Page 64 of Lovesick Gods

“Go ahead and swap suits,” Andre said. “I have everything I need to work this out. Just might take a couple days to pin things down. And seriously, man, good luck. If Ludgate’s anything like you when you lightning jump and you run into him out there, just try to wear him out.”

“And if he bails the second he sees me?”

“Seems he wants the attention, right? Made it easy to figure out who he is. He wants fame just like the Titans. He’ll probably jump at the chance to face off against Zeus.”

“Here’s hoping.” Slipping off the desk, Danny went to change, returning minutes later in his normal white and gold costume. He set the pile of black fabric on the desk for Andre to work his magic.

“I’ll call Lynn to run the comms for you so I can focus on this,” Andre said without looking away from his tablet.

“You know, you two need time off occasionally too,” Danny said. “Iamcapable of patrolling the city without a babysitter every night.”

Pausing in his work, Andre eyed Danny skeptically, though the quirk to his mouth proved how much he appreciated the gesture. “Do I have to give you the whole ‘we’re a team’ speech again? Coz I got that thing memorized, bro, I can go all Lawrence Olivier on your ass and wax Shakespeare until it sinks in.”

Danny laughed as he held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, please don’t. But you can’t spend so much time catering to me without me wanting to return the favor. We’re on for another game night this week, right? I don’t care where we end up with Ludgate by then, we’re taking a night off.”

Andre beamed back at Danny with bubbling excitement. “Hell yeah, man, deal. Wow, so getting laid agrees with you, huh?” He bobbed his eyebrows suggestively.

Unable to keep the grin and blush from spreading across his cheeks, Danny averted his gaze. He hadn’t exactly tried to hide it on Friday that he’d had aneventfulafternoon. And after all, this was exactly what Andre had suggested he do.

“Come on, you gotta give mesomedetails,” Andre said. “Well notdetaildetails—please don’t give me details—but something. Succession of one night stands or same girl? Or sameguy?” He eyed Danny for a reaction, and he must have given himself away because Andre almost immediately said, “Same guy. Wow. So, like, who’s your type when it comes to guys anyway?”

A laugh sputtered out of Danny, but he couldn’t tell Andre the truth. “Same guy, but not someone who’s going to be long-term, okay, so I’d rather not say much. He’s hot, amazing in bed, and discreet. More discreet than me most of the time…” Considering Danny had showed up where Cho lived and met most of the people in his neighborhood.

“Fair enough,” Andre said, then nudged Danny’s shoulder. “Enjoy yourself, huh? We’re young and healthy and some of us are beautiful at least.” He flipped his long braids over his shoulder dramatically.

Danny chuckled, because enjoying himself was exactly what he planned to do. Even when things in his day to day life seemed to be going well, all he could think about was the next time he’d get to feel Cho’s hands on him. He didn’t needpills. “Well we can’t all be as lucky as you, Andre.” Pulling down his cowl, he reached out for their customary slap, backhand, fist bump. “In the meantime, I better get to work. I’ll let you know if I get lucky.”

Andre snorted.

“WithLudgate.”

“Sure, sure.”

The smile remained plastered to Danny’s face even as he lightning jumped out of the morgue. Finally—finally—life was on an upswing.

ß

Hades could go almost anywhere without being caught, but he liked being outside, on the street, appearing from seemingly nowhere to walk his city with no one the wiser, like a magic trick where everyone was the fool and no one knew his secrets.

He needed a costume. Zeus had a costume. Even Prometheus had a costume. Hades would have to sift through the pilfered items he kept with him. Maybe one of those silver suits to counter Zeus as the golden boy.

The APB circulating the wire was a comforting melody. Each piece falling perfectly into place. He’d even gotten to stick it to the glassworks for firing him. The OCPD might suspect ‘Cassidy Ludgate’, while at the same time never having any true proof, but once they knew hisnewname, that would be the title that screamed across the headlines.

He’d done big with his first heist. He’d done bold with the second. He’d done the impossible with both. Now he needed to have everyone’s attention on him, and the only way to do that would be to hit a third location right from under the most famous thief in the city.

ß

Priestly didn’t disappoint, not that Mal ever expected him to. He’d called to declare that Mal and Dom’s amplifiers were both ready to be picked up—and tested out if they were so inclined, which Mal always was. He never went into a heist with tech or plans that hadn’t been thoroughly vetted.

With Dom in tow, Mal walked into the back ofAndrews’ Electronicsafter a brief greeting to Arty, expecting to find Priestly hard at work on something for the electronics store’s ‘side’ business, but instead he came upon him at a worktable tinkering with what appeared to be a hearing aid.

“Looking to patent something for the hearing impaired next?” Mal asked.

As per usual, Priestly didn’t bother glancing up from his work. “Actually, yes, but this is a one-off for Arty’s grandmother. She came in last week needing her toaster fixed, and I caught sight of this eyesore. Couldn’t stand to see her wearing something so obsolete for another minute when I knew I could do better. She has a backup for the time being, but after today, Nana Andrews is getting an upgrade.”

Dom scoffed, but her face showed only amusement. “Hearin’ aids for little old ladies now? You goin’ straight on us, Spock?” She was particularly proud of that nickname, since the Roman name for Hephaestus was Vulcan.

Raising an eyebrow, Priestly stared directly into Dom’s red eyes that today were lined dramatically in black. “Not in any sense of the word, Helios. Keeping Nana Andrews happy keeps Mr. Andrews happy, which—”

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