Frozen Holidays 1& 2 Eudorus and Zelus (6 page)

Ros watched as Danny settled on a game and
played with the utmost concentration. His delight as he won and
tickets came out of the machine gave Ros a warm feeling inside. He
knew he was trying to avoid the conversation he needed to start
with Jen, but it was a good excuse. He really wanted to make Jen
and Danny happy from now on.

“You needed to talk about something?” Jen
asked.

He tried to relax before he got into the
conversation he was dreading. “Jen,” he said as he leaned across
the table taking her hand in his. “I know what I’m going to tell
you will be hard for you to understand.”

She pulled her hand back, tears came to her
eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I understand last night meant
nothing. Men will be men, right?”

“Oh, Jen, no. I want you. I want us to have a
future but I’m not who you think I am. I’m not sure where to
start,” he said as he looked in her eyes knowing his dread and
confusion was showing.

“Start at the beginning,” she said with a
giggle. The beginning, she said. It sounded so easy.

“You’ve heard of the gods that Origin
created?”

“Yes, of course. Everyone’s heard of them
unless they live under a rock.”

“I’m one of them,” he explained.

She laughed. “I’ll admit your gorgeous, but a
god? Is this a joke?”

He stared at her until she stopped laughing.
“Sometimes I wish it was a joke or a dream. I really am a god. The
place you work is a company run by Origin. They’ve changed the name
but the evil is the same.”

“That’s not possible. They’re just trying to
help couples that can’t have babies. They’re helping people!” she
said almost hysterically. The people at the next table looked over
at them.

“Please don’t be so loud, Jen. I know this is
hard to deal with, but I’m telling you the truth.”

“Even if I could believe this and I’m not
saying I can, why tell me?”

“Your baby isn’t your ex-husbands. They used
god DNA to impregnate you.” Her breathing sped up and she was pale.
He feared she might pass out so he moved to sit next to her instead
of across.

“No, you’re wrong. That can’t be true.” He
could see she was growing agitated but he didn’t know how to calm
her.

“Jen, we want to help you.”

“Like you helped me last night?” she accused.
It wasn’t a surprise, he’d expected this. Now he was wishing he’d
kept it in his pants a little longer.

“No, last night was just about you and me.
This is about you bosses, you, and your baby. They are keeping two
gods in the basement. They’re in bad shape and may die. If you
don’t help us, can you live with the results?” He didn’t feel right
putting this much pressure on her but what choice did he have? Jen
already understood as well as he did that life was rarely fair.

“What do you want me to do? I don’t have
access to anything except the patient waiting room where patients
check in.”

“We need to get in where you are without
raising any red flags or getting any attention. We’ll figure things
out from there.”

“You’ll need an appointment for a woman. A
male can accompany her in to the examination room. More than one
man will draw attention.”

“There’s never more than one man?”

“There was once. They were in a ménage and
both men accompanied her. They used a cocktail with both men’s
sperm to increase the odds one would take.”

Ros felt weak. Something hit him right
between the eyes. He thought he’d figured out how they were having
such luck impregnating these woman. They required a blood test
pre-employment. There were ways to tell if a female was predisposed
to breed with a god. The next step was to give them a cocktail with
all available god’s sperm. God’s sperm was aggressive, even a small
amount of the right god’s sperm would take. He didn’t know why Doc
and the other doctors that worked for the gods hadn’t figured it
out. Maybe it was because they were concentrating on other things.
He would tell her what he thought and find out what Doc thought
about it.

“We can act like a ménage. Two gods can
handle several human males. We need to know the best time to do it.
I also want you to stay with me for now. We’re asking a lot of you,
we know that. Let me take care of you and safeguard you until this
is done.

“Okay,” she said but he saw she had
doubts.

He was a little surprised she’d agreed. Maybe
she was just tired of the struggle or maybe she just cared for him.
He hoped she had some feelings for him since he sure as hell had
feelings for her. Danny came running to the table with a big stack
of tickets. The waitress came and got their drink order. She had
been hanging out with a young man dressed like a Goth. Her
boyfriend, Ros suspected, but he didn’t mind she hadn’t hurried
over to their table since it had given him time to talk to Jen.

They all three took the pizza and salad bar.
The food was filling and Danny loved pizza. He’d admitted he hadn’t
had it in a while and Jen flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t her
fault and she did the best she could but he would be there for her
now.

Once they were finished eating, he got up and
caught her hand. He still had a pocket of tokens and they played
skee ball. Danny was delighted when he saw more tickets coming out
near where the money had gone in. Danny won, probably because Jen
and Ros weren’t trying too hard. They took all the tickets and
after he paid for their meal, Danny picked out a car that he could
wind up. The boy was so happy that Ros wished he could see that
look on his face everyday.

He escorted them outside but he was tense. He
was waiting for Jen to throw objections at him. She wasn’t saying a
word which made him wonder what she was thinking. “Why don’t we run
by your place and we can pick up some clothes for Danny and
you?”

Danny screamed from the back seat. “We’re
going to Ros’s place!”

“Just for a few days,” Jen said as he looked
at Ros for confirmation. She was nervous, he could tell.

He pulled up in front of her apartment. A
generous term for such a small hole in the wall. He turned the SUV
off and started to get out. “I’ll just run in and get a few
things,” Jen said.

“No, we’ll all go in. I want to be sure
you’re okay.”

It wasn’t that he suspected anything. It was
that he didn’t want her out of his sight. He felt the need to be
next to her. The mated gods had mentioned the need for their mates.
He hadn’t believed such a strong feeling for a female could truly
exist. He knew better now. He got out and went around to get Danny
out of the child seat. Jen got out before he was done and started
heading into the building without him.

“Wait a second, we’re coming,” he hollered
and she stopped until they got to her.

They walked up the stairs to her apartment
where she packed for her and Danny. There were no problems but he
felt protective of his family. That’s what he considered them to be
so he would watch over them the best that he could. They left the
apartment and he carried a big bag for Jen and a small one for
Danny. Danny skipped and sang as they moved along. Once they got to
the steps Danny tried to hop down them which made Jen lecture him
on safety.

Ros had to admit he was relieved when they
made it back to the SUV. He got Danny settled and Jen got in on her
own. Normally he would have helped her, but since he was looking
after Danny, she settled herself in. He got in and they rode back
to his apartment. So far things had been easier than he expected.
He was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe he’d be lucky
and he wouldn’t have any problems. Yeah, right!

He escorted them into his apartment when they
arrived. Danny was running from room to room losing items of
clothing as he went. His shoes were in the living room, his hat in
the kitchen. Jen was running after him trying to calm him down. The
boy just needed some exercise to burn off all that energy. He
grabbed Jen’s hand and pulled her to the bathroom where a whirlpool
tub was.

“Take a bath and I’ll play with Danny for a
while.” It looked like she’d refuse but she changed her mind and
nodded.

Ros went to find Danny and they got on the
floor rolling around and enjoying themselves. It was a lot of fun
and he was sure Jen was enjoying her bath. He wondered what she’d
say when he wanted her to sleep in his bed tonight. Just the
thought of wrapping himself around her before they went to sleep
excited him. Just the thought of her at all made him giddy as a
schoolboy. They played nearly and hour and then he got Danny ready
for bed. He was a little worried that she had been in there so long
but he’d heard from mated gods that sometimes females just needed
time to relax. He had a second bathroom to use for Danny and him so
once Danny was in bed and he was ready for bed, he knocked on the
bathroom door. No answer. That worried him so he checked the door,
she hadn’t locked it. He opened it and she was asleep. The
bathwater was tepid so he woke her up.

She startled when he shook her lightly. “You
fell asleep,” he said. “I’ve put Danny to bed and he’s asleep. I’m
ready for bed too if you are.”

“Danny needs to take a bath,” she
protested.

“Already done.”

“He’ll expect a story before he’ll go to
sleep.”

“Already told him one and he’s already
asleep.”

It surprised him how hard it was for her to
accept help from him. She would probably be as resistant to anyone
trying to help. People could be hard to deal with and she probably
hadn’t gotten many offers of help. She’d thought Raker was trying
to help and now she knew he was using her. Maybe it wasn’t so hard
to understand her attitude after all. It didn’t matter because he
would help her whether she liked it or not.

“Could you step outside while I dry off and
get dressed?” she asked her face flaming with embarrassment.

“Of course I can,” Ros said. He didn’t really
understand modesty since the gods had been raised practically
naked. The small thin shorts they had worn at the facilities
covered little and hid nothing. He didn’t mind if she was shy, he
would break her of that in due time. He would mind if she tried to
avoid his bed. Tonight he planned to sleep with his mate.

Chapter 6

Mission Go

Jen wasn’t sure what to think and she’d
probably be going crazy right now if she wasn’t so damn tired. She
didn’t want the things Ros said to be true. It would only
complicate her already crazy life. She did want to believe him
since she had grown to trust him and she didn’t want to think she
was that bad a judge of character. The whole situation was one big
mess.

They woke up and had breakfast. Jen couldn’t
help but think it was so normal. They were acting just like a
family as Ros helped her get Danny ready. They drove to the bus
stop and sat in Ros’s SUV while they waited for the bus. Ros
already had Danny out of the seat and sitting on his lap as soon as
they parked. When the bus came, it was Ros who walked Danny to the
bus and spoke to the driver for a moment before coming back.

“What did Mr. Horne have to say?” Jen
asked.

“Who?”

“Danny’s bus driver.”

“He said he was glad you two had someone to
help out. He likes both of you and wishes you had things
easier.”

“Oh,” she said turning red. She’d thought she
had done a good job of hiding how hard things had been for
them.

“We need to discuss what’s going to happen
today.”

“Does it have to be today?”

“Yes, if we want to save everyone.”

“I know Raker’s an asshole but a
murderer?

“You can’t imagine some of the things that
man has down and I wouldn’t even want you to. He’s sadistic and
doesn’t value life except for his worthless ass. We need to get in
there at a time when the fewest innocents are nearby. Doc will call
you as soon as you’re at work and set up the appointment. She will
bring me and Hades with her. What’s the matter?”

“Hades, I’ve heard of him. They say he looks
like the god of death he’s named after.” Jen shivered.

Ros laughed. “Hades is a pussy cat. You’ll
like him and his mate has him twisted around her finger. How bad
could he be?”

“If you’re sure,” she said but she really
wished she was convinced.

She didn’t have much, but she was risky it
all on this crazy scheme. She couldn’t believe she was going along
with it, but she knew they’d do it anyway and without her, there
was more likely to be people hurt when they did it. She tried not
to think about the future because when this was over, the clinic
would be shut down and she’d have no job at all. No money for rent
equaled no place to live.

“You know there’s nothing to worry about. I
have a job for you with good benefits, better pay, and a place to
live comes with it. They have onsite childcare and a cafeteria
where you can eat free.”

It was almost like he could read her mind.
“What’s the catch?”

“You have to move, but they’ll move you. You
also have to decide now and leave once this mess is mopped up.”

“I don’t have much choice. What will I be
doing?”

“All the same things you’re doing now.”

“You’re not just making something up to make
me feel better?”

“I promise there’s a job waiting for you and
there’s potential for promotion.”

“Thank you, Ros. That helps a lot.”

He parked around the corner from her office.
He hurried around to help her out and stole a kiss while he held
her. She looked over to the corner where he usually worked but
another Santa stood there. It made sense if they planned to
complete the raid on the clinic she worked at by noon. She hurried
around the corner and into her office area so she would be early.
This morning when Raker walked by, she could barely control her
shudders. She knew too much about him to continue to hide her
revulsion for long. He just walked by and didn’t say anything. He
seemed preoccupied and that suited her just fine.