Shatterproof

by Stein Willard

  Hlif could kill her.

  Idunn shook her head. “I’m not here to fight you, Hlif. I’m only here to…”

  “…harm my beloved. If so, then I will kill you without blinking an eyelid.” She glanced at Idunn’s sheathed stilettos. “I won’t have any qualms about killing you – even unarmed.”

  “I would,” a voice said from under the bed. Hlif frowned and lowered her gaze to the bed. Bo came crawling out, still dressed in the revealing hospital gown. Hlif pursed her lips as she caught a glimpse of a very distracting, naked derriere.

  “Please, get dressed, Bo.” She gave the blonde’s behind a meaningful look. Bo blushed and throwing a careful look at Idunn, she clambered over the bed to reach the narrow cupboard. Hlif kept her gaze fixed on Idunn, listening to the sounds of Bo dressing behind her. “How’s your head?”

  “Pain’s gone,” Bo said as she clambered back over the bed to come stand next to her. What was she doing? She had hoped Bo would stay on the other side of the bed. Keep it as an extra buffer between her and Idunn. “You can’t hurt her.”

  Idunn’s eyes narrowed slightly. She seemed as curious by Bo’s statement as Hlif. Bo underestimated the other woman. Behind the ethereal beauty of Idunn, lay a dangerous being. The goddess was not a threat to Hlif, but she could… would… kill Bo.

  “Why not?” Was Bo not aware of the danger Idunn posed? “She’s here to kill you.”

  “I heard.”

  “And?”

  Bo curled her arm around Hlif’s waist. “I think we should talk it out. The three of us.”

  “You want us to…to talk?” Hlif blinked. “Why?”

  Bo shrugged. “I believe this is simply a misunderstanding. Something the two of you could easily clear up after you’ve talked.”

  A small smirk had formed at the corner of Idunn’s lips. “Do you see now what I mean? Humans are weak and naïve. To think you’ve given up everything for something so fleeting?”

  Hlif didn’t react to the taunt. She directed her response to Bo. “Do you still think we could solve this with words?”

  When there was no immediate reply, she glanced at Bo. The blonde was staring at Idunn intently. “I do, but I realize now that the conversation should be between the goddess and myself.”

  Hlif gave up. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve had serious doubts about Bo’s true identity. Gurith wasn’t much of a talker. She was a doer. Maybe she should remind the blonde of that. “To what purpose, Bo? Warriors don’t talk about their feelings. We only know battle and force.”

  “I understand that. The thing is that the root of this particular problem stems from a broken heart.” She stepped away from Hlif, her eyes having turned icy the longer she stared at Idunn’s smirking face. She moved closer to Idunn and Hlif reached out and firmly pulled her back to her side. “Don’t worry. She won’t kill me, for she knows very well that you’ll harm yourself should she try something.” Hlif watched a stilted expression come over Idunn’s face. “She’s more scared of losing you to an eternal death than losing you to me. Isn’t that so, Goddess?”

  Well, there was Gurith now. Only she would dare goad a powerful celestial to her face. Idunn had a decidedly sour look on her face now and her green eyes were dark with malice as she glared at Bo. The blonde held the stare with a rather lethal one of her own.

  Hlif suddenly felt stupid and overly dramatic wielding her dagger while a fierce, silent battle was being waged before her. She lowered the dagger self-consciously, a move that drew Bo’s attention to her. The pale eyes were icy when they met hers.

  “Had I been her, I would do one of two things,” she began slowly. “Either, I’ll try and salvage whatever is left of a friendship with you, because that’s all she’ll get from you.” Bo threw the visibly fuming Idunn a haughty look. “Because I’m not sharing you with anyone. Or, she could make her move so we can get the hell out of here.”

  Hlif gaped at the irate blonde, doubting that she’d ever been turned on like this. Hlif threw a glance at Idunn. The woman looked positively furious.

  “You dare talk to me like I am some commoner?” she spat at Bo. Hlif was temporarily shocked into paralysis when Bo took a threatening step in Idunn’s direction. They were of similar height and Hlif noticed a slight tightening around the goddess’ eyes as Bo leaned into the woman’s face.

  “I’ve lived most of my life as a victim, hiding from a psychopathic bully, who used you for his personal gain. Well, let me tell you that I’m done running and I’m done being scared.”

  Time seemed to stand still as the two women glowered at each other. Hlif’s gaze never left Idunn. She stiffened when Idunn’s head snapped up suddenly. Idunn blinked a few times before she gave Hlif a blank look and slowly stepped back into the shadows.

  “Where did she go?” Bo wanted to approach the shadows to investigate, but Hlif held her back.

  “She left.”

  Both Hlif and Bo spun around to find Odin sitting on the couch.

  ***

  “What do you want?”

  “Hlif.” Bo squeezed Hlif’s hand. Odin came to his feet. He was even more intimidating now, but Hlif looked ready to take him on. She ran her hand up Hlif’s arm in a soothing manner.

  “Idunn has grown more rebellious lately.” He picked at invisible lint on his sleeve. “Soon after you left Valhalla…”

  “I didn’t leave. You cast me out,” Hlif snapped in a cold voice.

  Odin grimaced. “Well, soon after, Idunn came to see me. I denied her request to contact you. It was forbidden for everyone.”

  “Yet, she did. It must mean that your grip on things is slipping, old man.”

  Bo noticed Odin’s eyes narrow slightly, but he managed to rein in his legendary temper. “She turned to Loki for help. You know how resourceful Loki can be.”

  Bo stole a glance at Hlif. The woman’s face looked like it was carved from stone. Not a good sign. Although she didn’t know much about Loki, her visions showed that he was a slimeball. Hlif wasn’t a fan either. Her earlier statement about killing Loki had been rather unsettling. Even though Bo was convinced the ass deserved it for what he had done to Hlif and Gurith.

  “One needs to be dumb, blind, and deaf, not to notice that the two of you are bound by something stronger than only love.” His handsome face lit up a touch. “A love like that is not easy to find.” He smiled. “I have and after an eternity together, I’m still very much in love.”

  Hlif sheathed the dagger. “Are we done here?”

  Bo was horrified. She understood that there were deep unresolved issues between the two, but the dismissive way with which Bo treated her father made her cringe. Maybe it was time she found out what caused the rift between Hlif and Odin, but now was not the time. She watched as Odin rose from his place on the couch. He had an unreadable look in his eyes as he studied Hlif. His words of earlier echoed through Bo’s mind.

  I miss my daughter.

  She also recalled the look in his eyes as well as the emotion in his voice when he’d said the words. By the look of Hlif’s face, Odin would have to wait another two thousand years before she’d be accommodating to anything coming from him. Unless Odin sought out the help of a mediator. She suddenly had an idea.

  “Could I have a moment alone with your father, Hlif?”

  Hlif looked like she was going to have a stroke as she gawked at Bo. “I’m not going to leave you alone with a stranger.”

  Bo noticed a flash of hurt shoot across Odin’s face. He managed to hide it with a wide smile. “I’m at your service, young lady.”

  “No,” Hlif snapped. “…you’re not.”

  Bo turned to Hlif, the Valkyrie was visibly upset; her eyes were dangerously stormy. She was glaring at Odin as if she wanted to take her dagger to him. Odin appeared calm as he watched them with great interest. “I won’t be long and then we could leave.”

  Hlif seemed unconvinced. “I don’t like it.”

  “I know, honey. But I’ll be fine, I
promise.” She realized that Hlif would need a little more convincing. She slipped her hand behind the dark head and brought Hlif closer for a deep kiss. Bo realized her mistake when immediately after their lips met, her body began to thrum with anticipation. She reluctantly broke the kiss and blinked up at Hlif. The other woman looked dazed. “Just a few minutes, okay.”

  The Valkyrie gave Odin a sharp, warning glare before she stalked from the room. Odin was smiling knowingly when she turned to him. Bo felt her face heat up despite efforts to appear composed.

  “She seems to have inherited my way with the ladies, too,” he drawled and winked.

  Bo shook her head slowly. She probably needed to call Marion and get her to take the next flight out to Reykjavik. She needed someone to confirm that this was not a dream.

  “I have a proposition for you.”

  ***

  It took Hlif a moment to shake off the effects of the kiss and once she did, she was immediately filled by curiosity. Why would Bo want to speak with Odin alone? It wasn’t as if they knew each other. Nor was Odin to be trusted. She thought of storming back into the room and demand to know what the clandestine meeting entails.

  Yet, she wouldn’t.

  Bo would not appreciate it and Hlif didn’t want to disappoint the blonde. Not when things appeared to be going so well between them. Once she’d dealt with Loki, she was going to cement her place in Bo’s life. If it meant moving to the States to be closer to Bo, it could be done. She looked up and down the halls. It was strangely deserted. She walked over to the nurses’ station and felt the hairs on her nape bristle.

  Odin.

  She rushed back to Bo’s room and cursed out loud when she was greeted by an empty room. She knew it! That bastard had taken her. The room was perfectly clean. There was no sign of the struggle that took place earlier. No corpses and no unconscious nurse. The bed was made and if not for Bo’s scent that still lingered in the room, Hlif could’ve been convinced that she was in the wrong room. Where would Odin have taken her?

  Valhalla?

  Hlif shook her head. That wasn’t possible. She sighed as a memory surfaced. Not that is wasn’t entirely impossible either. Over the ages, a few humans had visited Valhalla. There was the time that one of her brothers fell in love with a human girl and being Frigg’s favourite son, she petitioned Odin to have their son bring the girl to meet them. The love affair didn’t last long and the poor girl was unceremoniously dumped on earth afterwards. Hlif had been horrified at the treatment of the girl and the incident had affected her relationship with her half-brother for centuries.

  Bo’s situation was different, but if Odin hoped to ever salvage anything of their relationship, he wouldn’t be so stupid.

  But he was Odin. Father of Loki, the Trickster. The apple never fell far from the tree.

  She was sure that Odin’s decision to abduct Bo had something to do with Loki. Hlif was going to make them both regret it. She reached inside her pocket for her phone and speed dialled a number.

  “I need you to check something for me, Lars.”

  “Sure, Hlif. What do you need?”

  “I need a list of all the private planes that arrived today from the United States. I also want to know where all these people are staying. Check the street cams from the airport to these hotels.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I have it for you. Are you okay? Do you need me to send someone to you?”

  “No, but thanks. Call me, Lars.”

  She hung up and gave the room a last walkthrough before she left.

  ***

  Loki wrenched his hand from his mouth in utter disgust. He despised the fact that the longer he remained amongst these mortals, he was beginning to pick up their weak habits.

  Like biting his nails!

  It was an unhygienic habit and one that gave away his state of mind. He pushed his hands into his pockets. He was Loki, Odin’s son and a god. Gods don’t bite nails, because they were never anxious.

  But why had his phone not rung yet? Did he truly expect it to ring? The men were hopelessly outnumbered against Hlif. The sudden knock on the door had him spin around to face the door. He’d asked to be left alone while he waited for McAllister to contact him with an update.

  “Come in.”

  The door swung open and Loki couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped his lips as he saw who his guest was.

  “YOU!”

  Chapter 18

  The apartment was quiet and dark as she entered using the basement lift. She was almost across the lounge, careful to sidestep furniture, when she was brought up short by the sound of a cocking gun. She stopped and turned in the direction the sound had come. A light clicked on and she found a Glock levelled at her. It lowered slowly.

  “Where’s Bo?”

  Hlif realized at that moment that the stress of not knowing the answer to that question was affecting her harder than she wanted to accept. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Odin has her.”

  Harald shot out of the chair, his eyes hard. “Is… is she…? I thought she was doing better?”

  “Oh, no,” Hlif said as she held up her hand. “She’s been abducted by Odin.”

  Harald frowned. “Why? What would that bring him?”

  “I don’t know, Harald. She asked to be alone with him and when I went back to the room, they were both gone.”

  The man grimaced. “She talked him into taking her.”

  “Why would you say that?” Hlif tried to wrap her head around the strange remark. Bo knew that she was being hunted. There was no way she would be so reckless as to leave with a stranger. “Bo wouldn’t do something so reckless.”

  Harald smirked. “Maybe Bo wouldn’t. Gurith, on the other hand, is a different matter.”

  Gurith? Earlier, she’d wondered about Bo channelling Gurith. That was a plausible idea. The ancient people had believed that reincarnated souls could use their hosts as conduits. Could Harald be right and that Gurith’s consciousness was co-habiting within Bo?

  Harald chuckled. “Whatever she has in mind, things will not end well for whoever she has in her sights.”

  Loki?

  She wouldn’t be going after Loki, would she? She met Harald’s eyes and groaned inwardly. That is definitely something Gurith would do. Odin, of course, would know where his cowardly son was hiding. Lars hasn’t called either. All this waiting was eating away at her. She needed to do something or she’d go mad.

  “I’m going to change and go look for her.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Harald said quickly. “Maybe you could get one of your men to come over to stay with Magarethe.”

  “That’s not necessary.” Magarethe stood in the doorway leading down the hallway to the bedrooms. “I’m coming too.”

  Hlif wanted to protest, but the haunted look in the older woman’s eyes changed her mind. It will be difficult to keep Magarethe out of harm’s way and rescue Bo at the same time, but Magarethe looked the way Hlif felt. She nodded at Magarethe and gently brushed her hand over the woman’s shoulder on her way. The moment she entered her room, she overwhelmed by Bo’s scent. Hlif found herself moving to the bed temped to pick up the pillow and cradling it. Waking up being surrounded by the scent and feeling the soft curves of Bo in her arms, was heavenly. Hlif hadn’t slept a wink the previous night because Bo’s presence had been too distracting.

  She needed to find Bo.

  ***

  Bo closed the door behind her, not taking her eyes off Loki. He was just as oily and repulsive as in her visions. The shock of her having entered his lair was still lingering in his eyes. He appeared composed, but Bo knew he wasn’t. Her presence had rattled him, because he knew that their roles had been reversed. He was the hunted now.

  “What happened to my men?”

  She smiled at him, but didn’t answer. The idea was to unsettle him further and not knowing whether his men would come to his aid, was doing exactly that. Loki gave her a cold look before he turned away.

  �
��I don’t know what you were thinking coming here, Ms Witteman. Do you realize the amount of danger you’re in at the moment?”

  Bo’s brow shot up. “From who? You?”

  Loki turned around and looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You sound very confident in your abilities.” He slowly approached her, obviously to intimidate her. “I could snap your neck without breaking a sweat.”

  She smiled broadly. “That’s what I’m counting on.” She rolled her shoulders as she held his stunned gaze. “C’mon, now. Don’t tell me you’ve never fought a woman. I’ll understand if you’re scared.” Loki looked like he’d been gut-punched and Bo enjoyed the look on his face. She, too, was a little surprised by her sudden gutsiness. Her frustration at the tragedy she had to endure because of this man, was understandable. Daring him to a physical fight was rather farfetched. Maybe the knock to her head had muted her common sense. All the same, she had thrown down the gauntlet and Loki suddenly seemed intrigued by the prospect of strangling her to death with his bare hands. Despite her misgivings about the dare, Bo found that she was not even a little bit scared of facing the man.

  “Well, I was going to be a gentleman about this and just shoot you, but since you insist on being brutalized, I aim to please.”

  He unbuttoned his jacket and threw it on a nearby couch. Cracking his knuckles, he approached her. Bo found that they were of the same height, but Loki had a few pounds on her. The odds weren’t that bad. She saw a shadow cross his face a millisecond before he attacked. Roger had warned her numerous times to be on the lookout for physical queues. Moreover, she’d been listening, because she easily ducked Loki punch and used his momentum to land one of her own. It hit him square on the nose.

  Loki seemed dazed by the blow and in the frozen silence, a drop of blood trickled from his nostril to his chin.

  “Oops! That looks like it must’ve hurt?” She injected a healthy dose of feigned concern into her tone.

  Loki angrily rubbed at the blood and gave her a dark look filled with malice. “You’re going to regret this.”