But Sage…
His focus shot back to her. This woman had no reason to care about him. He'd shoved her away from the very start. And sure, initially, she'd been trying to get him into bed, or the forest floor to be technical, but she had stuck with him. Sage had turned down an offer from a goddess for his sake more than hers. Now she would face the letum to ensure he stayed safe.
This was the kind of woman a man needed in his life. Passionate, loyal, brave. Beauty wasn't important in the long run of things. She had that in spades, but her loyalty…that was sexy as hell. If he wasn't careful, she would own his heart by the time the night was through.
She already does.
"Fine, but if you get bitten and I have to kill you…" He couldn't finish that thought. He couldn't—no, he wouldn't—allow that to happen. He'd keep her safe no matter what.
Sage beamed up at him. "I knew you were smart."
Glaring, he pulled her into his arms, sucking back a gasp at the way his body protested movement of any kind. "Don't patronize me or I might rescind my decision to take you along."
She patted his chest and chuckled. "It's cute that you think you had a hand in that decision." Before he could reply, she kissed his cheek. "Let's go. People could be zombie food already, and we're over here bickering."
He wouldn't point out that they'd only been bickering because she didn't want to go back to The Aegean Inn for her own wellbeing. He had to let it go because she was right. The letum wouldn't wait on them to sort it out, and so much valuable time had already been wasted. "Wish we knew how many of them are out there." And how many people would end up bitten and turned by the end of the night. It had taken about a day for the ones who had died to turn. Would bites take shorter or longer if someone hadn't been killed by the creatures?
Pan waved a hand around at the group, holding his phone in the other. "So, is all…this…sorted? Good. Gonna contact Zeus. Split up if you need to." He went invisible and a rush of air washed over them as the god took to the skies.
"So…that's normal for all of you or just him?" Sage asked.
He grinned. "Pan's the Jersey Devil; didn't I tell you?"
"Uh, that would be a no." Then her expression changed to excitement. "Wait a minute! Wait a damn minute. Why didn't you tell me? I saw him on that documentary when he kidnapped that zoologist."
Adonis didn't know what to make of her change of demeanor. "Kat Silverton is his fiancée."
"What!" She clapped her hands over her mouth and then repeated, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Zale cleared his throat, rescuing him from this bizarre turn of events. "Look, Melancton and I can head back toward River Street through City Market and look for any trouble there. If you three want to head the other direction and circle around this perimeter?"
They reached the entryway for the parking garage, but red and blue lights were flashing from the street, sirens off and heading in their direction. "Shit."
"Oh, I forgot about the bodies." Sage grabbed Adonis' hand and the rest of them followed her as she cut across the parking lot to the opposite side of the garage. "So um, we're probably all on cameras now and prime suspects that are going to be wanted for murder. I don't know if my parents or my roommate will be the most disappointed." Her voice wavered.
"If the Olympians find this threat dire enough to step in, that will get taken care of. It's part of the whole keep the supernatural side of things away from the delicate human kinda life we've been living," Zale said.
Sage flipped him off.
"What?" he looked at Adonis, baffled at her reaction.
Once they exited the opposite side of the building, they quickly and quietly split up before the police presence had time to grow any heavier. It wasn't lost on him that the police had already had a report on Theron, Maron and Elek with their satyr descriptions, and now dead bodies were being discovered. Cameras in the area would alert them to be on the lookout for more men with horns and hooves. He could hear the demonic cult headlines being typed up even now. As much as Halloween was a perfect cover for going out in public without glamour, they currently wouldn't stand a chance if they were not careful.
"I haven't heard any more screaming yet, so that is a good sign, right?" Ariston laughed nervously. "I mean, I guess their victims could have been killed quickly and not have the chance, but I'm trying to be optimistic here."
At least his brother was attempting to make conversation that wasn't an accusation or a fight. Adonis took it as a positive sign. "Being optimistic is definitely a good thing right now." They shared a look, and Ariston gave a small smile. Sage looked between them and smiled herself.
It was a nice moment. A hopeful moment. Therefore, without fail, everything instantly turned to shit.
"Look out!" Ariston shouted and shoved them both to the side as a beefy man flung himself out of the bushes, heading straight toward them. Sage hit the asphalt hard on her hands and knees with a shriek, dagger clattering across the pavement. Adonis barely kept his footing as he spun around to keep his eyes on the attacker. Ariston danced out of the man's reach as
