Legacy of Olympus (In the Gods' Secret Service) (6 page)

He opened his mouth to argue that the station wasn’t like her other employers, but hadn’t he heard the nasty gossip anytime she wasn’t around? Both men and women seemed to have it in for her. Men, because she wouldn’t look at them twice, and women, because the men turned into idiots anytime Eleni was around. He and Mike were the only two who seemed to see her for who she really was. Or thought she was.

“How did you get hooked up with Stephanos?” The man’s name almost stuck in his throat, but he had to know the extent of their relationship.

Tears pooled in her eyes. “Stephanos saved me.”

She’d used those exact words earlier. They fit with his impression of him as a cult leader. “What do you mean by that?”

“Like I said, I couldn’t keep a job. My bills piled up, and I couldn’t make ends meet. I got desperate.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “If that’s how people viewed me, I couldn’t change their minds, so I decided, why not use my looks to survive?”

Alec swallowed. He didn’t like where this was going.

“I decided to join a high-class escort service. Stephanos found me, talked me out of there. He showed me another way at Amalgamated. There’s not much money, but I found my family.” Her chin crumpled. “And yesterday I lost them.”

Alec waited until the brief storm passed, then asked the question burning into his mind. “Did Stephanos find you before, or after, your first date?”

“Before. I asked him how his timing was so perfect, and he said they’d been watching me for a while. He showed up on my door at that precise moment because Myles had a premonition I was in trouble.”

“And...?”

“Stephanos convinced me not to go.”

“Did he ask for repayment of any kind?”

Giving a knowing smile, Eleni shook her head. “Stephanos is, was, a true gentleman. So is everyone at Amalgamated. They made me feel at home. They made me feel like one of them. They made me feel...normal.”

The silence stretched on until she spoke again. “I suppose you think poorly of me.”

“You were about to lose everything, your apartment, your car. You had no way to support yourself.” Something he could relate to all too well. “I understand.”

Eleni smiled and closed her eyes.

Alec returned his attention to the computer and opened the flash drive. He found several additional files and clicked on one labeled
genealogy
.

The screen filled with rectangular boxes of names connected by lines, seventy-five pages altogether. He clicked on
edit
, then
find
, and typed in his name. Nothing. He gave a heavy sigh and turned toward Eleni. “What did you say my surname was?”

“Androulakis.”

“Spell it, please.”

He typed in each letter as she said it, then hit
find
again. The cursor leapt and rested on his highlighted name. Stunned, he could only stare. They had his entire family tree, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, cousins he never knew he had. His throat tightened at the word
deceased
beneath his dad’s name. After almost twenty years, it shouldn’t hurt so much.

When he found his brother’s name, Alec’s blood froze. Nick’s name was also marked in yellow. “Why’s my brother highlighted?”

Eleni extracted herself from the chair and came to stand over his shoulder. “I haven’t seen this. My guess is they suspect he’s got some hidden ability that hasn’t surfaced yet.”

Rage made his insides shake. “You people dragged my immediate family into this?” He snatched up his cell phone, punched a button. Unlike hers, his family wasn’t expendable. “Hi, Mom.”

“Alec, what a nice surprise. How are you?”

Oh, no. From the lilt in her voice, she was in the mood for a long conversation. When was the last time he’d called her? Two weeks, a month? Surely it wasn’t any longer than that.

“Frankly, I could be better.”

“Oh, what’s wrong, dear? Did you decide not to apply to CNN?”

Apply? He’d done that
months
ago. Had it been that long since he’d talked to her? He made a silent promise to call her more often. His dad would have expected more from him. “No, I got the job.”

“Congratulations. They’re lucky to have you.”

“Look, Mom, I don’t have much time.” He cringed at the brusqueness of his tone. “I need you to go to Aunt May’s. Today.” May wasn’t really their aunt. No, more of a close family friend, who lived in the middle of freaking nowhere. She’d be nearly impossible to link to him.

“But I have line-dancing tomorrow, and bridge is at my house the next day. Why do you want me to go? Did you hear from May? Is something wrong?”

Yes. And he had a strong feeling nothing would be right again. “Mom, do you trust me?”

“Of course I do. But what does that—”

“I need you to pack your things. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

“Honey, you’re not making any sense.”

“What’s Aunt May’s home phone?”

He crossed the room and took the pad of paper Eleni handed him, then jotted down the number. “I’ll call you. Don’t call me. I’ll be in touch when I can.”

“I’ll do as you ask, Alec, but I have to say you’re scaring me.”

Was he overreacting? No. He couldn’t take any chances. The killers could go after his family to get to him.

“Did Dad’s family change their last name when they got to this country?”

“What an odd question, Alec, but yes. It used to be Androulakis. His great-great grandfather shortened it to Andrews when he arrived in the country. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. Mom, call Nick and tell him where you’ll be and to call me when he gets the chance.” A fist closed around his heart. Though they hadn’t been close in recent years, he missed his brother.

“I don’t know where Nick is. You know that job of his takes him all over the world.”

A stab of fear quickened his pulse. But if his mom didn’t know where his brother was, chances were the killers couldn’t find him either. Nick would be all right. He had to be.

Alec told his mom he loved her, then hung up. She would have tried to continue the conversation, and he couldn’t afford the time. Not now. Later, when this was over, he’d talk to her and find out more about his dad’s family, although Eleni seemed to know more than all of them put together.

Eleni scrubbed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard. She adjusted the computer on her lap, then read the email again. She’d used the backup email account they’d set up in the event Mallaki caught on to them. Finally a bit of luck.

Eleni, if you’re out there, I made it. I went out for coffee at the time of the attack. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe what happened to our family. Please get back to me a.s.a.p. We have to meet. I’m staying at The Strathallen.

Love and kisses,

Charissa

A grim smile tugged at Eleni’s lips. Some things never changed. While she hid out in a nondescript, rundown, fleabag of a motel, Charissa had chosen one of Rochester’s premiere hotels.

Eleni zipped off a reply, stating she and Alec would meet Charissa in her room within the hour. They could take some side streets and walk the couple blocks to her hotel.

She was about to sign off when the ghost-like text indicating a new email floated onto the screen.

Eleni, if you receive this message...

That was fast. Her cousin must have been waiting for a response.

Eleni clicked on the email and read it. Her heartbeat kicked into double-time, then she read it again. It couldn’t be. But every fiber of her being said it was true, no matter how unbelievable.

She turned to Alec. He sat in the worn chair next to the bed, head back, eyes closed. From the uneven rise and fall of his chest, she knew he wasn’t sleeping.

“You’re assuming I’m lying, Alec. You haven’t considered, what if I’m not?”

He opened one eye. “Right.” He closed his eye and shifted slightly away from her.

Computer tucked beneath her arm, Eleni scooted across the bed, then swung around so she sat inches from him. One of her legs brushed his, sending the familiar current of awareness spiraling through her.

Alec shifted, frowned, then glared at her.

Did he feel the electricity, too?

“Can’t a man get some shut-eye?” His eyes were red, and harsh lines of fatigue creased the edge of his mouth. She wanted to smooth her hands along them, tell Alec everything would all right. But she couldn’t. Not until he believed her. Then, only then, maybe they’d stand a chance.

With a tap of her finger, she maximized weather.com and pointed at the computer screen. “I want you to look at the typhoon update.”

Alec rose from the chair, an irritated expression on his face. “Can’t you leave it alone?”

“Not if you’re still thinking of going to the police. Now more than ever, I, we, need you.”
Freudian slip, Eleni
? But she did need Alec, and more than to go up against Mallaki. She needed his strength, his comfort, and his power. To gain those things, she had to make him trust her.

He looked upward, briefly, then dropped onto the bed next to her.

Wordlessly, she handed him the computer, then held her breath as he stared at the screen.

Several long seconds later, he threw her an exasperated glance.

“So? I’m supposed to believe I have special powers because a storm went the way I predicted? I’m a meteorologist. That’s my job.”

She’d been prepared for this reaction. She reached across his lap and pulled up the other window, this one with her most recent email. Heart pounding, she watched Alec’s face as he read the note. A crease formed between his eyes when he got to the part she knew would shock the hell out of him.

“Even if you don’t believe me about your ability to see the future, you’ll have to trust in your other gifts.” She met his stunned gaze with a triumphant smile. “Stephanos is alive.”