“Oh, gods, don’t do that! It has to be properly disposed of.” Yaya flapped her hands at Dahlia as she unscrewed the cap.
“How? Why?” I blurted out. “I rinsed it off me in the river, can’t I just pour it out there?”
Yaya lifted both eyebrows and closed her eyes. “No. It’s not really an oil, though they call it that. It’s imbued with power from the forge of Hephaestus. Which means it is a weapon designed for destruction. If you just pour it out . . . there’s no telling what it will do.”
Well, that was just awesome. “So what do I do with it?”
“Hide it.” She pointed at Dahlia. “Let your friend keep it safe while she sleeps.”
That was actually a good idea. “You okay with that, Dahlia?”
Dahlia swept past me with a nod, clutching the flask tight. She kissed Tad solidly on the mouth. “Keep an eye on her, I have to sleep. See you three at dinner tonight.” She held the silver flask up and I nodded.
“Thanks,” I said. “Wait, you’re going to be at dinner?”
They ignored my question.
Tad swatted her on the butt as she sashayed away. “I always keep an eye on her.”
The sounds of her footsteps faded as the sun rose behind me. “She was cutting it close,” I said.
“She loves you and wants to keep you safe,” Tad said as he took another muffin. “We all do.”
Yaya nodded. “He’s right, we’re all here for you.”
The statements were meant to be heartwarming, I’m sure. But all I could hear was that I wasn’t capable of taking care of myself. I frowned. “I’m going to go shower and sleep for a couple of hours.”
I walked away before Tad or Yaya could answer. I wasn’t really tired, though if I were still human, I knew I’d be falling asleep on my feet. There was something about danger that supercharged my ability to stay alert and functioning. That was probably a good thing, since some of the people closest to me were nighthawks. I’d noticed I could run on only a few hours of sleep each day or night and keep going.
Go me.
Up the stairs and into the bathroom, I did my best to ignore the pacing of Beth’s feet in her room. Sandy was quiet, either sitting or lying down by the rate of her heart. I flicked the shower on as hot as the water would go and stepped in with a gasp. I stayed in for a good ten minutes, letting the water run over my face, muffling the sounds outside of the bathroom.
Letting me believe for a few minutes that I was still normal. I snorted and sucked in a lungful of hot water, which sent me into a coughing fit.
I flicked the water off, grabbed a towel, and headed for my room. Beth and Sandy were no longer upstairs. I flopped into bed, set my alarm for three hours, all that was left of the night, and fell fast asleep.
The buzzing of the alarm went off what felt like seconds later. I jerked upright and checked the clock. Three hours shouldn’t have been enough, but I was alert. With a yawn and a stretch, I slid out of bed and dressed in a flowing short skirt and a beautiful lacy mauve top that skimmed the edge of my belly, giving glimpses of my skin here and there. I braided my hair down one side of my head and left the rest loose to hang past my shoulders.
And not once did I let my mind wander to all the problems.
Yeah, right.
I couldn’t stop wondering if, when night fell, Santos would be back.
If Beth would attack me or go back to Theseus. If we could mend our friendship.
When Aphrodite would make a full move, if she hadn’t already.
If Remo missed me at all.
I closed my eyes on that last one and knew it was the question I wanted the answer to more than any other.
I hurried downstairs. Tad was passed out on the couch, snoring loudly. Yaya was nowhere to be found, but a note said she was looking forward to dinner. I snorted to myself. No doubt she knew the poop show it was going to end up being. How could it not, with a Firstamentalist mother and her two Super Duper kids sitting down together?
Beth and Sandy were gone too, and I let out a sigh. I hoped they were just out shopping, being normal. And not being sucked back into Theseus’s grasp.
Slowly, my thoughts came together, and a possible solution formed like watching dough rise. Maybe there was a way. “Tad, I need to go to the bakery and whip something up for dinner tonight.”
He groaned, and I grabbed one of his feet and gave it a shake. “You brought your car, didn’t you?”
Another groan. I rolled my eyes. “Look, I get it. I’ve only had three hours too, but there is nothing I can—” I stared at his sleeping face. Only, he wasn’t sleeping, not really. Blood seeped from a thin line along his forehead. “Did someone attack you?”
His eyes fluttered open. “Beth.”
“Beth?” That was crazy. “Why? What did you say?”
He drew a slow breath. “I tried to stop her from taking the flask.”
My heart sank to my toes like a lead weight dropping through a piecrust. “No . . . Is Dahlia okay?”
“Yeah. Dahlia is fine. Slept through the whole thing, I think.” He struggled to sit up, so I helped him.
“Tad, this is bad.”
“She’s working for Theseus, then? For real?” He squinted at me and then covered his eyes. “Damn, two of you is too much.”
“Lie back down. Stay here and rest. I’m going to take your car and go to the bakery.” A place of sanctuary, a place I could hide for a little while from the truth that was causing me to shake. Theseus had the oil. And I had no idea how to stop him. He was moving his chess pieces carefully, and I couldn’t seem to outmaneuver him.
“Why not bake here?” Tad grumped.
I shook my head. How did I say that the bakery might not be mine much longer and I wanted as much time there as I could get? “Special equipment, ingredients and such. You and Dahlia come for dinner in her car, okay?”
He grunted. “Be careful, sis, he’s out for you.”
“I will. You too. Bro.”
He laughed, his chest shaking. “Don’t ever say that again.”
“I make no promises.” I scooped his car keys from the hook beside the door and stepped outside into the surprisingly bright winter sun. And right into Smithy’s chest.
I blinked up at him. “Captain. Can I help you?”
Ice-blue eyes stared down at me. “My men have been pulled off duty. Captain Oberfall is back.”
I bobbed my head. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. And thanks for the help the other day.”
He didn’t move. “I heard a rumor you took out the twins.”
I frowned, not understanding at first. Then I blanched as I realized he meant the twin vampires that had been in Santos’s gang. “Um. Maybe?”
“With wooden spoons? Your smell is all over the handles.” He held two bloodied wooden spoons up, and I pressed my back into the door.
“Are you going to arrest me?” I whispered.
“Nope. Any woman who can kill a vampire with a pair of wooden spoons . . .” He shook his head. “I wanted to thank you. Personally.”
It was then I realized he wasn’t in his uniform but instead wore a pair of tight jeans, a black T-shirt, and a thin camouflage jacket.