hearts. “Not one word, Kinich. They are a gift from Emma,” he said. “Start talking. You have two minutes! Two! But not because I give a shit about you—Emma promised to do that thing with her tongue if I played nice.”
With her tongue? Like he’d dreamed of Penelope doing?
He suddenly felt hot underneath his thick, white turtleneck and black wool pants. “I have to go. Something’s come up.” He turned to leave, but found Guy blocking his way.
“Emma was very specific,” Guy said. “I must listen to you blabber for two minutes about why you are here or no tongue. So don’t you even think of fucking going near the front door until you’ve spoken for one hundred and twenty seconds.”
Thinking of Penelope scampering about the city alone, Kinich snarled. “I’m here because I encountered a Maaskab in the city yesterday.”
Guy’s eyes lit with fury. “Here? In New York? And you waited an entire day to tell anyone?”
“I killed him. And I would have told you sooner, but I had some important business to attend to,” Kinich explained.
“Must’ve been pretty damn important if it supersedes this. So what the hell happened?”
“The Maaskab attacked my—a woman,” Kinich said. “I’m hoping you can help me find out why.”
“Who is the woman?”
Kinich did not wish to disclose the details, but sooner or later, Guy would learn the truth; Cimil had the loosest lips in the universe. “She is a human I slept with. I think.”
Guy burst out laughing. “You! You have a girlfriend?”
Kinich felt his face turn bright red, the flames of anger flickering beneath the surface. “No. This is Cimil’s doing. She drugged us, hoping I might impregnate the woman and then change my mind about putting the ‘procreation with humans issue’ to a vote. But her plan failed—if we did sleep together, Penelope removed the jade necklace so there will be no offspring.”
Gods could only be intimate with a human when they wore the black jade. And, if conception occurred, the fetus would only survive if the mother continued wearing it. Otherwise, the god’s light was too potent for a human body to endure.
Still smiling, Guy narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “And you are here because?”
“If the Maaskab want Penelope, there must be a reason.”
“You think she is like Emma?”
“Possibly. But I do not sense our light inside her. This is why I wish to find out why the Maaskab hunt her. If the attack was random, then I may take a different approach to protecting her. Niccolo advises that you have someone on the inside.”
Guy’s eyes widened with anger. “Dammit, Sunshine,” he whispered acerbically. “Shut the fuck up; Emma might hear you.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the hallway leading to his bedroom.
Kinich quirked a brow. “You keep secrets from Emma? From us?”
“Yes. We cannot risk the Maaskab getting hold of this information. The fewer people who know, the better.”
Kinich’s suspicion was roused. “But why hide it from your brethren?”
Guy stepped closer. “After what happened with Tommaso, we cannot be so naïve as to assume that he is the only traitor among us.”
“Surely the gods can be trust—” Kinich thought of Cimil and a few of his other brethren—idiots with no sense of discretion whatsoever. Then there was Chaam, their brother who had betrayed them all. Who was to say another god might not fall. “Never mind. Good call. Having a spy inside the Maaskab is invaluable. So when might you be able to contact him?”
Guy scratched his chin. “This is the issue. I have not heard from him for several weeks. He keeps a solar-charged satellite phone hidden in the jungle. On his last call, he mentioned that the Maaskab were about to make a big move. Now the phone has been turned off—the satellite does not detect a signal.”
“Is it possible that Tommaso recognized your spy?” Tommaso, the evil ex-Uchben bastard of a traitor, was assumed to have fled with
With her tongue? Like he’d dreamed of Penelope doing?
He suddenly felt hot underneath his thick, white turtleneck and black wool pants. “I have to go. Something’s come up.” He turned to leave, but found Guy blocking his way.
“Emma was very specific,” Guy said. “I must listen to you blabber for two minutes about why you are here or no tongue. So don’t you even think of fucking going near the front door until you’ve spoken for one hundred and twenty seconds.”
Thinking of Penelope scampering about the city alone, Kinich snarled. “I’m here because I encountered a Maaskab in the city yesterday.”
Guy’s eyes lit with fury. “Here? In New York? And you waited an entire day to tell anyone?”
“I killed him. And I would have told you sooner, but I had some important business to attend to,” Kinich explained.
“Must’ve been pretty damn important if it supersedes this. So what the hell happened?”
“The Maaskab attacked my—a woman,” Kinich said. “I’m hoping you can help me find out why.”
“Who is the woman?”
Kinich did not wish to disclose the details, but sooner or later, Guy would learn the truth; Cimil had the loosest lips in the universe. “She is a human I slept with. I think.”
Guy burst out laughing. “You! You have a girlfriend?”
Kinich felt his face turn bright red, the flames of anger flickering beneath the surface. “No. This is Cimil’s doing. She drugged us, hoping I might impregnate the woman and then change my mind about putting the ‘procreation with humans issue’ to a vote. But her plan failed—if we did sleep together, Penelope removed the jade necklace so there will be no offspring.”
Gods could only be intimate with a human when they wore the black jade. And, if conception occurred, the fetus would only survive if the mother continued wearing it. Otherwise, the god’s light was too potent for a human body to endure.
Still smiling, Guy narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “And you are here because?”
“If the Maaskab want Penelope, there must be a reason.”
“You think she is like Emma?”
“Possibly. But I do not sense our light inside her. This is why I wish to find out why the Maaskab hunt her. If the attack was random, then I may take a different approach to protecting her. Niccolo advises that you have someone on the inside.”
Guy’s eyes widened with anger. “Dammit, Sunshine,” he whispered acerbically. “Shut the fuck up; Emma might hear you.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the hallway leading to his bedroom.
Kinich quirked a brow. “You keep secrets from Emma? From us?”
“Yes. We cannot risk the Maaskab getting hold of this information. The fewer people who know, the better.”
Kinich’s suspicion was roused. “But why hide it from your brethren?”
Guy stepped closer. “After what happened with Tommaso, we cannot be so naïve as to assume that he is the only traitor among us.”
“Surely the gods can be trust—” Kinich thought of Cimil and a few of his other brethren—idiots with no sense of discretion whatsoever. Then there was Chaam, their brother who had betrayed them all. Who was to say another god might not fall. “Never mind. Good call. Having a spy inside the Maaskab is invaluable. So when might you be able to contact him?”
Guy scratched his chin. “This is the issue. I have not heard from him for several weeks. He keeps a solar-charged satellite phone hidden in the jungle. On his last call, he mentioned that the Maaskab were about to make a big move. Now the phone has been turned off—the satellite does not detect a signal.”
“Is it possible that Tommaso recognized your spy?” Tommaso, the evil ex-Uchben bastard of a traitor, was assumed to have fled with
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