Hunting Medusa: The Medusa Trilogy, Book 1 (34 page)

The notion sent ripples of fear down his spine.

His old phone rang, making her jump in her seat. He touched her knee before he picked it up to see the screen. Stavros again.

Bastard. There was no way in Hades his cousin was getting his murderous hands on Andrea.
No way.

Aristotle reached automatically for his phone while looking over the papers in front of him. “Yes?”

“We have reason to believe they’re heading north.”

“Stavros.” He set his pen down and focused his attention on his nephew. He hoped Stavros had sobered up since their last conversation. “How do you know?”

“Theo lost them in Philadelphia.”

“Lost them?”

Stavros cleared his throat. “Yes, sir.”

Aristotle inhaled slowly. “I see.” Somehow, he didn’t believe he was hearing all the details. “Why would they be returning?”

“Kallan never can leave well enough alone. Who knows why she’d come back. The monster probably thinks she can kill us.”

Aristotle shut his eyes. Stavros was far too arrogant. Too reckless. He was also the most ruthless of all of the nephews, and right now that ruthlessness was their best opportunity to finally kill the Medusa and get the protective goblet away from her family. “Keep me apprised, Stavros. And be careful. If Kallan would abandon his family for this monster, there is no telling what else he would do.”

His nephew laughed. “We outnumber them greatly. We cannot fail.”

The older man winced. “A little humility would serve you well, Stavros,” he said firmly. “The Goddess does not like so much arrogance.”

Stavros sighed. “Yes, Uncle Ari,” he said after a moment, his tone sullen.

Aristotle hung up and closed his eyes for a moment. “Forgive him, my Lady,” he murmured. “I have made mistakes with that one, I think.”

He opened his eyes. He could not fix his previous mistakes with Stavros, but he would make certain he did not repeat them with any of the younger nephews.

Andi persuaded Kallan to let her drive after they stopped for gas in Rockland. “You’ve driven most of the day again. I’m tired of sitting here doing nothing.”

He gave her a measuring look before he nodded. “All right. Let’s head into Belfast and try to find another motel.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Okay.” Maybe by the time they arrived, her brain would be tired enough to let her sleep. As it was, she’d spent far too much time thinking in circles all day long, about two things: the tattoo color and his cousins waiting to kill her.

Aunt Lydia needed to get back to her on the amulet.

As for his cousins, she kept coming back to the curse rearing its ugly head. It was the only way.

Getting Kallan to agree would be the challenge.

She tried to marshal some convincing arguments while she drove. And was pretty sure she’d failed. By the time she found a small motel along the road, she’d started tapping her fingers nervously on the steering wheel.

Of course he noticed. He slanted her a knowing smile when she parked. She tried to smile back but didn’t quite manage that either.

This time when they got to the room assigned to them, Kallan nodded that the area was clear, and she went inside on shaky legs.

The room looked a lot like the one where they’d spent last night. The only thing really different was the scent of the sea air, which was still strong even with the windows closed.

She busied herself taking toiletries out of the suitcase, then brushed her teeth and combed her hair. She froze with the comb in mid-air over her head, her fingers trembling as the realization emerged. She lowered her arm and walked out of the bathroom to where Kallan stood in the center of the room, looking deep in thought. He glanced up when she stepped out, then frowned when he saw her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need a pair of scissors.”

His eyes lit with understanding, but his mouth turned down. “I don’t have any.” His tone was apologetic.

Her eyes stung a little, but she blinked hard, determined not to cry. Not right now, no matter what her hormones thought. If she had to cut her hair off with her dagger, she’d do it.

He snapped his fingers. “Wait a second.” He rummaged in his pockets and came up with the multi-tool gadget, then rifled through the tools before he came up with an even smaller pair of scissors than he’d found for her the last time.

She took the tool and curled her shaky fingers around it. “Thank you.”

He caught her wrist before she could retreat to the bathroom. “Come here,
meli
.” He pulled her closer so he could wrap his other arm around her.

She heard his steady heartbeat under her ear, and she took a deep breath, willing some of the rush of nerves to settle down inside her.

“Do you want me to help you?”

Surprised, she lifted her head to look up at him.

Kallan’s green eyes were dark with emotion, and she felt her pulse quicken.

She raised her free hand to the side of his face. “No, but thank you.” She stretched up to brush her lips over his. “Thank you.” She rocked back on her heels.

“You know, if you’re set on turning them to stone, they’ll be more likely to believe you’re the Medusa if there are snakes on top of your head,” he teased.

She shuddered as she moved away. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.” She moved back into the bathroom and lifted the tiny scissors to her hair. She steeled herself to the task, then cleaned up the sink when she’d finished. Her hair was once again short around her pale face.

Kallan stood in the doorway when she turned around, his arms folded on his wide chest, his gaze somber. “Let’s hear it.”

She took a moment to fold the scissors back into their slot before she handed it back to him. “Hear what?”

He sighed. “Andrea, I know you’ve been plotting all day. What is going on in your beautiful head?”

She exhaled slowly, studying his face. His bright eyes were filled with all sorts of things, including worry for her. Stress lines bracketed his mouth, making her stretch up one hand to smooth them away. “We don’t have a choice, Kallan,” she said at last. “If we don’t do this tomorrow, I’ll be useless to you. You know I’ll be curled in a ball in a bed, or in the shower. And we have to do this together.”

He drew her out of the bathroom and pushed her onto the foot of the bed before sitting beside her. “Have you considered how you’re going to feel knowing you’ve killed a man? Or men?”

She shuddered. “Yes.” She looked at her hands on her knees for a moment. “Right after I became the Medusa, I accidentally turned a wild rabbit to stone. I happened to be outside and I heard a noise behind me and turned around, and there it was. And it was too late for me to shut my eyes or turn away. I cried for days.” She looked at his face again, feeling her jaw tighten. “But the rabbit wasn’t trying to kill me.”

A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. “You have a point.” He dropped his gaze to her hands, then caught one of them in his. “I don’t like it.”

“I’m not entirely thrilled with the prospect myself.” She searched his eyes. “And even if we come out of this alive, I have to find a new place to live, because you know he’ll have told your entire family where to find me.”

“Another point to Andrea,” he muttered, glancing away for a second.

She turned toward him, putting her other hand on his knee. “If we get out of this, you can take me wherever you want. I won’t argue with you. I just want us to be safe.”

“Then we could go now.”

She shook her head. “You’d regret it forever, too. As much as I. You’re not a runner, Kallan, you’re a fighter.”

“And the score is three-nothing to Andrea.” One corner of his mouth quirked up, though his gaze remained sober. “I need to give this a little thought, because my cousins will know that about me too. That I wouldn’t run away indefinitely,” he said after a moment.

She nodded. “Okay. I’ve hidden from your family for years, but now I have something to fight for. I need to take a stand too.” She stretched up to kiss his cheek. “I can check my email.” She released his hand and pushed to her feet.

He remained where he was while she booted up the laptop, though she felt his gaze following her movements. When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she looked up and he smiled at her, just a little.

She smiled as she turned her attention back to the computer screen, bringing up her email program.

Nothing from Aunt Lydia.

She sank back in her seat, smile fading. She’d so been hoping…

“I’m sorry,
agaph
,” he said.

She
needed
that information, even if it didn’t help them tomorrow. Her eyes burned. She needed to know if she was stuck with this forever, even though she had Kallan now.

It wouldn’t be fair to ask him to stay with a monster forever.

“It doesn’t matter.”

She blinked, then turned her blurred gaze in his direction.

“I don’t care about the curse, Andrea. We’ll deal with it.”

She dropped her chin, feeling her lower lip wobble. The first hot tear splashed onto her cheek, then down onto her shirt. Damned hormones.

Kallan’s hand appeared in front of her, holding out a tissue. While she swiped it across her cheek, he shut down the laptop, then tugged her out of the chair.

She let him steer her toward the bed, swallowing to try to make the lump in her throat go away. It refused.

He gave her a gentle nudge onto the edge of the bed, then knelt in front of her to untie her sneakers, before pulling them and her socks off. He eased her to her feet, then stripped her bare and yanked the blankets back on the bed. “Climb in,
agaph
.”

While she did, he tossed his own clothing aside, then slid in beside her. He settled her on his shoulder, allowing her to hide her face there against his warm skin. She inhaled unsteadily. Spice and musk. She’d know his scent anywhere.

“I don’t care if you have a thousand snakes on your head every day of the year,” he said at last, one big hand sliding down her back. “I don’t care if our families stay enemies for another three thousand years. As long as you love me, we can do anything together.”

A sob rushed up her throat, tried to get past her lips. She pressed them tightly together to keep it contained.

“I would fight anyone to be with you, Andrea. I love you.”

The sob won, bursting free, and she squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

His hold around her firmed, and his lips grazed her temple.

Andi fought to keep another sob in, but it brought friends, dammit.

“It’s all right,
agaph
,” he whispered. “I’ll hold you as long as you need me to.”

She gave up, letting the tears and the sobs have free rein. And all the while, she knew Kallan was there, surrounding her, soothing, protecting.

When the tears finally stopped, her throat was raw from crying and her eyes ached. And he continued to hold her tight.

An idea occurred to her then.

The curse remained with her because she still doubted.

Her eyes popped open, and she stared at the hollow of his throat, her pulse pounding crazily.

She loved him, yes. That still surprised her. And she knew he loved her. But some small part of her didn’t trust that he’d be there no matter what. No matter how many times he told her he would.

She closed her eyes, feeling a fresh wash of tears. She didn’t need Aunt Lydia to tell her that. She didn’t need Aunt Celosia to remember, or any book of family lore that somebody had borrowed from someone else. She just needed to believe in him.

Under her cheek, his chest was slick with her tears.
 

Andi felt horrible. She needed to find a way to let that last piece of mistrust go.

Kallan kissed the top of her head. “It’s all right,
meli
. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”

Tears pooled under her cheek, burning her skin. “Thank you,” she choked out.

For a long time, they stayed there, her breathing gradually evening out, the tears eventually running dry, the yellow light from the lamp illuminating the side of the bed where they lay and casting shadows around the rest of the room.

“We can do this any way you want,” she said at last, her voice raspy. She sniffled.

His hand on her back went still. “Do what?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” She held her breath.

For a long time, he was silent. He went back to stroking her spine slowly, as if he were pondering. Planning. “I think we have to go up there,” he said finally. His fingers caressed her skin, occasionally lingering over one spot before moving on to another. “And I’m not sure we can really plan. We might have to wing it.”

She lifted her head in shock, forgetting how messy she must be. “What?”

He gave her a crooked smile.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Kallan?” She swiped one hand over her wet cheek, then over his chest.