Patrick laughed in Nadine’s face. “I owe myself one first.”
“Should’ve taken your director’s offer to add it onto your moving timeline and costs.”
“Maybe.”
Nadine rifled through her purse, triple-checking that she had the appropriate documents in hand that would get her Browning 9mm through security. LaGuardia was crowded with returning business flyers on a Tuesday night. No one even looked twice at their goodbye in the terminal.
Setsuna had kept Nadine’s identity locked down at the request of the PIA in the aftermath. She was having a harder time keeping Patrick out of the spotlight, but that was the nature of the job.
Nadine’s carry-on luggage was a hardback case well-worn from travel, the handle sticking up in the locked position. The dove gray jacket of her pantsuit paired nicely with the pale pink blouse underneath. Her heels looked like they could murder a man, and Patrick’s feet ached just looking at them.
She’d dressed for a fight today in the face of several long meetings in New York City. Marek had bought her a couple new power suits to get her through the next few days as a thank-you for her help during the mess last week. Patrick didn’t envy the poor bastard back at the PIA headquarters in Washington, DC, tasked with Nadine’s in-person debrief tomorrow. She’d eat them alive.
Finding everything in order, Nadine settled her purse straps on her shoulder and tucked a bit of her loose brown hair behind an ear, papers and PIA badge in hand. “Call me when you make it to DC. I should still be stateside. We’ll get dinner.”
“This weekend, maybe. I need to pack up my apartment and call one of the vetted movers the agency uses.”
“You take a look at any apartments here yet?”
Patrick made a face. “I’m going to be spending half of my paycheck on rent alone. Let me mourn my bank account a little longer.”
“Soon as you pick a place, send me your address. I’ll mail you a housewarming gift from Paris.”
“Better be alcohol.”
“It’ll be something.”
Nadine reached out to adjust the collar of his button-down shirt. They’d both dressed up a little today in the face of meetings with city officials, NYPD brass, and the upper echelons of the SOA. Setsuna had returned to DC days ago but Priya was still in New York City helping the new SAIC get settled in the midst of the fallout from the case. Patrick didn’t envy Henry Ng that job at all.
Patrick looked at the departures board and checked the time. “You should get going. Security looks like it’s a mess, and you need to get your weapon cleared through.”
“I still have time.” Nadine smiled at him before leaning forward to kiss the air on either side of his cheeks. “Watch your back.”
“You too.”
“Good luck with your wolf.”
Patrick had to bite down on his denial that Jono wasn’t his wolf, because at this point, arguing was futile. “Thank you. For everything.”
She gave him a quick little salute and winked. “What are friends for?”
“Safe travels.”
Nadine inclined her head in silent acknowledgment before grabbing the handle of her luggage and walking off. She didn’t look back, and he didn’t expect her to. That’s not how their friendship worked. If they needed each other, they would be there for each other, no questions asked. Patrick crossed his arms over his chest and watched her leave.
The itch between his shoulder blades intensified.
“She is a fine warrior,” a deep voice that echoed like thunder said from behind him.
“Nadine saved a lot of lives overseas,” Patrick replied as he turned around. “She still does.”
“Loyalty is an admirable trait.”
Zeus stood in the midst of the airport crowd wearing a bespoke suit that probably cost at least five figures. The immortal looked better than he had during summer solstice, bound to a spellwork that came too close to undoing his godhead. Tall and broad-shouldered, with deeply tanned skin and black hair that glinted with strands of silver, Zeus’ presence burned against Patrick’s newly replenished magic, even through his shields.
The moment they locked eyes, the world froze, time coming to an impossible standstill. Patrick kept his heartbeat steady as he felt himself get pulled into the orbit of the immortal’s powerful, primordial magic.
Zeus was nothing like Hermes, with his quicksilver trickery. Nor was he like Persephone, with her deep connection to the earth and her ties to hell brought about by the magic inside six small pomegranate seeds. No, Zeus was nothing like the rest of the gods in his pantheon. His magic was as fierce and unpredictable as a storm, and just as destructive. The all-consuming power shining in his aura should have burned Patrick to his core, but it didn’t.
