Tendril Hearts (Immortals Book 11)

by LJ Vickery

  Had that been a growled response from Shamash? Highly likely. Great. Now his buddy couldn’t wait to get home for some hot kitty sex.

  Hey, asshole, stop thinking about the tail at home and get back to tailing my Chosen. Dumuzi heard a chorus of “nice ones” from the other gods, but Sham took it with good humor.

  You’d better watch out, Muze. Sienna’s tail right now is underage, so even if you do the ceremony with her, there’ll be no touching until she’s out of the cub’s den.

  Fuck you, he said to be heard, then taking a page out of Sienna’s book, rolled his eyes. The last thing Dumuzi wanted was a relationship. He purposely changed the subject. What’s happening now? It was frustrating not to be in the police barracks, but Shamash, being a mated god, had the bonus-ability to mist in and out at will. He needed to depend on the cat-man right now.

  We’re heading back to the cell where her friend Riley is waiting.

  Good. At least they have each other for comfort. It was something Dumuzi had never enjoyed. He’d always pushed people away in his younger years, unwilling to risk friendships.

  Lahar’s voice from the compound cut into the conversation.

  FYI, the mother won’t be able to get a flight out until the red-eye at 12:55 Denver time. With a layover, that puts her in Boston at 7:05 tomorrow morning. The computer-geek god had been busy. So if you’re going to put your plan into action, Muze, any time before morning will be good.

  Well, there’s no time like the present. The vegetation god misted in from the woods where he’d stayed, invisible, to become solid as soon as he hit the barracks parking lot. He let his ears in the building off the hook. I can take it from here, Sham. Thank you. Go back to your bride.

  Excellent. You don’t have to tell me twice. Good luck.

  Dumuzi took a deep breath and entered the station. He knew the easy part would be compelling all the officers into going along with his agenda, the hard part would be Sienna. If she was like any of the other Chosen, she would not be subject to mind-manipulation, and he’d have to rely on her innate curiosity and boldness to get her to go along with him. Alternately, she might resist and scream bloody murder at her offered extrication. He hated to resort to caveman technique, but if it came down to it, he was prepared. It was what gods did. He walked up to the window where an officer sat on duty.

  “Hi. I’m here to bail out Sienna Dixinson,” Dumuzi said with all the authority he could muster. He knew he looked like the ultimate stoner, a visage he’d worked hard to perfect for thousands of years, but he attempted to open his eyes wide and ditch the uber-relaxed body language just this once. It must have worked.

  “Are you her father?” The officer asked. Ouch. That one hurt. Did he look like he was old enough to be the kid’s dad? Fuck that. Of course, he was really two thousand, four hundred and thirteen years old, but he always fancied he looked twenty-five…or even younger. The damned cop needed glasses.

  “No, I’m her cousin,” Dumuzi lied, trying to keep the snark out of his voice. “Her father couldn’t come, and he called me to make bail.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll get the officer in charge to bring you back to take care of business. There’s some paperwork to fill out, then you can see your cousin and take her home.”

  “Thank you.” Dumuzi bit his tongue and remained polite, but silently hoped the young cop went prematurely bald.

  Posting bail and the accompanying paperwork didn’t take long. The woman cop Sham had designated as “hot” had been more than happy to take care of him. If he’d let her, she would have frisked him from top to bottom…stopping somewhere in the middle, for sure. The female attention diverted him, and he shamelessly flirted back. Muze figured why not after being invisible for so long. He justified his actions as sharpening his “charm” skills before trying them on Sienna.

  Dumuzi signed his first name, using Dixinson as his last. Claiming to be family was the easiest ruse. And when he held up a blank piece of paper―a la Dr. Who―he compelled the lady-officer to think it was his driver’s license, and that a second piece of paper was a notarized authorization from dear old dad, remanding Sienna into Dumuzi’s custody. Very tidy.

  “I almost didn’t need the license, your family resemblance is so pronounced, but we have a certain protocol. You understand.” She eyed him like candy again. “Everything seems to be in good order.” Fuck. Was she actually checking out the front of his jeans when she said that? Dumuzi felt color rush up into his face—the curse of being a redhead. He’d hoped she wouldn’t notice the uncomfortably large bulge in his pants. With his newly acquired visibility, he found he had very little control over his dick. It kept popping in and out of “happy” of its own free will. Well, damn. He guessed he should be glad some part of him was getting a kick out of this clusterfuck.

  “Let me bring you back to Sienna. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see you.”

  Dumuzi certainly hoped so. He followed her sashaying ass down the hallway, aware the officer was putting a little extra swing in her hips. And yup, there went his cock again. He certainly was destined to make a good first impression on his bride-to-be.

  “Sienna?” The hot-officer called out quietly as both girls lay on their cots. “Your cousin has come and posted bail.”

  “My who?” Sienna slowly propped herself up into a sitting position, wrinkling her nose in Dumuzi’s direction as she took him in head to toe. The god began talking before she could say any more.

  “You know,” he quipped. “Your good old cousin Muze, here to take care of business ‘cause your dad’s such an ass.” He’d let the stoner look drop back over him like a blanket and waited to see what Sienna would say. Her eyes narrowed, and Dumuzi watched as Riley switched cots and scooted over as close to Sienna as she could get.

  “The guys already got bailed,” she whispered, unaware that Dumuzi―with his god hearing―was privy to everything she said. “Maybe they sent their connection to get us. He kind of looks like a dealer or something, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. You might be right. Check out his eyes,” Sienna whispered back.

  “Screw that,” Riley replied, “Check out the action in his jeans. That is one smokin’ dude. He’s frigging huge.”

  Dumuzi wanted to poke his fingers in his ears and chant. No way were two underage girls talking about his package. He could only be grateful when Sienna refused to play Riley’s crotch game but acquiesced to his ruse.

  “So…Muze. Are you here to get Riley, too?”

  Damn. This was something Dumuzi hadn’t thought about. He figured to spring his bride, fill her in on the details of the rest of her life, get her mother’s permission, and ignore her for eternity. He hadn’t thought about the friend.

  “Cuz, I’m not going anywhere without Riles.”

  Dumuzi caught the look in Sienna’s eye that said she might just go along with his game if he complied with her demand. And if he didn’t, there was no way in hell she’d follow him out of here. Dumuzi huffed. If he wanted her, he was going to have to take the friend as well.

  “Well, your dad didn’t say anything about your friend, and I’m not a relative, so considering that she’s underage…”

  “Nope, hot stuff,” Riley cut in. “It’s your lucky day. I was eighteen two weeks ago. Anybody can post my bail.” She hit him with the force of her big dark eyes, and Dumuzi knew he was sunk. Riley was the queen-pin between the friends, and what she wanted, she obviously got.

  “Back to the paperwork room?” Officer Libido smiled broadly and gestured toward the door. She was clearly pleased he wasn’t leaving yet. Dumuzi sighed and turned his steps in that direction, heading out first, but not before he heard another whisper.

  “Look at cop-lady checking out your ‘cousin’s’ ass,” he heard Riley snicker. “Bet she wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that.”

  Could this night get any worse?

  Twenty minutes and a thousand dollars lighter, Dumuzi made his way back to the cell. Both girls were sitting u
p expectantly, and he was quite certain they’d plotted and come up with a course of action that would take him out of the picture as soon as they left the police barracks. What they didn’t know was Huxley and Jake were standing at the ready outside to help run interference. Muze was certain, between them, they could thwart any escape attempt. Three gods against two little girls. What could go wrong?

  “So are you ready to go?” Dumuzi watched hips sway to unlock the cell. Damn. His prick was active again. Who knew an ass could look better with a gun strapped in close proximity? The door swung open, and both girls emerged. Sienna ignored him, but the cheeky Riley didn’t miss a beat.

  “Looks like you’re ready to go, too. Should we leave and give you some alone time with officer-luscious?” she whispered as she gave him an elbow.

  Dumuzi held in a growl. “Go. Now. Or I’ll be tempted to lock you back up.”

  Riley smirked and linked her arm with Sienna’s. “Lead the way.” Her gaze dropped, ready to check out his ass.

  “Oh no,” Dumuzi shook his head. “After you.” There was no way he’d walk the length of the hall, knowing his posterior was being perused and graded. Sienna laughed and pulled Riley out of the holding area—smart girl. Once in the parking lot, Dumuzi could tell the girls held off putting their plan into action out of sheer curiosity.

  “So who are you?” Sienna stood a good six feet from where he paused, arm still linked with Riley’s. “My dad and mom are only children, so I have no cousins.” She looked pointedly at his head.

  Dumuzi smirked. “I know, the hair color was a lucky break. It made me think I could use a family connection to spring you. You wanted to get out, didn’t you?” he asked lazily.

  “Yeah, but not to be raped and killed in the forest.” Sienna’s eyes took on a sharp cast. “So, why don’t you start explaining what’s up while we’re still near enough for cop help.”

  “Okay.” Now Dumuzi would have to go slowly. Every word needed to count so Sienna wouldn’t try to bolt and make everything more difficult. “I saw you get caught out in the woods, and I’ve been through enough similar shit on my own to feel for you.” Now it got tricky. “I have a friend inside the station who overheard that your dad wouldn’t post bail, so I decided to do it instead. I’m not sure why. I just didn’t want you to have to spend the night in a cell.”

  “Right.” She pulled out the eye-roll again and made him feel like an ass. It did sound pretty lame. So, if that didn’t fly, how the hell was he supposed to convince them to come back to the compound?

  “Umm, I wondered if you needed a place to crash for the night…since you can’t go home to dad’s.” Dumuzi held his breath.

  “Nope. We can go to Riley’s place. Her grandmother works nights, but Riles has a key. We’ll be fine.”

  Shit. What was it the guys all said? A Chosen couldn’t resist the god she was meant for. Maybe he’d have to try pouring on the charm. Dumuzi stepped one foot closer and gazed deep into Sienna’s eyes. “I’d really like it if you came back to my place for the night.” He tried to inject all the right emotions into his request, but it still came out feeling lecherous—even to him.

  “Not even close, buddy.” She pointed to a police cruiser bumper sticker—Stranger Danger, then fished around in her back pocket. “Going to call a cab, now. It’s been nice.”

  Dumuzi didn’t know what else to do. Despite the ruckus about to be raised, he called on his friends. Lahar, can you disable the parking lot surveillance and kill the lights? Hux, Jake, I could use a little help here.

  The lights went out, and his two god friends materialized behind the girls. “What the fuck?” Riley spun and put her back to Sienna’s, facing the two large men. She looked even more freaked out than Dumuzi expected. “Listen assholes, try anything, and we’ll scream the fucking Blue Hills down,” she warned.

  “Wait,” Sienna got a canny look on her face and sent back a hand to calm her friend. “They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get us out. I can’t imagine this is about some weird booty call.” She pointed a jaded look at Dumuzi. “Tell me, what is it you want from us?”

  Dumuzi sucked in a sharp breath. He needed to disclose everything, but if he did, instead of being labeled a rapist, he’d position himself as a lunatic. Jake, gods-bless-him, saved the day.

  “The name is Jake Marsthall,” he said, flipping open his badge folder. “I’m with the DEA, and we’ve been trying to break into a local drug ring without any success. We have reason to believe your friends got their weed from one of the kingpin's dealers in the area. We’re hoping to work our way up the chain…with your help.”

  “What?” This was Riley again, who was clearly not happy at the request. Unfortunately, that attitude was mirrored on Sienna’s face. “Yeah right. You want us to narc out our friends? Uh, uh. You’ve got the wrong girls. Come on, Sienna.” Riley grabbed her friend’s hand and tugged, but Sienna didn’t budge.

  “Could you guys give us a minute?” she asked, narrowing her eyes speculatively.

  “Sure. Take your time,” Jake acquiesced.

  The pair walked a short distance away for privacy, but Dumuzi and the two other immortals could easily hear everything.

  “Listen, Riles. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but there’s something happening I can’t explain.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “You know my…problem?” Sienna looked around as if to make sure she still had privacy.

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s what got us into this mess to begin with. What about it?”

  “Well,” Sienna licked her lips. “Ever since that guy Muze showed up, it’s been stepped up about a gazillion.”

  “You’re shitting me?” Riley’s eyes shifted disturbingly, and she cleared her throat. “So…do you want to hear something else that’s freaking weird?”

  Sienna nodded with a grimace.

  “When the hunk showed up, some strange-ass things started happening in my head, too.”

  Dumuzi was stumped. What the hell were they talking about?

  “No biggie, though.” Riley grabbed Sienna’s arm. “Try not to panic. It was probably the fucking drugs,” she finished up.

  Sienna looked at her friend, warily. “Okay, I don’t buy that but keep me in the loop. I don’t want any of my shit slopping over onto you.” She laid her hand over her friend’s grasp. “Riles…I can’t even begin to tell you…if these guys somehow have the answer to what’s been happening…if I can tap into it… What I’m trying to say is, I’m so desperate, I’m ready to go anyplace with them.” She flexed her shoulders. “Will you stay with me?”

  Dumuzi almost heard the deep swallow that the outwardly bold girl took before speaking again.

  “If you think by hanging with them you can figure things out, I’ll stay with you, Si.” Her bluster came back. “But if you get us torn up into little pieces, I’ll never speak to you again. Have you seen the biceps on these freaks? Shit. It will be ‘death by big guy.’ No weapons necessary.”

  “Now you’re reaching.” Eye roll.

  Well, here was something that finally pointed to Sienna being connected to him. She was scared and intimidated, but willing to risk everything for some unknown reason. At least it looked like the girls would comply and come with him of their own volition if only to find out what his connection was to Sienna’s “thing.” He watched as the girls walked back to them.

  “Okay. We’re going with you…but just for tonight,” Sienna agreed. “And the rules are, we get to keep our phones, and the two of us don’t get separated.” The girls held hands as if their lives depended on it.

  “Good.” Dumuzi felt relieved this might go easily. He was halfway to mated. “Come on then.” He walked toward the woods and felt the hesitation behind him.

  “Wait. Where’s your car?” Riley’s dark eyes were big and questioning.

  “We don’t have one,” Dumuzi supplied, puzzled. “Our house is only a mile away…into the woods.”

  “Oh, no.” Sienna shook her head, backing u
p a step and tugging her friend with her. “We’ve partied here enough times. There are no houses out there. What are you trying to pull?”

  Hux spoke from behind them, in the way that always sent women swooning to their knees. “We have a lovely home we hope you’ll want to see. It’s very private and not many people know about it, but Muze is correct. You can’t drive to it from here. We need to walk.”

  The girls looked anything but comforted despite the fact Huxley could usually melt panties with a mere twitch of his chin.

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Riley spoke for them both. “I think I’ll get one of the cops to give us a ride home, then you can email us or something if you still want to be BFF’s.” Riley was beyond twitchy now, and the pair inched back toward the barracks.

  Dumuzi had an idea.

  Tess? Lenore? Holly? Are any of you still up?

  Yo, happy man, Tiamet’s teething so neither of us is getting any sleep, Lenore answered.

  Girin, too, came Tess’s voice. He didn’t hear from Holly, but Charlie chimed in.

  Maity had a bad dream, so we’ve been walking it off. What can we do for you?

  Dumuzi suddenly had hope. The goddesses with their adorable children could surely assuage Sienna and Riley’s worries.

  Can you guys pop down to the police barracks and help me talk my future Chosen and her friend into coming back to the compound with us? I’m afraid me, Jake, and Hux are a little too scary for them.

  Before he could even blink, the three women, two babies, and sweet little three-year-old Maity were heading out from the tree-line. Thank gods. Reinforcements.

  “Look, girls, here are some of the ladies who live in our house with us. They have babies. What could be more innocent than that?” Dumuzi expected instant relief and capitulation, but there was anything but…especially from Riley, who was rendered speechless and gaping.

  Sienna, however, was more vocal after giving the whole group a suspicious once-over. “You’re not a cult of some kind?” She turned to the ladies. “And you guys aren’t sister-wives, are you?”