“Did we just agree to give him the Stone of Avarice?”
“Yeah, and it doesn’t make me happy, but his power is limited as long as we have two stones safely locked away. He needs all seven to do real damage.”
“Wulf mentioned Mammon followers,” I said to Diesel. “Do you think they exist?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. And I can understand why they would gravitate to Ammon as their supreme representative.”
“You don’t suppose he could actually be Mammon, do you?”
“No. I think his parents made an unfortunate choice of a first name.”
“What would these Mammon followers look like?” I asked. “Would they be like a zombie army worshipping Ammon?”
“My money’s on Rutherford,” said Diesel. “He’s always got Ammon in his sights. And if Rutherford is one of them, there are probably other acolytes on the household staff.”
“Rutherford seems unusually devoted to Ammon, but I don’t know if I could see him as a Mammon worshipper. He looks so normal.”
“My Aunt Lydia looks normal, but she belongs to a coven that elected her Goddess of the Daisies.”
“You have a strange family,” I said.
“Not by California standards.”
I poured myself a glass of wine and chugged half. “About tonight.”
Diesel was relaxed against a counter, thumbs hooked into his pants pockets, tie loosened, top button to his shirt open. “You had to drink half a glass of wine before you brought it up?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
“Not on my end,” Diesel said.
“Here’s the thing,” I said. “I’m sort of creeped out to stay here by myself. Wulf pops in whenever he wants, and I’m worried that Ammon will realize he’s not a dog, and I have his map.”
“So you want me to spend the night.”
“Yes.”
“Where am I sleeping?”
“Wherever you want,” I told him.
“This is too easy.”
“I thought you liked easy.”
“I’m good at my job because I have superior instincts, and my instincts tell me this isn’t going to end well.”
“You’re doing me a favor by staying here. The least I can do is offer you my bed…being that you don’t fit on the couch.”
“And?”
“And I’ll sleep down here,” I said.
“Because?”
“Because I don’t want to take any chances on having to save the world all by myself.”
“I thought we figured that one out,” Diesel said.
“What if it was a fluke? Like, what if someone had just been asleep at the switch? There’s a lot at stake right now.”
Diesel helped himself to the wine and refilled my glass. “Let me know if you change your mind. I’m good on short notice.”
—
I changed my mind at ten o’clock when we shut the television off.
“Maybe we could try the pillow thing again,” I said. “You stay on your side, and I’ll stay on my side.”
He wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me toward the stairs. “It would be easier if I had Hatchet.”
“He’s a nut.”
“True, but I have no desire to get him naked.”
“I don’t suppose you’d want to sleep with your clothes on.”
He tossed his jacket over a chair. “Don’t suppose I would, but feel free to wear whatever you want.”
I grabbed some flannel pajamas and changed in the bathroom. Diesel was already in bed when I came out.
“It’s July,” Diesel said. “Don’t you think you’ll be hot in flannel pajamas?”
“They feel cozy.”
“I bet.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
My smartphone alarm buzzed me awake. The room was pitch-black. I could feel Cat curled at my feet. I was cuddled next to Diesel. No pillows. I checked my pajamas. Still buttoned. Still on me. I eased out of bed, found some clothes in the dark, and went into the bathroom. I was showered and dressed in fifteen minutes. Diesel was still sleeping.
“No, I’m not,” Diesel said.
I turned the light on.
“That doesn’t mean I want the light on,” he said.
I turned the light off and went downstairs with Cat close on my heels.
I made coffee, fed Cat, and toasted a bagel. I hung my tote bag on my shoulder, poured my coffee into a to-go cup, and took a bite of the bagel. Carl was asleep on the couch with a night-light on. I crossed the room, unlocked the front door, and was knocked back when the door was shoved open.
Josh and Devereaux rushed into the room. Devereaux held me at gunpoint while Josh went to the kitchen and returned with the coin, the map, and the paper Diesel had copied the letters onto.
“What the heck?” I said.
“One hundred and ninety million dollars be a lot of money,” Josh said, heading for the door with the map tucked under his arm.
It was so unexpected it took a beat for me to put it together. They were stealing everything and going after the treasure.
“Diesel!” I yelled. “DEEEEZELLL!”
I dropped my coffee, bagel, and tote bag and ran after Devereaux, grabbing him by the back of his jacket. He whirled around and caught me on the side of my head with the gun butt.