Theo scoffed at him.“Not so bad now.At least my hangover is gone.”
Trick made for the refrigerator.“Nice.Must’ve been epic.”The grin on Trick’s face was obvious.He wanted details.Details Theo wasn’t sure he wanted to give...
“I mean the night wasn’t bad, but this morning...could have been better.”
Trick sucked in a breath.“Ouch, that sucks, man.”
Once again, Theo debated telling his friend the truth.Especially considering he wasn’t entirely on board with the truth itself.He couldn’t stop thinking about the diviner.Spike said this artifact was one of fate, that it told who someone was supposed to be with.Truth or not, an artifact like that sounded quite powerful, and Theo surmised that if it were to fall into the wrong hands, perhaps it could be disastrous.Ifit was truly a tool of fate, perhaps the thief was trying to influence their own somehow.
But thankfully, Trick was not one to dwell or focus, and instead, he clapped Theo on the back and said, “Glad to hear the Tricky Techniques paid off, man.That’s more than I can say for some of us.”
Before Theo could ask what exactly his roommate meant, Trick let go of him and headed for the couch, kicking his shoes off and collapsing onto it.Theo noticed the way his shoulders fell, and the deep sigh that escaped him.It was unlike Trick to be anything but confident and cocky, and Theo felt as if at the moment, perhaps he was witnessing a rare sighting.A deflated Trick.
Had something happened to the man?Should he press him about it?Theo knew as much as anyone that most men were not the sharing feeling variety, and Theo wasn’t entirely sure he was, either.
Still, there was a part of him that begged to open up, to discuss what had happened.To connect and be there for his friend in the way Trick had for him.But as Theo’s gaze drifted to the digital clock on the wall, noting it was nearing four twenty, he felt torn.
He hadn’t heard from Spike, and while he knew he could likely text the man, he still felt awkward asking for updates on a situation he wasn’t entirely a part of.Yes, he would be working with Calliope and probably Spike and Isabelle, and yes, there was an emergency—albeit one that hisbossand co-workers were trying to keep under wraps, which should have been a red flag to Theo—but Theo felt a strange sort of possession when he thought of the—what had Spike called her?Amuse?
And then Theodore remembered Spike’s words, or rather how weighted they’d been.
About how Spike and Izzy would be gone at this time of day, but Calliope would be there.Closing up.Alone.
And Theo surmised that it was probably not safe to be alone in a gallery that had recently been burglarized.So he told himself, he was just being a proactive, good employee.He was just doing what any gentleman would do, and totallynotstalking Miss Perfect.But the little voice inside Theodore Lange, as quiet as it was, knew the truth he dared not speak.
He was protecting what washis.
All yours.
All mine.
So Theo did not press his roommate and instead, left him to his uncharacteristic moment of melancholy and said, “Heading out, I’ll be back later.”
Trick dismissed him with a grunt and a wave, and Theo headed out the door.The evening sun was warm and it was quite balmy out, but for Theodore it felt as if the sun had truly just come up.
He slid his hands in his pockets, heading for his car.Spike’s was much prettier, sleeker than his basicredFocus.Part of Theo was jealous, even though he knew he shouldn’t be.He’d worked hard for his car, putting in hours at his uncle’s landscaping company all through high school, and it had gotten him from point a to point b for the last few years without protest or issue.But suddenly, Theo felt inadequate, even though he couldn’t figure out why.
You know why,he tutted to himself, but instead of dwelling, he picked up his pace and hurried to the parking lot.When he finally found his car amongst the lot, it was nearing four thirty and he sighed.
Turning the car on, the radio blared at him, the familiar sounds ofUndisclosed Desiresfilled the air, and Theo couldn’t help but chuckle with a dose of sarcasm, since he knew the artist well.
Muse.
How fitting.
It was almost as iffateitself was taunting him.If fate existed...
The singer crooned on about wanting to recognize that one’s beauty was not just a mask, and Theo felt the words with the utmost truth.So he did not change the channel, and instead turned it up as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the gallery.
CHAPTER7
Calliope staredat the gallery tapes for what felt like the thousandth time.There was not much she and Isabelle had discovered about the theft or the assailant.In fact, after hours upon hours of pouring over footage, there was only two things Calliopedidknow for certain?—
The first, was that the assailant who’d stolen the diviner was someone with magical abilities, as they’d blurred the cameras and caused them to malfunction the moment they walked in front of them.Their body did not present as human, and instead, was so bright, it blinded the cameras as they turned to static and black and white, eliminating any chance of identification.
The second thing Calliope knew for certain, was that the magical assailant was a shifter of some sort, only by Spike’s admission that the gallery and the display case reeked of asupernaturalshifter.But Spike, being the hellhound he was, could only ascertain this as a generalized hunch.Typical shifters—wolves, bears, big cats, according to Spike—smelled different than those like him—shifters who were born of a different breed, more rare and in turn, stronger and found more frequently in higher ranking positions.In Spike’s case, he had been a shifter in Athena’s army, and was kept under the hand of Hades himself, given to Hecate when he’d been injured, where he’d stayed until he found himself human again.
Calliope couldn’t help but feel that whoever this mystery assailant was, the fact they were a supernatural shifter did not sit well with her.Because she did not know many supernatural shifters.
