Apollo (8 page)

“How about getting together with all the girls tomorrow evening?” Jenna asked.

Val looked between Rem, who was now groaning, and Jenna. Between the two, at the moment, she was more afraid to cross the woman who just cooked her dinner.

“Yes?” she answered, not quite sure if it was a question or reply.

Jenna gave a firm nod.

“Good,” she said and turned back to Rem. “See, I’m busy. Now goodnight.”

Without missing a beat, she let the door swing shut.

“Now,” Jenna said loudly. “How about some chocolate cake?”

The low laugh from the door was not lost on either of them.

“Remind me never to cross you,” Val mumbled.

Jenna’s eyes cut to her and narrowed slightly. “Chocolate cake or not?”

“Cake,” Val said quickly.

She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but one thing she did know, she wanted some of that damn cake.

* * *

Apollo let the sound of the steady beat of concrete and shoes ease his mind. For the second night in a row, he had seen Rem leaving the little cabin where Val was staying.

He might be working with Jenna on their stupid project to find their ancestry, but there was no need for him to be there that late. He didn’t like it. What was worse, he couldn’t figure out why he didn’t like it.

Jenna was perfectly capable of dealing with Rem and seemed to have no interest in him. Val, he wasn’t so sure. The way she’d let that slime across the hall touch her, she might be susceptible to someone like Rem. He was an alpha. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind about that. But did that matter to Val?

Anger pulled at his heart, and he pushed harder in his run.

He shouldn’t care what she did. It didn’t matter. She had a job to do and so did he. Besides, he didn’t want someone like her. Bossy and too hard to predict. Someone that didn’t bother to fight when they were being manhandled.

It still pissed him off. He had to be careful. If he thought about it too much, he might end up at Nigel’s house, teaching him a few lessons on what not to do.

Movement to the right caught his eye, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He was near the family housing, and that always worried him. Of course, they had more than an animal or two wander near the houses.

His eyes searched the darkness, and he waited. More movement. Movement that was too large and quiet to be an animal.

He crept near the house. He was going to kill anyone that threatened their lives, Horatius Group or not. His heart picked up as he realized this was Sol’s house. The children.

He breathed in deeply, but nothing came back. He moved around the house. Nothing. He knew there had been someone there, but now only silence greeted him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Sol growled from the window above him.

Apollo looked into the darkness.

“Check the children,” he said quickly.

Sol spun around and raced away. Apollo moved to the front door and waited.

Erica answered, eyes wide awake and clearly scared.

“They’re safe,” she said as he came inside.

Sol walked in with both babies in his arms. They slept peacefully against his large chest.

“What’s this all about?” he growled softly.

Apollo ran a hand over his face. “We need to call Titus,” he said and looked between the two. “Someone was outside.”

Chapter Nine

Exhausted didn’t even begin to cover how tired he was. They had been talking all night about the details. Each time he told it, the story only became more firm in his memory.

There’s no way what he encountered could have been anything other than human. Not that it had helped his case. No one believed him. He ground his teeth in irritation. What the hell good was it to catch someone in the act if no one was going to believe him?

Overworked they said. He could have laughed if it didn’t piss him off so much. Like he’d been given much work recently. No, he’d been assigned the babysitting job. Not really high on his list.

If only they had seen something. But there was nothing. He’d been over the scene several times himself. No footsteps but his own. No forced entry. Hell, Sol hadn’t even heard anything, and yet he’d heard Apollo.

This only meant one thing in his mind: whoever had been there was a professional. What that meant, he wasn’t really certain, but he was going to find out. If they had chosen to go toward the family housing, they probably worked for the Horatius Group.

Apollo glared back at the clinic. The last thing he’d wanted to do this morning was have a scan. And yet he went anyway. Mostly because he knew if he didn’t, Rachel wouldn’t have any problem calling out his ass. He didn’t need his shit to start making the rounds. Who knew what the men would think of it?

He revved the engine of his car, the test results weighing heavily on his mind. There was so little they would be able to do for him. If they ended up trying to take it out, it seemed the least of his worries was losing his sight. What that meant concerning how they proceeded was something he struggled with, especially since he might pose the biggest threat in the compound, just from one little chip.

The car jerked a little as he pulled out of the lot and on to the smooth road. He didn’t know what he would do if they actually said he was a hazard to everyone around him. Apollo gripped the steering wheel. Maybe if he just found the scumbag who was lurking around?

He gave a harsh laugh.

It seemed like he was always ending up in the same spot, trying to prove to the rest of the men who he was. Never quite enough and always the kid. He kind of realized how Marius had felt. He was sick of this shit. He came to a halt outside the cabin and frowned.

“Goddamn kids,” he grumbled and climbed out of the car.

Val sat on the porch with two of the hybrid teens. The teens were scarfing down large pieces of chocolate cake.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” he barked at them.

The smaller one shot him a dirty look, and he remembered him from their fall festival.

“Ms. Hannah said you might need help,” he said and wiped his chocolate covered face on his hand.

Apollo stood tall and tried to be as imposing as he could.

“The hell you—”

Val stepped in front of him and smiled brightly at the two teens.

“I’m sure Dean and Peter will be very helpful,” she said.

The older of the two stared hard at her chest, and when Apollo cleared his throat, he at least had the decency to blush and turn away at being caught. Dean, the smaller of the two, didn’t seem to notice and grinned widely at her.

His face suddenly got serious.

“I think I might need another slice though if we’re going to work very hard,” he said.

Peter jabbed him in the ribs, and the whole exchange only pissed Apollo off more.

“Why don’t you two go get another slice each and a big glass of milk?” Val said.

Neither waited around for additional invites.

“We don’t need their help,” Apollo said.

Val turned and glared at him. She swiped at her short pale hair and pinned him with her crystal blue eyes.

“Those boys are just trying to be useful,” she whispered. “Don’t you dare turn them away.”

This wasn’t fair. He hadn’t done anything.

She leaned in a little closer, and he couldn’t help but inhale deeply.

“Besides, I’ll need the help taking down cameras,” she said.

He questioned how much help she really needed but whatever. This wasn’t something he was going to fight her on.

“Besides, it will go much faster, and I can get ready for tonight,” she said.

Apollo frowned and looked down at the pretty woman before him.

“Tonight?” he asked, nearly caught up in her beauty.

“Jenna is having a girl’s night,” she said excitedly. “Although I think she’s mostly doing it to piss off Rem. I think she might have a hard time with that. Last night at dinner, he—”

“Dinner?”

She blinked a few times.

“Dinner,” she said. “Jenna had him over. Kinda seemed like she had to.”

He felt the blood rush to his face as the thought of Val alone with that man raced through his mind.

“You can’t be around him,” he said harshly.

Her face fell, and Val stood in shock, staring at him.

“What?” she finally managed to get out.

He shook his head and turned away from her. “That guy is bad news.”

The bitter notes of jealousy pushed at her.

She clenched her fists at her side and tried to compose herself. Decking him might not go so well. Who the hell did he think he was telling her what to do?

“I think I can decide that for myself,” she said through gritted teeth.

He whirled around and invaded her space. “What? Like how you did a great job in judging your neighbor?”

Her mouth fell open. “Who my neighbor is hardly something I can choose. I was fine.”

Apollo moved closer, and she could smell him filling the air around her. His spicy scent lured her closer. “I’m sure you would have been fine all the way inside his place.”

Quickly, before she even knew what she was doing, Val jabbed forward hard with her fist right into his stomach.

His eyes widened in shock as he grunted.

“I would have been fine,” she said and stepped around him.

She turned and could see the younger hybrids standing at the door, watching their exchange.

“Let’s go.” She smiled at them.

The two walked around him, and she wondered what they were feeling. It was hard to read people when they were younger. She always thought that it might have to do with ever-changing emotions. Whatever it was, she was almost glad not to have to bother. Her ability could be distracting and exhausting at times.

She glanced back and found Apollo following with a sour expression. Maybe she shouldn’t have found such pleasure in the situation, but he more than had it coming.

* * *

Apollo sat on the steps, glaring out at the world. He didn’t care that he looked mad this time. He’d had enough of this shit. Babysitting sucked, and now he’d only increased the number.

Val passed by, and he watched her with suspicion. Not that he was going to admit it out loud, but she packed a hell of a punch. And if she’d been able to do that this whole time, why hadn’t she used it on her creepy neighbor?

Dean snorted as he walked by, and Apollo had to restrain himself from going to thump the snot-nosed kid on the damn head. Mocking him. Where the hell did he get off? He was going to have to talk to Augustus about the serious lack of control he seemed to have over the younger hybrids.

The older boy carried the camera to the table they had set up. Peter was quieter than the others Apollo had seen about his age. He seemed to be thinking and taking in everything around him with his amber eyes.

Apollo shook his head. If they were in the facility, a boy Peter’s age would be separated from the rest. He was on the cusp of manhood and would go through the final growth stage. It was hell, and most still didn’t like to talk about it.

He watched the boy and wondered if it was something that was covered in the school they’d set up. Not that it was his job to worry, but it was just another thing that linked them all.

Peter placed the last of the parts on the table and came over to where Apollo was for his lunch. He sat down quietly next to him and munched on his sandwich.

They sat there in silence, Apollo not really knowing what to say, and Peter just enjoying the quiet.

He quickly finished his sandwich and stood.

Dean passed by and made another noise. Apollo bristled at the little brat.

“He doesn’t mean anything by it,” Peter said.

Apollo made a noise in the back of his throat. “Oh, I think he does.”

Peter looked down at him and gave the first smile he’d seen from the boy.

“Okay, he does, but he just wants to be helpful,” he said. His brown hair was shaggy and hung into his eyes.

“Can’t he be helpful at the school?” Apollo asked.

Peter looked out to where the school sat in the distance and sighed.

“It’s…” He furrowed his brow. “Augustus is great, but he’s very focused.”

Apollo frowned. “That’s not a bad thing.”

The boy looked down at him, and for the first time, he felt like the younger man.

“We want to learn,” he said. His face was stern and unyielding. “Our time was just as bad as yours. But some of the boys have a chance for more.”

Apollo stared at Dean. He was young and far more carefree than Apollo had been at his age. And why wouldn’t he be? He had the chance to have a different sort of life. They had freedom now, a chance at a new future.

He looked up at Peter.

“And you?” Apollo asked.

Peter gave a sad smile. “I think we both know that my time has passed. I’ll be changing soon,” he said and found Dean. A smile played on his lips as he watched Dean and Val laugh at something. “It’s good enough that they have more.”

Apollo knew this. Hell, it was something they had all talked about. It was too bad they hadn’t thought to talk about those that couldn’t start new. They had just assumed that all the younger ones would be safe from all that they had suffered. It had been too many years though. All that time, they had suffered right alongside them.

No, Peter was right. A better life for those that could have it would be enough. And maybe he needed to find that sort of peace within himself.

He turned to say as much to Peter but found he’d already moved on to the next project.

Apollo smiled for the first time in ages and felt it to his core. All their work meant something.

* * *

Val sat uncomfortably at the table with the other women staring at her openly. Aside from Rachel and Jenna, she really didn’t know the others. And as interested as she was in learning more about their life there, she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Their feelings were bombarding her, and it was hard to tell who was thinking what. Maybe this was why she never hung out with many women.

All these years she’d been pretty much on her own. Making friends had never been top priority for her, and so she never really tried. Even more, the relationships that women had seemed so foreign to her. Things that other women cared about just didn’t seem as important when you were struggling to just get by.