Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1 (49 page)

“Thank you for everything you did to
help him.”

“You’re welcome, but it was your quick
work and the wolf saliva that really saved him. I’ll stop back in
tomorrow, if I’m able. I have other patients in the neighborhood
who are waiting.”

Staci perked up. “We’re hoping to make
a difference here.”

“That would be wonderful. Make sure
they both rest.” She left quietly, leaving only Staci, Celeste, and
a sleeping Dylan in the room.

Celeste sipped on her water, too
exhausted to speak. She wondered if Staci was being kind to her
only because she was so weak.

Almost as if she'd read Celeste’s
mind, Staci smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "You're a courageous
young woman, and I feel nothing but respect and affection for you.
Diane and Dave chose to leave us. You did them a great mercy. Now
get some sleep. That’s an order."

Three hours later, Dylan and Celeste
walked hesitantly into the common area. Everyone was there, talking
excitedly, standing grouped around Gene's H-tab. Dylan coughed, and
the group noticed the two for the first time.

Dylan pushed Celeste slightly behind
him, also expecting the worst. "Look..." he began.

Suddenly the remaining troupe and
their new associates were kissing Celeste on the cheek and shaking
Dylan's hand.

"Why aren't you angry with me? I
killed two of your friends," Celeste asked in disbelief.

Sam took her hand,
nodding. "They were close
friends. Staci
and I knew them for almost twenty years. But because of you and
Dylan, their deaths have meaning. They’re already being spoken of
as martyrs—symbols for our cause."

Gene grabbed her shoulder,
tugging her closer to the front of the group. "Look, sugar." There
she was spinning slowly above the screen, looking fierce and
furious, mouthing, “
We're coming for
you
,” and flipping off The
Director.

"It's gone viral. Everyone with an
underground blog is writing about it, and it's already been
reported on the local TV stations. Of course, The Director’s people
make it seem as if you're a drug-crazed ingrate, but at least it's
out there. People are going to pay attention. Look at
this."

Celeste read blog after blog, each one
calling her the face of the revolution. "There was a revolution?"
she asked.

"There is now." Alan grinned like a
monkey.

"Have any of you chosen real names for
yourselves?" Celeste asked the others. She wrapped her arms around
her soon-to-be-husband, scanning the rest of the troupe. "Screw
their stupid labels."

Sam and Staci laughed and kissed. Sam
responded. "We’re going to stick with Sam and Staci. It’s what
we’re comfortable with. Anyway, we call each other Angelface and
Honeybear, when we’re alone."

"Whatever you want," Dylan
chuckled.

Liz pushed Gene out of the way and
stuck out her hand. "I'm glad you're with us. You kicked ass. Good
work."

Celeste knew this was a huge
concession on Liz’s part, so she grasped her hand and shook it.
"Thanks."

"Well said." Gene stroked Liz's bare
arm, his flirty grin spiking at a thousand watts.

"Get the fuck away from me, asshole."
Liz gave him a shove then stormed over to the other side of the
room.

"Your love of women with
issues could get you into deep shit. She can use that knife and has
many times, apparently,"
Dylan offered
up.

"I know it, but look at
her! She's a fucking rock star."

"Why don't you offer to
bring her over? She can't say no to that,"
Ingrid suggested
.

"Hmmm. I enjoy the way
your mind works.”
Gene narrowed his eyes
and scrunched up his mouth,
"You're not
off the hook, by the way. From now on, you'd better let me in on
your schemes."

Dylan had snuck away to
talk to Sam and Staci, so Celeste was the one dealing with the
angry General Gene.
"You would've said
no."

"Damn right."

She glared right back at
him.
"And then what? Could you have lived
with yourself, watching that disgusting spectacle, and doing
nothing? I couldn't, so I did what I had to do.”

"You have a truckload of
courage, Celeste, but not always a lot of common sense."

Her eyes widened in
disbelief.
"Yeah? Well, I would have done
the same for you and I expect you to do it for me, if it's ever
necessary. That's the deal, so live with it. Or don't.
Whatever."
She turned, wiping away a stray
tear with her sleeve.

Gene turned Celeste back around with a
gentle hand on her arm, speaking out loud so the others would hear.
"Maybe I should have thought of it myself, but if you'd come to me
and explained it the way you did just now, I might have agreed.
Plus, we could have helped you. Please trust me, darlin'. Nothing
is going to work in this arrangement if we don't trust each other.
Deal?" He stuck out his hand and smiled.

She clasped it with an exasperated
shake of her head. "I'll try."

Dylan patted Gene on the back, pulling
Celeste against his hip, draping his arm over her shoulder. It was
a possessive move that would never grow old. "We made him leader
and we have to respect his position. He’s earned our
trust."

Celeste pressed her body closer to
Dylan and sighed. "You're right. We'll come to you
first."

The three of them scanned the room.
Sam and Staci were cuddled together on the couch they'd bought that
morning, Alan and Tom were still watching the latest news alerts,
and Johnny and Liz were talking quietly in the corner. Johnny had
made Liz laugh about something, and Celeste could see what Gene
meant. Her entire face lit up when she let go of the anger. She was
lovely.

Grateful for the overwhelming comfort
and safety of Mack’s presence, Celeste hoped Diane and Dave were at
peace somewhere.

"I’m going to stay Gene
Hudson.”

“Why?” Ingrid asked.

"Everyone will know that an ingénue of
a theta troupe is heading a revolution. Maybe people will take
heart, begin their own rebellion. This is going to be a group
effort. I hope we're all up for the challenge."

The others had heard Gene’s words and
turned in his direction, smiling and looking more excited than
Celeste had ever seen them, even though their most difficult and
dangerous work lay ahead.

“I wonder how The Director’s feeling
tonight?” Gene asked.

“Pissed off that an ingénue whore got
the best of him, I’d guess,” Ingrid grinned and hugged her favorite
Welsh god.

EPILOGUE

The video of Ingrid’s rash act
spun in the air above his desk, looping over and over.
We’re
coming for
you
, she mouthed. And again. And
again.

The Director picked up the tablet and
threw it into the fireplace, conjuring a flame to melt the device
in seconds. His most serious mistake was allowing that whore to
live after Atlanta. He should have dealt with her the way he did
Mack Stone.

How Ironic that Joseph’s predictions
regarding thetas were coming to pass. Well, first things first,
then he’d deal with the theta problem. It shouldn’t take more than
a day or so.

“Annie.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did Rem or Zarek survive?”

“Zarek died, but Rem survived, sir.
His healing will take approximately three days, but he should
recover completely.”

“I want him left with scarring as a
reminder that he failed me.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“I will not repeat myself.”

“I understand, sir. Um, to what
extent…?”

“His face, but there should be no
damage to his eyesight or other senses.”

“Yes, sir.”

“My people must learn. My slaves must
learn as well. Are the stadium guards in the holding
area?”

She swallowed heavily. “Yes,
sir.”

“And Joseph?”

“Yes, sir.”

He stood, walking slowly to the
elevator. Although he was capable of flight, he rarely used the
gift. It left him vulnerable to attack from his siblings, the only
creatures in the two galaxies and the three realms capable of
eliminating him.

A few minutes later he stood in front
of the cage housing the cowering demons who’d been tasked with
securing the stadium. One hundred and nine audience members had
died, crushed in the stampede, shot by guards, or killed in fights.
The Director had always insisted his audiences at these functions
feel secure. Who would come to future events if they believed they
could be killed or injured while in attendance? One or two of these
imbeciles had allowed the two thetas access to the area. He would
discover who was responsible with very little trouble.

Joseph Herron was another problem.
He’d given the wolf the girl for the night, and he’d allowed her to
escape. He wouldn’t kill the alpha, that would create chaos among
his kind, but he would think of an appropriate way to punish him
that would keep him out of trouble for several months. And if he
lost his position, oh well, there was always another alpha ready to
take over.

The Director, an archdemon more
ancient than the small planet he stood upon, scanned his prisoners,
his red eyes and flaming blue claws the only light in the dark
room. “Who would care to go first?”

****************************************************************

Acknowledgments:

I often think of finishing a book as
giving birth, and although I love the finished product, this one
was definitely a difficult labor and delivery. I began by writing
Playing with Passion in first person and self-publishing it under a
pen name. After advice from several good friends and a great
critique from my younger daughter, I decided to pull the book and
start over. I changed the story from first person to third and
re-worked the plot, although the basic story of Ingrid’s drive
toward freedom and Mack’s determination to protect her and the
troupe never changed. I added the POV of The Director, then
balanced the darker chapters with more humor and more dialogue
between my trio.

None of this could have been
accomplished without the help of some amazing people. First and
foremost, I send my love and thanks to my daughters, my brother and
my friends who support me and love me even when my schedule is so
crazy we don’t have a chance to sit down for a talk. I’ll always
love you guys.

I’d like to thank Deborah Williams, my
new editor, who worked very hard to find my mistakes, encouraging
my strengths, and offering wonderful suggestions to help me make
the book stronger. And of course huge buckets of gratitude are sent
to my dearest friend-sister-editor-amazing guru, Emily Schiller,
who exhibits incredible amounts of patience every time she
volunteers to help me out.

To my writing buddies from the Silicon
Valley Chapter of Romance Writers of America, Kristina Wright,
Susan Sbardellati, Rachel Scheuring and the Wednesday Le Bou Crew,
under the guidance of our fearless leader, Hannah Jayne: I thank
you all for every word of encouragement over the last few months.
There were times when I was desperate for a pat on the back, and
you were always there to boost my sagging confidence.

Special thanks also go out to my
incredibly generous and keen-eyed beta readers: Michele Fowler,
Angela Jackson, Wanda Jewell, Kim Knollenberg, and Regina Roy. You
get to read my books first, and your comments are gratefully
appreciated.

And to all the lovely people who read
my stories: Thank you. Your comments are always welcome. Please
leave an honest review if you feel so inclined. It would be most
appreciated.

And for those of you who wonder what’s
to become of my young adult series—there will be a new Triad Series
book late this summer and a new Rogues Shifter book in early
winter. I will never turn my back on Jackie, Garrett or Charlie.
:0)

About the Author

I'm fortunate to currently be a resident of a
lovely town in Northern California, a magical place within the
context of the mortal plain, where flowers bloom all winter long
and people actually smile and say hello when they pass you on the
sidewalk.

I've spent most of my professional
life working with community theatre groups in NYC as a costume
designer, production manager, stage manager, etc... Over time I've
adopted the philosophy that life is one enormous theatrical
extravaganza and I'm merely doing my best to keep it interesting
for myself, my family, my friends and hopefully my
readers.

I've read fantasy my entire life and
still read into the wee hours. Steven King said something about not
having the tools to write if you don't spend a good amount of time
reading. I'm continue to strive toward perfection on that front,
although I’ve expanded my list of genres to include romance,
science fiction and literary fiction. I hope you stop by my
website, facebook or twitter page to say hi or leave a comment.
Happy reading.