Costas felt his temper rising at the mere mention of that nosy little trifle who'd been a source of aggravation for him for over a decade. "Then send a team to recover it. In fact, our little professor has become too much of a liability for us and our cause. I'm tired of dealing with her. Signal the others with a TOS for Dr. Kafieri."
"Termination on sight. Yes, sir. It will be done."
CHAPTER FIVE
Ash was still in bed, not quite awake, but no longer sleeping when his phone rang. Assuming it was another Dark-Hunter in need of something stupid, he answered it without even looking at the number.
"Hey, Ash, it's Tory. I'm at the grocery store. What do you want tonight?"
You on a platter . . . He forced himself away from that uncharacteristic line of thought. "I really don't eat much, Tory. There's nothing I need."
"Oh come on. You didn't grow to the height of a mountain without eating someone out of house and home."
Actually he had.
"There has to be something you live on besides beer and if you say wine, I will hurt you."
He smiled in spite of himself. "I swear to you, there's nothing I want."
"You like frustrating me, don't you? Fine, I'll make falafel and humus—you're Greek. You'll live with it, like it, and you're going to eat some whether you want to or not. I'll see you tonight."
What was it with Tory and food? She was almost as bad as Simi. How could a woman that skinny eat all the time? He tossed his phone down, then rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm, not wanting to get up yet. He'd been out late the night before hunting Daimons after he'd left Tory's house. Something was brewing here in New Orleans, but he couldn't figure it out.
Stryker was plotting something. He could feel it.
But he didn't want to think about Stryker right now either. Letting his thoughts drift, they came back to a pair of beautiful brown eyes circled by small glasses and set into the face of the most frustrating human being on the planet.
Soteria.
Before he could stop himself, he imagined her naked in bed with him. Her hair falling forward over her face as she leaned over him for a kiss . . . His cock hardened instantly.
Unable to stand it, he reached down to move himself so that it didn't hurt.
"You want a hand with that?"
Moving his arm, his eyes flew open to find Artemis in bed with him which instantly killed his peaceful mood. "No."
She pouted. "Oh c'mon, Acheron. You're not really going to let all that go to waste, are you?"
He rolled over to give her his back. "I'd rather masturbate."
She punched at his shoulder. "You're in one of those moods again, aren't you? I hate when you get so sullen with me."
Then why did she keep coming around him when it was his natural state in her presence? Well that, and severely pissed off.
"What do you want, Artie? It's not like you to pop into my bed and you know better than to come to Katoteros. How the hell did you get past Alexion anyway?"
"He's too preoccupied with his wife to notice me these days."
Note to self, kill Alexion again later. At least make the bastard wander around the shores of the Isle of the Dead for a while.
"So why are you here, Artie?"
"You want me here."
Yeah, like an alien rectal probe up my sphincter. "How you figure that?"
"Since you can't see it because it would impact your future, you told me to always let you know whenever something happened involving the Atlantean remains."
And she'd already failed to tell him about the diary which could have been disastrous for him if it'd been one from Ryssa's twenties. "And?"
"Well I just had those people arrested in Greece for excavating without a license. Say thank you, Artemis."
Ash turned his head to look at her. She was literally simpering with pride over what she'd done. "What people?"
"You know, that pathetic-looking archaeologist that we saw? Her people. They'd uncovered the site and were pulling things out of the water yesterday by the handfuls. Found all kinds of things. I know how upset you get when people do that, so I had the authorities go arrest them and confiscate the artifacts."
"Did you happen to have anyone beaten up while you were at it?"
"Why would I do that?"
He scoffed as he rubbed his forehead. "You seem to get off on seeing someone beaten."
She narrowed those evil green eyes on him. "You are in such a foul mood. I don't like to see you beaten either."
He'd seen the gleam of sexual satisfaction one time too many in her eyes while he was being punished to believe that. She loved making him bleed. It was the only time she felt more powerful than he and it made her even hornier than she was right now.
"Whatever you say, Artie."
"Then roll over and satisfy me."
"I have a headache."
She brushed her hand through his black hair, turning it blond. "You can't get a headache."
"Sure I can. I have a hundred twenty pound one rubbing on me even as I speak."
She slapped at his bare back. "You're such an asshole." She bit him hard on the arm before she vanished.
Grimacing, Ash rubbed at the spot. At least she hadn't torn his skin out. This time.
"I had them arrested."
He sighed as he realized those would be friends of Tory's. He better get up and go deal with it. Tory would be furious and scared for them.