Fatal Truths (Heroes of Olympus Book 2) Page 18

  “Give me an Internet connection and I can dig up anything,” Owen told her. “It may take time, but I’ll find it. That’s all I have right now. I’m going to put in a couple more hours before hitting the rack. Hopefully, by morning we’ll have even more answers and be able to put this all to bed permanently.”

  “Good job, Owen,” Nolan said. He and Gareth were reading the sheets taped to her kitchen wall. “This is seriously impressive. Whoever had a hand in this needs to be bitchslapped into next week.”

  Mikhail bumped her shoulder gently. “You okay?” he asked softly while the others all moved in to check out the work Owen had done so far.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” she admitted to her newfound brother. “Owen needs a raise, I think,” she said after taking a deep breath. “Owen, why not go and take a nap now? Leave your computer running the algorithms I’m sure you’ve already created.”

  Moving over to her, he rubbed her shoulder lightly. “I had a nap earlier. I’ll get some sleep in a bit. I still have to finish setting a few more things in motion before I do. You, on the other hand, look done in. Go and try to actually sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. I will find them, Kasper. Promise.”

  “Okay, as long as you are certain.” Kas was exhausted. She hadn’t been sleeping well at all, only a few minutes here and there. She had been far too worried about everyone and everything going on around her. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way to exhaust myself,” she said with a grin.

  “I’m sure you will.” Leaning in, Owen gave her a hug. “Go and get some rest, honey. We’ll get this figured out and find a way to make everyone pay for hurting you and Pepper.” Stepping away, he gave her a wink before turning when Wyatt called to him.

  “You look exhausted,” Mik commented. “I know this is weighing heavily, Kasper, but you can’t let yourself get run down. Go and have a hot bath and then climb into bed with Victor for the night. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to have some company.”

  “Yeah, he’s a pretty great guy to have in bed with you. He’s nice and warm, like all the time.” She perked up a bit; just the mention of Victor, or James, made her happy. Impulsively, she gave Mikhail a quick hug and ran off to take a long, hot bath and climb into bed with her man.

  Up in the bedroom, she found Victor lying on the bed with his head dangling off the end as he watched TV upside down—or rather flicked through channels at high speed. How anyone could even determine what was on a channel at that speed, she didn’t know. “Hey, babe.” Victor grinned. “So have they figured everything out yet?”

  “They’re working on it. I’m going to take a nice long, hot bath. Would you like to join me? After that, I’m gonna curl up into bed with you and sleep for the night. I need it. I think you do as well.” She sat on the bed at his side, her hand on his chest.

  He shut off the TV and tossed the remote up next to the pillows as he nodded. “Sounds like a good plan, and yes, we both need the sleep. You didn’t sleep well last night or the night before. Hell, these last few nights you’ve slept barely more than a couple of hours before you started to toss and turn. Go and start the water, love. I’ll come join you as soon as I get over my head rush.”

  “I just keep thinking of all of this, and it’s driving me a bit crazy I guess.” She stroked her fingers over his arm and then finally pulled back. “Okay, I’ll get it started. No fragrances. I know you don’t like them, and I really don’t, either. See you soon.” She kissed the side of his neck and walked away to start their bath.

  Victor wandered in a couple minutes later and handed her a glass of Scotch. “Figured it might help you to sleep,” he told her. “No, I didn’t go get it, I asked Mik to bring you up a bit. Oddly, he was quite accommodating. I’d worry normally about such things if not for the fact you’re his sister and he adores you silly.”

  That had her smiling, and she sighed. “I happen to adore him as well. I’m afraid I’m going to keep the big guy. He might not appreciate that fact, but I’m going to stay in his life. I’m keeping you and James as well. It doesn’t matter where I need to move to—I’m keeping you all.”

  “I’m pretty sure he’ll appreciate it, Kasper. He seems to have softened up a little since we got here. Or maybe it’s because he’s not all hell bent on thinking the worst of you anymore. Random thought—have you and he actually had skin-to-skin contact yet?” he asked curiously. “I only ask because for the life of me I can’t remember seeing it. And you haven’t gone running through the house screaming like a banshee, either, so…” He gave a shrug as he grinned at her.

  “No. I haven’t touched any of the men skin to skin aside from you and James. I take great care so I don’t touch anyone. I like the guys, all of them, but I really don’t need to live inside of their minds to know their every truth.”

  “Figured as much. I’ve seen how careful everyone is around you even for casual hugs. I was just curious, truthfully. I know Mik has demons all his own he wouldn’t share with anyone no matter what. He hates being a burden on anyone like that.” Victor leaned over to turn the water off and then dropped the pair of shorts he’d been wearing to the floor. He took her Scotch from her and gave her a look. “You are seriously overdressed.”

  “Well, you gave me a drink and asked me a question, so I needed to answer you. However, now that you mention it…” When she was naked, she winked at him, “Now, we’re both nice and naked and the tub is ready and the jets are on. Join me?” She took the drink from him and tossed it back quickly.

  “You’d better slide in first, sweetheart. I fully plan on using your lush curves to protect my back from the hard side of the tub.” Victor gave her a hand so she could steady herself as she stepped into the tub. Once she was settled down, he stepped in and eased down into the warm water.

  Kasper wrapped her arms around Victor. “Are you starting to feel any better at all?” Just touching him like this gave her peace. “I thought with your additional healing abilities you would be feeling at least a bit better by now. Do we need to have X-rays done?” Perhaps he had cracked a rib and that was why he was still as sore as he was.

  “I’m getting better babe. Promise,” he said with a grin over his shoulder. “Ribs take a long time to heal, though. The bruising is almost all gone, you’ll note, and the swelling is completely gone. I’m currently at the stage where it hurts a bit if I move, or breathe wrong, and yet, for the most part, it doesn’t. I hate hurting my ribs. It fucking sucks.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m grateful as well.” She knew he would understand. “I’ve never had anyone throw themselves in front of a bullet for me before.” Her hands moved from the water to his chest, stroking her hands over his pecs as she shifted in the water with him.

  Chuckling, he shook his head. “You do realize I didn’t actually throw myself in front of the bullet? None of us even knew about the shooter until I got tossed however many feet it was. I was talking to you and turned enough to take the shot. No need to go making it sound better than it was, sweetheart.”

  “Oh shush, I’m seeing it the way that I want to see it. I know how things actually went down, but I want to see it my way.”

  “All right by me, just don’t go telling your friends it happened that way. I have a bunch of assholes for friends who will too cheerfully clear up the misconception. Hell, they’ll likely start saying I tripped and by some miracle fell into the path of the bullet.” Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m just so damn glad you’re okay,” he whispered.

  “Me, too. Good lord, me, too.” She kissed the side of his neck and grinned. “I could see them doing it. It would become more and more elaborate of a misstep as the story went on. They would do that to you, wouldn’t they?”

  “Of course they would. You’ve met them all, Kasper. Do you truly doubt they wouldn’t put their own spin on it for the mere fun? Please,” he muttered. “Doesn’t matter—we all know the truth of it, and no matter what the spin, you’re safe, we’re all here alive and
kicking, and we’re going to have one hell of a life together.”

  “Oh, trust me, I’m positive they would do just that. I’ll set their asses right every single time until even they start to question how things happened. If I remain resolute, how could they deny me that little pleasure? Right?”

  “It would damn hard for any man to deny anything you said.” He drew her closer to him so he could wrap his arms around her. “You want to talk about why you haven’t been sleeping?”

  She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She took a long time to gather her thoughts before speaking. “I wish I could tell you for certain why I wasn’t sleeping, but the truth is the nightmares are what’s keeping me up. I have no idea what I’m dreaming after I wake. I just know they’re bad.”

  He smoothed his hand over her arm. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’d help if I could, you know that, right? I hate knowing something is bothering you like this and feeling so damn useless.”

  “I know that you would.” She linked their fingers together and kissed his shoulder once more. “Just being there for me when I wake in the middle of the night is perfect. It really is, because that’s when I need you most. I know that you and James are both taking turns calming me after them, and I appreciate that.”

  “Always, sweetheart. We’d do anything for you in a heartbeat if you needed us to. Let’s wash up and climb out before neither of us can. You know James would drain the water and leave us here. Or me, anyway, if we fall asleep in the tub. You, he’d likely rescue and put to bed.”

  That had her grinning, and she shrugged. “He couldn’t rescue me without getting you out first. Since you’re in front of me. Grab the soap, and I’ll wash your back.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He shifted and then passed it back to her over his shoulder. Victor let out a yawn and slouched a little in front of her as he leaned forward. “I have no idea why I’m so tired. I haven’t done a damn thing all day.”

  “That’s why. Your body is used to action, and with you not moving, your body is drained. Tomorrow, we’re getting you outside at least. Hopefully, you will feel well enough for more than going outside, but we’ll see.”

  “There are parts of me more than up for anything. The operative word there is ‘up’,” he said with a snicker. Then he groaned softly and muttered under his breath. “And then I do something as simple as laugh and my ribs start playing the constrictor game with my lungs. Maybe we should go for a walk tomorrow and then lay out in the sun. Be better than staying inside watching daytime soap dramas.”

  “See, we can’t have sex until you can laugh without hurting. As much as I want you, and need you, I can’t hurt you. The sooner that you heal, the sooner that we can take care of that problem you have down below.” She wanted to touch him, she wanted to taste him, but she wouldn’t. Not until he was feeling better.

  “Now that’s completely unfair to my cock. He’s done absolutely nothing to deserve this shoddy treatment.” Victor was chuckling—and holding his ribs, she noted. “Poor guy’s just looking for a little action, but all he’s getting is some shit and abuse. Hell, it’s just shit, no abuse.”

  “Faster that you heal,” Kas teased him. “Now come on, babe, let’s get out of the tub and into bed. No clothes necessary if that’s good with you?” She didn’t need to wash her body. She was perfectly happy where she was.

  “I’m always okay with you running around completely naked. As long as no one else is there to see you besides James, of course. There’s absolutely no need to traumatize your brother like that, and the other lads are not permitted to ever bask in your beauty. I will gut them all slowly if they ever do.” Victor tucked a leg under himself and maneuvered to his feet in a way that didn’t engage his arms. He held out a hand to her. “Up you come.”

  “Exactly. But this is our bedroom suite, so it’s good to be naked right now.” She rose with his help. “Now, you get your body dried and I’ll get mine dried. And no, you can’t dry me off, mister man. That will lead to things, then we’ll both be dissatisfied.”

  Victor snorted. “That’s what you think,” he said stepping out of the tub. After passing her a towel, he scrubbed one over himself quickly before hanging it up again. Walking into the bedroom, he stretched his arms over his head. With a groan, he flopped down onto the bed face first.

  Kasper turned off the lights in the bedroom and climbed into bed with him. She lay her head on his back and closed her eyes. “Good rest, Victor. I will see you in the morning.” She pressed a kiss to his back and allowed herself to fall asleep with one of the men she loved.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two days later…

  “Have you guys seen Pepper?” Kasper walked into the billiards room and asked the question. “She and I were supposed to get together and go over plans for next year’s courses, and she didn’t show up. I went to her bedroom and she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the pool, either. Have you guys seen her?”

  “Thomas was talking to her earlier, but I haven’t seen her since then,” Nolan told her. “Hang a second. Lincoln, come in here a sec, bro. Have you seen Pepper recently?”

  The other man walked into the room from the hall and shook his head. “She was on her phone the last I saw her. She was having an intense conversation with whoever it was. But she headed upstairs before I could ask her what it was about. You check her room?”

  “Yes. I stopped there first, and nothing. She wouldn’t just leave, would she?” Kasper asked with a frown. “Owen, will you check the surveillance? Look and see what the hell is happening? Will someone check the garages and make sure that there isn’t a car missing?” Surely Pepper wouldn’t leave, would she?

  Lincoln nodded. “I’ve got the garage,” he said before jogging off.

  Owen dug out his phone and frowned at it as he did whatever he did. “Uh, she’s gone,” he said. “I have her right up until she goes into her room, and then you go in there. On the outside, I have what might be a pant leg, but not much else. Who the hell told her how to avoid the cameras?” he asked the room in annoyance.

  “Why the fuck would she need to avoid the cameras?” Gareth asked. He moved up behind Owen to stare at the phone. “If she needed to go somewhere, she had to know one of us would take her. Owen, track her phone and find out where she is.”

  “On it,” he muttered.

  “I don’t like this. Can you see who called her last?” Kas asked Owen with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Please, we have to find her.” She hated this feeling. Pepper was so young, and now missing. Sure, she was technically an adult, but the truth was that she was still far too young to be out without protection, especially with the people who were out there looking to kill them.

  Mikhail moved closer to her. “We’ll find her,” he said softly.

  “Got her phone, she’s… Uh, she’s still in the house according to this,” Owen said in confusion.

  “Call it,” Mik said.

  “Right, one second, can’t call it while I’m hacking it. At least not from this. Kasper, you give it a call while I keep working on finding the last call. What I wouldn’t give for my laptop right now.”

  “Everyone spread out and listen for the phone. Kasper, keep calling it until one of us picks it up,” her brother advised.

  “We’re missing an SUV,” Lincoln shouted out. “She took the one with the crappy GPS unit, so I hope to hell someone actually got around to fixing it.”

  Kasper knew from the look on Owen’s face he hadn’t. Damn, her cousin had been listening to everything that the men had been talking about; she was far smarter than anyone had given her credit for and obviously had been hiding in shadows listening in on conversations as well. Owen really hadn’t had the time to repair the GPS given all he’d been doing since arriving. “Her last call was from her brother, the youngest one,” Owen said. He showed Kasper his phone. “That is his number, right?”

  “Okay.” Kas was dialing the phone and waiting for it to ring she looked at the men. She
knew that look. She knew that whatever was going on, she wasn’t going to like it one small bit. “We’ll find her.”

  He slipped his arms around her and nodded. “Damn right, we will.”

  “Got it!” came a shout before the line engaged and she heard Wyatt on Pepper’s phone. “She left it on the hall table, likely when she snatched up the keys.” The line went dead before she heard Wyatt jogging up the hall to meet with them.

  “She couldn’t have known which SUV to take, though,” Owen said. “Though it was the only one we’d left the keys laying around for. Nolan has the other keys because of our outing the other day. She took the only set she could find fast.”

  “Any chance at all you can get the GPS to work enough for a location?” Gareth asked him.

  “Maybe, but it’s a fucking long shot. I need to get to my computer for this. I’ll look at traffic cameras, too, and hopefully we’ll be able to track her that way instead.”

  “Would she have gone to meet her brother?” James asked the question she knew had to be on everyone’s mind right then.

  “No, I don’t think that she would,” Kasper said with a frown. “She was never exactly close to any of them. The only one that she was even remotely friendly with was the one who was two years older than her, Danny.” She was chewing her lip now. “This isn’t good. At all. She wouldn’t just leave. I know her better than that.”

  “She left—we need to figure out why. Call the brother’s phone number,” Mikhail said. “Owen, get searching for our girl. Everyone else, get geared up in case we need to get out of here fast.” It was clear to Kasper that Mikhail had seemed to take Pepper up as a little sister as well.

  Owen headed out of the room still playing with his phone, a frown on his face.

  “There had to be a reason, something that would have made her willingly leave. She had to know we’d track her phone,” Nolan said. “She’s a child of the tech age, so she knows what we can do. And she’s hung around Owen enough to know what he can do. Something isn’t adding up here.”