CHAPTER 6
Cooper woke up a half hour before his alarm after a crappy night of tossing and turning. Every time he’d awoken, he had reached out for her, as if she were right beside him, only to remember that he’d never slept with Lia. So why was he so surprised to find his bed empty?
He was sick of his life spiraling into madness. Things used to make sense!
Grinding his teeth, he wandered into the bathroom for a shower. It was going to be a long goddamn day. Under the hot water, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. Light burst behind his eyelids, weakening his knees. He crumpled onto the floor of the shower stall, his heart racing like a freight train.
The light moved, sentient somehow. Words came, echoing inside of his head, but they weren’t in a language he recognized. Gradually, shadows cut through the light in the shape of a man carrying symbols Cooper understood on some level—a laurel crown, a bow, and the sun.
Orange, yellow beams shot from the sun into the all-encompassing light, hot, but somehow the heat didn’t burn. It called to him. He lifted his hand, fingers splayed wide, aching to touch the sun. He couldn’t reach, stretching until he thought he might fall over, and finally, the light touched the tip of his fingers.
In an instant, he was back in his bathroom.
Cooper shivered even in the hot water, as he got to his feet. He checked his surroundings for any sign of the man made of light but found nothing. He finished his shower in record time and got out to towel off. His hands were still trembling.
If he hadn’t just had MRIs and CT scans, he’d fear he had a brain tumor. And somehow, the other options were even scarier.
Maybe he was having a psychotic break. Lack of sleep and slipping out of reality were both signs of mental problems.
He got dressed quickly, his mind spinning like a centrifuge filled with blood samples, struggling to separate reality and fantasy. The man made of light couldn’t have been real. He checked his fingertips for any sign of a burn, or proof he’d touched…whatever that was. If it was a mental breakdown, wouldn’t he have heard voices speaking a language he understood?
After brushing his teeth, he stared into the mirror, praying for clarity. Lia’s smile kept creeping into his mind. He reached behind his head, rubbing the birthmark hidden at the base of his hairline. The vision had to be connected.
Last night, his head had been swimming after Lia explained his role in this war he never realized was happening. Religion wasn’t a big part of his life. He tended to put his faith in science. Tangible, measurable proof were things he could believe in.
He walked into the living room and opened the slider to his tiny balcony. The sea air greeted him. Below, kids were giggling at the bus stop with no idea that the Titans of Greek mythology were still being worshipped today or that the Greek muses had been reborn inside a group of women, who were magically drawn to Crystal City. They didn’t know he had closed a cut in a man’s artery and brought him back to life without surgery. And none of them knew he’d just had some kind of vision in the shower that had knocked him to his knees.
Cooper gripped the railing. If he accepted all the craziness that was intruding into his reality, he’d have to let go of the life he knew, of order and science. Nothing about the vision, or the strange healings he’d been performing, could be explained or recreated in a lab.
He lifted his gaze to the sky. The sunlight fought the thick fog of the marine layer, and a single beam of light cut a path through the clouds, shining on the ground at the end of the street. Cooper stared at the circle, his vision blurring as the light took shape. A figure raised his hand toward Cooper.
“What the hell?” Cooper wiped his eyes, but the man remained.
A whisper echoed through his mind. I’m with you.
Cooper stumbled back inside the apartment, slamming the slider closed. He raked a shaky hand through his hair. “Fuck. Shit. Fuck—”
His cell buzzed, and he jumped so high he almost hit the ceiling. He fumbled to press “Accept.”
“Yeah?” he answered.
“Coop!” Nick’s voice came through loud and clear. “You okay?”
I’m miles and miles from okay.
“Yeah,” Cooper said instead. “What’s up?”
“Our shift started ten minutes ago. Just wanted to make sure you were coming in.”
Cooper glanced at the clock. “Dammit. Lost track of time. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Good. See you soon, man.”
Cooper put on a clean uniform and grabbed a set of street clothes for after his shift. As he was going out the door, he looked back at the slider again. The beam of light was gone.
Once all the muses were seated around the table in the conference room of Lia’s black box theater, she locked the front door and joined them.
“Sorry, guys.” Mel checked her watch. “I know I called this meeting, but I’ve only got the sitter for about an hour, so I may need to leave early.”
The Muse of Tragic Poetry dwelled inside Melanie’s soul, but her life had been anything but tragic since Detective Nate Malone had come into her life. She was now a mother of two amazing kids while still teaching high school English. Lia kept expecting to see a superhero cape sneak out of the back of Mel’s shirt, but so far, no dice.
Callie leaned forward. “Is everything okay?”
Mel glanced around the table until her gaze landed on Erica.
The Muse of Erotic Poetry had nearly lost Reed, her firefighter fiancé, in the theater fire, and afterward, she had rallied the rest of them to get the police involved in hunting the Order of the Titans. It did put the muses at risk of being exposed as insane for believing the Greek muses lived inside them, but after losing Nia and Polly to attacks from the Order of the Titans, Erica convinced them the possibility of exposure was worth the risk.
“Nate is chasing a lead this morning.” Mel’s attention stayed focused on Erica. “They got an anonymous tip after releasing our security footage of the fire.”
Erica raised a brow. “This is good news, right?”
“Not sure yet.” Mel ran a hand through her hair. “Someone said they saw the new CEO of Belkin Oil with a gold Kronos mask in the trunk of his car.”
Lia frowned. “The leads always take us back to Belkin. So, the new Greek guy is taking over where Ted Belkin, Sr. left off?”
Mel shrugged. “Nate’s not convinced. His gut is telling him it’s a setup. He’s convinced that if the Greek billionaire is heading up the oil company and the Order of the Titans, he wouldn’t be so sloppy.”
Trinity stared at her hands. “He thinks it’s Ted.”
Lia looked at her roommate, wishing she could reach across the table and give her a hug. Trin had been in love with Ted Belkin in college. She’d confided in him when the muse dreams began, and now he wielded her secrets like a weapon.
Mel’s voice softened. “Nate was going to lean on Ted while his partner questioned the CEO. They have a warrant to check Mikolas’s car for the mask, but if they find it without his fingerprints on it, a good lawyer will be able to make sure nothing sticks.” Mel sighed. “Sorry it’s not better news, but I wanted to keep you all in the loop.”
Lia cleared her throat. “I have some news, too.”
All eyes turned her way. Cooper’s last words to her the night before still rang in her ears like a bad joke. Only he’d been far from joking.
“I found my Guardian,” she said. “He has the mark.”
A crease formed on Callie’s brow. “You don’t look relieved.” She was the Muse of Epic Poetry and took on the role as their leader like a second skin, but she was also an amazing psychiatrist. It was tough to hide anything from her.
Lia shook her head. “He didn’t take all the muse and Guardian stuff very well.”
Mel reached over to squeeze her hand. “He’ll come around. Nate freaked out, too. It would be tough not to.”
“The thing is,” Lia said, “I keep thinking about the fire, about when he saved Reed.”
“Cooper?” Erica’s attention shifted to Lia like a laser. “The paramedic? He’s your Guardian? I knew it!”
Lia met her eyes and nodded slowly. “Yeah, but from everything we know about the Guardians, their powers only work to protect their muse, right? He healed a gash in my head that day, but he also brought Reed back from the dead. I did ask him to try one more time, but he can’t seem to turn it off and on either, so I feel like there must be something we’re missing here.”
Clio pushed her glasses up and picked up her pen, jotting notes as she spoke. “I was researching potential candidates for our Guardians just to see if it might help us narrow down where or who they might be.” She shifted in her chair and glanced at Lia. “Thalia was with Apollo. He was the Sun God and the great healer. It would make sense that a paramedic would be your Guardian.”
Pain lanced through Lia’s head. Blinding light pierced her mind behind her eyelids. Images of paintings and statues of the golden god flooded her head all at once. He had blond hair, a muscular body, tan skin, and a healing touch.
She winced, rubbing her forehead.
Concern lined Clio’s eyes. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I don’t know. I think so?” Lia lifted her gaze to the others. “The mention of Apollo ignited some sort of sun bomb in my brain.”
Callie got up and went over to Lia’s side. “Maybe meeting the other Guardians would help him. Hunter loves to fire up the grill. At least then Cooper would know he’s not alone in this.”
“He asked for some space.” Lia forced a smile. “Turns out his grandmother is in my poker group on Wednesdays, though, so maybe she can give me some insight.”
Mel spoke up. “I’ll keep you all posted on Nate’s investigation, but he told me to remind everyone to be alert. Once the police start getting closer to the Order, there’s a good chance they’re going to try to lash out at us again.” Her gaze landed on Lia. “We’re going to need all the help we can get, so the sooner Cooper is on board, the better.”
After Callie gave a few updates on the Les Neuf Soeurs theater construction, Mel had to take off to relieve the babysitter, and the rest of the muses said their good-byes until Clio and Lia were the only ones left. Lia cleared the table, and Clio helped reconfigure the chairs.
“So, is Cooper nice?”
“Yeah.” Lia glanced up at Clio, a smile creeping onto her face. “But he’s sort of…complicated.”
“Complicated?” Clio rested a hand on her hip. “Like good complicated or…”
“I don’t know yet,” Lia admitted. “I don’t know him that well, but the time we’ve spent together has been pretty amazing. He’s got a good heart, he’s smart, and I love his grandmother.”
“But not him.”
Clio was the youngest in the group and by far the most romantic, probably from reading all the epic romances that changed history.
Lia chuckled. “It’s a little early for that.” She paused for a beat. “Have you ever been in love before?”
Clio tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you mean.”
“Not what I meant at all,” Lia said. “I mean, have you ever told a man you loved him?”
Clio paused and slowly shook her head. “No. There was a guy in college. We went out for a few months, but…I never said the words.”
Lia nodded. “Well, I have a couple times before, and it’s never happened after a couple of dates, at least not for me.” She patted her chest. “You have to trust the person before you offer them your heart.”
“But he’s your Guardian.”
“Yes, but he’s also hiding something.” Lia blinked. She hadn’t put it together before, but now it seemed obvious. “I thought he was worried about the sudden healings he was doing, but now I think there’s something more to it.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Trust goes both ways. He has to trust me enough to let me in, and last night”—her voice wobbled—“he shut me out.”
Clio took a step closer, empathy in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to press. I just thought…”
“I know,” Lia said. “The others fell in love with their Guardians.”
She nodded. “I thought you might, too.”
“Maybe someday. There’s definitely a spark there.” Lia draped an arm over Clio’s shoulder.
Her face brightened. “I knew it.”
“But he makes me work to get even a smile or a laugh out of him.”
Clio giggled, shaking her head. “That must make you crazy.”
Lia nodded. “At least I finally got a belly laugh out of him last night.”
“So there’s hope.” Clio raised a brow.
Lia’s lips curved into a smile as she nodded. “I definitely have hope.”
Ted walked to his car, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He kept replaying the scene in his head. Standing at the window in his office, staring down at the parking lot below as the detectives helped Mikolas into the back of their car. The Greek had tipped his head up, his glare knocking Ted back a step, and then he was gone.
Inside the parking structure, he clicked his key fob to unlock the car.
A tall man stepped out of the shadows. “If you continue to push me, I will be forced to retaliate. I can promise you won’t enjoy it.”
Ted flinched but quickly buried his surprise. “They let you out already? Your daddy must’ve paid for an amazing lawyer.”
“They found a Kronos mask in my trunk,” Mikolas growled. “How do you think it got there?”
Ted shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you should be more careful.”
Mikolas shot forward and pinned Ted to one of the support columns, his fists gripping Ted’s shirt. “Don’t fuck with me. You’ve already cost me too much. I didn’t come all this way to hurt you, but if you get in my way again, I will.”
“What did you come here for?” Ted grabbed Mikolas’s wrists, trying to jerk free, but Mikolas didn’t let him go. “Because as far as I can see, you haven’t done a damned thing to help bring back the Golden Age of Man. Kronos hungers for freedom. What are you doing to make that happen?”
Mikolas pulled him forward, then slammed him back against the column, and finally released him. “The drill on the Oceanus rig has been repaired, and the public relations nightmare is almost behind us. As long as no more murders lead the police to our doorstep, we’ll continue on the mission.” A muscle clenched in his cheek. “Now back the fuck off, you whiny piece of shit. You’re a figurehead here. Nothing more.”
Ted glared at the Greek’s back as he vanished into the shadows. Asshole. Mikolas didn’t know who he was dealing with. Ted smoothed out his shirt. He got in the car and took out his cell phone. He pressed a couple of buttons to make a call.
“Bryce?” he confirmed. “It’s Ted.”
“Yeah, Boss.”
Ted checked his mirrors. “Give me something I can use.”
“The muses were all at that improv club again. Most of them left, so I was going to tail one of them, but then an ambulance pulled up. The paramedic just went inside. Maybe one of the muses dropped dead?”
They couldn’t be that lucky. Ted turned on the car. “Wait for me. That guy could be another one of the Guardians from that prophecy.”
“I didn’t see any marks, but I’ll stay here.”
“Thanks, Bryce.”
Ted hung up and drove out of the parking structure, half expecting Mikolas to jump out again. Thankfully, the Greek was nowhere to be seen. The CEO could threaten Ted all he wanted, but he didn’t have anything to leverage. He already banished Ted from the Order, and Mikolas couldn’t fire him from the company that bore his family’s name.
He headed toward the improv theater on the east side of town, an idea forming in the back of his head. His father’s extra Kronos masks were in a trunk at his place. He grinned. If he planned his next moves right, he could lead the police right to Mikolas’s door with so much evidence that even his rich, Greek father wouldn’t be able to bail him out.