Calliope took a deep breath, turning to Isabelle.“And you are certain thatonlythe diviner is missing?”
Isabelle nodded.“Yeah.We checked, believe me.”
“All right, did you alert Brian?”Calliope tried her best to remain calm, though it felt as if she was on the edge of a breakdown for sure.
There were plenty of things more valuable in the gallery than the diviner—the crystal that was quite famous for showing one their divined mate—such as the ancient tablets and statues carved from much more precious stones, not to mention the gold and silver jewelry Professor Leehan—Brian, the current owner’s father who was in his retirement process—had salvaged on his last excursion before his heart attack.
“No.We...uh, wanted to come toyoufirst.Thought maybe you could help?”Spike pursed his lips.“I said we should tell him, but Izzy said?—”
“No, no, you did the right thing,” Calliope said, letting out a breath.“It’s best not to alarm Brian yet until we know more about the situation.Have you checked the camera footage?”
Spike shook his head.“No.We came straight here.I mean...we locked up and came straight here.”
“Okay,” Calliope moved toward the kitchen table and she could feel Theo’s gaze on her.Moving with her.
“I, uh...need to get dressed, and then we can head over to the gallery and—” She stopped, looking up at Theo.“You should probably go home.”
There was a tense silence as Theo’s eyebrows furrowed, his expression faltering.He had the audacity to look hurt.
Calliope hated it, but perhaps it was better this way.She needed to put some distance between them.Least of allnow.She knew one night of pure passion was not any sort of grounds for a relationship, and she didn’t expect Theodore to be open to such things.She knew how these sorts of scenarios went, she’d been in them many times.She needed to rip the band-aid off.She needed to get to the gallery, figure out what happened to the diviner, and find a way to get it back before Brian found out.
Quite a task for her, but she’d been in much more precarious situations before.
Such as when Mars had found himself losing his powers and turning into a mortal, with only days to find an answer and a mate, or when Izzy had bitten Spike, in which her venom had poisoned him and nearly killed him.
And she’d found her way out of those situations, she could certainly figure out how to crack the case of the missing diviner.She just needed to think, and with Theodore Lange in her presence, she could not think.
She could barely even breathe.
“Yeah, I, uh...my friend’s probably worried about me, I’ll just...uh, call an Uber and?—”
“I can give you a ride,” Spike said, pulling all their attentions.
“I beg your pardon—” Calliope started.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that, I—” Theo started, but Spike held his hand up.
“It’s fine, really.”
Calliope shook her head, the heat of the moment getting to her.She needed to move, to get out of her kitchen.She needed to breathe, a moment to process this...insanity.
“I need to go...change,” she said matter of factly, not bothering to look at Theo, for she did not want to see the hurt expression on his perfect face, knowing his frown would be her fault.
I’m such a fool!Damn you, Hattie!Damn you, DeLux Cafe!Damn Piña Coladas!
She did not look back at her guests, and instead, barreled forth out of the room and into her bedroom, all but slamming the door.
The moment she was behind it, she fell to the floor, her eyes nearly filling with tears as she pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms.
How had things become so complicated so quickly?
How had one perfect night turned into such an awful nightmare?
Not only was Theodore her employee and student, but the prized diviner had gone missing and the gallery had a thief on their hands.
The odds were stacking against Calliope, and she wasn’t certain she wasn’t truly cursed.
First David and now this...have I angered the gods or something?Why me?Why now?
