“At a ranch.” Delta thought for a moment and then smiled. She remembered her conversation with Jan earlier in the week. “Or at a racetrack.”
“Exactly. And the Springtown Stakes are in town this weekend.”
Delta clapped her hands together. “But tomorrow’s Saturday. The last race won’t be until Sunday.”
Megan nodded. “Right. But we have to consider all of the Omega options here, right? The last race might be on Sunday, but there could be more lasts involved. I called a jockey who was a . . . personal friend of mine, and he owes me a favor or two. I’m on my way over to his place for the spreadsheets on all of the horses, jockeys, owners, et cetera, so we can see if any match up with our clues.”
Delta studied the screen and tried to ignore the heat burning her leg. “Good thinking. But tell me how you did it in the game.”
Connie beamed. “We strangled the gorgon and got the winged sandals. Then a new level appeared. After fighting our way past assorted bad guys, we eventually arrived at Pegasus. The key thing is that we kept the ribbon we strangled the gorgon with, and that enabled us to use it as a rein to catch Pegasus.”
“So, you caught the horse. Then, what?”
“What else? We rode him. He took us to a small island, where we wandered around fighting giant lobsters and stuff until we came to Poseidon’s lair.”
Delta’s eyebrows rose. “You’re already at Poseidon’s cave?”
Connie and Megan looked to each other and grinned before nodding in unison.
“Yep.”
“Have you killed him yet?”
Connie shook her head. “Dori doesn’t have anything that would kill
a god. Remember, he’s immortal. He’s Zeus’s brother and one of the greatest gods of Olympus. Killing him isn’t like killing Medusa or the others.”
“So, what do we do with him if we don’t kill him?”
Megan pointed to the caricature of Poseidon on the monitor. “What else? We get the trident.”
Delta looked at the screen and thought about this for a moment. “You’re sure we want the trident?”
Megan nodded. “Positive. That trident can create earthquakes, rivers, and streams. It is a very powerful weapon, and we think it may be the key to getting to Mt. Olympus and possibly to the end of the game. We need it—we just don’t know how to go about getting it.”
Connie agreed. “The point is we
know
where he’s going to strike next, so the next move is ours. If we can stop him at Springtown, who gives a shit about the trident?”
“And you’re sure he’ll be at the racetrack?”
Connie nodded. “I’d stake my badge on it. All we have to do is locate his next victim, and Elson is ours.” Connie recapped the pen and turned the monitor off.
“What are you doing? We can’t stop now!”
Squatting down in front of Delta, Megan took both hands in hers. “Honey, it’s been a grueling night for all of us. You’ve lost blood, we’ve lost sleep, and we’ll all lose our minds if we don’t get some rest. Connie needs to sleep, honey. She can’t live on coffee and No-Doz indefinitely.”
Delta looked at Connie, who was nodding. “Besides, Kimo, I promised Megan we’d take a break when we got a break, and we did, so I am.
Capisce
?”
Delta knew she was outnumbered. “Okay, okay. I guess I’m not thinking straight.”
“Not a problem, boss. After all you’ve been through the past twenty-four hours, it’s no wonder. Why don’t we all get some winks in and start fresh in a few hours?”
Delta conceded. “All right. If we have to.”
Connie grinned and messed up Delta’s already mussed hair. “You have to. How’s your leg?"
Delta winced. She was trying to forget about it. “It’s still there.”
Connie grinned. “Good. Get some sleep.” Bending over, Connie kissed the top of Delta’s head. “And let’s see how you feel about it when the drugs wear off.”
Watching Connie amble down the hall, Delta pulled Megan to her. They hadn’t been alone since Delta returned from the emergency room, holding a crutch in one arm and Jan in the other. “You’ve been a trooper, Megan. How are you really?”
Wrapping her arms around Delta, Megan hugged her tightly. “Honestly? I’m scared, anxious, exhausted. Seeing you hobble in here was bad, but getting a phone call from Connie saying you were in the hospital, well, I could live forever and not hear those words again.”
Delta inhaled the soft scent of Megan’s sweet hair and ran her fingers through its softness. Megan’s body trembled slightly, as she caressed Delta’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Scared me?” Megan said, gently pulling away. “I was out of my mind. The second Connie called here, I knew. I don’t know how, but I did. I lived ten years waiting for her to tell me if you were alive. It was awful. No, it was worse than awful.”
Delta pulled her back and held Megan against her. “I’m so sorry.”
“So am I. Have you ever experienced anything like that? That horrible sensation of time standing still? Well, that’s what it felt like and it sucked.”
Delta could only remember one instance when time stood still for her, and that was when Miles died in her arms.
“Have you ever had to hear that your lover was attacked and sent to the emergency room?”
Delta simply bowed her head. She knew it couldn’t be easy. “Not really.”
“Well, that’s a slice of what I went through last night. Delta, I thought I’d lost you. I thought Connie’s next words were going to be that there wasn’t much hope. I prayed, Delta, right then and there, that this wasn’t the end.”
Delta couldn’t look into Megan’s eyes. Delta knew if she saw the pain and anguish Megan felt, that guilt would soon follow, and Delta didn’t wish to feel guilty. For Delta, guilt was something someone felt when they either had or hadn’t done the right thing. Given the same set of circumstances, Delta was sure she would do the exact same thing all over, even if it meant having that star bite into her flesh. “I don’t know what to say.”
Megan sighed. “A part of me wishes you’d turn the badge in when this caper is over; that you’ll give it up and be a bean farmer. A part of me wishes you’d be scared enough one day and decide that you like living better than saving people’s lives.” Megan slowly removed herself from Delta’s arms. “And a part of me knows that you need that blasted badge as much as you need your heart.”
Delta looked into Megan’s eyes and found fear, anger, and frustration at the truth. Her face showed the strain of emotions she could not control and did not want. “I don’t know what to say. It’s the same conversation we keep having, isn’t it?”
Megan shrugged and then nodded. “But I don’t know if I have what it takes to be a cop’s wife, Delta.”
Megan’s panic transferred to Delta. “What are you saying?”
Sitting next to Delta, Megan wiped some of her curls away from her forehead. “I’m saying we have more to work on than just you not being able to give me 100%. Delta, I love you more than anyone in the world. My love for you runs to places in my soul that I didn’t even know existed.”
“But?”
Megan locked eyes with Delta and hung on. “But I don’t know how many more times I can go through the kind of fear I experienced last night. I don’t want to be without you, baby, but I don’t know how to handle the feelings I had last night. It was awful.”
Delta felt like she was holding the end of an unravelling rope. “So, what are you saying?” Delta asked again, the ball of panic rising in her throat.
“I’m saying that when this is over, you and I really need to take some time away and talk about ways of approaching our relationship. My love, as much as I hate to admit it, the honeymoon stage is over. It’s time we looked at what kind of work is necessary for the long haul.”
Long haul. Delta felt as if Megan had just thrown her a life jacket. “You’re not planning on leaving?”
Megan grinned softly. “Leaving? I’m not a quitter, Delta Stevens. You, of all people, should know that.”
“Then what
do
you want, Megan? If you’re not going, what do I need to do to help you stay?”
“We have a great deal to sort out, and I want to know that you’re going to put as much into that sorting as you are your job. Because if I’m doing all of the work, we’ll never make it.”
A ray of hope, Delta thought—a woman who was willing to show her how to work on a relationship and not simply walk into another’s arms just because the honeymoon was over. “I swear, Megan, when this is wrapped up, we’ll head up to the mountains and work things out. I’ll do the counseling shtick if that’s what you want, I’ll even read a self-help book. Just show me how to keep a relationship alive after the flames die down.” Grabbing Megan’s hand, Delta held it to her cheek and kissed the back of it. “I swear, I just want us to work. I want to be able to keep you and still be Delta Stevens. God, is that too much to ask?”
Megan shook her head. “Only if you always put Delta Stevens before Megan and Delta.”
“I’ll learn how not to do that.”
“Promise?”
Delta crossed her heart. “I promise.”
“Because if we don’t talk about how to put your badge in the back seat every now and then, there’s not much hope for us. You realize that, don’t you? I won’t play second fiddle to your job anymore.”
Delta nodded. “Fine. You won’t have to.”
“Does that mean you’re going to pay attention to my needs as well?”
“Yes. I will. I swear I will.” Wrapping her arms around Megan’s waist and holding onto her as if she was a life preserver, Delta hugged her tighter than she ever had. “I love you so much. I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry I get so wrapped up in my wor—”
“Shh.” Megan placed her fingers lightly on Delta’s lips. “It’s time to stop being sorry and start working on us. Maybe then, you won’t have to be so sorry all the time.”
Delta nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Me, too. Now get up, and let me help you get to bed. You’re looking really pale.”
“Do I?”
Megan nodded. “Uh-huh. Jan said you bled a lot. That’s a pretty deep wound you’ve got going there, and you’re going to have to stay off it.”
Delta didn’t answer. She could no more stay off her leg than she
could stop breathing. “Do I look as tired as I feel?”
Helping Delta to her feet, Megan nodded. “You look exhausted.”
“Do I look as tired as a bean farmer might?”
“What?”
Delta grinned. “Never mind.”
Delta stared at the list of jockeys and horses lying on the table. Italian names, cutesy names, surnames, phrase-names, Irish names, business names, ballplayers’names, a hundred different types of names appeared on the list. As Delta tried to fit any sort of Greek connotation to every name, Connie sat at Eddie and retraced Dori’s steps to see if there wasn’t something she missed earlier in the level. As of yet, she had not been successful in taking the trident from Poseidon.
On Delta’s right, Megan was thumbing through an immense volume of Greek mythology that Professor Rosenbaum had given to her. Every now and then, she would cross a name off the list and move down to the next. Between them, there was a silent determination growing. Against Miles’s murderers, the four of them made a formidable opponent. They acted like a well-oiled machine, capable of grinding to a pulp anyone who was stupid enough to get in their way. They were magic, and Delta hoped their magic would work once more.
She counted on it.
Absentmindedly rubbing her bandaged leg, Delta thought back to the moment prior to Elson tossing the star into it. His beady eyes, sparse moustache and black-rimmed glasses left an indelible imprint on her mind. A dozen questions zipped in and out of focus, as she tried to recall the moments just before he tossed the star. Should she just have killed him and risked Jan’s life? What had she done wrong that she would change next time they met? What had she done right? How had he gotten his hands on Jan so quickly? And why didn’t he just come after Delta?
She remembered his thin, ugly lips moving but couldn’t quite recall what he had said. But there was something, wasn’t there? It was a word that struck her odd when he said it, but she was too worried about Jan to file it neatly away in her short-term memory. God, what was it?
Hearing Megan sigh loudly, Delta reached over and patted her hand. It felt good to be working on a case with her. Megan seemed to really enjoy the detective aspect of police work; all the evidence and clue gathering was something she was very good at. It was the copsand-robbers part that scared the hell out of her.
Who could blame her?
In her six years on the force, Delta had been shot at, punched, kicked, and spit on. She’d had someone throw rocks at her, someone try to kill her, and someone pull a knife on her. She’d seen death and destruction on a scale only Hollywood could reproduce, and she’d had her share of stitches. And Megan was frightened for her?
No kidding.
Glancing over at Megan, Delta smiled at her. Maybe Megan was making a great decision by choosing to try law instead of business. She’d been an excellent witness in court during Miles’s case, and she was outstanding at researching information for the game. Winking at Megan, Delta couldn’t help but smile wider.