CHAPTER 15
Ted stared at the unmarked envelope while he ate dinner. He’d replayed his conversation with Mikolas at least a hundred times, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to open it. Maybe he just didn’t want to be lured to work with the Greek, or maybe he cared for Pamela more than he’d realized.
Or he simply didn’t want to read his father’s letter.
It was probably the latter.
Ted picked it up, tapping the corner on the table. He couldn’t put it off forever.
Taking a deep breath, he carefully opened the envelope and took out a stack of faded photographs of a group of people in sixties attire. He brought the picture closer, inspecting it. One of the women was definitely Pamela.
On the back of the photo, there was some writing in Greek. He set it aside. The next picture showed a circle of robed people near the Parthenon. He scanned the faces and found Pamela again. A Post-it was stuck on the back, which said, The Order, 1970.
He did the math in his head. The picture was almost fifty years old.
And Pamela hadn’t aged a day.
A chill crept down his back. His phone rang, her name lighting up the screen. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to take the call. Hesitating, he finally pressed “Accept.”
“This is Ted,” he said.
“Where are you?” Pamela purred. “I thought you needed to see me?”
He picked up the picture again. “Yeah. I just got stuck working on a project.”
“The others have agreed to welcome you back into the Order.”
“About that…” He dropped the picture on the table. “The police had to let Mikolas go. He may not be so eager to have me back.”
“I thought you had him handled.” Her voice was tight, her words clipped.
“I did, too.”
“We have to talk in person. Now.”
He swallowed. “I’ll be there soon.” He ended the call and carefully removed a folded note from the envelope Mikolas had given him.
Holding his breath, Ted opened it. His father’s controlled script was unmistakable.
Greetings to the Greek Order.
We have a woman requesting membership in Crystal City. She references being a previous member of your Order, so I’m writing for guidance in this matter.
Her name is Pamela Costas, and I’m enclosing her photo. She’s a philanthropist for Grecian historical charities.
Please inform me as soon as possible in regard to her status.
Ted Belkin
Belkin Oil Industries
It was dated fifteen years ago, but the enclosed photo could have been taken today. Not to mention the others from fifty years ago. No plastic surgeon could manage that level of agelessness.
His hand trembled as he withdrew the final document. Another handwritten letter from his father to Mikolas’s father.
Mr. Leandros–
There has been a delay in the special project on the Oceanus. I’m sure you’ve already seen the news reports about the explosion. I’m handling the media fallout, but I need your help with something. Two of the injured men claimed there was a blond female dressed in black at the control panel on the rig. When they approached her, they were paralyzed.
They’re both in shock, but the description they gave matches that of Pamela Costas. When I showed one of the men her picture, he identified her.
I never brought her to the Oceanus. I don’t know how she found it or how she got out here, but I’m concerned about her origins. Is there any chance that she is more than she seems?
Lastly, if anything happens to me, please send your son to California. My son will need his help to see our mission completed.
Ted tossed the letter aside.
His father hadn’t said a word about his suspicions about Pamela or his belief that Ted couldn’t free Kronos on his own.
Ted couldn’t even win his father’s approval from beyond the grave.
No, it couldn’t have been Pamela. The Oceanus rig sat a few miles offshore, and the location wasn’t on any public records. How would she have found it?
He drummed his fingers on his desk. If Mikolas was right and Pamela was…not human, then why would she be so anxious to bring back the Golden Age of Man?
Then it hit him. She’d mentioned that she only answered to Kronos. Maybe she didn’t give a shit about mankind. Maybe all she wanted was Kronos.
And the death of the muses.
He put the letters and photos back into the envelope and locked it in the bottom drawer of his desk.
He had too many questions and not enough answers. But maybe Pamela could change that.
Cooper stood at the stove, flipping their grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches, but he could feel Lia’s gaze on the back of his neck. He peered over his shoulder. “What? Did my grandmother tell you some embarrassing story from my childhood? For the record, I wasn’t streaking at the public pool. I got locked out of the locker room.”
“No, but now I want to hear all about it.”
He turned, spatula in hand. “So what’s eating at you?”
She shrugged. “Honestly, I’m trying really hard not to shake you. I had the same struggle at poker today with your grandmother.”
“Oh yeah?” He took out a couple of plates and put the sandwiches on them, then he grabbed a bag of chips and brought everything to the table. “You wouldn’t be the first person who wanted to throttle a Hanover.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t like you both so much.”
He popped a chip in his mouth, trying not to crack a smile. “So you’re saying you might accept a rematch at pinball?”
She rolled her eyes, but her grin buoyed his spirits. “See? This is what makes me crazy. There’s this fun side of you that’s all smiles and laughs, and then there’s this switch that flips and you shut down. I don’t get it.”
The chip suddenly became a rock in his stomach. “So you’re saying there’s probably a reason I’m still single.”
She pointed her sandwich in his direction. “Exactly.” She took a bite of the sandwich and hummed. “Oh. Damn. You’re a sandwich master, too?”
“I try.” He sobered. “I care about you, Lia. I want to impress you, not dredge up the past.”
She set it back on her plate. “You’ve already impressed me, though. You practically have a Superman cape blowing in the wind behind you. You saved Reed, took a hit from a car meant for me, and don’t get me started on how amazing last night was…”
He hoped they could relive it again, but he didn’t get a chance to tell her that before she spoke again.
“But here’s the thing.” She searched his face. “The Muse of Comedy lives inside me and I’m still not happy all the time. It happens. I’m laying my cards on the table right now because I care about you. Heck, I slept in a hospital chair for you. But if I put my heart on the line, I don’t want only part of you. That’s not real, Cooper. If I’m all in, then I want to know all of you. When we laugh or when we cry, we need to be a team or I can’t play this game.”
He shifted in his chair, his gut twisting into knots. “Remember the night I came to the improv show? When you told me about losing your two friends?”
“Yeah. Nia and Polly.” She swallowed. “I think about them every day.”
“You said you sometimes feel guilty for being happy.”
“I did at first, but then I’d remember laughing with them. It reminds me that they wouldn’t want me to give that up. It’s one of the things they loved about me.”
She was right, but she was also stronger than he was. It was so much easier to lock the past in a chest and hide it in the attic. Opening it was too painful, and sharing the night he lost his sister with someone terrified him. What if she blamed him like his family did?
He stared at her beautiful face, at the wisdom in her eyes, and his heart thumped. If he wanted any hope of a future with her, he’d have to let her in, even if it meant reopening old wounds that never healed.
“I had a sister.” His throat went dry, his voice tight, but he forced himself to go on. “Sarah was the light in our family; everyone’s favorite person to be around.” He leaned back in his chair, struggling to put words together. “She was a year older than me with a bright future ahead. When she graduated high school, she already had her whole life planned out. She was going to go to Stanford in the fall.”
He ran his hand through his hair and clasped the back of his neck, meeting Lia’s eyes. “I got in a big fight with her the night before she was supposed to leave for college. I can’t even remember what we argued about now, but she left the house in tears.” He ground his teeth. “She went to grab a coffee, and on the way home, a drunk driver hit her head-on.”
Lia got up and went around to his side. “I’m so sorry, Cooper.”
“No.” He stood, shaking his head. “If I don’t get this out, I never will.” He went to the window and stared out at the sunset. “My family imploded after she died. I couldn’t handle knowing my last words to Sarah were in anger, and my mom blamed me for her death. We haven’t spoken to each other in years.”
“That’s not fair. You had nothing to do with the accident.”
He looked over his shoulder. “It was my fault she drove away that night.”
Lia came up beside him, her hand running slowly up his back. “Your grandmother said something tonight, about how you used to be a funny boy.”
He scoffed. “I was the class clown. No scholarships for me.”
Her brow furrowed. “Then why did she tell me you didn’t need to work? Your college was paid for…”
His eyes burned as he squinted into the sun. “My dad offered me Sarah’s college fund.”
Lia had never met Cooper’s mother, and grief affected everyone differently, but blaming her son for the loss of her daughter made Lia want to punch something. Violence probably wasn’t going to help Cooper, though, so she channeled the frustration.
“Can you remember a time you made Sarah laugh, like really belly laugh until she cried?” she asked.
A vise tightened around her heart when he looked at her with so much pain in his eyes.
“She had to make a video for a science project once. It was about a fictional animal she had to make up, but she had to pretend they had just discovered it in the Amazon jungle. She’d planned everything out—charts, graphs, photos, even the soundtrack of music to play in the background.” A gentle smile slowly replaced the sadness that lined his face. “I was in charge of the music, but when she got to how her animal reproduced, I changed it to Barry White. It took her a second to realize what had happened.” He chuckled. “She laughed so hard her face turned red. My mom probably still has the video someplace.”
Lia took his hand. “Sounds like you were her bright light.”
He blinked, his gaze locking on hers. “What?”
“If she was a driven person, excelling in school and all, and your parents were saving up for her to go to a high-powered college like Stanford, she was probably stressed out most of the time.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She didn’t complain.”
“But you were the one who made her laugh, right?”
He started to nod. “Usually.”
“She wouldn’t want you to punish yourself for being happy.” Lia squeezed his hand. “That was part of what she loved about you.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at the twilight sky. “I never thought about it like that.”
Lia swallowed the lump in her throat. “Your mom was hurting, and she was wrong. None of it was your fault.”
He pulled her into his arms, and she closed her eyes, holding him tight. His heartbeat was strong and slow in her ear. Time ceased to exist, and the world faded away.
“I’ve never told anyone before.” He kissed her hair. “My parents sold the house. It had too many memories. I didn’t go to the new house with them. My parents barely spoke to me, so I moved in with my grandparents for a year, before going out on my own with roommates. I never looked back.”
Lia looked up at him. “You’re a strong guy.”
“I survived.” He shook his head. “Until I met you, though, I’d forgotten how good it felt to laugh.”
She reached up to cup his cheek. “I’ll remind you if you start to forget again.”
He turned his head, pressing a kiss to her palm. “And I’m going to keep you safe.”
She smiled. “As I recall, you were the one who needs protection.”
The sound of his laughter melted her heart.
Cooper bent down and scooped Lia up into his arms. Her squeals and mock struggles had him grinning all over again. All his scars, his regrets, and his ghosts had been brought into the light. Lia’s light. For the first time since the police had knocked on their door to tell them about the accident, he didn’t feel guilty for every smile—for being happy.
Inside his bedroom, he lowered them both onto his bed. He rested over her, staring down into her dark eyes. “I love you.”
He hadn’t expected to blurt the words out, and she didn’t reply. Her gaze wandered over his face. For a split second, he almost regretted saying it out loud, but he’d meant every word. She didn’t need to love him back to make them real.
Lia ran her finger along his jaw and whispered, “I’m glad. Because in spite of trying to protect my heart, I’ve fallen for you, Cooper Hanover.”
He grinned as she closed the distance between them, fusing her lips to his. Her fingers tightened in his hair, their tongues tangling together.
When she broke the kiss, her mouth curved into a sexy smile. “That was me telling you I love you, too.”
He ran his hand down her side, pulling her leg up beside him so his hips sank even closer to her. “Feel free to tell me again anytime.”
She rocked into him. “I think I could communicate better if we didn’t have all these clothes between us.”
He raised a brow. “I’m all for better communication.” She grinned and caught his bottom lip with her teeth. He groaned, grinding into her. “And I’m feeling a mighty need to communicate.”
She rubbed his rock-hard shaft through his shorts. “Then let’s lose the clothes.”
He got up and tugged his shirt off.
Lia was on her feet, too. Her top hit the floor, exposing a red, lacy bra. She caught him looking and smiled. “See. Told you I had sexy underwear.”
“They’re only sexy because you’re in them.” He pulled off his shorts and boxers, and took her into his arms. “And I can’t wait to get you out of them.”
“You haven’t even seen the bottoms yet.”
He forced himself to release her and sat on the edge of the bed, his erection pulsing with need.
She unbuttoned her pants and lowered the zipper. The anticipation was killing him. She turned around with her back to him and slowly shimmied the jeans down her hips, exposing her bare cheeks in her red, lacy thong.
He reached up to cup her ass, unable to resist the temptation. “You’re so sexy. And it’s got nothing to do with the damn underwear.”
She worked her hips into his hands, grinding slowly. He was going to lose it.
“Condom,” she whispered.
Fuck. He would’ve forgotten. Again. “Nightstand.”
She went to the side of the bed and bent over, treating him to an amazing view. When she came back over, he took the condom and tore at the foil. Once he had it on, he gripped her hips and turned her around again. He kneaded her ass and caught his fingers in the top of the thong, then slid it down her body. He ran his hands up the insides of her legs to the juncture of her thighs, exploring her folds until she moaned.
Yeah, he needed her. Now.
With her back to him, he guided her down onto his lap, enjoying the warmth of her body as he entered her. She ground into him as he grasped her hips, pressing kisses along the top of her shoulder to the base of her neck. Peering down her body, her breasts bounced inside of the lace cups with every thrust up into her. She braced herself on his thigh with one hand, while the other reached up behind her to tangle her fingers in his hair.
He nibbled at her neck, sliding one hand down her abdomen. “You feel so good.”
With his fingertips between her legs, he teased her in time with his thrusts. She rewarded him by rocking her hips, adding to the friction.
He needed to get even closer. “Turn around.”
Lia slid him free of her body for a second as she faced him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He sank back into her, staring into her beautiful eyes.
A sexy smile curved her lips, her voice a breathless whisper. “Better.”
He reached behind her, unclasping her bra and sliding it off. Her nipples were hardened tips, making his mouth water.
“Much better.”
His gaze remained locked on hers as he sucked her nipple into his mouth, enjoying the way her back arched into him. He moved his hand between them to toy with her as he ached for release, so near the edge. He turned his head, licking and teasing her breasts with his tongue.
Kissing his way up her neck, he growled, “Come with me, Lia.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed made it impossible for him to take it as fast as he wanted to, but Lia’s hips worked into his thrusts harder and faster until he finally exploded deep inside her. Lia’s head fell back, and she cried out his name, her orgasm milking him until neither of them could move.
Cooper’s heart raced, pounding in his ears as he kissed her chest, holding her tight.
Lia smiled, her face flushed with color. “You have amazing communication skills.”
He chuckled, his teeth grazing her skin. “And they are only for you.”
She pulled back to see his face. He wanted to memorize every line and angle, the emotion in her eyes as her smile faded. “I do love you.”
“I know.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “You brought me back to life.”
“You were alive.” She brushed a kiss to his lips. “You just forgot to enjoy it.”