“Did you wish to look upon him to make me jealous?”
“No, I wished to look at a friend to make sure he hasn’t done something stupid to get himself killed while I wasn’t around.”
There was a hollow thudding sound from the pool, and I watched Eugene’s head turn toward his window.
“Don’t do it, Eugene,” I said under my breath. “We talked about this.”
He stood and hurried to the window where a familiar face stood out in the dark.
“That’s one of the wolves,” I said to Hades. “She’s been okay to be around, but one of her friends did some major damage recently. He shouldn’t trust her.”
Eugene opened the window, and I slapped my forehead with a groan.
“He’s going to be dead in a week. Gods, I need to get back.”
“To protect a mortal?” Hades asked, sounding less angry.
“To help a friend.”
Eugene pulled the girl through the window, and I watched them kiss.
“Eh, time to change the channel.” I stuck my fingers back into the water and thought of Kelsey.
The image on the surface changed with the next set of tiny waves, and my eyes widened at the glimpse of two naked people swimming in a large indoor pool.
“I see your friends are able to enjoy pleasures of the flesh,” Hades said dryly.
I thought of Zoe and hoped she hadn’t fallen for any tricks like her sister. Zoe sat on a bed and played with the most adorable puppy in the world.
“Aw. That is the cutest thing ever,” I said when it sat back on its legs and begged with its front paws. “At least, one of my friends is safe.”
I made a note to ask that Megan check in on Kelsey the next time I saw her.
“Are there more people you wish to see?” Hades asked. “Preferably females.”
A thread of jealousy wormed its way through me. “Why? Because the first one was naked?”
“Because I don’t like when you look at men,” Hades said with an edge in his voice.
His words made me want to smile until I realized the danger an angry Hades posed…to everyone but me. Trying to push away the protected feeling he’d caused, I twisted to look at him.
“There’s no need to feel jealous. I would never risk another human by pulling them into the world of monsters or, worse, creating children with one. A human marriage will never be in my cards, and I’m too smart to fall for some creature’s tricks.”
Well, I was too smart before Hell,I silently corrected.
“So, you see?” I continued. “No jealousy required. And it’s not like there are any other men that I’d want to check up on anyway.”
The image of a goatee and a button-up shirt popped into my head. My would-be killer who I thought was from Earth. Could we find him like this?
Facing the water, I quickly dipped my hand into the surface, and I thought of him.
And there he was. A man with dark hair and a salt and pepper goatee that contradicted his otherwise youthful appearance. He looked thin, like he was sick or recovering from sickness, but moved with energy as he walked the busy street.
“That’s him,” I said. “The man I saw in the hall.”
The words were barely out of my mouth when he stopped walking and looked straight at me.
Then he vanished.
