Eye of the Beholder Read online

  Antonia “Toni” Mancinelli threw back the shot of whiskey, grinning at her now-retired partner when they both put their shot glasses back on the table. “Kerry is going to drive you nuts within a week, my friend.”

  “Tell me about it. She’s already handed me a honey-do list as long as my arm. Then she tells me that’s just the stuff off the top of her head.” Her ex-partner grinned, waving the waitress back over. “Food?”

  “Hot wings and potato salad.” She handed the menu back to the waitress. “And an iced tea.” The whiskey was their last huzzah, a final send-off for a good cop who’d never be able to touch another drop of liquor.

  “Man, how can you eat those things? They burn a hole in my stomach.”

  Which was why Pete was taking that early retirement and laying off the booze. Life sucked, but at least Pete seemed to be making lemonade out of his ulcerous lemon. He was already making plans to take his wife Kerry on a cruise in a few months, a surprise Toni was pretty sure Kerry already knew about. Toni hid her wince as Pete ordered the grilled chicken, hold the peppers. “Man, this reeks.”

  He eyed her hot wings. “Not as much as that does.”

  She smirked and took a big hot bite, moaning in exaggerated pleasure.

  “I hate you so much.” Pete dug into his chicken with a grimace. “I hope the next perp you shove in the back of your car has hot dog gas.”

  Toni damn near choked on her bite of potato salad. “Hot dog gas? What the fuck? That’s sick.” Geeze, just one guy who’d had too many dogs and beers at a Phillies game and you never live it down. It had taken her months to be able to eat another hot dog. She’d only managed it after Pete dared her in front of her co-workers.

  Man, she was gonna miss him. She only hoped she got along as well with her new partner. At least she’d be able to visit Pete and his wife and kids. Hell, Kerry had practically claimed her as one of the family. They’d become pretty close in the last four years, ever since she’d partnered with the veteran detective. Damn, with the new case that had landed on her desk that morning she could really use Pete’s insights. A prominent businessman disappearing from his offices, his granddaughter hospitalized and claiming he was responsible? She’d shuddered when she first heard of it, but with the accusation that Oliver Grimm might be dead the case had been bumped up to Homicide.

  Yippee. She held up her glass and clinked with Pete’s. “Good luck, my friend.” To us both.

  He nodded solemnly. “I’m going to need it. Kerry wants me to paint the living room.” He shuddered. “Lavender.”

  Toni smirked, letting go of work in favor of saying good-bye. “Remind me to bring the rest of the guys by for a visit, then.”

  He let loose a rueful chuckle. “Toni, you are such a bitch.”

  She shrugged and bit into another chicken wing. “Damn straight.”

  They were leaving the hospital today. Grimm considered taking his chances, hoping to get them all in one go, but he knew it wouldn’t work. They’d deliberately timed their departure from the hospital to coincide with rush hour. There would be too many people about for him to do what he really wanted to do. Even now he knew better than to try and reveal who and what they were. There were enough people in the world that eventually one of them would figure out how to kill him, and Grimm was nothing if not attached to living.

  Getting to Jamie in the hospital had proven impossible. People were in and out of her room at all hours of the night and day, checking her pulse, taking her temperature, bathing her ass, not to mention the damn wards Logan had around her room. It was enough to frustrate even a man as patient as he was. Still, at least he knew now exactly how much Jamie really meant to Tyr. The other god had barely left her side, going so far as to coaxing a nurse to have a cot brought in for him to sleep on.

  He sincerely hoped Tyr’s back was killing him.

  Ah, well. He had a plan. One that would bring both Tyr and Vali out into the open. Once they were, they were in for a rude, deadly surprise.

  He glanced at his watch, grinning. Speaking of plans, I’m going to be late for work. He got out of his car and headed into the building, grinning at the thought of what was in store for the fuckers who’d dared to betray him.

  They might have Gungnir, but damn it, he was still Odin.

  Chapter Two

  Travis pushed Jamie’s wheelchair out of the hospital by himself, refusing all offers of help despite his handicap. He’d glared at Jeff, daring the man to say anything about it, but Jeff had merely grinned over his oblivious twin’s head and backed off. No one but Travis was going to tend to her if he could help it.

  Pushing the damn thing one-handed was more difficult than he’d thought it would be, but he’d learned over the long centuries to compensate for his lack of a right hand. He’d thought once or twice of getting a prosthetic but he’d become so used to doing everything without it he wasn’t certain if he wanted to try and adjust to one. He made do, barely bumping her into any walls at all, using his right forearm to push and steering as best he could with his left hand.

  “And they say women drivers are bad.” Travis grinned at the mumbled words. It was so good to see Jamie’s quirky sense of humor resurfacing.

  Logan was waiting for them with the SUV in the front of the building, leaning against the passenger side door with a dark, brooding look. People went out of their way to move around him. Val had already left to go back to the office, unwilling to keep idle while Grimm was out and about.

  “Gee, Logan, lighten up. You’re scaring the straights.” Jamie’s still-slurred voice sent rage down his spine every time he heard it. The weary pain she spoke with was eventually going to drive him mad.

  But she was alive. He had to keep telling himself that. She was alive. Grimm hadn’t taken another one of his loves from him.

  He’d never get the chance to either, if Travis had anything to say about it.

  Logan snorted, a half smile gracing his lips as he stared down at his petite sister-in-law. “You ready to leave, Pita?”

  “Why do you keep calling Jamie Pita?” Travis frowned at the man opening the back door.

  “Because.”

  Kir was shaking his head as he put Jordan in the front passenger seat. Jordan, grinning, didn’t protest at all.

  Travis’s frown turned into a glare. “Does Pita mean what I think it means?”

  Jamie rolled her eyes as Travis helped her from the wheelchair. “Tell me you haven’t thought of me as a pain in the ass sometimes.”

  “Yeah, I’m just honest enough to admit it.” Logan put his arm around Jamie, gently assisting her into the back seat before Travis had recovered from his surprise.

  Travis relaxed and walked around to the other side of the car, letting Kir hand the wheelchair back to the nurse. “Well, if anyone knows anything about pains in the ass that would be you, Logan. Hell, from what I’ve seen—and still have nightmares about, by the way—you’re a damn expert on it.”

  He snickered as Logan flipped him the bird. He turned to get into the car, only to find Jeff had settled into the seat next to Jamie. He almost protested, but when he saw the relaxed look on her face he kept his mouth shut. He settled in next to Jeff, clicking his seatbelt on just as Logan started the car.

  He didn’t miss the smirk on the younger man’s face, either. Jeff knew exactly how Travis felt about Jamie. Apparently he was planning on having a little fun with that information, but if it made Jamie trust in him Jeff could tease him to hell and back and Travis wouldn’t say a word.

  Logan pulled out into the early Philly traffic, heading for the condo they’d all be sharing for the duration. He had no clue how the three of them planned on accommodating twice their number in two bedrooms. He had no doubt they’d somehow manage it, because he had no intention of leaving until Jamie wanted to. Ah, the joys of sleeping on a futon. He looked over Jeff’s head to the curls that haunted his nightly dreams and hid a smile. The things I do for love.

  He sat back and thought about the fir
st time he’d seen her. It had been like a fist to the gut. She’d come in, asked him if he was Jordy’s new boss, glared at him when he said yes, and told him his tie was crooked. Jeff had just stood there and nodded before telling him that his shirt didn’t go with his eyes.

  They had been all of sixteen at the time.

  He’d been fascinated by a pair of big green eyes that seemed to see right through him and a pretty, determined face in such a small body. He’d been curious to see if the twins would show signs of power. Usually the union of Aesir and human was fully human, if a bit tougher than normal, but on rare occasions an exceptional being was born. He’d told himself that was the source of his obsession with her. But part of him, even back then, had known it to be a lie. He’d avoided the Grimm household after that, disturbed on several levels by the desire to spend time with what amounted to a child.

  It wasn’t until she turned nineteen and been employed at Guardian Investigations that he’d understood why none of his relationships had lasted more than three months since meeting her.

  He hadn’t been the one to hire her. Her brother, apprenticing under Travis at the time, had known that Travis needed a new receptionist. Jeff simply installed her one day, much to Travis’s surprise. Her cheerful presence had filled the front hall, her gaze following him whenever he stepped foot in the building. She’d lightened the sterile front desk just by sitting there, putting clients at ease with such effortlessness he’d been stunned. He would stop at her desk and chat with her for a bit before going to his office just to see her smile, to hear her voice. Her conversation had made even the worst day seem as bright as her fiery curls.

  But then she’d called in sick once, and his whole day had gone to hell in a hand basket. He’d been grumpy and out of sorts, so much so Jordan had called him on it. She’d even wondered if he’d broken up with his latest girlfriend, and if that was why he was being such a prick.

  He’d promptly informed her that things were fine between him and Karen. Hell, he’d even gone home and fucked Karen just to prove to himself that he wasn’t perving on a nineteen-year-old girl.

  Six weeks later he’d broken up with Karen, calling himself all kinds of names as he did so. He’d then promoted Jamie to Jordan’s secretary just so he wouldn’t have to look at her every day.

  But he had. He hadn’t been able to help himself. Something about her bright smile, her incredible laugh, drew him like metal to a lodestone. He’d walked past Jordan’s office, longing for something he kept telling himself he couldn’t have.

  Then he heard she’d broken up with her boyfriend, and the heart he thought had died with Zisa centuries ago rejoiced. He hadn’t felt that way since Zisa had said yes and become his wife.

  That was when he knew he loved Jamie.

  He’d decided all he needed to do was wait. In a few years, he could approach her without feeling like the dirtiest old man on the planet. Travis smirked. Let Logan keep that title. He’d acted on that, taking a woman out for dinner occasionally for the sake of illusion but sleeping with none of them. Even the thought of doing so just felt…wrong. Like adultery.

  Just when he couldn’t stand it anymore, Grimm had pulled his alpha male bullshit, trying to get Travis to sell Guardian to him. Travis had pulled away from him, refusing point-blank any and all offers. He still didn’t know where the strength to resist Grimm’s compulsion had come from, but he’d heeded his internal warning bells. He’d purposefully stayed away from Jamie, and Jamie’s family, knowing the tension that would build could ruin any chances he had of ever claiming Jamie as his own. He hadn’t wanted Jamie caught in the crossfire between him and the Old Man.

  He stared out the window at the passing houses, losing sight of them as his vision turned inward. Grimm didn’t know it yet, but by laying hands on Jamie he’d started a war he had no hope of winning.

  Baldur had risen.

  And Grimm’s Ragnarrok had begun.

  Jamie limped into the condo on Travis’s arm, staring around at the white on blue décor, the pale maple floors and the huge wall of windows with no drapes or shades of any kind. She had no clue what her sister saw in it. It was so…sterile, and the three lovers were anything but, yet she knew Jordan loved the look of the place. She grimaced at the thought of her sister with the two men. When Jordan decided to do something, she didn’t do it half-way. She’d fallen for both the bad boy and the angel, and fallen hard. Jamie was just glad both men returned her sister’s feelings, because if they hadn’t, they’d have her to deal with.

  Jamie winced a bit as her damaged leg wobbled under her. She squeaked as Travis picked her up, but before she could really protest he had her in Jordan’s spare bedroom. He put her on top of the comforter, stroking her hair back when she gasped in pain.

  “Sorry, Jamie. I’ll try to be gentler next time.”

  Jamie nodded. She understood. No matter how she moved everything still hurt. She didn’t blame Travis at all.

  She blamed Grimm.

  Kir deposited their luggage inside the door before pulling it closed with a smile.

  “I’m going to get your pain medicine, okay?”

  Before she could protest Travis was out the door, that fine, fine ass of his flexing most temptingly in his blue jeans. She closed her eyes before she made a complete fool of herself. It wasn’t like he wanted that kind of attention from her, anyway. She’d seen the women he’d dated and not one of them had red hair.

  She’d built so many daydreams around him it was sickening. No other man had ever come close to measuring up to him. Jamie had loved him since the first day she saw him. He’d stood there, staring at her and Jeff, his blond hair streaked by the sun instead of a salon. His neatly trimmed beard couldn’t hide his full mouth or firm chin. His blue eyes had been both startled and, ultimately, full of amusement as she and Jeff told him off for stealing their big sister away from them. He’d thanked them for telling him his shirt was wrong and his tie was crooked, then sat down and asked them their opinions on what clothes he should buy. She’d been charmed at being treated like a lady by such a handsome man. She hadn’t even shrieked at him once, and she’d totally planned on it the moment he put them down. But Travis never did. He treated everyone with respect, and earned that respect back tenfold.

  She’d dreamed of him every night since. She’d probably dream of him until the day she died, no matter how much she might wish otherwise. But those dreams had changed recently. Now he rescued her from Grimm instead of asking her on a date.

  She was pretty sure that was the only reason she was still sane.

  Working for Guardian Investigations was both heaven and hell. She got to see him and talk to him every single day. That was heaven.

  Hell was seeing the women he dated and knowing that there was no way she could ever measure up.

  Soon after coming to work for Travis she’d seen him with his girlfriend of the time, Karen. The way he’d held her, stroking her through the thin silk blouse she’d had on, his hand drifting down to the blonde’s ass, had broken her heart. The heat in his eyes when he’d looked at Karen had been intense. The friendly regard he’d turned on Jamie had been horrible. The smug, satisfied look on the blonde had been worse.

  She’d gone out with her boyfriend that night, gotten tipsy and finally given him her virginity. It hadn’t been bad, actually. Some of it felt pretty good. They’d gotten comfortable with one another, or so she thought.

  When she’d found Tim cheating on her she hadn’t been as heartbroken as she probably should have been. That was when she knew no other man would ever measure up to Travis. She’d given up looking soon after that, kicking Tim’s ass to the curb, much to her father’s relief. Fred Grimm had never approved of him.

  “Here.”

  She jumped. She must have dozed off, because Travis was standing over her with her pill and a glass of water clutched in his hand. “Mmm. Thanks.” She sat up gingerly, easing herself against the pillows. He handed her the pill and she took it, making a fa
ce as it stuck halfway down.

  “Logan’s going to bring you something to eat in a few minutes. When you’re done eating I want you to get some sleep.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Daddy.”

  He shuddered. “Please don’t call me that.”

  She shrugged and tried to smirk, knowing it looked more like a grimace but not caring. “It’s better than Pita.”

  “That’s debatable.” He turned as Logan carried in a tray with a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on it and frowned. “That’s it? That’s what you’re feeding her?”

  “Yes.” Logan placed the tray on her lap, winking at her.

  “Hell, I can open a can of soup and make a grilled cheese. I thought you were actually going to cook.”

  “Obviously your mother never made you the perfect sick foods before.” Jamie dug into the soup with gusto. The almost painful bite of the soup had her groaning in pleasure. “Oh, lord, Jordan told you?”

  “Yup. Happy, Pita?”

  She ate another spoonful of the sinfully spiced soup and sighed. “Practically orgasmic.” She ignored Travis’s growl and happily ate her soup, stopping every now and then to take a bite of the ultra-gooey grilled cheese.

  “Are those jalapeno peppers in your soup?”

  She looked up into Travis’s horrified face. “Oh yeah.”

  “And grilled pepper jack cheese?”

  She bit into the sandwich with as much gusto as her broken face would allow. “Mmm-hmm.” She licked her lips, moaning in cheesy ecstasy.

  A dark flush crept up Travis’s cheeks. He cleared his throat. “Isn’t that bad for someone who’s sick? Aren’t you supposed to eat bland food?”

  She looked at him blankly. “I’m already hurting. Why suffer more than I absolutely have to?” She finished her soup and handed the tray back to Logan with as sweet a smile as she could muster. “Thank you, Logan.”