Page 20 of Abraxas

“Me? I just caught a stalker trying to take one of us prisoner," Lu replied.

“And while you were doing it, you destroyed my relationship. A relationship, I'll remind you, I had to work very hard to move forward. Now, I may not have a chance of ever getting her back. What do you have to say about that?”

“Flowers can work miracles.”

After he dropped the statement, Lu walked away, unwilling to hear any more comments on what he had done. Abe knew what Lu was like. He should have been suspicious of his suggestion to have a romantic evening on the patio. It sounded reasonable that no one was stupid enough to come right up to the building in a well-lit area to attack someone. Maybe Lu didn't think they would do it but hoped they might. They had, and now he didn't know how to convince Gloria he would never have risked her had he thought there'd been a risk.

She must have been so frightened when that guy approached them. Then, once it was over, she turned her anger on him. Gloria expected him to protect her. Yet he put her out there where she could be attacked. Would she care if it had been an accident he had never meant to happen? What was he going to do to get her back? He might be mad at Lu, but he decided his suggestion of flowers was a good one to take. They would have a small flower shop once the hotel opened. They had a small flower shop that some young girls ran right now.

Abe went there the next morning, gave them the needed information, and paid for a nice bouquet. All he said was, 'I'm sorry.' He was sorry that any of that had ever happened, sorry that he had taken Lu's advice then. He had to do damage control because he wanted his woman back. They still had a long way to go in their relationship, and now he would be starting back at the beginning. It made him angry that his leader had done this to him. Abe was also angry at himself because he knew how manipulative Lu could be, and he had been so excited about trying to move the relationship forward that he hadn't paid the attention he should have.

Everyone gave him pitiful looks, but that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted his baby back. That's what she was, even if he'd never called her that in person. When it came to giving flowers, everyone agreed that you had to wait a little while to let it work. It was the last time, so he headed to the cafeteria. Abe wondered if Gloria had had breakfast yet. His answer was sitting in front of him at their table alone. He moved that way and asked if she would let him sit with her.

“May I sit with you?” Abe asked.

Gloria nodded and continued to eat. Abe put his plate on the table, sat, and ate. He wasn't sure what to say and was having trouble gauging her mood. Maybe when she finished eating, she would say anything to help him figure out where they would go.

“The flowers were beautiful. Thank you.” Gloria said. “I'm not sure exactly what happened last night, but I will admit it scared me. Stef spoke to me and said you were unaware of any danger.”

“I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to attack us on the patio right next to the building with lights all over the place. I also knew security had picked up, and demons were making patrols from the building to the beach. I also knew that guy was stupid, but I never thought he'd make it to the point where he was in charge of anything.”

“Did you find out anything about what happened with the dead guy?” Gloria asked.

“Yes, he told us a lot. He said the dead guy was Smith and really high in Origin. Carson said he wanted to move up and thought the best way was to kill Smith and say he died in an accident. That whole group is predatory. The problem is that when he killed Smith, he no longer had any backup or information on how the mission was supposed to play out. With no information and no backup, he was doomed to failure.”

“That is absolutely horrible. Origins kills people just to get a promotion?”

“It wouldn't be the first time that happened. Those idiots figure if someone lets their guard down, they deserve to be taken out," Abe explained. “I think only two guys are higher in the leadership than Smith. Those are the two we want the most, but they will be the hardest to get.”

“I don't think Lu knew that would happen. And he took appropriate caution in case it did. From what you tell me, there was no way to expect that. Sounds like the guy was going a little crazy.”

Abe had to agree. No one in their right mind would have come right up to a building on a patio that was lit up like daylight and tried to take two people. The results were what anyone would expect. Carson was taken down quickly, and now he was beingheld for questioning, and he wasn't sure what else they might do with him. One thing was sure, he wasn't going to be released. The gods had a prison. Eventually, that was where he would go. He would be there with others like him who had worked for Origin.

He was beginning to feel hopeful they could take up where they had let off. Gloria was important to him, and he thought she would help him develop the same relationship that the other two gods had with their mates, and eventually, they could have a family. Was that too much to hope for? Abe wanted everything, and he wanted it with Gloria. They finished eating, and he returned to the office where he suspected Lu and Win would be working. Gloria was running a small business out of her suite, and he was sure that was where she had gone.

Since he was often busy, he was glad she was making the best of things and trying to earn money to put back for whatever needs might arise. Kiki's education was one of those needs she was concerned about, but if they stayed on the island, then that would probably be fully paid for. Under those circumstances, she would have the opportunity to buy things she had probably always wanted and never had the money for. Other relationships were developing, but some did their best to hide it. That wasn't easy. Abe had a good idea of at least two others involved in a relationship that might end up with mating.

“Are you still mad at me?” Lu asked.

“Not anymore. Gloria pointed out that there was no way you could be sure the guy was crazy enough to do something like that. We'll just ignore the fact that you were hoping he was," Abe admitted. “Have you found out anything more?”

“Only that Smith was the one that decided on this mission, and he definitely paid for it. Carson was off balance for quite some time. I think Smith worked so hard that he didn't know how to read people. For now, Carson will stay here while wethoroughly question him, and eventually, Zeus wants his shot at him," Win explained.

“You think they would share anything with Carson that would be helpful?” Abe asked.

“Not on purpose. We know how those guards snooped around and listened to conversations through closed doors. Anything is possible. Any information we can get is needed. I just want to eliminate those guys and drive them out of our lives forever," Lu admitted. “I'm sorry about that whole situation with Gloria. The only reason I had extra protection out there was just in case. Who would have imagined that he would go so far? But now that it's done, I can't deny that I feel relief that he won't be sneaking around the island and showing up at the worst possible moment.”

“Are we sure no one else is out there? There's a whole island to hide on.” Abe observed.

“We've gone through surveillance, and there's no sign that anyone else came to shore alive or dead. Several of the demons who were not assigned jobs planned to go out in groups and go through everything to see if anything jumped out at them," Win offered.

“I love the way you put that. I hope they have weapons, and if anything dangerous jumps out at them, they just kill it," Abe admitted.

“There are more dangerous animals on the island than we ever thought. Some suggested they be put in a zoo. Sometimes, I think it's better to be dead than to be locked away and think you'll never escape. Another suggestion was to set up part of the island as a wildlife preserve. I like the idea, but there are not enough animals to justify it unless we bring some in. Bringing in more dangerous animals sets us up to have issues, especially when we're bringing in a bunch of tourists, and they don't always know how to act around dangerous animals," Win explained.

“There are good and bad points about that. One good point is that the side of the island would be dangerous for anyone to come in and attempt to attack us. But you already pointed out that those animals are dangerous. They could get out and attack anyone. There would also be an expanse involved in fencing the area off, having guards on hand, and feeding the animals if it's a bad year and you don't want them to eat all the other animals on your island," Abe suggested.

“I guess we better decide what's the most important, the safety of the people on the island or safety from those who aren't," Win suggested.

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