Sin City Goddess (26 page)

He changed motion, slowing the beat down, and it felt so achingly good that I came again and bit him on the shoulder. He cried out, but it didn’t seem to hurt him; it seemed to excite him. He pumped harder, digging his hands into my waist as I wrapped my arms around his back, pulling him tighter to me. We moved together even faster, our bodies slippery against each other, soapy and wet and fitting each other perfectly.

He brought me to ecstasy once more, and I let him know with an audible gasp before he burst into me, filling me, fortifying me, satisfying me like I had never been satisfied.

Chapter 45

He decided not to stick around for the show. As much as he relished the idea of watching her face turn to horror when she realized she was never going home, he worried that perhaps the hobo would give the cops a description, and since he was wearing Jason’s skin, he couldn’t have that.

He went back to the dump where Jason lived to prepare the girls for their roles. Lamia was likely growing impatient, and he didn’t want to risk her killing any of them before it was time. The last one—the one he really needed—would be captured tonight. He knew where to find her now.

The streets were buzzing. He watched a gaggle of girls cross the street, laughing and chatting about what fun they were having, the boys they would meet, and where to go next. They were dressed like hookers. It disturbed him.

This city never slept. There was always something to do, every hour of every day, and he enjoyed that. He enjoyed that the crowds were faceless, nameless, and completely oblivious to the dangers that lurked around every corner. Unaware that in a split second, their lives could be wiped out. Gone. Extinguished.

A shame how many people took life, freedom, for granted.

He walked for half an hour. He would have grabbed a cab but thought it best not to show his new face to too many people. He was kicking himself that he hadn’t worn a hat.
Rookie mistake. He had been too eager to get the girl to think about it.

He crossed the street to a dimly lit corner where a group of young people was huddled around a burning trash can, drinking and smoking weed. That’s how he had lured many a victim. Kids loved getting high. Loved getting loaded. All he had to do was buy them beer or pot, and it was easy as pie.

The apartment wasn’t far from here. It had been a long walk, but the fresh air did him good. Cleared his head. The plan was in motion. He was prepared. Lamia was prepared. All he needed now was
her
.

“Hey, Jason! Where you been, man?”

A stringy-looking kid who walked like a duck approached him.

“Busy,” he said, and kept walking.

“Yo, wait up.”

He walked faster—he couldn’t risk being seen.

“Jason, man, I said wait. I have to tell you something.” The kid caught up to him. He was midtwenties, but he had the facial lines of someone much older.

“The cops came by looking for you.”

He stopped. Turned.

“For what?”

“I don’t know, man. They wouldn’t tell me.”

He looked the boy straight in the eye and growled. “Did you tell them where I live?”

The boy backed away, shaking his head. “No, man. I said I didn’t know you, but they knocked on a few doors. Don’t know if anyone else told them.”

They knew Jason’s identity. This complicated things. Had Jason been stupid enough to use his real address? Or had they tracked him here on a tip?

“What’s up with you? Haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Busy,” he snapped.

The boy raised his hands, backed away again. “All right, man, chill. Jesus. I was just trying to help.”

He watched as the boy went back to join his friends. They all took turns glancing at him.

He left. Perhaps he would have to begin sooner than he had planned. And perhaps he would need another disguise.

Chapter 46

I dressed in a halter top, jeans, and boots. My power felt like it was at full throttle, as Archer would say. I slipped the moonstone ring back on my finger and checked it for messages.

Still no word from home. Why hadn’t they contacted me? How would we return?

More disturbing than that was that I still didn’t know where Alecto was and didn’t know how to warn the gods about Charon’s possible involvement in the escape, nor was I certain that Thalia had been able to deliver the message of Lamia’s plans to replace Hades as ruler of the Underworld.

You’d think with all these modern conveniences that Athena would have designed a better way to keep in contact by now.

“Archer?” I said when I descended the stairs.

“Hey, Sassy.” He was sipping a red Gatorade and tossed me an orange one. His hair was still damp from the shower.

“Would you please check your laptop computer for a message from Athena?”

“I can try, but I’ve already checked my email. There’s nothing there.”

He pulled out a blue plastic package from the icebox and handed it to me. “For the lump on your head.”

I put the cold bag to my forehead while Archer tapped a few keys and waited for the screen to come alive. He poked
around a bit, seemingly checking files. After a few minutes, he shook his head.

“Nothing here, Tisi. I’m sorry.” He looked at his watch. “We better get going if you want to play poker.”

I felt guilty about doing anything besides looking for my sister and the women. I felt like a failure. I felt helpless. There were no leads as to where Jason Helm lived, I had no idea what Lamia was doing or if she was still alive, and there was no portal to make contact with the gods. Or to get home.

My fury flushed through me, and before I could calm it, I punched a hole in the wall.

Archer said, “Hey, stop that before you break your hand.”

He came over to me. “Listen. It’s not just us looking for this guy anymore; it’s the boys in blue now. I’m going to knock on a few doors, see if I can’t get some answers about where Jason moved to, and then I’m going to visit Tommy. Now that I have a face to flash him, he’s bound to know something.”

“I’m going with you.”

“No,” Archer said. “You stay here, play poker with Rumour, learn whatever she needs to teach you, and try to keep an eye on the Shadow Bar. Maybe he’ll show up.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I nodded. “Okay, I’ll speak to Sam.”

He kissed me on the cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll get this guy, we’ll get your sister back, and we can all go home.”

His confidence was inspiring. “You seem so certain.”

“Hey, why shouldn’t I be? I’ve got a hellhound sleeping on the couch, a dragon snug in a chair, and a goddess standing right in front of me. I couldn’t be more confident if Rambo was in the room.”

“Who is—”

Archer held his hand up. “Not now. I gotta go before Tommy hits the sack.” He opened the door. “But when we get
back to your world, I plan on watching a lot of movies with you.” He winked. “In bed.”

I smiled at him, my heart tugging a bit, as the door closed behind him.

“That’s not possible, Archer,” I whispered.

For the first time in my life, a tear rolled down my cheek.

The lump had subsided some, so I refroze the cold pack. I decided to leave Indigo and Cerberus in the room to rest, leaving the door ajar. They’d both had a long day, and since I was only going to play poker until Archer returned, I thought it best to give them time to refuel. Tomorrow would be a big day, after all.

Rumour was tapping her foot impatiently when I arrived. “It’s about time.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Did you have sex?”

“Yes.”

“Wrong answer. You just failed lesson number one.”

Oh.

“Where’s the mortal?”

“He left to do some investigating.”

She made a buzzer sound. “Wrong again.”

Dammit.
“Stop that.”

Rumour darted her eyes around. In a hushed tone, she said, “The proper response is: He works as an acrobat in a nightly show. That’s why the sex is so good.”

I sighed. What had I gotten myself into? “Perhaps this was a mistake.”

“Lighten up, Tisiphone. I’m only having a laugh.” She grabbed my arm. “Come on, let’s hit the poker table. You’ll learn the true benefit of lying.”

She dragged me through a sea of cigarette smoke and gamblers to the Texas Hold’em table. It wasn’t far from the Shadow Bar.

“I’ll be right there. I just need to check on something,” I said.

I popped my head into the bar. Sam was there. I asked him if anyone had been in looking for me, hoping he got my meaning. He told me no, and that he’d been there all evening.

It was close to midnight when we handed our currency over to the dealer. He passed our chips to us, wished us luck, and put a sign on the table that read N
EXT
G
AME IN
F
IFTEEN
M
INUTES
.

Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to see Stacy Justice standing behind me. She was wearing dry shorts, running shoes, and a tank top. She pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

The dealer said, “Fifty-dollar buy-in, miss.”

Stacy looked at him. “I’m not playing. I just need to speak with her.” She pointed to me.

The dealer shook his head. “Sorry, I need to leave the seats open for players.

Rumour walked over and whispered something in the man’s ear. The dealer’s eyes widened. He looked at Stacy, then at me.

“Five minutes,” he said.

Stacy thanked the dealer. I looked at Rumour, who was gleefully stacking her chips. How had she done that?

Stacy leaned in to me. “I have a message for you from Bill.”

“Hickok?” Odd. Once a shade was rested, Hades rarely allowed them to travel ethereally. I supposed perhaps they knew the portals had been destroyed.

She blew out a sigh, ran her fingers through her hair. “That would explain a few things, so, yes, let’s go with Hickok.” She
pulled out a piece of paper. “He says to tell you all hell broke loose, but they’re handling it. They’re on lockdown now, no gods in or out, but the head honchos are trying to find a way to bring you home.”

“Lockdown.” I shot a glance to Rumour. She raised an eyebrow.

Stacy continued, “He said—and I quote—‘the funny filly told them everything, and the big guy is well guarded.’ I’m taking a stab in the dark that you know what that means.”

The funny filly must be Thalia, the big guy, Hades.

“Did he mention the name Charon?”

Something flickered in Stacy’s eyes, like a key twisting in a lock. She gave me the oddest look for a moment. Then she shook her head. “He said don’t worry. Keep checking your messages for instructions.” She glanced back at her note. “Oh, he also said it looks like everyone is accounted for.”

Everyone is accounted for.
He must have meant the shades. The mortals. That was good news. A mortal soul escaped from Tartarus could well become a demon.

“He also said ‘be aware’ or ‘beware’ of dead man’s hand. I’m not sure which.”

I smiled at that. Our little joke.

Stacy stood up. “I hope I helped.”

“You did. Thank you, Stacy Justice.”

She nodded and rushed off toward the man I had seen her with earlier.

The table had filled up by then, so Rumour and I didn’t discuss anything that Bill had said. It would have to wait until later.

After an hour and a half, I was up in winnings, but Rumour was on fire. Either she was incredibly lucky or she was bluffing her ass off. It was fascinating to watch. She treated every
player at the table like her personal pawn. She sucked on a straw for one young man wearing a sports jersey, smiled innocently at the elderly gentleman smoking a cigar, stared down the woman drinking a beer, and relayed a face of stone to me whenever I was up against her. It was as if she could read all of her opponents’ personal fears, confidences, and insecurities at once. Not only that, but whenever a hand finished, she would tell these elaborate tales about where she was from (New York), what she did for a living (casting director), and how many children she had (three: Bobby, Joe, and Sarah). None of this, of course, was true.

This was not just watching a good poker player learning her opponent’s tells. (A tell in poker is an unconscious tic that leaks information from one player to another.) This was a shark feeding on a feeble, lesser species and showing no mercy.