CHAPTER 11
Clio tried not to smile as Ted struggled to catch his breath. Mason took his seat again, and Trinity lowered her glass to the table. “Wish I could say it’s nice to see you, Ted,” Trin said.
He defensively covered his abdomen with his arm. Clio worried her lower lip. Ted had no idea how lucky he was that he hadn’t threatened her. If Mason had punched him with the strength of a Guardian, Ted might not have survived.
Ted focused on Trinity as he spoke. “I have it on good authority that the only way to stop Pamela is to find Rhea. That’s why I’m here.” He turned to Clio. “I was hoping you might be able to help me find a likely place to start looking.”
Clio blinked. “Rhea, as in the Mother of the Gods? Zeus’s mother? That Rhea?”
He nodded.
Clio’s head spun. Part of her wanted to laugh and tell him that it was impossible, but the part of her soul that belonged to her namesake didn’t find the idea so preposterous. If the muses and Philyra were still in the world, why not Rhea? According to the myths, she hadn’t perished, nor had she been locked in Tartarus with Kronos.
“Wow. Let me think.” Clio went to the counter and brought back a pad and pen. Putting the tip to the paper, she jotted some notes. “Rhea was called the Mother of the Gods and the Mistress of All.”
Ted leaned in to see her notes. “Not sure how that helps.”
Clio lifted her head, narrowing her eyes. “I’m thinking aloud. Just listen and see if there’s a thread I’m missing.”
“Oh.” He nodded sitting back in his chair. “Sorry. We don’t have much time.”
Trinity swirled her wine in her glass. “What is it you’re not telling us?”
He sighed, tentatively meeting her eyes. “You and Tera… She’s the Muse of Dance, right? Anyway, you two are her next targets.”
“Because we haven’t found our Guardians yet.” Trinity’s voice was flat, resigned. It was just as Callie had suspected.
“He’s out there.” Clio took Trinity’s hand. “We’ll find him.”
Ted glanced at Clio. “We don’t have time to wait for her Guardian. We need Rhea. She’s the only one who can stop Pamela.”
And if Rhea could stop Pamela, Mason would be able to abandon his deadly quest to face her—more incentive to find Zeus’s mother. Clio pulled her hair back from her forehead, begging her brain to come up with something helpful.
“In the Greek myths and art, Rhea is often with the guiders of destiny, Titias and Kyllenos.” This wasn’t helping. She pushed for more. “Rhea was worshipped with tambourines and drums.” Still nothing. “And she was often depicted with lions.” She peered up from her notes. “Anything helpful yet?”
Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s a big office building downtown with a lion logo on the top. I pass it on my way to the lumberyard from the theater. I don’t know what they do there, and it’s probably nothing, but you never know.”
Trinity got up and left the room. She returned with her laptop. “Okay, I think I found the building. Ida Industries. They’re professional fundraisers for…”
Clio tuned her out, jotting a flurry of notes. She underlined one sentence and blurted out, “Mount Ida. It can’t be a coincidence.” Everyone stared at her like she’d lost it. Clio pointed to her paper. “Rhea hid from Kronos on Mount Ida. It’s also where she took Zeus as an infant. Kronos was eating their children in order to stop the prophecy that one of his children would led to his defeat. Rhea saved Zeus by hiding him on Mount Ida while she presented her husband with a stone wrapped in cloth. The myths called Rhea the Idaean Mother.”
Trinity raised a brow. “It’s worth checking.”
Ted was already on his phone. “According to Google, their biggest clients are activists to save the national parks and the oceans. There could be more if we do some digging. And I might be in a business association with them.”
Trinity looked up from her laptop. “Looks like there were three guys who founded Ida Industries—Zervos, Spanos, and Mardas.”
“Greek last names… But I doubt Rhea would take on a male form.” Clio rested her pen. “Not after being married to Kronos. When your husband eats all your babies to keep a prophecy from happening, I’m pretty sure you’d never lower yourself to become a man.”
Mason shrugged. “Maybe the men were a front. If Rhea is still here, she might not have a business degree. If she married a mortal guy who was a whiz at professional fundraising…”
Clio started to smile. “No one would ever suspect. It would be the perfect way for her to continue to ‘mother’ the Earth without seeming like anything other than a rich man’s wife.”
Ted finished typing on his phone and pointed at Clio. “You’re a genius. Or at least I have a place to start.” He got up, his gaze landing on Mason. “I can’t say it’s been a pleasure.” His attention shifted to Trinity, and his tone softened. “I’m going to find her. I know I can’t ever make things right, but I still don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Trinity slowly lifted her gaze. “I appreciate your change of heart, but you’ll understand when I say, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He nodded slowly. “I don’t blame you.” He went to the door. “I’ll send Trinity an e-mail when I find anything. Thanks for your help.”
Once the door closed behind Ted, Trinity closed her laptop and got up. “I definitely need a shower now.” She looked at Clio with an exhausted smile. “He was right, you know. You are a genius.”
“Not sure about that, but I do love history, and it’s not every day that it comes in handy to save lives.” Clio chuckled.
Trin smirked at Mason with a spark in her eyes. “Apparently, I won’t be needing to kick your ass. After seeing you handle Ted, I’m no longer sure I would win.” She tipped her head toward Clio. “Take good care of our girl.”
“Yes, ma’am. I intend to.”
She grinned. “I like this guy.”
Clio had to agree. She liked him more each minute.
Ted got back to his place and opened several tabs on his laptop, loading up different association directories and searching for anyone from Ida Industries. It didn’t take long to get a hit, then one more. He was in two different groups with them.
He cross-referenced the names in the association directories with the names on the website, then ran a search for their names on google.
“Fuck. You’re kidding me.” He scanned the obituary for Mr. Chuck Zervos. “He died five years ago.”
He sighed and wrote down the name of his widow. Maybe he could track her down somehow. Hell, for all he knew, she could be Rhea.
Next up he found John Mardas on a membership roster. He tried cross-referencing him on google only to find a news story about a large gift to the cardiac ward of the Crystal City General Hospital in memoriam for him. Apparently, he died last year.
Ted groaned and started on the final name. He let out a humorless laugh. “Dead. Of course, you are. Dammit.”
But Mr. Don Spanos’s obit had an address to send cards and flowers—the Blessed Mary Village, a retirement community run by the Greek Orthodox Church ran that. Interesting.
He glanced at the clock. It was pretty late to drop in tonight, but he’d give her a call in the morning. At least he’d found something. He grabbed his phone and sent a text about the widows to Mikolas.
It buzzed a few seconds later. His screen lit up with a call from Mikolas.
“You got my text?” Ted answered.
“Yeah.” Mikolas was out of breath. “See if one of the women might be Rhea, and let me know what you find. But don’t say anything to Kevin.”
Ted frowned. “But Kevin was the one who gave us the tip to find Rhea.”
“I know.” Mikolas huffed. “But he just noticed he was being watched and ran so fast, I couldn’t keep up. There’s no way a mortal seventy-year-old man could move that quickly.” He puffed out another breath. “Call me when you have something.”
And he was gone. Ted leaned back in his chair. Weird. And if Mikolas was right and Kevin was an immortal, too, then what did Kevin have to gain by helping them stop Philyra?
Mason flipped the final grilled cheese sandwich while Clio worked at the dining room table. Since Ted’s warning, Mason was planning on sticking close by Clio and Trinity.
He’d spent his adult life on his own. Worrying for the safety of others was foreign, and so far, he wasn’t enjoying it. He caught himself flinching at every sound. Any shadow from the corner of his eye could be an attacker. Unlike Nate and Hunter, he wasn’t trained for these kinds of situations. Leave him a pile of wood and he’d build you a fortress, but hand him a gun and he was a fish out of water.
In this case, he wasn’t even sure a gun would help.
Once the sandwiches were on plates, he glanced over at Clio. She was engrossed in a couple of books, with her laptop to the right and her notepad front and center. She peered up at him over her glasses, and a smile curved her lips.
His heart raced. He might not have had the marksman training or military background, but damn it, he’d give his life to protect hers. In a heartbeat. No questions asked.
That had to count for something.
She stacked her books, but her attention was all on him. “Smells great.”
“Thanks. It was the best I could do with the ingredients in this fridge.” He looked toward the hallway. “Want to get Trinity?”
“Yeah.” Clio got up, but her new roommate burst from her room, rushing toward them.
“We need to get to the hospital now,” Trinity blurted.
Mason set the sandwiches aside. “What happened?”
“Erica’s in labor.” Trinity grinned. “She just got admitted. We’re going to be aunties!”
Clio closed her laptop and started pulling her shoes on. “Isn’t it too early?”
“Only by a week or so. The doctor says the due date is an estimate.” Trinity grabbed a sandwich. “We can eat on the way.”
Mason chuckled, putting the other sandwiches on paper plates. “Works for me.”
He handed Clio a grilled cheese and followed them out to Clio’s car. He headed for the backseat, but Trinity bumped him out of the way with her hip. “No way. You sit up front by your muse.”
Mason rolled his eyes. “I can’t let a lady sit in back when there’s a perfectly good front seat available.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” Trinity grinned, opening the back door. “Besides, this way I’ll have room to spread out.” She slipped inside before he could argue any further.
“Come on,” Clio called from the driver’s seat. “The baby might already be here.”
Mason smiled. His baby cousin’s birth took over sixteen hours. If Erica was just admitted, they weren’t going to miss anything. But he kept it to himself. The last thing he wanted was to kill Clio’s and Trinity’s joy.
After they parked, Trinity hurried ahead to find out where Erica and Reed were. He held Clio’s hand as they walked toward the hospital. “Did you have any siblings?” he asked.
Clio shook her head. “Nope. I’m an only child. I’d always wished I had a brother or sister. Everyone said we would’ve fought, but fighting would’ve been better than being lonely. It wasn’t all bad, though. I had my books.” She looked over at him. “What about you?”
“I have a half-sister, Lauren.” He’d missed her wedding a couple of months before. He’d been too worried he’d lose Pamela’s trail. “She’s five years younger than me.”
“Does she know about the…curse?”
He shook his head. “Neither does my mom. They both think I’m chasing a woman and building my dreams along the way.”
She frowned. “Do you talk to them often?”
“Not as often as I should.” He shrugged. Usually talk about his family made him defensive, but he was an open book with Clio. No judgment and no secrets. It felt amazing. “We Skype sometimes.”
They stepped through the automatic doors, and Clio lowered her voice in the high-ceilinged echo chamber of the lobby. “I hope I get to meet them someday.”
“Me too.” Bitterness curdled in his gut as he said the words. She’d never get to meet his family, and they’d never know what happened to him. He’d be just another missing person in some police file like his father was. But Pamela would never hurt Clio again. He would cling to that knowledge to keep his resolve.
That didn’t stop him from wishing there was another way. Maybe finding Rhea would be his ticket.
They were rounding the corner toward the elevators when Clio got a text. She pulled her phone out and grinned. “Erica’s on the fifth floor. Everyone is up in the waiting room.”
She put her phone away. It was silly to be nervous. Erica’s pregnancy had been smooth sailing for the most part, and this wasn’t the first baby for their group. Mel and Nate’s little boy was already crawling. Erica and the new baby would be fine.
Once the elevator door closed, Mason leaned against the back railing. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m trying to talk myself down.”
A crease lined his brow. “Down from what?”
The doors opened, and they stepped out. “I’m really nervous. Not sure why. Maybe because the baby’s coming a little early? I’m not sure.”
Mason caught her hand, his touch reassuring. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
The waiting room was packed when they arrived. Clio made the rounds, hugging everyone. The only members of their group missing were Nate and Cooper. Apparently, they were already on their shifts when Reed had made the call that they were going to the hospital. They’d come by once they were off work.
Reed was with Erica, so right now they were gathered together with only Hunter and Mason to protect them if the Order showed up. Or worse, if Pamela came back. Gods, Clio couldn’t shut her brain off. Maybe the fire had given her a little PTSD. Regardless, the anxiety in her gut wouldn’t quiet. It would be so simple to wipe them all out right now.
“I need to sit down,” she whispered, trying not to start a scene.
Mason went with her, taking the chair beside her. He kept his voice hushed. “Take a deep breath and try humming a song. That usually helps me.”
She forced her breathing to slow and started to hum “American Pie.” Mason ran his hand up her back, his touch soothing the chaos that was brewing in her head. Gradually, she realized he was harmonizing with her.
“I think it’s working.”
He nodded. “Funny thing is, that’s my go-to song, too.”
She glanced around the room, but everyone was busy on their phones or chatting in small groups. No one was paying any attention to her and Mason in the corner. She met his eyes. “Anxiety is a new thing for me. I hate it.”
“Pretty sure no one likes it, darlin’.” He shook his head. “But when you live through a fire and are thrown from a pier when you physically can’t swim, I think anxiety is sort of a given.”
“Having all of us together in a public place is making me punchy, I guess.”
His eyes searched hers. “When I was a little guy, I used to have nightmares of Pamela smiling at me in a dark lake. I’d wake up struggling to breathe. Thought I was dying at first. Turns out I was having panic attacks.”
“Did your mom get you some help?”
“No. My dad was missing. She figured the night terrors would pass.”
Clio frowned. “She didn’t worry Pamela would come back for you? You witnessed her attacking your cousin.”
He shook his head. “No one believed me about Pamela being in the lake that night.”
Clio hadn’t tried to tell her family about being a muse, but she imagined they wouldn’t believe her, either. She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for helping me through that.”
“You’re not alone in this. All these people care about you.” He leaned over to brush a gentle kiss to her forehead and whispered, “I care.”
Before she could respond, Lia came over with an older woman on her arm. “Hey, Clio. This is Cooper’s grandmother, from my poker group at the Village.”
Cooper’s grandmother smiled. “Lia styles our hair and plays cards with us on Wednesdays.”
Clio stood up and offered her hand. “Polyhymnia, right? Lia told me about you.”
“My name is actually Agnes Hanover, but yes, I’m the vessel for Polyhymnia.” She took Clio’s hand. “And this is—” She looked back over her shoulder and frowned. “Where did Zack go?”
Lia shook her head. “For an older guy, he’s got some crazy ninja skills. He probably went out to pay the parking meter or something.” She smiled at Agnes. “I got the call while I was playing poker with the girls at the Village, and I figured it would be a good chance for Agnes to meet all of us in one place.” She lowered her voice. “I think Zack has a thing for her because he volunteered to bring her so she could leave if we end up being here for a long time.”
“That was nice of him.” Clio started to ask about the poker game, but Reed suddenly came around the corner.
“We have a beautiful baby girl!” he announced with a big grin on his face.
Trinity rushed over to hug him tight while everyone clapped and cheered.
Mason shook his head. “That was fast.” He helped Clio up and followed her over to see Reed. When Clio finally got close enough to embrace him, she asked about the name.
“I almost forgot.” Reed smiled. “Her name is Hope.”
Clio blinked back unexpected tears. Her emotions were like a rollercoaster. It made no sense.
While Mason congratulated Reed, Clio slipped out of the waiting room into the hallway to catch her breath and try to get a grip. She almost slammed into an older guy with bright-blue eyes, a purple newsboy hat, and a gold cane.
He caught her elbow. “Excuse me.” His balance didn’t falter, and something in his kind eyes tugged at her already emotionally full heart.
“Are you all right?” She cringed. “I should’ve been more careful.”
“No. It’s completely my fault.” He tried to peer around her. “I was looking for Agnes.”
Clio’s eyes widened. “You must be Zack.”
He nodded, a twinkle in his eyes as he offered his hand. “Zack Vrontios, at your service.”