Adonis and Aphroditus (11 page)

“Julie?”

“Nettie, how did you know it was me?”

“I found out where you were and your number
weeks ago. I was just waiting, hoping you’d call.”

“Nettie, my life is such a mess.”

“Just come home sweetheart. We’ll figure
everything out together. Nothing is too bad for us to fix.”

Julie burst into tears. “Oh, God, Nettie, I’m
pregnant and the father took off.”

“It’s alright. I bet we’ll have the cutest
baby ever. We’ll fix up the spare room as a nursery. Just come
home, nothing else matters.”

“I can’t come home yet, I have to help
someone.”

“Julie, I’ll come get you. Don’t do anything
that will cause you to get hurt. Did the father of the baby get you
involved in something dangerous?”

Julie took a deep breath and she told Nettie
everything. Nettie asked a few questions, but she didn’t judge as
Julie had feared she might. “Julie?”

“Yes, Nettie?”

“I’m so proud of you. Terrified for you, but
proud of you for trying to do the right thing and help someone in
need. I’m going to pack a bag, take off work, and drive right down
there.”

“Don’t you dare, I know I woke you up if
you’ve even been to sleep yet. I’m going to sleep until ten and
then kill sometime until work. You go to sleep and drive down when
you get up.”

“Maybe you’re right. I’ve been tracking some
witnesses down and I was out all night but it was productive. I’ll
sleep a few hours and hit the road. I should get there before you
do to work. We’ll talk some more then. I want to meet these gods
and make sure they’ll keep you safe.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan. Nettie?”

“Yeah, Squirt?” Nettie said using the nick
name Julie hadn’t heard in forever. It was all she could do not to
cry.

“Thanks for not saying I told you so,” Julie
said softly so her voice wouldn’t break.

“You’re all I’ve got, Kid. Take care of
yourself until I get there,” Nettie said. The
I’ll take care of
you then
was unsaid, but understood.

“Sure thing, Sis.”

They said their goodbyes and Julie sat there
just holding the phone for a while thinking about everything they’d
said and all that hadn’t been said. The baby rolled in her stomach
trying to get comfortable? She didn’t know but she was tired and
hungry. She went to the kitchen where she fixed a sandwich and
warmed up a mug of milk. She sat at the table eating so she
wouldn’t make a mess. The place was a studio, not even a big one
but she could barely afford it. It was clean and she had even
painted and decorated ala yard sale as she could.

She felt a sense of accomplishment on what
she had done with the place, the treasures she had found in the
sales she had searched. She honestly couldn’t say she’d miss it
even though she’d been there nearly a year and tried to make it
nicer. She’d be glad when Nettie came and she followed her
home.

Chapter 3

Plans to Make

Afrod’s eyes were glazed as Hades went over
the plan for the hundredth time knowing they would land soon. They
would have an hour drive to the hotel they intended to stay at. He
planned to take Julie to the hotel with them so he could watch over
her. He was even entertaining the thought of mating with her. He’d
hoped but never really believe he would find a mate like the others
had. Odds were against him and this girl needed him. Her fearful
soft voice brought out the protector in him and he felt some kind
of attachment to her he couldn’t explain.

Had he had the slightest sexual attraction to
her or felt even the tiniest itsy bitsiest pull in a physical way,
he would have known she was his. Maybe she was his and he was
reading things wrong expecting too much when he hadn’t even seen
her yet. He knew he’d kill to protect her and the innocent life
that grew within her. It was a start, he would just play it by ear
and see where they ended up but he was open to taking
responsibility for her whether they mated or not.

Hades was winding down on his overview of
what they knew, what they needed to find out, and what they would
probably be doing in the light of the new information Julie had
just shared with them. Part of Hades plan was to take Julie with
them. It was his suspicion that she carried a god rather than a
fully human baby. Afrod had a suspicion of his own and that was
that Julie wouldn’t want to go. He said nothing, Hades could deal
with it when and if it happened.

The pilot announced they were preparing to
land. Afrod was relieved and he hoped Hades had said all he
intended to. Covering everything thoroughly was good, repeating the
same information over and over was not. He strapped in like the
other gods did to prepare for the landing about to take place.
Hades was strapped in too and finally paying attention to something
else. He was talking on his headset and Afrod was sure he was
double checking the rental vehicles. Something he should probably
have done an hour ago. If they weren’t there now, they would have
to wait until someone brought them.

Hades looked happy enough so they must be
waiting. The plane was dropping slowly and circling the airport.
They would be on the ground in fifteen minutes or less. There were
ten of them total just like Adonis’ team that had left before them.
He wondered how Adonis was doing and hoped all went well with their
mission. He jerked slightly as the plane touched down. A couple
taps against the ground and they were slowing down. They would pull
off to the side and exit there instead of entering directly into
the airport. The pilot would pull over to where the two SUVs waited
for them.

They all grabbed their gear and exited the
plane. The SUVs stood waiting just as promised. He figured it was
lunch time because he was hungry but they wouldn’t eat until they
arrived. One thing all gods had been taught at a young age was
discipline. Once they arrived, checked into the hotel, and made
arrangements with Julie, they would see to their needs. Julie
worked from four pm until 1 am with a lunch break built in. They
should have enough time to talk to her before she was scheduled to
go to work.

Hades wanted to fly by the seat of their
pants and Afrod saw no other choice. They would try to hack the
alarms and cameras and just bust down the doors and take their god
back. Julie didn’t think there were any babies or other gods on the
premises anymore. If they were getting ready to leave and had
allowed Apis to get in such bad shape, Afrod assumed they planned
to kill him when they left. That meant other prisoners, if there
ever had been any, had been sent ahead.

It made less for them to focus on but they
were recovering less people too. He wasn’t sure what he preferred.
Apis would be the priority except for keeping Julie safe since he
was the only prisoner. They would, however, also be looking for
information on other facilities, females that had been bred, and
any babies Origin had harvested. Harvested was the term Origin used
for the involuntary insemination and later the stealing of the
babies from their mother’s wombs.

Afrod wanted to catch every one of them and
send them to the deepest darkest hole he could find to live out
their lives without any kind of warmth or human kindness. It was
the least they deserved. The only Origin employees worth anything,
were the few that had been coerced into working for them. These
people were a minority, few and far between. Julie was one, but she
hadn’t even known who she was working for. It may not even have
been Origin but one of the companies they had purchased to hide
under.

They were all loaded and the first SUV pulled
onto the road the other following closely behind. In an hour, give
or take a few minutes, they would be at the hotel according to the
GPS on the dash. The hotel was ten minutes from Julie’s and they
would call hoping she would meet them. Afrod thought she would
since she had been protective and concerned enough about Apis to
risk not only her life, but her baby’s. Having done so much, what
was a little more? They would tempt her additionally by ordering
food for her. He knew from being around some of the mates that
pregnant females couldn’t resist offers of food. They were always
hungry because the babies were growing.

They reached the hotel before any of them had
time to get bored and the simpering female desk clerk took good
care of them. Eros was paying her some attention and he would
probably see to her needs if the opportunity presented itself. Good
for him, chances to spend time with females didn’t come around
nearly enough for gods. They all went to their rooms and dropped
their stuff before going to a conference room the hotel set up for
their use.

“Call Julie and convince her to come here,”
instructed Hades.

Yeah, easy for him to say. “I’ll do my best.”
Afrod pulled out his phone and pushed Julie’s number.

She answered on the second ring, out of
breath. “Julie,” she huffed.

“This is Afrod, Sweetheart. We made it to the
hotel you recommended. Can you meet us here? We ordered some food
so we can eat while we talk.”

“If I do, I can only stay an hour. I have
someone coming by.”

“Who would that be?” Afrod asked curious.

“Nettie,” she whispered.

Afrod wasn’t afraid, just a little
intimidated after all Julie had told him. Nettie would have a
tongue so sharp she would shred the male she derided. Afrod was
relieved once he thought things over. Nettie would be Hades’ or
Eros’ problem.

“Just have her meet you here. She probably
wants to know what’s going on.” Afrod saw no problem with that.
They wanted Julie in Olympus, but they wouldn’t keep her from her
family. Gods who had never had a real family understood the value
of one more than those who had been raised in one.

“Okay,” Julie breathed in relief. “She’ll be
glad to meet you guys. Did I tell you she was a cop?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Maybe she can help.”

“We’ll see. Why don’t you come on over and
then we’ll talk.”

“She’s coming?” Hades asked.

“Yes, and her sister is meeting her
here.”

Hades raised his brow but said nothing so
Afrod said nothing more. They set up the computers and Hades sent
two gods to scout the building Julie worked at. Another god got on
the computer and started trying to hack in their system. Julie had
told him security was flawed. They were using the old outdated
system and a teenager could hack in. Case in point, Pluto, the
Roman equivalent of Hades was right now accessing their system.
Cameras were only on entrances and the alarm system was old and
easy to get around.

The more Afrod saw, the more he was sure they
were going in tonight. They already had access to the cameras and
the alarm system. There wasn’t much more information they needed to
get the mission underway. They weren’t able to get a visual on
Apis, but they all
knew
it was him. All they had to do now
was order food and wait for it and Julie to arrive. They ordered
pizzas, fifteen of them with various toppings and crusts. They
added wings and breadsticks, a feast fit for gods.

Julie came just before the delivery man. She
was gorgeous, but so tiny. Five feet tall and a hundred pounds
soaking wet. Afrod knew she was twenty one, or he would have
thought her closer to sixteen. A small baby bump was barely
visible. She was shy and overwhelmed by all the gods in the
room.

“Julie, Hades wants to talk to you about
tonight,” Afrod led her to a chair near where Hades sat.

Hades turned to look at her and he seemed
surprised. Afrod thought it was because she was so petite and he
was second guessing her participation. A knock sounded on the door
and he hoped it was the food. It was but as soon as the door
closed, there was another knock. This one was impatient if a knock
could be described that way. Pluto ran to open it and Afrod saw
Nettie for the first time.

She was a tiny thing like Julie only she
wasn’t shy and she looked older maybe mid twenties. She went
straight to Julie and pulled her into and embrace. They both looked
as if they fought back tears. Nettie stepped back from Julie and
looked straight at Hades. She recognized the authority he
exuded.

“What’s this shit going down and why is my
sister involved?” her tone wasn’t respectful, it was demanding.

Hades wasn’t use to being addressed like
that. People were usually terrified of him or at the least
intimidated. He raised his brow, something he did often at the
other gods or more often at his mate. He seemed to think a moment
and maybe he realized he was risking her
little
sister who
also happened to be pregnant and he gave her some consideration for
that.

“We have a god that is in danger of dying
from abuse. Your sister is all that has kept him alive and we
appreciate that but if we can’t get him out, he’ll die anyway. We
need a way in and right now she’s our only way. We won’t risk her
unnecessarily and we’ll watch everything that happens carefully,”
Hades spoke uncharacteristically soft and low. Almost as if he
feared she’d bolt or faint. Julie might have, but not this one.

Nettie
was
a fighter as Julie had told
him, but she was also feminine and lovely. She reminded him of
Sierra, a balance of all the best womanly traits with a few kick
ass masculine ones. Afrod knew they were in for trouble. He
suspected he was in for the most trouble of all. His heart skipped
a beat as he gazed at her unable to pull his eyes away.
Aw,
hell
!

“Julie isn’t going in there. She has a baby
to think of and I won’t allow the risk,” she glared at Hades as he
started to speak. “I wasn’t finished yet.” Surprisingly Hades shut
up and waited for what she had to say. “I wouldn’t leave your god
in there either. He’s at their mercy and it’s just not right. Julie
has become friendly with him and she says he’s a good man.” Hades
started to interrupt again but she shot him a killing look. I was
sure he was only going to say Apis wasn’t a man but a god. That
wasn’t really important at this point. Hades shut up again and
waited. “I’m going in instead. Julie can’t be risked and I look a
lot like her. She barely speaks to any of them and only two guards
out side and one inside are there. I’m trained in this kind of
thing and I can do it.” Now she was finished and she looked at
Hades expectantly.