Secret Worlds (286 page)

I groaned, trying wave away the dancing lights around my face. My whole body was humming so hard my teeth were on edge. Shit. I got to my feet and braced myself against the wall with a pant. Mercer stood up from the opposite side of the couch with his jaw set. His gaze found mine.

My laugh held a hysterical edge to it. “It figures. I meet a seemingly normal guy, and he turns out to be a god.”

“A pandoran.” He gave a ghost of his old smile. “I knew there was something special about you.”

I took a few faltering steps forward and raised my hands in fists. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He raised his hands in the air. “I don’t want to fight you, Cassi.”

A pressure built up in my chest, and everything from yesterday crashed down around me. Tears pricked at my eyes as my throat closed up. I couldn’t do this.

I stumbled back, pulled open the door, and ran toward the stairwell at the end of the hall.

Had I just slept with the god responsible for James’s death?

The sidewalk burned the soles of my feet as I wandered the streets of downtown Dallas. The glass high rises towered over me, and the sound of purring engines filled the air all around me. Even after I had left, Mercer’s scent seemed to drift with me, giving a hint of patchouli and olive.

I squeezed my eyes shut as my chest tightened and a lump formed in my throat. How could I have been so stupid? I’d been blinded by my own lust to see. We knew each other now, in more ways than one. I needed to go home, to change and regroup.

I patted my dress and came up empty. The blood in my veins froze in me. My wallet, my phone, everything was still in Mercer’s hotel room.

“Fuck.”

My shout echoed through the air, causing the people around me to jump with startled looks. One woman looked at my rumbled clothing, tussled hair, and bare feet with a wrinkled nose a sneer on her lips. Of all the walk of shames I’d traveled, this had to be the worst. Still, I’m sure not many could say they’d had a night with a god. A hysterical laugh burst from my lips and took hold of my entire body. I leaned against the nearest building and doubled over, laughing and sobbing until my breath came in short wheezing gasps. What the hell was wrong with me? James’s betrayal hadn’t even hurt this much.

“Are you all right?” A man in a suit jacket stepped in front of me.

“I’m … fine.” I managed to choke out.

“Do you need me to call anyone?” he asked.

I straightened, wiping the tears from my face. “Actually, could you call me a cab?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You sure you don’t need me to call you a doctor? Maybe your sponsor?”

I glared at him. “No, thanks. Just the taxi.”

I stood with my arms crossed and foot tapping for ten minutes until the cab arrived. The man stood next to me with his hands in his pocket and an occasional glance at my legs and ass. I thanked him and hopped into back of the cab with a long sigh.

After what seemed like an excruciating long drive of fifteen minutes, I was back at my apartment with the cab driver paid from my emergency stash. I stood in front of Serenity’s shut door with my hand hovering over the handle. Did she know about Mercer? Was she a god as well?

With a long sigh, I tromped into my room and flopped on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. The tightness on the chest rose to my throat, releasing that lump, and the tears came bubbling back up. I couldn’t stay here alone, lost in my thoughts. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed to the shower. Afterwards, I dialed Aunt Jo’s number.

She answered on the third ring. “Who’s this?”

My voice shook. “I shouldn’t have left like that.”

She let out a long sigh. “No, no. Ya were upset. I shoulda seen it. I’m sorry.”

“Can we meet somewhere?”

“Sure, just gimme a couple of hours. Where ya wanna meet?”

“The Tin Cup.” I had to pick my car up anyway.

“Ya and yer coffee.”

“I’ll be waiting.” I hung up the phone and headed out the door with my spare key in hand.

The late morning sun beat down on my head, drying my hair as I walked to the coffee shop with my spare keys tucked in my pocket. Everything could be replaced, but he had access to my, well, everything. I would have to get the lock replaced on my car and apartment, which meant explaining things to Serenity. Of course, she had her own explaining to do.

I stepped into the coffee shop and let the cool air conditioning blast against me. I collapsed on the purple velvet couch by the bookcase full of mismatched paperbacks and lay my head back with a sigh.

The barista set an iced mocha on the table beside me, and I waved my hand listlessly. I came in here enough they knew my order by heart. Surrounded by the buzz of conversation and the smell of coffee, chocolate, and cinnamon, my heart began to calm, and I started drifting away into a dreamless sleep.

I jumped awake at a tap on my elbow and stared blearily at my aunt.

“Don’t ya have a bed?” Aunt Jo asked.

I rubbed my eyes. “I didn’t really use it last night.”

“So, ya wanted to meet.”

“Uh, yeah. I thought we could brainstorm on this.” I sat up and took a deep drink of my coffee from the straw.

She raised an eyebrow. “So now yer interested?”

I shrugged. “We have to stop them, and I don’t see you hopping out of that chair.”

She snorted and crossed her arms. “Ya think ya can take them?”

I pulled the bandage away from my tattoo and let the light shine on it. “Thanks for the boost.”

She studied it with her lips pressed together in a thin line. “May not be enough. Don’t even know what we’re facin’.”

“With James …” I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a deep breath. “The whole building seemed to be under a spell. Like they were asleep. And the roof had this depressing cloud.”

“Mmm, did you feel anything like that when you thought you were being followed?”

“No. What kind of god could do that?”

She watched me with narrowed eyes. “What makes you think it’s a god?”

“Today, my tattoo … reacted to someone.”

“So, could still be a daimon.”

“Not the burning. I remember that, and this, too, from Mom.”

She inhaled sharply. “It’s not her, Cassi. Madison took care of it.”

“I know,” I snapped. “He’s a different one.”

“So who is he?”

I opened my mouth when the bell above the coffee shop’s door jingled. My eyes widened, and I froze as my heart dropped in my stomach. It was as if someone had just dumped a bucket of artic water all over me.

Sheridan stepped inside with her arm interlocked with Mercer’s. Our gazes met, and once again, every nerve in my body became alive with a hum of electricity. He stiffened and glanced away, nodding to a table in the corner to Sheridan. Of all the coffee shops they had to pick this one. I was beginning to think the Fates were playing with me now.

Why was she touching him?

A knot started to form between my shoulder blades as I watched them laugh together. What the hell was I thinking? He was the enemy. Besides, last night had just been physical, a stress reliever. Mercer glanced up at me, and I quickly tore my gaze from them to find Aunt Jo staring at him. I cleared my throat and stood up.

“We should go,” I said. “I’ll drive you home.”

“Hrm,” she mumbled.

I rushed us out of the building and into the car, only taking my first deep breath of relief when we were on the road. If I’d had to sit there and watch the two of them for much longer I would have exploded. Now, I would have to live with the sharp twisting in my stomach.

“So, that’s the god?” Aunt Jo asked.

I blinked and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”

“Hmph,” she said. “One that likes to show off. Probably Greek.”

“Why?” I asked.

She snorted. “I don’t live in a hole. I watch TV, read newspapers.”

“Oh, right.”

“Ya might try and get close to him and learn more before we make our move.”

I cleared my throat. “That may be a problem. He knows about me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Well, there was a little bit of a reaction when he touched my tattoo.”

“Why was he close enough to touch it?”

I stared at the stop light impeding me from getting out of this conversation faster.

“Damnation, girl. Ya couldn’t keep it in yer pants?”

“I have been doing a fine job of keeping in my pants, thank you.” I gritted my teeth. “It’s not like I knew he was a god.”

“We’re up the river without a paddle here, Cassi girl. What do you know about him?”

“Not a whole lot. He’s here to head a project I’m in.” I gripped the steering wheel. “And my roommate says they’re related.”

“Related?”

I rolled my eyes. “Brother and sister, I think. But she’s so offended he left her alone with their sick mother that she keeps referring to him as if he’s some second cousin twice removed.”

The motor of the car was the only thing that could be heard for a while.

“Does she know about you?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I doubt she’s going to listen to anything he has to say.”

Aunt Jo shook her head. “No good. That mark’s only gonna get more powerful. If she’s a god, she’ll sense it soon.”

“Why would a god go to college?”

Aunt Jo shrugged. “Why do they do anything? We don’t really know much about them. Hasn’t been long since they came back.”

“So, now what?”

“I got an extra bed in my room. Ya stay with me till we get these gods taken care of.”

“I don’t think Serenity is doing this. I’ve known her for years. If she wanted me dead, or anyone else, I think I would have noticed.”

“But ya never figured out she was a god.”

“What if she doesn’t know?”

Aunt Jo snorted. “Bullshit. She knows they’re related.”

I sighed and bit my lip as tears sprung up in the corners of my eyes.

“Look, maybe yer right,” Aunt Jo said. “But we’re not sure. How can ya sleep under the roof with her when she might be a danger?”

“Fine,” I said. “She should be in class now. I’ll grab some things and head back over here.”

I dropped Aunt Jo at her hotel and headed to my apartment. My key slid into the lock with a soft click. I opened the door to a cool, darkened living room. I gripped the back of the couch as I scanned the room, from the fallen cushions on the floor to the pile of video game cases stacked next to the TV. I bit the inside of my cheek softly and closed my eyes, willing the pressure in my chest to release.

I marched to my room and grabbed the giant bag from my closet. I needed to treat this like a bandage and get it over with. I yanked a large group of cloths from their hangers and tossed them in the bag. I slipped my laptop into the side.

“What are you doing?” Serenity asked.

I jumped and spun around. She leaned against the door frame in a pair of shorts and her Cowboys t-shirt with her arms crossed and brows furrowed. My chest tightened.

“I thought you’d be in class,” I said.

“All classes were canceled due to yesterday,” she said.

“Oh, right. Because of James.” I hadn’t even bothered to think of going to school, much less whether it would be canceled.

Her gaze fell upon the bag on my bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m, uh, going to stay with my aunt for a while.”

“In a hotel?”

I inched back to my bed and closer to my baseball bat.

“Is she sick or something?”

“Uh, well …”

She took a step into the room but stopped when she saw me stiffen. “What’s wrong? You’re acting really weird.”

I stared at her for several moments with my mouth open. Did she know what Mercer was? She’d always been against him ever since he’d shown up here. Maybe she’d been afraid he’d reveal her. I wanted to ask her, but the words stuck in my throat. I shook my head.

“Hard to find a place to begin,” I said.

“Did something happen between you and Mercer?” Serenity asked.

I couldn’t stop the bitter laugh that escaped. “You could say that.”

Her lips pressed together in a thin line, and two small red spots appeared on her cheeks. “I’m going to kill him.”

“I’ll see you at school.” I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

She followed me through the living room with a confused look on her face. “You’re just going to leave because of him?”

I paused at the front door. “I really don’t know either of you.”

She stayed on the rail of the second floor, watching me drive off. As she faded from sight, I couldn’t keep the tears back any longer. I turned my radio up to ear-blasting level to cover the sound of my sobs.

My world was burning down around me, thanks to this damn tattoo and a family legacy I never wanted.

I rubbed the bandage covering my wrist with my thumb as I stared at the giant picture of James from the back of the funeral parlor. Several people sat in the wooden pews talking quietly while others stood in the line to view the casket.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my churning stomach. I hadn’t slept well in the last two days since I’d moved in with Aunt Jo. As much as I wanted to blame her snoring, every time I closed my eyes, my mind replayed James’s death and my discovery about Mercer. I’d almost paced a hole in the hotel carpet, trying to figure out what to do about him and Serenity. Now, here was the funeral, where both would definitely attend, and I still had no plan.

I jumped at the hand on my shoulder and spun around.

Sheridan held her hand up with a wide-eyed look. “Sorry, didn’t know you were so jumpy.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

She nodded her head to the front. “I still can’t believe it. I keep expecting him to walk in and say it was a joke.”

I choked back a bitter laugh. “Some joke.”

She bit her lip, and her eyes watered. “I don’t understand why.”

I gave her an awkward pat on her shoulder. “It’s something I think we all are trying to understand.”

“You were there. Did he say anything before?”

I looked down at the floor, feeling that familiar burning lump in my throat. “A lot that didn’t make sense.”

The front door to the funeral home swung open, shining bright natural light into the dim foyer. Pins and needles spread across my tattoo and up my arm. I made a small hiss and rubbed it harder as I glanced behind me.