Shafted (7 page)

Mrs. Turnbull’s voice chased them over the
threshold into the parlor. “Well good, since it’s all settled, you
two won’t miss the dance after all.” A chuckle bubbled up with her
parting words. “But be careful Callie, you might get shot by one of
Cupid’s little arrows.”

A picture of his brother lifting his bow and
targeting Callie jumped into Anteros’s mind and turned the edges of
his vision red. His lip curled in a feral snarl and the glass in
the door shook from his foot kicking it shut behind them. Every
muscle in his body tensed up and his blood seemed to turn to acid
in his veins.

Callie spun on Teran and stopped dead. “What
did you do that for?” She’d heard the saying ‘if looks could kill’
but, until now, had no idea what that would look like.

A low growl answered and Callie took a
careful step back. Teran seemed to take up every available inch of
space and suddenly there wasn’t enough light or air in the room.
What was wrong with him? Her mouth went dry and her palms started
to sweat. She didn’t think he’d actually hurt her, but that didn’t
mean he didn’t look scary as hell. “Uh Teran? You okay, what’s
going on here?”

If she didn’t know better she’d think he
couldn’t hear her. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be trying
to regulate his breathing. What could possibly have upset him
enough to send him off like this?

Callie replayed the last few minutes in her
head while she debated if she should touch him: he’d rebooked his
room; they’d talked about the repairs, and making calls about girls
coming to the new camp. He’d mentioned the journal and the only
other thing she could think of was....

“The Valentine’s Day dance.” The words
sounded flat as they fell from her lips.

Callie’s face heated and her stomach
threatened to flip. So the idea of going with her to that miserable
dance was so repugnant he was acting like this?
Reeeaaallly.

Her eyes narrowed and she braced her feet
shoulder width apart. What was up his craw anyway? It wasn’t like
she
was brow beating him into it for
Pete’s sake, and who said she wanted to go with him either. “This
is about that stupid Valentine’s dance, are you kidding me?”

Teran’s eyes popped open at the word
‘Valentine’ looking like two boiling tar pits and another snarl
escaped his lips. Okay, that did it. With her righteous head of
steam now well underway, Callie planted her fists on her hips and
threw her shoulders back. He could stuff his temper. Enough was
enough.

“Whoa, hold on here. If the mere idea of
taking me to that dance is what’s got a bee up your butt, we are
going to have some serious words here, Bucko.”

Taking back her share of the space in the
room, Callie puffed up herself, stepped in closer and poked at his
granite tight chest. “First, I never said anything about anyone
going to any stupid dance.” Winding her finger up again she gave
him another jab and her throat started to burn and close. “Second,
why would I want to go, especially with someone who obviously finds
the idea so abhorrent?”

Tears pooled in her eyes and this time when
she connected with his chest her fingers curled into a fist. “I
know I’m no Miss America but damn it, I have feelings like everyone
else. I’m sick of you jerking me around. There are plenty of
perfectly good men out there who’d love to take me to a stupid
dance. And finally for your information, the only reason I’m on my
own is because I choose to be, that way I don’t have to deal with
men like you!”

During her rant, Teran’s eyes slowly
refocused coming back to awareness. Each thing she said opened them
a little wider and his face got a little whiter. Her final words
died in the air and the room seemed to hold its breath waiting for
him to say something, only the voice that broke the tense silence
wasn’t his.

“She’s right. I for one would be honored to
take Callista to a stupid dance anytime.” Something darted past
Callie, a fist flew out of no where and Teran’s head snapped back,
his jaw having had a face to knuckles encounter with...

“Oh my god! Christian?”

Callie’s world tilted a little further off
center and she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. What was her
ex-boyfriend doing here?

Chapter 10

Anteros heart sank as he looked at himself in
the bathroom mirror. The arrow wasn’t the issue anymore. Had the
gallant and lucky to still be alive mortal not plowed him in the
face, he might have fallen right then and there. The mention of
Cupid’s arrow and Callie’s name in the same sentence had ignited an
all consuming black rage like nothing he’d experienced before. He
had a temper yes, but he’d never lost touch with reality because of
it.

He had to give the fool mortal points for
sticking up for Callie. However, punching a god, particularly one
who’s blown a fuse, was not something most got away with and lived.
That mortal had no idea how close he came to being shredded by a
God-bolt.

Only the stricken look on Callie’s face
managed to pull him back from the brink. Her every word had torn
another hole in him. But he still hadn’t been able to come out of
it fast enough, or concoct a believable explanation for his
behavior once he could see straight again, to stop her from jumping
to painful conclusions.

Splashing cold water on his face helped put
things in perspective. Zeus’s beard, what if he turned on Callie
and took her against her will? With the arrow in the mix it was
possible. No way would he risk hurting her like that or see her
stuck with what he’d become because of that stupid arrow.

Anteros realized he’d ignored the signs as
long as he dared. He couldn’t put things off any longer. His raging
black out meant he was in the last stages before falling to
ambro-fever like both his brother and father before him. It was
simply a matter of time now – and not much of it.

Thank the gods his Uncle Hades had agreed to
set a nice impenetrable cell aside for him. Somewhere he could live
out eternity without inflicting his temper and madness on the
world. Centuries of absorbing heartache would not a nice ambro
victim make.

Face it Buddy, you need to get that journal
translated as fast as possible, find another immortal to watch over
Callie, even if you have to beg your mother to do it, then consign
yourself into Hades hands for the rest of eternity and be done with
it.

Anteros slowly exhaled, reached for the door
handle and squared his shoulders. Now if he could just face the
well deserved disappointment in Callie’s eyes and weather the storm
he’d created.

Callie sat next to Christian on the parlor
sofa and dipped the corner of a cloth in the bowl of water on the
table. After giving it a quick squeeze to so it wouldn’t drip on
the carpet she reached out for his hand with a frown.

“How was I supposed to know his jaw would be
made of granite?”

“If you’d stopped for half a second before
going off half cocked you’d have noticed he’s twice your size,
might’ve been a clue there.” She still wasn’t sure who she was
madder at, the dark cranky one in the bathroom across the hall, or
the indignant blond whose bloody knuckles she was trying to clean
up. “Honestly Christian since when are you a hit first ask
questions later kind of guy?”

“Since I saw ‘Black Bart’ there glaring at
you like he was about to step on a bug! That’s when.” Christian
tugged his hand away from her ministrations and his signature smile
popped out. “And who says he’s twice my size? He’s only a third
again at best.”

With that little boy grin plastered on his
face and his easy-going nature back in place, her anger fizzled. As
usual she couldn’t stay mad at him, but she swatted his arm on
principle anyway. “Don’t try to wiggle your way out this. Hitting
Teran was way over the top, especially for you. So you’re not
getting off the hook that easily.”

His head bobbed like an over-exuberant puppy.
“Yes I am.”

If she wasn’t careful he would get away with
it too, also as usual. His inability to stay serious for more than
five minutes had been one of the reasons things hadn’t worked out.
“Fine, think what you want smart guy, but I’m still mad at
you.”

A tiny flicker of something flashed in
Christian’s eyes and Callie took the opportunity to turn the
conversation where it needed to be. “Now, don’t you think its time
you told me what you’re doing in Bandit Creek, besides punching
people in the face?”

The flicker became a flash of hurt. “I came
here for you. Why else would I abandon civilization and trek up
here to Hole-in-the-Wall-Ville, but to bring you to your senses and
take you home?”

There it was, the biggest reason things could
never have worked out for them. Christian was a warm and caring
man, but he was also full of himself and believed his view of
things was the only right one. He didn’t understand when others –
particularly her – didn’t see it that way.

“Bring me to my senses? Take me home?” Her
temper was rising again and Callie had to work to remind herself it
wasn’t his fault she couldn’t return his feelings. “Chris, this is
my home now. I thought you understood that. I don’t know what else
I have to do or say for you to see I’m not playing some kind of
game here. I’m not going back to Seattle.” She hated having to say
the next few words but if they were ever going to get on with their
own lives she had no choice but to make her feelings clear. “Or to
you.”

“My sweet Callista, there you go again. You
know I can’t resist it when you do that.” He was back to grinning
and Callie’s nails bit into her palms at the sight. “Never a dull
moment, it’s one of the things I love about you.”

An angry buzz began in the back of her head.
Christian’s stubborn attitude was not what she needed at the
moment.

“After a couple of days you’ll see all this
is just a kind of ‘cold feet’ thing and then we can get out of here
and pick up where we left off with all forgiven.”

The buzzing was joined by a band clamping
around her chest. How could this be happening, why wouldn’t he see
it was over? “Chris—”

“I’m booked in till Sunday morning, and have
two plane tickets home out of Missoula that afternoon, so you won’t
need to worry about travel arrangements. It’s all taken care of.”
With a quick examination to make sure the bleeding had stopped,
Christian looked up with that maddening perma-grin and had the
nerve to wink at her. “So, since we’re stuck here, what’s to do in
Hick-town USA? Any good places to eat? I’m starving.”

Callie covered her face with her hands and
flopped against the back of the couch. “Ahhhhhh!”

The door to the bathroom across the way flew
open with a bang and she peeked through her fingers.

“What’s going on? Callie you okay?”

Teran might have asked her the question but
he was bearing down on Christian like a freight train. Great,
another dose of testosterone flooding the room, that aught to help
matters. The fact the dangerous undertone in his voice sounded like
black velvet and made her knees weak was more than annoying.

“Who is this guy? And what did he do to upset
you?”

Christian bolted out of his seat with his
chin in the air and stuck his hand out. “Christian Stapleton.”
Glancing at his abused knuckles and back up at Teran’s face, he
swung his hand behind his back. “Callista’s fiancé. And you
are?”

The color bled from Teran’s face. “Fiancé?”
The lift and fall of his Adam’s apple looked painful and his eye’s
narrowed. “I see.”

Was Teran jealous? Callie’s heart skipped at
the thought.

“In fact Callista and I were just discussing
our travel plans back to Seattle on Sunday—”

Callie’s jaw clenched. “Christian! That’s
enough, we are not having this conversation right now but get it
through you head please. I. Am. Not. Going. Back. To. Seattle.”

Christian was more than exasperating but she
still cared about him and she feared having to resort to cruelty
before he’d finally get she was serious.

Teran lit her up in ways she couldn’t put
into words. Anger, frustration, passion, curiosity and a hint of
something dangerous were a heady combination in that tall, dark, to
die for, totally confusing package.

She could kick herself for ever caring about,
let alone dwelling on, that package and it was time to do something
about all of it.

“Christian, whether you leave now or Sunday
that’s you’re choice, but either way you will be going back alone.
Are we clear on that?”

Without waiting for a response she turned on
Teran. “And you! Check that temper Buddy, before I end up knocking
you on your butt myself!” The shock on both their faces went a long
way toward boosting her confidence. Seeing the two of them with
their jaws hanging open was strangely empowering.

“And another thing, I have two days to secure
my inheritance, so you can either decide to help me or stand aside,
because there’s a lot of work to do.”

Wiping her hands on her legs she took a
calming breath and waited for the protests to start. When both men
stayed silent she was relieved. “Okay, good, thank you. Now,
Christian, you said you were hungry. I’m sure if you ask Mrs.
Turnbull she’d be able to find you something to tide you over till
dinner.”

Callie looked at Teran and almost reached out
to push a lock of hair that had fallen into his face back in place
and her confidence slipped. What if he didn’t want to help her
anymore? She hid her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers.
“Teran, if you’re still willing, I’d like to get started
translating that journal.”

Only after he nodded his dark head, did she
realize she’d also held her breath waiting for his answer and
hadn’t even noticed when Christian left the room.

Chapter 11

Anteros looked up from the journal and stared
blankly at the pastoral scene depicted in the painting hanging over
the fireplace and slowly shook his head. Why hadn’t he picked up on
it sooner? All the clues had been right there.