up.” I have a feeling someone is
going to have their ass handed to them. “Jason? You done yet?”
“Yeah, I’ve got everything I
could salvage,” he answered a moment later. He came out holding a different
gun, shaking his head. “James is going to be murderous when he sees this. It’s
one of his old six-shooters. One of a set. He always carries one with him when
we travel, though how he gets it through security, I’ll never know. He was
given these when he was barely a legal adult and carried them through
everything. Someone used it to smash something up and ruined the handle.
They’re going to be wishing for a quick death.”
She studied the butt of the
weapon and shook her head. “It’s a beautiful handle, and it looks to be worth
an absolute fortune.”
“Pearl inlay. Expensive in the
day, but he loves these things. Fuck,” Jason murmured. Shaking his head, he
stuffed it into the bag he had in hand. “Let’s get out of here. I have anything
he might consider important. Everything else is replaceable. When we get to
your place, remind me to try calling out there again. I have to let him know
about the room so he can work on cooling off before he sees the gun.”
“Maybe you should send him a
text or e-mail?” Vivian chewed her lower lip as they walked to the elevator.
“Or leave him a voice mail? Just make sure he doesn’t take it out on Fia. The
two of them are like oil and water. Please tell me that this mountain you’re
taking us to is a big enough place so that he won’t have to see her ever
again?”
“If she doesn’t want to see him,
she won’t,” he said. He shot her a look as they left the room behind, appearing
to be thinking hard on something.
“That’s good.” Once they were in
the elevator, she turned. “Okay, what’s on your mind? Did you figure out who
might have done that to your rooms?” she asked, a note of hope in her voice.
“Uh, no, I was thinking about
James and Sophia. This is going to sound crazy, and I’m likely way off base,
but what if what’s going on with those two is something more than we’re seeing?
I mean, look how she’s acting out of character around him and how he’s reacting
to her. You read the texts and heard the messages. You talked to your sister,
and she went off in a fit. There’s more there than just the obvious, Vivian.”
“Like what? Sophia is waiting on
that one special someone. She’s been dreaming of him for years, and from what
she’s told me, the winds have whispered his name to her time and time again,
and it’s not James. I can’t for the life of me think of what it was, but the
name isn’t James, I’m sure of that much.”
“Okay, you’re right, but I had
to say it. Sorry,” he muttered. “It would damn well explain a lot, though. Not
everything, true enough, but a lot. I’ve said it, now I can put it out of my
head. But I will say this—if I’m not actually crazy and end up being right,
you’ll so be hearing about this for the next century. Just putting that out
there on the off, totally insane possibility that I’m right. It doesn’t happen
often, but it could again someday.”
“Deal.” Vivian grinned, her fear
tamped down by Jason’s playfulness. “But if that were the case, wouldn’t James
know? I mean, you knew the moment you met me, right? So, he wouldn’t want to
bring another woman back and have sex with her.” She gave Jason a quick hug.
“If you’re right, you can so hold it over me, but I don’t think you are. Sorry,
babe.”
“Not necessarily,” he told her.
“Some of us recognize the signs, but others don’t, not immediately. Plus, he’s
the only one with a medallion up in his noggin. The gods only know what that
does to a guy. The rest of us all have them somewhere in our torso or leg. No
one has one above the neck except him.
“As for me, I thought there was
something about you, something important, but I didn’t put the pieces together
immediately. It started to click
going to have their ass handed to them. “Jason? You done yet?”
“Yeah, I’ve got everything I
could salvage,” he answered a moment later. He came out holding a different
gun, shaking his head. “James is going to be murderous when he sees this. It’s
one of his old six-shooters. One of a set. He always carries one with him when
we travel, though how he gets it through security, I’ll never know. He was
given these when he was barely a legal adult and carried them through
everything. Someone used it to smash something up and ruined the handle.
They’re going to be wishing for a quick death.”
She studied the butt of the
weapon and shook her head. “It’s a beautiful handle, and it looks to be worth
an absolute fortune.”
“Pearl inlay. Expensive in the
day, but he loves these things. Fuck,” Jason murmured. Shaking his head, he
stuffed it into the bag he had in hand. “Let’s get out of here. I have anything
he might consider important. Everything else is replaceable. When we get to
your place, remind me to try calling out there again. I have to let him know
about the room so he can work on cooling off before he sees the gun.”
“Maybe you should send him a
text or e-mail?” Vivian chewed her lower lip as they walked to the elevator.
“Or leave him a voice mail? Just make sure he doesn’t take it out on Fia. The
two of them are like oil and water. Please tell me that this mountain you’re
taking us to is a big enough place so that he won’t have to see her ever
again?”
“If she doesn’t want to see him,
she won’t,” he said. He shot her a look as they left the room behind, appearing
to be thinking hard on something.
“That’s good.” Once they were in
the elevator, she turned. “Okay, what’s on your mind? Did you figure out who
might have done that to your rooms?” she asked, a note of hope in her voice.
“Uh, no, I was thinking about
James and Sophia. This is going to sound crazy, and I’m likely way off base,
but what if what’s going on with those two is something more than we’re seeing?
I mean, look how she’s acting out of character around him and how he’s reacting
to her. You read the texts and heard the messages. You talked to your sister,
and she went off in a fit. There’s more there than just the obvious, Vivian.”
“Like what? Sophia is waiting on
that one special someone. She’s been dreaming of him for years, and from what
she’s told me, the winds have whispered his name to her time and time again,
and it’s not James. I can’t for the life of me think of what it was, but the
name isn’t James, I’m sure of that much.”
“Okay, you’re right, but I had
to say it. Sorry,” he muttered. “It would damn well explain a lot, though. Not
everything, true enough, but a lot. I’ve said it, now I can put it out of my
head. But I will say this—if I’m not actually crazy and end up being right,
you’ll so be hearing about this for the next century. Just putting that out
there on the off, totally insane possibility that I’m right. It doesn’t happen
often, but it could again someday.”
“Deal.” Vivian grinned, her fear
tamped down by Jason’s playfulness. “But if that were the case, wouldn’t James
know? I mean, you knew the moment you met me, right? So, he wouldn’t want to
bring another woman back and have sex with her.” She gave Jason a quick hug.
“If you’re right, you can so hold it over me, but I don’t think you are. Sorry,
babe.”
“Not necessarily,” he told her.
“Some of us recognize the signs, but others don’t, not immediately. Plus, he’s
the only one with a medallion up in his noggin. The gods only know what that
does to a guy. The rest of us all have them somewhere in our torso or leg. No
one has one above the neck except him.
“As for me, I thought there was
something about you, something important, but I didn’t put the pieces together
immediately. It started to click
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