CHAPTER 5
Cooper’s pulse rate was off the charts as he waited for Lia to speak. Usually science guided him, but since that damned fire, nothing made sense anymore.
Except her.
Kissing her in the pool, her skin against his, it was the first time in years that the emptiness in his soul vanished. She was the missing piece. He’d only been alone with her a few times, and already he’d smiled and laughed more than he had since…he didn’t want to think about it.
This wasn’t science, and it wasn’t realistic, but goddamn, it felt right.
“Cooper, I think you’re my Guardian.”
Her guardian? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Not like a legal guardian, like…” She sighed. “Okay, I’m going to start at the beginning, but you can’t leave until I get all the crazy out.”
“Nothing could be crazier than almost dying while bringing a guy back from the dead.” He pulled off the vinyl apron over his chest, and set it on the table, then crossed his arms. “Bring it on.”
“I’ll remind you later that you asked for it.” Lia gave a small smile, her damp hair in waves around her face. The curls were…familiar. He was definitely on the edge of madness. Maybe it wasn’t a brain tumor, but something was off.
She pulled out another chair. “While I was enrolled at the Chicago Beauty Exchange to get my cosmetology certificate, I started having these crazy dreams about Greece. My grandparents emigrated from there when my mom was little, so I wrote it off as my subconscious wanting to know more about my heritage.” She met his eyes. “Do you know who Thalia was?”
He raised a brow. “Should I?”
“She was one of the Greek muses, who were the nine daughters of Zeus. My parents named me after her. She was the Muse of Comedy. In all the stories, the playwrights would pray to her for inspiration, and the rule was that her plays always had happy endings. That’s why my mom chose the name.”
He took her hand. “She wanted you to have a happy ending.”
“That was her thinking, yeah.” Lia stared at their intertwined hands.
He lifted her chin so he could see her face. “You took after your namesake.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” She broke eye contact and pulled back from his touch. “I didn’t realize this would be so hard.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “So, I couldn’t shake the dreams. I kept seeing statues of Thalia with the comedy mask in her hand, and the Theater of the Muses, Les Neufs Soeurs, in Paris. I thought I was losing my mind.” She peered up at him from under her dark lashes. “Then the visions changed. I saw a run-down theater on the West Coast. After combing Google every night for weeks, I finally found it…in Crystal City.”
“The one that burned down…”
She nodded with a sigh. “Yeah.” She got up and went to the cupboard. “Want a glass of water or anything?”
He wanted something, but water wasn’t even close. “Nah. I’m fine.”
Her hips swayed as she moved around the kitchen, reminding him of how she had felt sitting on his lap in the pool. He adjusted the towel.
Lia came back over and sat down. “I don’t know how else to say this, but Clio, the one who interrupted us outside the improv club the other night?” He nodded, and she continued. “She’s a genius when it comes to history. She got her hands on some ancient Greek scrolls and found a prophecy involving the muses. The short version is that the nine daughters of Zeus are basically reborn each generation to inspire mankind.”
She stared at him as if waiting for a reaction, but he wasn’t sure what to say. “So you were dreaming of the prophecy?”
“No, Cooper.” She shook her head, no trace of her infectious smile. “I am the prophecy.”
Lia held her breath, praying he wouldn’t run from the condo as fast as his legs could carry him.
His brow furrowed. “Wait a sec. You’re telling me you are the actual Greek Muse of Comedy?”
“Sort of.” She bought a little time taking a sip of her water. “I’m still me, but she’s inside my soul, too. I guess you could say I’m a vessel for her. She’s the reason I crave laughter. She needs it.” She chuckled, meeting his eyes. “It figures that out of all my sisters, I’m the muse of happy endings. I want to inspire people to laugh and embrace joy.”
“And why do you need a Guardian?” he asked.
He was taking this surprisingly well.
“The other half of the prophecy is that the gods have marked the Guardians and given them a latent ability that only comes alive when he finds his muse, to help us inspire science and the arts and move humanity forward. Our goal is to make the future brighter. But there are others who think the only hope for humanity is to unleash the Titans. They believe Kronos will bring back the Golden Age of Man. They worship him. And apparently, they think clean energy will slow down their drilling and somehow, we ended up on their most wanted list. Anyway, I think the Guardians are supposed to help us stay safe.”
Cooper rubbed the back of his neck again. “The day at the fire… Meeting you made this crazy healing thing happen.”
“I like to think it’s a cool superhuman gift from the gods, but yeah.”
He held up his hands, that flash of fear filling his eyes again. “I don’t know how to turn it off and on. I tried on a couple of calls today, but you were the only one it worked on.”
“We think we’ve figured out it only works to protect your muse.”
He stood up, running a hand through his hair. It was tough not to stare. Her kitchen just got much better looking.
Cooper faced her again. “What about what happened with the firefighter? How was that protecting you?”
“Maybe because I asked you to try again?” She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”
He paced her kitchen as she took another swallow of her water. “How can I live with knowing I could close his artery and pull him back to the land of the living, but not be able to do the same thing for someone in a car accident?”
She got up and took his hand. “Doctors can’t save everyone, either.”
He nodded and met her eyes. “Those guys on the security video, the ones in the masks, are they still a threat?”
“I hope not, but we’re done hiding from them. Mel’s Guardian is a police detective, and he’s working the case.”
“But if people find out that you think you really are the Greek muses…”
“We don’t think. We know. And yeah. It could get dicey.”
Cooper shook his head, looking out the window. “I think I need a little time to digest all this.”
Her chest tightened, but she nodded. “I know it seems crazy.”
“Understatement of the year.” He glanced at her. “You have my number if those masked assholes start bothering you?”
In spite of the ache in her heart, somehow he coaxed a smile to her lips as she muttered, “Masked assholes are the worst.”
He smiled back, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I do believe you.” His voice softened, just above a whisper. “You’re a bright light, Lia.” He came closer and brought his hand up to cup her cheek. She struggled not to snuggle in. “I’m not,” he finished.
She covered his hand with hers, searching his eyes. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. What you do every day…you save lives, Cooper. They may not laugh and applaud, but when they need you most, you’re there like the sun peeking through the storm.”
He pulled her close, and she slid her arms around his waist, closing her eyes. She had so many questions, but right now, words failed her.
He kissed her hair and stepped back. “I’ll call you soon.”
She nodded, and he went down the hall to change. Lia huffed out a breath and sank back into her chair. Cooper was a puzzle. She’d witnessed his selfless desire to help people firsthand, and he made her laugh with his gallows humor and curled her toes in the pool. The man kindled a hearty dose of passion in her, but part of him was shying away. She could almost feel him pulling back.
Maybe she’d dumped too much on him all at once. Subtlety had never been her strong suit.
He came back into the room in his street clothes. “Thanks for tonight.”
She stood up, suddenly feeling awkward and unsure what to do with her hands. “I’m sorry you’re being forced into all of this. I remember feeling like my life had been hijacked.”
He paused at the door and turned back. “How’d you get over it?”
“I quit my job at my aunt’s salon and told my family I was leaving Chicago for California. They were sure I was either on drugs or insane.” A bittersweet smile curved her lips. “I keep expecting them to come through the door to have an intervention, but my mom is still holding out hope I’ll meet John Stamos and bring him into the family.”
Cooper rubbed his chin. “You’re doing all of this to inspire the world?”
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “Maybe there’s a little insanity in me after all.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You’re brave.”
Without another word, Cooper walked out the door.
“Mr. Belkin? Detective Malone is here to see you.” Marion’s voice rang through the intercom.
Ted frowned. “To see me?”
“Yes. He said it’s regarding an ongoing investigation.”
Shit. Ted glanced at his phone. He couldn’t duck the meeting without looking suspicious. Besides, his lawyer was just a call away if Ted needed him. “All right. Send him in.”
Detective Malone should have been coming to question Mikolas. Why was he at Ted’s door?
Recently, Ted had sent Bryce on an undercover operation to poke around Callie O’Connor’s home—she was the Muse of Epic Poetry—while no one was home. One of the scrolls Bryce took a picture of contained some sort of Greek prophecy about men called Guardians, who were marked by the gods to protect the muses.
The door opened, and there was Detective Nate Malone. Ted would bet every penny he had he was looking at one of those Guardians right now.
The moment the Order had gone after Melanie Jacoby, the Muse of Tragic Poetry, this detective had suddenly developed a sixth sense of some kind. Every move they made against the muse, he was right on their tail, forcing them to choose another target.
“Thanks for your time, Mr. Belkin.” The detective’s tone was anything but grateful. No doubt Malone had his suspicions, but there was no hard evidence regarding Ted’s connections to the Order.
Connections he no longer had.
Ted unbuttoned the cuffs of his dress shirt and started folding his sleeves up. “What can I do for you, Detective?”
“We got a tip about the arson fire at the theater and the new CEO here. I wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Ted looked up. “Shouldn’t you be talking to him?”
“My partner is upstairs with him now.” Nate’s eyes narrowed. “This is the third time threads of my investigation have led me to this building, but your new CEO was only in the country for this last one.”
Ted’s pulse quickened. He curled his toes in his loafers, forcing his facial expression to remain neutral. “Do I need a lawyer?”
Nate raised a brow. “That’s what I’m wondering.” He glanced toward the ceiling. “Must piss you off that some European guy is running your father’s company and not you.”
He’s baiting me.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s business,” Ted said. “I’m not sure what that has to do with your investigation.”
The detective shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’d be easy to frame him. Stash one of those gold masks in his trunk and place an anonymous tip to the hotline.”
Ted shot to his feet, his leather executive chair squeaking in protest. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I think we’re finished here. If you have any more questions, you’ll have to contact my attorney.”
“If you think of anything that could help the investigation”—the detective laid a business card on the edge of Ted’s desk—“give me a call.”
He left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
Ted pulled his hair back from his forehead and went to the plate glass window that overlooked Crystal City. The cops were trying to rattle him. He just needed to lie low until Mikolas was in custody, and then he could contact the members of the Order and resume his father’s mission to free the Titans from their prison and stop the muses.
Since Zeus imprisoned Kronos and his Titan brothers in the center of the earth, the Order had been trying to find a way to release them, to welcome back the Golden Age of Man. When Kronos reigned over the world, there was no war or hunger. The Order believed they could return to those days once the Titans were freed, but as centuries passed, they realized their goal would not be achieved without sacrifice.
Starting with the muses.
He went back to his desk and picked up his cell phone, pressed on Bryce’s name in his contact list, and waited for him to answer. “Hey. It’s Ted.”
“Hey, Boss. What’s up?”
“The police are sniffing around. I don’t think there are any ties between us, but be alert.”
“Will do.” He paused and added, “Any progress ousting the Greek?”
“Some.” Ted glanced toward the window. “Are you still keeping tabs on the muses?”
“Yeah. There’s a carpenter working on the site now. He got the foundation cleared and lumber has been delivered.”
“The carpenter’s not local, so I don’t have leverage to keep him from doing business with the muses, but one guy isn’t going to be able to rebuild the whole place alone anyway.” Ted and his father had been very careful in making the right connections so they could delay the construction of Les Neufs Soeurs as long as possible.
Bryce chuckled. “Hope not.”
Ted frowned. “You find this funny?”
“No, Boss.” His tone sobered. “It wasn’t you. Just watching the funny one—Lia. She just came out of 31 Flavors with a cone, and one scoop started to fall. She juggled it for a while, but it finally hit the ground.”
Ted stared at his phone. Damn. Good help was hard to find. At least Bryce was a strong, hulking guy, and the Order had done some mental conditioning to ensure his loyalty. He didn’t have to be smart; he just had to follow orders.
“Her full name is Thalia. I’m guessing she’s the Muse of Comedy just like her namesake,” Ted said.
Bryce’s footsteps sounded through the line as he spoke. “She’s been hanging out with that paramedic from the fire, the one the news reporters said had a seizure while he was saving the firefighter.”
“Could he be one of the Guardians I told you to look for?”
“Not sure how to tell.” Bryce sighed. “I don’t know what the mark looks like.”
Ted rapped his fingers on the desk. “Does he have a special ability?”
“Not that I’ve seen.” An engine started. “Oh, yesterday, Erica—the one dating the firefighter—went to a bridal store. A wedding must be coming.”
Another chance to get the muses all in one place. Maybe the Guardians, too. “Good. Keep me informed, and watch for the police.”
“Will do, Boss.”
Ted ended the call and set his phone aside. He couldn’t lose focus. First, he needed to contain Mikolas, then his attention could shift to silencing the muses.
He got up and left his office. When he reached the elevator, he glanced back at Marion. “I’ll be back in an hour.” Hopefully they’d have arrested the Greek on arson and attempted murder charges by then.
“All right, sir. Have a good lunch.”
Oh, he planned to…