Aphrodite's Secret (29 page)

Lane swallowed. “And what happens to my son?” Her voice came out only a whisper, and she reached for Jason’s hands, reassured by his fingers, which closed tight around hers.

Zephron shrugged. “The child would live, but he would lose that part of himself forever.”

A tear trickled down Lane’s face, and she brushed it away, hating herself for being emotional. Still, nothing would happen to Davy.
Nothing
. Hieronymous wouldn’t get past her.

“But it has to be on his seventh birthday,” Zoë spoke up, all business. “On the midnight leading into his birthday. So ... between Thursday and Friday?”

Zephron nodded. “Correct.” His image shifted, and he turned, taking in each one of them. “Remember: midnight. Protect the boy until then, and the boy will be safe forever.” He smiled. “Safe, that is, from this danger at least.”

The High Elder’s image sputtered and sparked, and then it disappeared, leaving them all alone in the living room. Lane hugged herself, feeling both hopeful and terrified. She leaned against Jason, drawing strength from the arm he wrapped around her.

“We’ll just keep him inside until then,” Taylor suggested. “It’s that simple. Me and Zoë and Boreas, too. We’ll all stay here.”

“What about me and Deena?” Hoop asked. “I’m tracking a deadbeat dad, but I can put that on hold if you need me.”

Jason shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I think we’ve got it covered.”

“He’s right,” Taylor said. “Go earn a paycheck.”

“Besides,” Jason added, “the houseboat’s pretty small. One bedroom, and not too many places to sleep in the rest of the place.”

“The houseboat?” Taylor asked.

“Absolutely,” Jason said. “I know the boat better, it’s already secure, and I feel safer on the water.”

Taylor and Zoë exchanged glances.

“Lane and I have already talked about it,” Jason added.

Lane nodded. He was right; she’d agreed. But now . . . She licked her lips, unsure. Being in such close quarters with Jason—she wasn’t certain it would be smart. But if his houseboat was the best place to keep Davy safe, she really didn’t have a choice. “I agreed we’d stay until Davy’s safe,” she said, needing to make sure the boundaries were clear.

Jason nodded. “Then we’re settled.” He grinned. “Looks like Hotel Jason is open for business.”

* * *

Dinner at Hotel Jason would never earn a four-star ranking, but Davy had a great time, which counted big in Lane’s book.

“You’re sure he liked it?” Jason asked from behind her. The houseboat had two stories, and Jason’s bedroom was on top. A balcony opened off that room, separated by a sliding glass door. Lane stood on the balcony, her arms wrapped around her to fight the chill of the ocean breeze.

“Are you kidding?” she asked. “Mac and cheese and hot dogs? That’s a six-year-old’s idea of heaven.”

“Taylor looked pretty grossed out,” Jason said.

“True,” Lane admitted. She took his hand, squeezing his fingers. “Don’t worry about it, though. They’re here to help, not to critique your cooking.”

“I...” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“What?”

“They’re your family. Your friends. I’m already starting at a disadvantage. I’m the guy who walked away.”

She didn’t know what to say. The truth was, he was right. For years she’d complained about the jerk who’d left her. Here he was.

Rather than tackle the topic head-on, she sidestepped it. “So ... Why didn’t you tell me?”

He sat down on a wrought-iron settee, pulling her down next to him. “I wanted to,” he said. “You don’t know how many times I started to.” He squeezed her hand. “About being a Protector, I mean. The other— Hieronymous being my dad—that, I didn’t find out myself until. . . well, the timing wasn’t good.”

She cocked her head, not understanding. “You didn’t know who your father was?” Of course, she’d never known her father either. Her mother was a shadowy, irresponsible figure; her father was a complete mystery.

“My mother figured it was best I didn’t know. She didn’t tell Hieronymous either. He had no idea he had a son. I found out later from the Inner Circle. Apparently some of the elders did a bit of genealogical research—they were convinced I had bad blood.” He snorted. “Hell, when they first told me, I thought the same thing.”

Lane was silent a moment, then asked, “What did you mean by bad timing?”

Jason took a deep breath, then kissed her fingertips. The simple gesture sent shock waves through her body, and Lane struggled to maintain her composure. She and Jason were just talking.
Talking
. Nothing more.

“One of the elders told me about my father the same day you told me you were pregnant.”

“Oh, my,” Lane whispered.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “So off I went to capture my big, bad dad.”

“Except he captured you.”

Jason smiled, the expression slightly sick. “Got it in one,” he said. “And Hieronymous kept me locked up for years. I lost track of time—that happens when I’m transformed—but at some point Hieronymous figured out who I was. He offered me money, power, whatever I wanted. All I had to do was join him.”

“But you said no.”

“And he didn’t take that particularly well.”

“What happened?”

Jason squeezed her fingers. “I finally escaped. A good thing, too. I’m not certain Hieronymous would have let me live. He’s not the type to take rejection lightly.”

“Then it should be over,” she said. “The elders must know you’re on the Council’s side, and—”

He pressed a finger to her lips.

“No?” she murmured.

“No.” He drew in a deep breath, his face taking on an intensity she’d never seen before. “But they’ll know soon enough. Hieronymous stole my life from me. He stole years, he stole you, he stole my son. And he stole my honor. Soon enough, I’ll have my revenge. And once and for all the elders will know just where my loyalty lies.”

The icy fury in his voice scared Lane, and she pulled her hand away. The ocean’s chill once again touched her, and she felt anger of her own. “You’ll do what you have to do,” she said. “I know that better than anyone.” She turned back, faced him. “But don’t do anything until Davy’s safe. I don’t care about your ‘honor,’ I don’t care about your ‘stolen years.’ I don’t care about revenge. I want my son safe.”

He took her hand. “I know.”

“Do you? Let me be perfectly clear. You ran off once before when I needed you. I need you again now, and so does Davy. Dammit, you better come through. I don’t care what you do on Friday, but until then, you stick to your son like glue. After that, you can go off and do whatever you like.”

He took her face in his hands, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She felt the tears trickling down her face, and she tilted her head back, blinking. He caught her mouth, and she returned his kiss hungrily, angry at herself for wanting him so much.

“I promised you,” he said, breaking away. “Nothing else will happen to Davy.”

She nodded, then lifted her head for another kiss. She wanted to lose herself in his lips before she lost him entirely. She’d seen the intensity in his eyes. Once Davy was safe, Jason would be gone. He had a debt he wanted paid, and she saw now he put that debt above her. Above his son.

She told herself she wasn’t hurt. But she was. She didn’t want him to leave. Jason had come back into her life such a short time ago, but there was no question it still felt right.

She pulled away, breaking their kiss. She’d already screwed up once this time around; she didn’t intend to make the same mistake twice. She’d had her life under control before Jason had come back into it. Best she stayed centered on the path she’d plotted.

“Lane?”

“I’m okay,” she said with a watery smile. And it was even sort of true.

Because, with or without Jason, Lane would make sure she and Davy were fine. And that would be true no matter what.

“
There
,” Hieronymous said, pointing at the center monitor. “The fools. They took the boy to the most obvious place.”

Mordi squinted at the screen, trying to make out the fuzzy images: a marina, a houseboat, and—moving about just past the glass door—a little boy.
Davy
.

“It’s probably safer than any other place they could take him,” Mordi said. “His father’s surely got the thing rigged up with tons of security devices.”

From the corner, Clyde snorted. “Your father can penetrate any security device.”

Hieronymous ignored his Chief of Guards, instead staring down his son. Mordi swallowed, wondering what the hell he’d done wrong this time.

“Safer?” Hieronymous asked. “Is that a question in your voice? A passive-aggressive suggestion that you do not approve of my methods?”

Mordi licked his lips. The last time he blinked, he’d been in his father’s good graces. Now, apparently, he was scum. So, what else was new? “No, sir. I’m only saying that Jason intends to protect his boy.”

Hieronymous didn’t answer, just tapped his fingers on his desktop.

Clyde stepped forward, his shoulders pulled back and his chest sticking out. “Shall I go retrieve the boy, sir?” He looked down his nose at Mordi. “Or are you still sending
him
?”

His father regarded Mordi, then shook his head ever so slightly. “No. It is already Wednesday. Success is crucial.” He met Clyde’s eyes. “We shall send one of my little pets.”

Mordi cringed, wondering if Hieronymous would have found Jason lacking. He told himself it didn’t matter; Jason had turned his back on his father, and Mordi was still right here. One simple twist of fate, and despite his perceived failings, Mordi had become the favored child. The son who stood by his father. The loyal son. The true heir.

It was a new perspective on the world, and it was one Mordi wasn’t certain he wanted to give up.

He had to decide soon, though. The plots and schemes and plans of attack were all centered on him. His father was pulling one way, the Council the other.

Here he was; caught in the middle, just one more pawn in someone else’s game.

* * *

“I used the circuit board from my Game Boy, and then I used some parts from the clock radio, and then I just put it all together.” Davy shrugged. “It was easy.”

Jason settled down on the ground in front of his son, looking at the automatic coffee timer the boy had created and been in the process of installing when he had stepped into the kitchen.

He’d about had a heart attack when he saw the kid balancing precariously on a stack of pillows atop a three-legged stool. And then he’d come near to suffering an aneurysm when he realized Davy had taken apart the machine’s wiring and was splicing some sort of gizmo into its center.

“Mommy likes coffee right when she wakes up,” the boy had said.

“Uh-huh,” Jason responded. He’d grabbed Davy around the waist and, over his howls of protest, schlepped the kid to the patio that opened off the dining area. One nice thing about his boat: it had lots of patios.

Now he was outside, with his almost-seven-year-old, and had absolutely no idea what to talk about. Part of him wanted to go back indoors and start breakfast, but Lane and the rest of the gang were still sleeping, scattered across the boat in all its nooks and crannies. If he and Davy went in, they’d surely wake someone. Besides, his son looked perfectly content. It was Jason who hadn’t a clue what to say.

“So . . . uh, what else have you invented?” The question wasn’t exactly worthy of Dr. Spock, but Jason gave himself a pat on the back nonetheless.

Davy pursed his lips, his small brow furrowing in concentration. “Lots of stuff,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Um, I made X-ray glasses.”

Jason cocked a brow, not sure he believed that. “No way,” he finally said.

“Did, too.” Davy reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses. “I don’t think Mommy was happy when she saw the broken part.”

“Your mom was just happy you were safe,” Jason assured him.

“So, it’s okay that I broke the glasses?”

Jason sighed. So much for his try at daddy-hood; he had no idea what to say. “You can talk about that with your mother.”

Davy rolled his eyes. “Well, duh.”

Jason sat forward, trying to regroup. “So, they’re really X-ray?”

“Uh-huh. I wanted to be like Aunt Zoë.” He pressed them into his father’s hand. “Want to try?”

With metal Harry Potter-style frames, the spectacles looked like ones any second grader might wear. There was a slight sheen on the lenses, but for all Jason knew, that was UV protection.

They didn’t fit, of course. Still, with the missing earpiece, the glasses actually balanced pretty well on his nose. At first he didn’t see any difference. However, as his eyes focused through the convex glass, molecules started to buzz and shift until the walls, furniture, and everything else solid turned transparent.

Jason half-smiled.
Pretty damn cool
.

He tilted his head back, his line of sight an angle into the bedroom above their heads. Sure enough, the floor disappeared. Then the bed faded, until all he saw was the woman asleep atop it. The mattress started to haze out, then the oversized T-shirt Lane wore as a nightgown. .. .

She stretched, rolling over in her sleep, facing down on the bed—right toward Jason.

He swallowed, the view enticing. His palms started to sweat and his stomach twisted into knots. Looking away, Jason took off the glasses and gave them back to Davy before he totally abandoned his pride and took another peek.

He’d see her naked again. That much he was sure of. But when he did, she was going to know it. If he had his way, she’d even beg for it.

“Mr. Jason?”

At the sound of Davy’s voice, Jason wiped the smile off his face. “Sorry.”

“Did they work for you, too?”

Oh, yeah.

Jason cocked his head, something Lane had said gnawing at his memory. “Your mom thought all your inventions were make-believe,” he said. “How come you never showed her?”

“Dunno,” Davy answered, eyeing the floor and suddenly acting shy. “I told her about everything, but Mommy’s always busy. She’s got school so she can get a good job and move us to a better apartment and buy a car that smells new and doesn’t have duck tape on the seats.”