Authors: Marguerite Labbe
He bolted through the workshop and raced toward the new exhibit. It was early enough in the morning that nobody noticed his mad dash or heard Suzane yelling as she chased him. As Galen rounded the corner, he stopped and caught a hold of the wall. His heart lurched then sped up again, and the reaction had nothing to do with his sprint. The first statue stood there complete, the two men caught up in a passionate embrace.
“What the fuck is going on?” Galen walked out of the room, gesturing wildly. He was losing his goddamned mind. That was the only explanation. Or maybe he was still in the middle of a very vivid, very real dream. He counted to ten and turned back to steal another peek at the statue.
It stood there, solid and utterly changed. It was everything he had imagined it would be and so much more. A part of him wanted to freak out, but he pushed it back for the moment so he could fully appreciate the changes.
“Oh wow.” Galen’s breath came out in a rush, and he took a step closer as Suzane caught up to him. Whatever she said didn’t register as he approached and ran reverent hands over Dexios and Lykon. They were gorgeous and looked as if they’d been cast at the same time as one piece instead of two that fit together. Lykon was pressed up against Dexios, hands buried in his hair, the passion between them almost palpable. “How?”
“How what?” Suzane asked in a disgruntled tone. “What has gotten into you? I swear you’ve been all moony over these statues from the moment they showed up. See, they’re fine, just like how we left them.”
Galen shot her a startled look, and the uneasiness returned twice as bad. She had to have seen the changes. He couldn’t be the only one who remembered the statue being half-completed. He called over Ella when she walked into the room carrying her paint equipment. “Do you see anything different about this one?”
Ella tilted her head and pursed her lips while she studied it and shook her head. “I see two dudes doing the tongue tango, Mr. Kanellis.”
“Yes, that’s how it is now, but that’s not how it looked yesterday.” Galen flung his hands out gesturing toward the first statue, then around to encompass the other three, which had remained unchanged. Only the first had become whole. “Yesterday it was one man.”
Ella’s eyes widened and she exchanged a silent glance with Suzane who patted him on his arm. “No, it’s been the two ever since you found them,” Suzane said in a gentle voice.
Galen fisted a hand in his hair and groaned when another thought struck him. How would he explain this to Nick? He was on his way over here at this moment, expecting to see four unfinished statues. Galen would never be able to convince him it wasn’t a hoax.
“We’re so screwed.”
“You’re worrying me.” Suzane caught his arm. “What’s going on?”
He’d like to know that himself. He pulled Suzane out into the hallway so Ella couldn’t overhear and sat down on the bench. He could still see the statue through the archway, and the sight mocked him. “I think I’m still dreaming. I must be dreaming. Pinch me.”
Suzane pinched his arm hard enough to leave a bruise. “Ow!” Galen jerked away and glared at her. “Not so hard.”
She shrugged, looking unapologetic. “Gentle wouldn’t have gotten the point across. You’re not asleep and neither am I. And apparently you see something different with this first statue than the rest of us.”
“So I’m crazy.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You’ve been… preoccupied lately, in your own world, and I’ll admit it bothers me, only because I don’t want you to lose sight of the rest of the world.” She took his hand and laced their fingers together. “There has to be an explanation for everything. We might not see it now, but we’ll find it.”
Galen stared at his hands. She seemed to be taking this awfully calmly. Maybe she was just humoring him. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
“Of course.”
Galen stared at her, a little thrown off by her immediate agreement. “No, I mean real ghosts, like haunting-an-object ghosts.”
Suzane rolled her eyes and shot him a look of fond exasperation. “I didn’t think you meant Casper. There has to be something else going on, because none of us are crazy, and there’s been something strange about them since the first day. For God’s sake, Galen, they appeared in the storeroom out of nowhere. We both know that someone couldn’t have gotten in all those crates without one of us knowing about it. And we’ve found no documentation on them at all.”
Galen didn’t respond as he stared at the statue. It was enough to make him wonder if last night hadn’t been a dream. “Nick’s on his way over. He seems to know something about them. At least he sounded pretty excited, though I’m not sure if he’s going to freak out over the difference or accept it like you did. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, you ignored me before, when all you could see was how perfect they were. And I’m not sure if you’re prepared to listen to me now.”
“I’ll listen. I may not agree, but I’ll listen.” Galen tore his gaze away from the exhibit room. “And they still are perfect. They’re just a bit weird too. I don’t know what to think anymore.”
Suzane looked thoughtful and patted his arm. “Here’s my advice, because I know you’re not going to give them up now.” She paused, eyeing him, and Galen grinned with a shrug. She knew him too well. “Unless you start thinking they’re dangerous, run with it and enjoy the ride.”
“Aren’t I normally the one taking risks and you’re the one telling me to step back and think things through?”
“It’s a little late for that. You’ve already opened the door, and even though it’s more than a little unsettling, I think realistically it’s too late to back off now. Which you won’t, so the point is moot.” Suzane frowned at him, and Galen knew he’d better divert her now before she started thinking about how he hadn’t listened to her warnings at all.
“In the meantime,” Galen said, “we have to step up our research. Something freaky is going on, and I want it solved before we open this exhibit. It’s your mission to track down the previous owners of these guys. Drop everything else and concentrate on that. Someone has to know something.”
“I will,” Suzane agreed, “but you’d better swear to me that you won’t hide anything weird from me. If something else happens that doesn’t seem normal, I want to know. And if I ever find you passed out in your office again with the alarms off I… I don’t know what I’ll do, but you won’t like it.” The fierce light in her eyes blazed again, and Galen got up before she decided to get even more outraged on his behalf.
“There’s no need to glare at me like that. I promise.” Galen paused and considered telling her about the intruder from the night before, but a glance at his watch told him how late it was getting. He’d talk to her later. “I need to get ready for my meeting. I’ll come find you when it’s over.”
“You’d better.”
Galen turned and walked out, trying to think of what he was going to tell Nick. From the excitement in his voice he had to know something about the statues, a lot more than Galen did. Would he also not see the difference like Ella and Suzane, or would he think Galen was screwing with him?
N
ICK
suppressed a little flutter of nerves as he climbed the stairs into Galen’s office. The only reason he came was to see the Collection. However, the sight of Galen, looking so smooth and sexy as he stared out of the window lost in thought, brought a hard punch of old longing to his gut. His dark-blond hair fell in an arc around his face and emphasized his high cheekbones and full mouth.
He looked away when he found himself concentrating on those lips. Instead he swept his eyes over Galen’s body. The man wore a suit like he was born in it. It accentuated the lean lines of his body. The silvery gray looked good on him, so did the bold-blue dress shirt. It wasn’t fair that Galen could affect him on such a visceral level when he remained pretty oblivious to Nick in return.
And Nick did not want to be caught ogling. “I brought coffee and muffins,” he said, breaking Galen’s reverie as he set them down on the desk.
Galen swiveled his chair around and rose, welcome lighting up his warm brown eyes. “It’s good to see you again.”
Galen stepped forward and hesitated, his hand outstretched in a way that made Nick think Galen couldn’t decide between a hug or a handshake. Nick solved the dilemma by taking his hand briefly before letting it go. Business, that’s it. A dozen little social niceties leapt to his tongue and none of them emerged.
Of all the people to find the Dexios Collection, why did it have to be too-sexy Galen Kanellis who fucked like an Olympic gold champion? It was a cruel twist of karma that Nick’s body and heart had such vivid memories of him.
Galen’s eyes swept over Nick once before he gestured to the chair. “Please, sit. Thank you for coming.”
“Thanks for seeing me. I know I pretty much barged in here without thinking about your schedule.”
Finally.
Words passed Nick’s lips, ones that didn’t make him sound like a bumbling idiot.
“You’re the one with all the meetings and deadlines. I get to make my own rules when Suzane lets me. I’m glad you came.”
Nick had the craziest thought that Galen was nervous. He kept rubbing the back of his neck and rearranging folders on his neat desk. It had to be Nick’s own nerves talking. He wasn’t sure what to do or say after all this time. He had been so angry when they last saw each other, and it had taken a long time to let go of that anger.
Nick covered up his unease by handing Galen one of the bags and paper cups of coffee. “Peace offering?”
“I like the idea of a fresh start.” Galen glanced into the bag and threw Nick the easy smile that had snared him from the first moment their eyes had met at the bar. “Blueberry. You remembered my favorite.”
There were too many things about Galen that were seared into his memory. Nick sat back and took a sip of his coffee. Best to get down to business and get out of there before his mind started up on everything he should’ve said or done that might have convinced Galen to give their relationship a fighting chance. “You never said how you got your hands on these statues, and my curiosity is killing me.”
“This can’t go past this office or my assistant will kill me,” Galen said in a low voice and waited for Nick’s nod while he buttered his muffin. “They showed up in my storage room about a week ago. They were wrapped in wool and stuffed in old crates with rusted nails, craziest thing. They didn’t have any paperwork with them at all. Suzane thinks somebody is messing around with us.” A troubled expression crossed Galen’s face and his gaze went far away again.
Nick sat forward; his heart beat faster, chasing away the flutters in his stomach from seeing Galen again. It was possible that it could be a hoax, but as often as those statues disappeared, they always showed back up again. And this wouldn’t be the first time they appeared with no explanation.
“That’s interesting. The Dexios Collection was lost at sea during World War II. Many different salvage companies tried to locate them without any success. I’ve been searching myself for years. Was there any water damage?”
“No, they look perfect to me. They’re gorgeous.” Galen glanced away as if he didn’t want to meet Nick’s eyes and shuffled some papers on his desk. “Maybe they’re not the Dexios Collection. It would take magic or a miracle for there not to be some damage, and I don’t believe in miracles.”
What about magic?
Nick’s tongue begged to ask. What did Galen believe in? He was acting so oddly. On the phone he’d sounded as excited about the statues as Nick; now he seemed almost hesitant.
Nick’s hand trembled, and he set down his coffee cup hard, almost spilling the contents. This had to be the Collection. He had waited his entire life to get a real glimpse of them in person instead of scrutinizing photographs and drawings. If they were here, he’d have a chance to study them in intimate detail like his Uncle Stavros had. He’d be able to face his dad with pride and get an acknowledgement out of him. Sometimes dreaming wasn’t a waste of time.
“Can I see them?” The look of unease returned to Galen’s face, and a hot, hard knot blossomed in Nick’s chest. He wouldn’t let Galen keep him from what belonged to him. “What is it?”
“The Dexios Collection is four statues that appear to be missing their other half, right?” Galen studied Nick with an intent look.
“Yes. That’s the way it’s always been.” Nick glanced at the door. He couldn’t get over the impression that Galen was stalling. He needed to see those statues now. To his surprise, Galen’s expression fell even more. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll have to see it to believe it.” Galen rose and set his coffee down. “Come on, I’ll show you. There’s no way I can explain it. Something’s changed with one of them.”
Nick followed him down the spiral staircase and held back all the accusations he wanted to say. If his Collection had gotten damaged under Galen’s watch…. He didn’t know what he would do. He’d searched too long to find them. And the sideways glances Galen kept shooting him didn’t help his frame of mind at all.
When they entered the gallery, Nick’s jaw dropped, and he stared at the whole statue, unable to process at first what he saw. “What the hell? Is this some kind of joke?”
A young, light-skinned black woman turned toward them and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I don’t get it, Mr. Kanellis. You’ve been pinballing in and out of here for the last hour. What has got you so worked up?”
“Nothing. Nick here has some information about this Collection. I’m hoping he can solve some of our mysteries. Would you give us a bit, Ella? I’ll let you know when the room is available again.”
“I’m at a good spot for a break.” Ella wiped her hands on a rag and made quick work of taking care of her equipment while shooting them curious glances. “I’ll be in the studio.”
Nick paid little attention to either of them as he moved to study the statues, starting with the last three. They took his breath away. The pictures he had didn’t do them justice at all, and he had no doubt in his mind they were a part of the missing Collection. He felt lightheaded; his heart froze and then pounded. Oh, wait till his dad and brothers saw this.