Hades (21 page)

“Baby…Baby…it’s time to get up,” Hades
whispered in her ear. This time she had no trouble waking but that
dream or memory if you preferred, stayed on her mind haunting her.
It’s funny how your past can come back and do that.

They got ready and packed their bags, not too
difficult since they had never unpacked. They were down in the
lobby twenty minutes later ahead of the others so they sat at a
table waiting. She figured the action in the single god’s rooms had
been like a porn movie. They were probably having trouble
unwrapping themselves from their dates. She glanced at Hades,
settled life was so much better. You knew what you were getting
every night and while you didn’t weren’t exploring new territory,
you had the feeling of coming home. That’s what he was to her now,
home. He looked up and their eyes met. She wondered if he was also
wishing they had taken the time for a quickie before leaving. As
long as they had been waiting, they would have had time. Another
day, and two targeted locations that might not get them
anywhere.

The four gods finally made it twenty minutes
later looking exhausted but happy until they saw the angry look on
Hades’s face. “Sorry we’re late,” Dione said.

“Don’t let it happen again.” Hades turned and
led the way out to the SUV which they loaded. He was a little
abrupt with them, but he understood they had needs and saw females
rarely. He was so glad he was mated. The random sex had no appeal
to him.

They checked out of the hotel and went to the
nearest place that served breakfast they could find that was open
at five. Doc felt better after coffee and steak and eggs. The gods
seemed to feel better as well and they all got a coffee to go. They
weren’t too far from the next location. This time Hades insisted on
driving, she was surprised he hadn’t forced the issue yesterday. He
was so…male.

She put the address in the GPS and her phone
rang seconds after she was through. She looked at the number and
pressed speaker on her phone right after she answered so they could
all hear.

“Hello, this is Gemma.”

“This is Kenton. The victim has been
identified as Glinda Simmons, 85, from Maine.”

“Do you have any relatives listed?” Doc
asked.

“Yes, two granddaughters. Nancy Lewis from
Maine, and Lizzy Arnoth from Kentucky.”

“You have no idea how much that helps. What
is cause of death?”

“Her heart just gave out, so it was ruled as
natural causes.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“You have a good day and let me know if you
need anything else.” A click sounded as he hung up. Doc hung up and
put her phone away.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Hades
asked.

“Yes, both Nancy and Lizzie were spying to
save their grandma, but she’s been dead a week or more.”

Doc pulled out her phone again and sighed
heavily. “I guess I’d best call Sierra or Cher. There’s no need to
do background checks now that we know who our spies are.”

She dialed Sierra first. The phone rang then
there was a click as the call was forward via satellite through
Cher’s security agency. It was the best way to get through to
anyone at Olympus. There was another lag and then someone picked
up.

“Hello, this is Sierra.”

“Hey, girl, what’s up?” Doc asked with a
smile. She loved her sisters, all of them.

“Not much on this end which is nice for a
change. Are you about to change that?”

“I’m about to help you. Nancy and Lizzie are
both your spies and they share the grandma you are looking for. We
found her but she died over a week ago. She was Glinda Simmons from
Maine.”

“That’s too bad that she died. They both must
love her a lot to risk so much for her. I’ll get right on things on
our end.”

“Sorry for the bad news. We still haven’t
tracked down our god, we have two more locations they may have
moved him to, then we’re out of clues. We’ll be back soon,
regardless.”

“Can’t wait to see you.”

“Same here.” The click sounded announcing
they disconnect so Doc hung up.

“It sure doesn’t seem like those two could be
related,” Dione said. They seemed to have little in common, but
they had had a grandma they both loved at the least.

“Sierra will take care of the situation,” Doc
assured them. She leaned back her seat getting comfortable for the
trip never intending to fall asleep.

Too charming, that’s what Carl was as he
escorted her into the fine dining establishment. She still wasn’t
sure why she had agreed to go or what she was doing here. Soft
music played in the background and candles were lit on every table.
Drinks appeared without even being ordered. They were the pretty
kind with fruit, flowers, and paper umbrellas. The fruit was held
together with colorful little plastic swords.

“What’s this?” Doc pointed at the drink
sitting in front of her.

“A Tequila Sunrise, you’ll love it.”

She sipped a little through the straw. He was
right, she did love it. He ordered for her, something no one had
done since she was a child. The food came, it was superb and
perfectly cooked. Charming, yes he was but funny too. Once the meal
was done, he took her dancing. It was just one more thing he
excelled at. She knew she was being wooed by the company, but it
seemed like he was wooing her too.

When he took her home, he gave her a tender
kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, if that will work for you?” he
whispered in her ear. She nodded, unable to speak which was rare
for her. He was perfect, maybe too perfect and she felt a little
overwhelmed.

“Sugar, wake up. I could use a little help
here,” Hades said.

He had a little trouble finding the exact
house but she helped him and now they were there. It wasn’t like
the last house, this was a huge old farmhouse just a bit outside of
town. There were outbuildings behind it and even a large old barn
that was on its last leg. Doc hated to see that because there
weren’t many old barns like that left. She had a fondness for old
buildings and historic places. The for sale sign out front gave
them the excuse they needed to stop and look around.

“It looks deserted. Maybe it was just a
possible place to buy or rent?” Doc wondered.

“We should try to get inside before we
leave,” Hades said. They walked around the house and there was a
big old padlock on the back door. Hades pulled down hard and it
gave way. He moved the lock and opened the door. The house smelled
musty and as if it had been closed for a long time or maybe they
had a water leak. It was off the list, there was no doubt it was
empty.

“No gods here,” Hades said as they returned
to the SUV. “All we seem to do is waste time.”

“Just one more location to check out,” Dione
observed cheerfully.

“Is it too early for lunch? I had a lot of
exercise last night,” Aaron said with a chuckle.

“I could use a bite too, of food that is,”
Zot added.

“If the younglings are hungry, well, I’ll
admit I wouldn’t mind stopping either,” Erebus chimed in.

“What of you Dione? Didn’t you get a work out
too?” Hades asked amused.

“Oh, yeah. Better in the bedroom than in the
training room.”

“All right, then. We’ll find a place to get
lunch at,” Doc agreed with a chuckle. They were easier to handle
when they were kept busy during the night in their rooms, not at a
bar. That was good to know. They spotted a seafood restaurant that
all the gods wanted to try. It looked like it was going to be the
catch of the day. Gods had to eat a lot and often.

They headed to the last location in
Springfield with all of their hopes pinned on this last place.
Hades once again insisted on driving and Doc rode shotgun. She put
the destination in the GPS and they headed that way. Disappointment
seemed to fill the air as they all began to worry if they would
find a captured god at all. Doc had known at the start of the
mission that there was a good chance no recovery would be made,
still she hoped for the best. The trip seemed longer because of the
silence. She wondered how the other missions fared, hopefully
better than theirs had so far.

She fell asleep and again her mind returned
to Carl. These dreams were snippets of dates, things he had said,
promises he had made. It ran through her mind so fast, it almost
made her dizzy.

“Doc, we’re at Springfield,” Hades voice
broke through. She shook her head clearing the confusion from her
dreams. Years had passed and Carl Riddle wasn’t someone she should
be thinking of. He was on their list for the most wanted Origin
executives. What would Hades say if he found out about her
past?

Nearly two hours later with the address in
the GPS, they made their way to the right side of town. They were
past all the subdivisions and at the outskirts of town when they
turned down a small road they would never have found without the
GPS. It was a dead end road with a handful of houses on it. The
house they were targeting was all the way at the end. It looked
like a candidate for the town’s haunted house. The shutters were
pulled closed and the doors boarded up. The grass was uncut and
knee high, while the flower beds were full of weeds without a
flower to be seen.

“It looks kind of scary,” Doc whispered to
Hades. He reached out grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised. She had to
admit she liked the sound of that.

They parked a little ways from the house so
they could approach without being seen even though the house looked
abandoned. All six of them left the SUV to approach the house from
different directions. She and Hades approached from the back
door.

“I smell something rotting,” Doc said her
nose wrinkling as she whispered.

“Me too, I didn’t want to upset you until I
could figure out what it was. I have a bad feeling it’s human or
god.”

“What the hell are they doing leaving bodies
in their wake?”

“It’s like things have completely broken
down. It should make them easier to catch.”

“I’m not sure it’s doing anything but making
them more dangerous.”

Hades pulled the boards off the back door and
opened it. They stepped inside the smell was nearly overpowering.
It made them move forward slowly instead of rushing in. Hades
caught a scent that made fear roll through him.

“Run!” Hades said as he pushed Doc out ahead
of him. He sent a quick mental message he could only hope his guys
received. They were just exiting the house through the back door
when the explosion hit throwing them all the way out. It was like a
chain reaction of one explosion after another. The house had been
booby trapped.

Doc lay in the tall grass on the cold ground
with Hades halfway on top of her. The impact with the ground and
the weight on top of her had stunned her but not knocked her out.
Her brain was playing catch up trying to sort out what had just
occurred. They had all been near or entering the house when it
exploded. She needed to get it together and clear her aching head,
someone could be hurt and needing her.

“Hades?” her voice was rough with fear and
concern.

He rolled off her allowing her to get up.
“Are you alright, Doc?”

“I’m a little stunned, but I’m okay. Where
are the guys?”

“We have to go look. I can’t hear them.”
Hades looked upset which in turn upset her more. He got up and gave
her a hand pulling her off the ground. They moved around finding
Zot almost immediately. He was dazed but otherwise seemed unharmed
so they continued around the house until they found Aaron. He had
been hit by glass since he had been standing by a window. He had
turned around so it hit his back. His wounds were not life
threatening so they hurried around to the front of the
building.

Erebus had also turned his back to the blast,
but he had splinters of wood covering him and one piece large
enough to be a concern because it was the size of a stake. Dione
was the worst off having been thrown into one of the stone pillars
that held up the front porch. He was knocked out and bleeding from
a head would. Doc sent Hades for her med kit, Dione would be
treated first. She knew that someone would have called emergency
crews and it was only a matter of time before firemen and police
arrived.

She kneeled on the ground checking Dione out
quickly but thoroughly. She decided they could move him. “We need
to get him loaded and get out of here before the cops come.”

“Zot, Aaron, help me load him into the second
seat. Erebus, I need you in the back now. We will go somewhere
close by to tend to wounds.” Erebus got in back first then Doc got
in the second seat so she could hold Dione’s head in her lap. Zot
carefully got in back and pulled the seat into place. He began
helping Erebus with the splintered wood he was covered with,
avoiding the large piece that Doc would have to remove.

Aaron rode shotgun leaning forward so the
glass wouldn’t be further embedded in his skin. This mission had
not been a good one. The only good point had been none of the team
had died. Doc was sure that Dione would be okay except for the
terrible headache he would have once he woke. As they sped away
from what remained of the house, she checked Dione out and cleaned
his wounds, the one on his head and some minor splinters and
glass.

They hit the main road just as a fire truck
with sirens blaring turned on the road they had just left. They
passes a few police cars headed in that direction too. Hades pulled
in to a nearby hotel and went in to check in to a room. He asked
for rooms with outside access so they wouldn’t have to go in or out
through the lobby. The desk clerk didn’t even act surprised or ask
why he wanted that. He was just relieved it was that easy and
hurried out so they could find their rooms and Doc could help the
others heal. They had been lucky none of them had been in the house
when the explosions went off. It had been close for Doc and
him.