Аполлион

There was truth in those words. Nodding, I headed to the passenger side, my gaze drifting to where the doe had stood. I thought of Artemis. The gods shouldn’t be able to find us, but it took no stretch of the imagination to assume that Apollo would’ve told his twin where we were.

A small smile played at my lips as I climbed in. They would be okay. Over half of them were trained and damn good with a dagger. Not to mention that all of Deacon’s playing around with fire was paying off. With Laadan and Marcus capable of controlling air, they could protect themselves. And if Artemis was really hanging around, they had one badass goddess on their side.

Belting myself in, I then placed my hands in my lap. They balled into fists. I glanced over at Aiden as he started the engine. The Hummer rumbled to life. “You know I suck at long car rides, right?”

A half-grin appeared. “I remember.”

“You’ll need to entertain me. A lot.”

He laughed as he coaxed the massive vehicle down the narrow, one-lane dirt road that was all new to me. “By the way,” Aiden said, casting me a long look that had me totally forgetting about the seriousness of our mission. “You look damn good in a Sentinel uniform.”

A hot flush that had nothing to do with embarrassment spread over me. “So do you.”

“I know.”

I laughed outright. “Wow. Healthy ego there.”

Aiden’s eyes were light, a heather gray, as they focused on the rural road. “Check out the glove box.”

Curious, I leaned forward and threw the latch. Inside were two black, shiny objects. I pulled one out carefully, turning the heavy thing over. It was a specially designed Glock. Feeling like a badass, I checked the clip—titanium bullets.

The gun felt weird in my hands, though. “I’ve only held one of these once outside the Covenant.”

Aiden was quiet as he waited for me to continue. Of course, he knew when. “I didn’t use it. I hesitated.”

“You were facing down your own mother, Alex. It’s understandable.”

I nodded, ignoring the lump in my throat as I placed the gun back in the glove box. “What else is stashed away?”

“Look under the seats,” he murmured as the Hummer’s tires evened out on pavement.

Under the seat were two daggers and a sickle blade. “The same under yours?”

He nodded.

“What are you expecting? A daimon siege?”

“Safe than sorry, Alex. We have no idea what or who we’re going to run into out here.”

I straightened. “Seth’s nowhere near here and we’re protected.” I tapped a finger off the talisman I wore, and then gestured at the mark above our heads.

Aiden grunted something unintelligible.

My brows rose, but I dropped it. Not like I was bothered by the things designed to stab, shoot, and otherwise kill. “Man, I wish we had coffee.”

“Like you need more caffeine.”

“Ha. Ha.” I stared out the window, nibbling on my lower lip. “Caffeine is my friend.”

“And red meat—can’t forget red meat.”

I grinned at his teasing tone. “Whatever. Eat your bland chicken breast, but soon… very soon, I shall sway you to the dark side of red meat.”

We went back and forth for a while, distracting ourselves, and it worked. My muscles relaxed with each passing mile and we weren’t bombarded by daimons dropping from the sky from the moment we hit civilization, otherwise known as the interstate. When we took a detour to grab a quick lunch from the drive-through, I ordered a hamburger…

Aiden got a grilled chicken sandwich… and took one of the buns off.

Rolling up the wrapper, I laughed. “Why do you do that? It’s like you have something against two-bun sandwiches.”

“One bun is enough.” He glanced down at his lap, one hand on the steering wheel and the other covered with specks of seasoning. Looking up, he sighed. “Did you take all the napkins?”

I looked at him sheepishly. “Maybe, but I saved you… half of one.” Digging into my bag, I pulled out a napkin and tore it into two. Then I dabbed at his hand, not as graceful as he’d been when he’d washed my hands the night in the kitchen.

I think I may have rubbed his skin raw.

Snatching the bag out of his lap, I pulled out the other bun, wiggling it near his mouth.

“Alex…” He leaned toward the window, avoiding the dangerous second bun. “Come on.”

“Eat it,” I ordered, holding it with two hands now, making it dance in the air. “It’s begging you. ‘Eat me’.”

He arched a brow.

“Perv,” I muttered.

Aiden pressed his lips together, but when he glanced at me and my dancing bun, he burst into laughter. “All right, give me the bun.”

Grinning, I watched him eat the bun, and then pulled out the small order of fries. “Want some?”

Surprisingly, he didn’t turn them down. But after the food was gone and neither of us could find anything remotely worth listening to on the radio, I started to get twitchy. Four hours in, we hit a convenience store a few miles beyond Des Moines, refilling the tank and stocking up on what looked like gerbil food. Considering my run-in with Hades last time I was in a convenience store, I stayed in the car and asked for some Doritos, but apparently nacho cheese wasn’t appropriate Underworld food.

“Want to drive?”