away. “Ares’s punishment does not concern you.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” Shane snapped. “He purposely gave my
nephew a life-threatening illness then conjured up the ghost of my dead sister
to torment me. I think I have a right to have some say in what happens to the
bastard.”

“No, you do not. You have other business which you and Adara
must attend to before more time elapses. Satisfy yourself with the thought that
Nemesis will punish Ares well.”

As if to confirm Zeus’s statement, an anguished wail of
“No!” echoed throughout the chamber. Shane turned to see the mighty war god
kneeling on the cold floor, his head bowed in penitence. Nemesis placed her
hands upon Ares’s shoulders, and with a flash of lightning, both deities disappeared
from the temple.

Zeus sighed. “Thus ends the matter to my satisfaction. Now,
as to you two, Shane Griffin, do you have something you wish to say to my
daughter?”

Shane folded his arms over his chest and grumbled, “I’d
prefer to say it privately, if you don’t mind.”

“Too bad,” Zeus replied, chuckling. With a gentle prod, he
moved Shane to stand before Adara. “You do not have the time to wait for the
ideal situation. Adara, my child, do you have something you wish to say to
Shane Griffin? Satisfy a doting father’s curiosity and speak now so that my
heart can be at ease and revel in your happiness.”

Realizing he had no choice in the matter, Shane took Adara’s
hand in his and brought it to his lips. “I love you, Adara.”

She made the same statement at the same time. “I love you,
Shane.”

Shane sensed a presence behind him and released Adara to
turn around and face Tedior Pha. “Will I have to fight you, too, now?”

“That will not be necessary, Detective,” Pha gushed in a
highly feminine voice. “It is as you said. Your Adara is
not
my Adonis.
I should have realized it sooner. ‘Tis sorry I am that my foolishness
endangered you and your family.

“Listen well, for this is my gift to you. A police
detective’s life is often fraught with peril. Yet I give you my word, Shane
Griffin, you and Adara will live a long and happy life together, seeing your
children and your grandchildren grow up before Arachne’s thread of life runs
out on you. This, I, Aphrodite, promise you, not just in this lifetime, but in
all your lifetimes to come. And so it will be.”

Adara threw her arms around Tedior Pha’s neck and hugged
him. “Thank you. For everything.” She pulled back, cocking her head to look at
Pha with concern. “Will you be all right?”

Pha laughed, a light tinkling sound, much like sleigh bells
on a crisp winter night. “Thank you, my dearest one. I shall be fine. As a
matter of fact, I’ve decided I enjoy living as a mortal male. I believe I shall
try my luck in Hollywood. What do you think of that idea? Could I be the next
big sex symbol?”

Recalling Heather’s movie star description of him and the
way the females all went gaga at his mere presence, Shane couldn’t help but
laugh. “Definitely.”

“What is that song? ‘California, Here I Come,’” Pha said and
disappeared in the same manner as Nemesis and Ares.

Now, Shane and Adara stood alone with Zeus.

“Come, my children. It is time to bring you home to your
future.”

Tears glistened in her eyes as Adara embraced her father.
“Thank you, Daddy. Will you come and visit us again soon?”

Zeus shook his head. “No, my daughter, I shall not.
Unfortunately, this adventure shall be erased from your memories. Thus, you
will have no knowledge of Tedior Pha, Adonis, Ares, or myself. Time has stood
still while we played our hands here. Tyler and Pauline are already safely at
home, unaware of anything that has transpired. When we arrive on Long Island,
it will be the morning of Adara’s thirtieth birthday. Learning of Benjamin
Cherry’s release, well-respected Suffolk County Police Detective Shane Griffin
will request the assignment of protecting Ms. Berros until she testifies at
Cherry’s second trial. It shall come as no surprise to anyone when she
announces she has fallen in love with her protector and he with her.

“That is the story that all will know of Adara Berros and
Shane Griffin. Come now. Your future awaits.”

Chapter Thirty

“Sentencing will be imposed thirty days from today. This
court is now adjourned.”

The judge smacked his gavel with a loud clap, and the
spectators stood to file out. Legs shaking, Adara rose from her chair and
managed to walk away, despite Benjamin Cherry sneering at her from the defense
table. Let him sneer. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. The long arm of the law had
finally caught up to the gangbanger, and all his father’s wealth couldn’t
change today’s guilty verdict.