"Who is Ernie?"

I looked back in the pa.s.senger seat. Ernie was gone. Of course he was. I slid out of my seat and stood up. In my heels I was taller than Officer Jensen. I stumbled forward, one of my heels catching in a b.u.mp in the road. Jensen caught me with a grunt. I looked up at him, our faces only inches apart.

I breathed him in, and a strange sensation uncoiled inside me. A feeling as if I could see into Officer Jensen and everything he ever wanted in a woman. The need to be the one person a woman turned to. Different than what I'd done with Steven, but still . . .

Officer Jensen wanted someone he could rescue and play the hero to her damsel in distress. Someone he could save. I went loose in his arms and let him hold me up.

His eyes softened and he seemed to be drinking me in. "Alena."

"Officer. I have things to do. I need you to let me go." The words purred out of me. "I need your help."

The words vibrated in the air, an undercurrent of tension that wrapped around Officer Jensen slowly, tightening until the hold I had on him was complete. His eyes never left mine.

"I can help you."

"Thank you." The words breathed out from my lips and into his mouth. He tipped his head as if he would kiss me. I turned my face to the side and the kiss landed on my jaw. "I have to go. You . . ." I was going to tell him to stop following me. But really, maybe having him on my side and with me wasn't such a bad idea. "You tail me. Make sure no one sneaks up on us."

He smiled and gently let me go. "I can do that. I can protect you better than-never mind."

"Better than who?" I whispered, weighting my words with that same sensation of wrapping him up. He grimaced.

"Better than Remo."

Well, that was interesting. "I thought he was your boss?"

"That doesn't make him good at looking after his people. Especially not the women he chases. You deserve better than him. He doesn't know how special you are." He touched my face gently. I stepped away, not liking the direction the conversation was headed.

"I've got to go."

"I'll follow. You can count on me."

I backed away, turned, and slid into the car. I slumped into my seat and Ernie puffed back into existence beside me. I glared at him. "Thanks for the help."

"Well, there was nothing I could do to help you figure him out without shooting him with an arrow. Which you said you didn't want me to do, right?" He lifted an eyebrow and I shook my head. I did not want him shooting anyone with his arrows. "I jumped ahead. Zeus is waiting for you at the club."

I pulled back into traffic and drove the rest of the way to the club with a police escort. A few minutes later I stopped in front of Charlie's Club. The majority of the people lined up were men. But not your regular, average-Joe men; no, these males stood out. Men dressed in leather and chains, some with masks on. Others holding long whips and leashes attached to others in the line.

I turned to Ernie, a slow-growing horror rising through me. A den of iniquity was what I was looking at, and I knew it. "What kind of club is this exactly?"

"One you're going to stand out in like a sore thumb."

Sore thumb? Oh, if only that were the worst of my problems.

CHAPTER 12.

After parking the car and making sure Officer Jensen didn't follow me into the club, I squared my shoulders and put myself into the line. The men around me swiveled to look at me, more than one giving me raised eyebrows and a frown.

The man immediately in front of me wore nothing but studded leather that included pants, s.h.i.+rt, and a face mask that covered him from his nose down over his chin. "You're at the wrong club, sweetheart." His words were remarkably clear considering his lips were covered.

I stood a little straighter. This was business, and I could do that. "I'm meeting someone, thank you very much."

He tipped his head to the side. "You thinking of coming to the dark side?"

I frowned. "I don't know what you mean."

He flexed his arms. "I swing for both teams, I'd take you on if you're looking for company. Show you the . . . ropes." With a wink he held up a thin line of braided rope, quickly tying it into a complicated knot. "A tall beauty like you is hard to find." I frowned and he laughed. "Oh, she's cute when she's angry."

Cute when I was angry? I shot a hand out and caught him around the throat without a thought. I lifted him up off the ground as easily as I'd lift my purse to check for change. "I don't think cute and angry go together in the same sentence with me."

Ernie hooted with laughter while the man I held up kicked his legs and what I could see of his face purpled. The line around us pulled back, creating a perfect circle. But not one of them made a move to help their fellow leather-clad friend.

"Now you're getting the hang of this, Alena," Ernie said.

I dropped the man, more than a little horrified at what I'd done. "I'm sorry."

He choked at my feet, and rubbing his neck he slid the lower part of his mask off and took a deep breath. A white grin flashed up at me. "You'll fit in just fine here." He waved a hand behind him as he stood. "Jimmy, let this one in. She's going to be fun."

I pa.s.sed him and he pinched my b.u.m as I scooted by. I whipped around and glared. He winked. "I'm just hoping you're as feisty in the sack and that if I p.i.s.s you off enough, you'll give me a shot at that sweet a.s.s."

I closed the distance between us, my anger making me bold. I poked him hard in the chest with two fingers, sending him stumbling back into the arms of the others in the lineup. "Not in a thousand years would you have a shot at me, donkey b.u.t.t."

The crowd burst into laughter. "Did she just try to call you an a.s.shole?"

My fury evaporated under embarra.s.sment.

Hurrying, I made my way to the front of the line, the men parting down the middle to let me by. The bouncer at the front was shorter than me but about three times as wide. He wore only leather pants and had straps over his chest that strained when he folded his arms. Or tried to fold his arms. They kinda stuck out from his body because of all the bulk.

"We don't let women in here. There's another club down the road-"

"Let her in, Jimmy! She lifted me up with one hand, and I almost blacked out," my "friend" from the line yelled. The rest of the men waiting rumbled with appreciation.

"I'm meeting someone. Business only," I said, fighting to keep my face blank and not flushed with embarra.s.sment. This was for Tad, I could do this.

Jimmy looked me up and down. "Doubt that."

Irritation flashed through me and I stepped up to him, looking down at his face. "I suggest you let me in, Jimmy. Or you're going to find out just how honest your friend back there is being. Do not try my patience."

A low rolling hiss started up in my chest, and Jimmy backed up a step, his eyes wide. "What the f.u.c.k?"

I didn't wait for him to offer to let me in. Just strode up the final two steps and into the club before he could pull himself together. As soon as the doors opened, the sound of wild music poured out into the night, the heavy thumping ba.s.s accompanied by a tempo that made my blood jump in time. I wrapped my arms around my torso as the music crawled up and down my skin, blocking me from sensing anything other than its rhythm.

s.h.i.+vering, I forced myself to move forward. Every table was full of men, dressed like the ones outside with only slight variations in where the leather was placed. And where it wasn't, as I saw more than once. Good grief.

Their eyes tracked me as I moved through the club, and I fought not to notice how many of them were next to naked. Or completely naked. A man wearing nothing but a leash sat at the feet of another man who petted his head, as if he were a dog.

Every step I took showed me far more than I'd ever thought I'd see in my life, never mind what I might have imagined was out there.

I'd walked the entire length of the building before I saw the G.o.d of thunder and lightning. Zeus was at the back of the club, leaning against the wall with an arm over each of the shoulders of two younger-looking men. He kissed one, then the other, but his eyes never left mine. I flushed and looked away.

As he lifted his head he grinned as though just noticing me. "Ah, you made it, Alena. How did you get in?"

Was he serious?

He held his hands out. "They wouldn't have let you in without some sort of show. What was it?"

Embarra.s.sed, I all but spit out the words. "I choked one of the patrons."

He slapped his hands on his leather-clad legs, laughing uproariously. "Oh, I wish I had seen it. Who did you choke? Jimmy? He can be a pill, and I would like to choke him myself a time or two, for the sheer joy of it."

I had to remind myself I needed his help. That was the only thing that kept my feet planted firmly where they were. "I don't know. Some guy in line wearing a face mask. I only threatened Jimmy."

Zeus's grin widened. "Too fun. Okay, boys"-he slapped them on their leather-clad behinds-"I have business. Come find me later." He patted the two men on the head as they slunk away, alternately pouting at Zeus and glaring at me.

I rubbed at my arms. "Is there somewhere the music isn't so strong?"

"Nope."

I realized that was why he wanted to meet me here. I was at a disadvantage by not being able to pick up on any vibrations other than the music. Not that I knew what to do with the vibrations on my skin, not really. But obviously Zeus knew it was something I could use in my favor, or he wouldn't try to block it. Not that I really knew myself well enough to even use all the tricks in my bag.

He gestured for me to slide into the booth behind him. I did and he slid in the other side. Ernie floated in and dropped onto the middle of the table.

Zeus waved at him. "Go get us drinks."

"You got it." He zipped off and Zeus slung an arm across my shoulders.

"I don't trust him. I think Hera has him in her secret pocket." His eyes scanned the crowd, and before I could formulate a question in regard to what he meant by a secret pocket, because I wasn't sure I wanted to know, he plowed on. "We don't have much time. A few minutes before he's back with the drinks. Here's the deal." He leaned in close so his mouth was against my ear, his coa.r.s.e short beard tickling the edges of it. "Hera is up to something, and for whatever reason you're at the center of it. If Achilles kills you, he proves he is a hero. People will flock to him like they did in the old days."

"What does that matter?"

Zeus pulled back so he could look me in the eyes. "Belief is a powerful thing, young Drakaina. The more people who believe in you, the more power you have. The more power Achilles has, the more powerful the G.o.ddess he wors.h.i.+ps will become. He's working for Hera. She could climb the ranks in a way she's never done before."

Ernie flitted back to the table, drinks in each hand. He handed Zeus the beer and handed me a fluted gla.s.s that sparkled with something bubbly. "Beer for the boss, champagne for the lady."

I took the drink but didn't sip from it. Thinking about what Zeus could tell me in front of Ernie, I weighed my options. Not that I believed him that Ernie wasn't on my side . . . but I was quickly learning that not everything was as it seemed. Just as Yaya had said.

"Tell me about my grandmother. What is the curse on her?"

Zeus nodded, his eyes sparkling with approval. "Well, after she and I had our tryst, Hera was as usual peeved."

Ernie snorted. "Peeved is a bit light of a term, don't you think?"

"Well, the details don't matter now. Hera is always peeved about something." He rolled his eyes, and I thought about Roger cheating on me. How it had sent me into a flurry of self-doubt, anger, and shock.

I put the drink down and glared up at Zeus, thinking that perhaps all men-and male G.o.ds-were alike. Obviously Zeus thought nothing of stepping out on his wife. Neither did Roger. Were they all just primed and ready to hump anything that smiled at them?

"I've been cheated on, and if all she got was peeved, I think you got off light. In fact, I think perhaps you deserve whatever you get."

"A lifetime of penance, eh?" He shook his head. "Please, you have no idea what it is to be tied to someone you haven't loved in years. Someone who doesn't even love you but is such a territorial b.i.t.c.h she won't give you up." His words so closely echoed Roger's, I felt like I was talking to my husband for a split second.

I slapped my hands on the table. "I do know what it is to be tied to someone I can't get away from, so don't you talk down to me. You might think of yourself as a G.o.d, but you aren't any different than any other stupid man who thinks he can cheat and has all the reasons and excuses to do so."

"You're a child who doesn't understand life," he shot back. "People who are happy don't cheat. If you got cheated on, maybe your husband wasn't happy. Ever think about that?"

"Or maybe he's just a d.a.m.n a.s.shole!" I shouted, shaking all over. I was so angry that I didn't even care that I had just sworn for maybe the first time in my whole life. Mostly because I worried a part of what he said might be right. What if I'd put more time into my marriage and less into my business? Would Roger have strayed then?

There was a moment of stunned silence, and slowly the tension fell.

Zeus grimaced and waved a hand at me as if to wipe all the words away. "The point is, Hera was not happy. Since she can't really do anything to me, she always punishes those I've dallied with. In an effort to scare them off from this goodness." He slapped at the small beer belly that edged out over the top of his pants.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. My yaya. What was the curse?"

"That she and her family would never find real love. And if they ever stepped back into the supernatural world, they would be destroyed. Which is why Flora let herself get sucked into the Firsts."

"Oh, is that it?" I drawled even as my heart skipped a beat. "Destroyed? That's it?"

Zeus's jaw dropped, but he covered it by taking a sip of his beer. "You're taking this rather well."

"Listen, I've faced more in the last few days than any good girl should ever have to deal with in her entire life. What's a curse of a loveless life and ultimate destruction added to it?" I leaned back in my seat. "Will you help me with Achilles?"

Ernie's head whipped from side to side, looking from me to Zeus and back again, but he said nothing.

Zeus shook his head. "No. Not my area anymore. 'No dabbling' is my motto now."

"Not even a suggestion?" I leaned toward him, wondering if I could work my siren magic on him the way I'd done on Officer Jensen. That slow unfurling of power within my belly curled up through me.

Zeus laughed softly. "Won't work on me. But nice to see you're falling into your role as a monster."

I jerked back from him as if he'd slapped me. Ernie shook his head. "That wasn't nice. She is a good girl."

"Good girls get f.u.c.ked over, Ernie. You know that." Zeus stared at the cherub. "Either she embraces what she is now, or she's going to die. Achilles will kill her. End of her story."

I pushed out of the booth. "Thanks for all your help."

"You aren't leaving, are you?" He seemed genuinely surprised. He slid out of the booth, following me.

"My brother is being held by Achilles. I can't leave him there."

Zeus's face went a careful, neutral blank. "Your brother?"

"Yes." I frowned. "Does that mean something to you?"

Zeus cleared his throat and leaned over the table. "Don't try to save him. That's Achilles's style. Hold a hostage, use them against his enemy, and kill the hostage right as you step onto the stage. To send you into a rage that will make you sloppy."