CHAPTER 3
“Hey, Coop. Welcome back, man.” Jerry took his hand and tugged him in for a quick hug.
“Good to be back,” Cooper said. He pulled away as another familiar face came out from the locker room.
“Damn my eyes, it’s Apollo!”
“Hey, Garcia.” Cooper shook his head and grabbed Steve’s hand. “You still need glasses, man.”
“It’s not my problem that you were chiseled from marble.” Garcia chuckled and slapped Cooper’s shoulder. “Doctor cleared you to join the working stiffs again, huh?”
Steve Garcia was a couple of years older than Cooper and about eight inches shorter. He’d given Cooper the nickname Apollo during Cooper’s first week with the unit. Apparently, Apollo was the only Greek god Steve could remember. Steve and Jerry had been partners as long as Cooper had been at the station.
“Yeah, I’m ready to roll,” Cooper said.
“Good timing, too.” Garcia glanced at Jerry. “Just got a call.”
“You guys can take this one,” Nick said as he came around the corner. “Let the guy get changed.”
Nick was Cooper’s partner on the rig and usually drove. Cooper was the Paramedic in Charge, meaning he took care of their patients in the back, among other things. Nick shoved Cooper’s shoulder. “I’ll go check the fluid and tire pressure on the rig.”
Cooper headed for the locker room to stow his clean clothes. After a long shift, a shower and clean clothes were heaven. He tugged on his navy-blue, department-issued tee and changed into his dark-blue cargo pants. Then he just stared at his combat boots.
He hadn’t put them on since the theater fire, and soot still covered the worn leather.
He made sure he was alone before reaching into his locker and picking them up. The scent of charred wood slammed him right back into the moment, staring into Lia’s eyes as she begged him to try one more time to save their firefighter friend. He replayed the rescue at the theater in his mind, as he had a million times.
The back of his neck had throbbed as he laced his fingers together and started compressions. One, two, three, and then the world had tilted.
He’d been blinded by pure white light with no visible source. It had flooded everything. His hands had burned, his skin had tingled, and then his heart had lurched, racing until he’d thought it might burst. Then came a strong pull, like his soul was being yanked free of his body and shot into the hole in the firefighter’s chest.
Cooper had found the tiny cut in the artery, focused the light, and suddenly, he’d dropped into darkness. He had awoken in the hospital hooked up to an IV.
When the doctor had asked him if he remembered what happened, he’d lied. What could he have said? Something had sucked away part of his life to give it back to the firefighter? And what about the cut on Lia’s head? Either she had superhuman healing powers, or that tingle he’d experienced in his fingers and the burn at the base of his skull were signs her wounds were taking from him, too.
He wished he could blame it on insanity, but they’d tested and scanned every inch of his head. No brain tumors, no lesions, nothing.
Cooper shook off the memory and headed out to the truck bay. He climbed inside the rig and opened the cabinets to check their supplies. Even though he’d been gone a few weeks, it all came back as easy as breathing. Gauze, bandages, hypodermic needles, swabs, intubation kits—he continued down his mental checklist until Nick finally peered into the back.
“All set? We’ve got a morning call to Holiday Ranch.”
“Yeah, we’re good here.” Cooper closed and latched the cabinet, then went around to the passenger side. Most mornings from seven to nine o’clock, they had calls from people who found a loved one or a neighbor unresponsive. Often, Cooper, Nick, and the other paramedics were too late to make a difference, but they showed up anyway, hoping they might be able to help.
He buckled his seat belt while Nick took the call on the radio. Cooper stretched his fingers. In the past two years, he’d missed a couple of days of work after twisting his ankle carrying the gurney down two flights of stairs, but he’d never been sidelined for a few weeks like this. This morning, he had wondered if he’d be rusty or slow, but maybe it was the sort of thing one never forgot. Doctors and surgeons got the glory, but it was paramedics who stabilized the trauma patients so the docs could do their work.
Cooper hoped to be an ER doc one day, but going to med school part-time was a long road. None of that would matter if he had another episode like he did with Reed McIntosh.
He flipped on the emergency lights as Nick rolled the rig out into the street. Cooper rolled his shoulders back, trying to ease the mounting tension.
Nick spoke without taking his eyes off the road. Cars pulled to the side to let them pass. “You okay, Coop?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” he lied.
“They ever figured out what happened with you at the fire?”
“Nope. Though not for lack of trying.” Cooper checked the GPS. Only a couple more blocks.
“Glad you’re okay, man,” Nick said, glancing over at him before locking his eyes on the road again.
“Thanks. Me, too.” But Cooper wasn’t sure he’d ever be all right again.
They rolled up to the Holiday Ranch Apartments and found Mrs. Hughes mumbling about her teddy bear, her head dropping against her chest in her easy chair. Her neighbor was sitting beside her, holding her hand. They’d been to Mrs. Hughes’ apartment a few times in the past three months.
Cooper and Nick left the gurney at the door. Cooper carried the medical kit with him and knelt at her side, examining her color. “Mrs. Hughes, what seems to be the trouble?” he asked.
She patted his hand. “Just dizzy, James.”
Her neighbor leaned closer. “James is her grandson. She’s been a little confused today.”
He nodded and took her vitals. “Looks like you’re dehydrated, Mrs. Hughes. I think we’d better get you over to the hospital so they can check you out.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary. I don’t want anyone to fuss over me,” she insisted.
“You’re worth it, Mrs. Hughes.” Cooper squeezed her hand. “We just want to be sure you’re feeling better.”
Nick came over with a bag of fluids and IV kit. “We’ll run you over to the hospital and you’ll be home before you know it.” He smiled at her and handed Cooper the supplies.
“Such nice boys,” she muttered, her eyes drifting closed.
Cooper took them, but he hesitated, taking extra time to search for a vein while he focused all his thoughts on the woman’s well-being.
Nothing seemed to improve.
How had he healed that gash in Lia’s forehead?
He narrowed his eyes as he tied the rubber strap around her upper arm. Nothing.
Maybe it had been a fluke?
Pushing the thoughts away, he concentrated on his job. He started a line, then he and Nick got Mrs. Hughes on the gurney. Cooper glanced back at her neighbor. “We’re transporting her to Crystal City Community Hospital. Does her grandson live nearby?”
“No.” Her neighbor’s walker scraped behind them. “I have her daughter’s number. I’ll let her know.”
By the time they lifted Mrs. Hughes into the back of the ambulance, she already seemed to be improving. She patted Cooper’s hand as Nick closed the back doors. “Did I have an episode?”
He shook his head, his lips curving into a gentle smile. “Nothing serious. I think you’re dehydrated, but we’re taking you to the hospital to get checked out, just in case.”
“Thanks, dear,” she said, closing her eyes.
She rested like that the entire way to the ER.
Once they got her admitted, Cooper and Nick changed the sheet on the gurney and wiped everything down with disinfectant. When they got back inside the rig, the next call was already coming in.
“Unit 10, medical call at Blessed Mary Village, room 450.”
Nick looked over at him. “Isn’t that where your grandmother lives?”
Cooper nodded. “Yeah.” He hit the emergency lights. “Not her room number, though.”
“Good.” Nick pressed the accelerator.
Lia finished fixing Mrs. Mardas’s hair and held up a mirror. “Well?”
The elderly woman fluffed her short silver bob and smiled, her eyes twinkling. “I love it.”
Lia grinned and took off the styling apron. “Then I think it’s time for a round of cards, right?”
She helped Mrs. Mardas to the card table and swept up the clippings from the floor. Mrs. Mardas had a suite in the Village, so she hosted the afternoon card games. Lia took her spot as Mrs. Hanover dealt the cards.
Mrs. Spanos scooped up her hand and rolled her eyes. “You deal like crap, Agnes.”
“Don’t pick on the only non-Greek woman at the table,” Agnes Hanover retorted without batting an eye. “I can play poker with the best of them.”
Mrs. Mardas and Mrs. Zervos rearranged their cards, while Lia anted up a quarter. It was small stakes, but these women played like there was a championship purse on the line.
Cards and harmless verbal jabs were flying when a knock came on the door. Lia frowned and hopped up. “I’ll get it.”
She opened the door and found herself staring up at Cooper, who was dressed in his paramedic uniform. “Um.” Her jaw bobbed like a fish out of water for a second before her brain engaged. “What are you doing here?”
His face was every bit as shocked, but he managed to look ruggedly handsome instead of like a suffocating tuna.
“We got a medical call to this room.” He gazed over her head to the poker table behind her. “Did someone call for the para—Grandma?”
“Cooper!” Agnes grinned, and suddenly, Lia noticed the family resemblance—they had the same blue eyes. “Come in. I want to introduce you to Lia.”
Cooper’s partner pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.
Lia backed up, turning to her poker group. That twinkle she’d seen in Mrs. Mardas’s eyes earlier was now shared by every woman around the table.
“You were all in on this.” Lia struggled not to laugh.
Cooper knelt beside his grandmother’s chair. “This isn’t a game, Grandma. I’m working.”
“I know, Coop.” She patted his hand and pointed at Lia. “Lia is working, too. Or she was. She comes to fix our hair, and we roped her into our poker group. I called you over so you could meet her.”
His gaze locked on Lia’s, and heat crawled up her neck as she raised her hands. “I swear, I had nothing to do with this.”
Cooper’s partner stopped beside Lia and offered his hand. “I’m Nick, by the way.”
“Good to meet you, Nick.” She gestured to the poker table. “Apparently, this is my dating service.”
Cooper opened his medical kit and took out his blood pressure cuff. Agnes frowned. “I’m fine, honey.”
“You called in claiming to be short of breath. I’ve got to check your vitals.” He glanced at Lia and back to Agnes. “You’re lucky I don’t take you to the hospital. This isn’t a game.”
Agnes sighed while the cuff tightened around her arm. When he tore the Velcro free, she turned in her chair. “I’m sorry. You told me you were going back to work today, and Lia was coming over. I just wanted you to meet her and see you smile. Humor an old woman?”
He straightened up, shaking his head. “Good thing I love you, Gran.”
Nick rolled the gurney back into the hallway. “I’m going to load this back in the rig.”
“Okay, I’ll be right behind you.” He gave his grandmother a hug and crossed to Lia. “You didn’t tell me you played poker.”
She flipped her hair with a grin. “I’m a woman of mystery. Full of secrets.”
He almost smiled as he met her eyes and then focused on the poker group around the table. “Be careful, my gran deals off both sides of the deck.”
All eyes were on Agnes as her jaw dropped. “Cooper, I do not.”
He raised a brow. “You want me to keep your secrets, you need to call me on my day off.” He tipped his head toward the door as he looked at Lia again. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
In the hallway, his tone softened. “Is your grandmother at that table, too?”
She shook her head. “No. My family is in Chicago. My mom’s aunt used to live here. She inducted me into the poker group before she passed away.”
A crease formed in his brow. “And you still visit?”
“Every week.” She held up her hand, displaying where she’d snipped her finger earlier while cutting their hair. “I bleed for those women.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning.
“Are you all right?” Lia’s smile faded as she lowered her hand.
Cooper caught it, bringing it back up for closer inspection. But his eyes were distant, faraway. Her finger tingled and warmed, and when she pulled away, the cut was gone.
She blinked, bending and straightening her finger. Her gaze lifted to Cooper’s face. “How did you…?”
“I don’t know.” A trace of fear flickered in his eyes.
Before she could say anything else, Nick poked his head through the door at the end of the hallway. “Coop, we got another call.”
“On my way.” Cooper looked at her and hesitated. “Maybe we can talk later?”
“I’d like that,” she said through the lump in her throat.
He took her hand, sending a sizzle of awareness up her arm as he inspected it one last time. His jaw clenched as he lowered her hand. “I’ve got to get back to the rig, but my grandmother has my number.”
She swallowed. “I’ll get it from her.”
He nodded and hustled down the hallway. Lia watched his back, casually searching for a crescent shaped birthmark—the Guardian’s mark. She didn’t see one, but it could be anywhere on his body. She glanced at her healed finger and back to the end of the hallway.
They needed to talk. Soon.
“The police have released this security footage from the Les Neuf Soeurs fire,” the anchorwoman said. “There is a reward for any tips leading to the arrest of these masked individuals.”
Ted clicked off the television and stirred his coffee. He wasn’t interested in the reward money. As the heir to his father’s Belkin Oil stock, he had more money than he could ever spend. It was the new CEO, Mikolas Leandros, that he could do without.
After the son of a Greek billionaire took over his father’s company, the outsider also took the reins of the Order of the Titans. And after discovering Ted and the Order’s enforcer, Bryce, had started the fire at the theater, Mikolas had banished them from the Order. At first, Ted plotted to murder Mikolas, but as the days passed, he began to see a new path to retribution.
Since he’d discovered the identities of this generation of muses, the Order had managed to silence two of them permanently under Ted’s father’s leadership, but Mikolas shut down the plan, claiming murder would lead the police right to the Order’s doorstep.
Ted picked up his phone. After the fire, the muses did not back off their project, and they weren’t hiding. In fact, they were working with the police now. It was their security footage of the arsonists wearing black robes and golden masks of Kronos that was all over the news and the Internet.
They hadn’t admitted to being the reborn daughters of Zeus, though. Not yet, anyway.
He dialed the tip hotline. “I have information regarding the theater fire,” he said when someone picked up.
The female voice on the other end of the line didn’t ask his name. “What can you tell us?”
“Belkin Oil got a new CEO recently. He’s from Greece, and I’ve seen a gold mask like the ones in the video in the trunk of his car.”
He hung up the phone before they could ask anything else. He stared out the window with a thoughtful smile. That should give them enough to go poking around the new CEO. Once Ted led the police to Mikolas, he could regain control over the Order of the Titans, and under his leadership, they would finish the mission his father had started.
The Golden Age of Man was within his grasp once more.
Ted was back in the game.