Page 53 of Lovesick Gods (Lovesick #1)

“One more time,” Mal said, staring at the collection of gear laid out on the large table in the safe house.

A few weeks ago, it had been covered in blueprints.

Now those plans were ingrained in Mal’s mind, and the table was filled with everything they’d need to have the Winterheart Diamond gift-wrapped and in their possession by nightfall.

This was what everything had been leading up to since Mal and Danny first began their tryst, what Mal had once assumed would signal the end, yet now he had hope that the evening’s festivities would once again conclude with Zeus in his arms.

“Again?” Lucy groaned. “Mickey, you are such a slave driver. Can we break for dinner already? I’m wasting away over here, and the pizza’s getting cold.” She’d been bad-tempered all day, which was unusual for her with a heist looming.

“Mmm, Gino’s Pizza and a diamond heist. Brings back memories,” Dom reminisced about one of their earlier jobs from nearly twenty years back—a home invasion on Mal’s eighteenth birthday, taking a diamond ring from the safe of some old broad who hadn’t worn it in years.

Looked better in Lucy’s collection anyway.

“Better get it over with, Evergreen. You know Frosty won’t budge til we’ve inventoried every last piece for this job in triplicate. ”

Mal wanted to refute the ‘triplicate’ remark, before he realized this would indeed be the third time they’d inventoried everything.

Once they finished dinner, they’d only have ninety minutes until the guard shift changed.

They had to be in position twenty minutes before that to ensure they entered the scene at the right point in the new guard’s schedule.

“One more time,” he said again, walking forward to tap his amplifier. “Cold field. Only if Zeus shows up. Otherwise, power usage minimal to avoid ice residue.”

“Heat field,” Dom tapped her amplifier in kind. “Also only for Spark Plug. But I get to torch the paintings on the north wall.”

Mal nodded. Dom always had to have something to set on fire, so Mal made sure there were options to accommodate that. The north wing wasn’t likely to burn out past the paintings, so the chance of the fire spreading was slim to none.

“My powers for disabling surveillance and security, no civilians,” Lucy said. “Using caution so that any vines weaving their way into the tech will disintegrate by morning. Gas can for the guard.”

“My ice to neutralize the gas,” Mal added.

“Stupid comms from the kid,” Dom grumbled as she gestured at their earpieces.

“To keep track of each other,” Mal reminded her. “And the rest of our gear for safety and showmanship.” He spread his arm out to encompass the eyewear and other aspects to their personas, like Lucy’s cloak in varying shades of green with a hood she kept up to cover her hair.

“Anything else you’re bringing along,” Mal said, “no matter how mundane, tell me now.”

Dom huffed as if they hadn’t gone through this routine for every job they’d ever carried out since their first. “Nothin’ for me. Havin’ my last cig now.” She pulled out a cigarette from the pack in her pocket and lit the end with a flame ignited on her thumb.

Normally, Mal kicked her outside when she smoked, but he always allowed one before a heist.

“Is my compact okay in case I need to freshen up?” Lucy poured on the oozing, synthetic charm, though Mal knew she likely would have her compact and lipstick along.

Dom would stick to eyeliner and a grin. But Mal appreciated the effort they both made.

Set a precedent. Mal’s father had never understood the necessity of doing things with style.

That’s what made the Titans memorable; that’s what made them infamous.

“Your head in the game, sis?” Mal tilted his head at Lucy all the same. “You seem distracted.”

“Just hungry.” She tossed the short bob of her hair out of her eyes. “No more distracted than you lately.”

Man troubles. Mal wondered if it had anything to do with…no, there wasn’t time to pry, but he knew she wouldn’t let him down. “All right,” he said, conceding the point and earning a relieved expression from his sister in return. “Grub’s on. We leave in thirty.”

?

Danny was not avoiding Captain Shan. He’d just sequestered himself in his office more than usual to, uhh—okay, he was definitely avoiding Captain Shan.

At least lately there was less heat on Danny about the Ludgate case, since more of the heat was on Zeus.

Outwardly, Danny was still responsible, but the captain didn’t know that.

After all, Zeus had faced Ludgate in the open, with officers and civilians all around to bear witness, and he had still come up empty.

But Shan never relied on Zeus to save the day or took for granted his efforts against Elementals.

The captain expected his officers and personnel to do the real job.

As one of those officers, Danny still had nothing more to go on than what he’d had a week ago. He almost wished Ludgate would rob someplace new. The thief had to be planning things carefully for his next heist.

Of course, there was someone at the station other than Shan who Danny had been trying to avoid.

“Hey, kiddo,” John said as he entered the office. “What are you still doing here? You know it’s almost eight, right? You eat yet?”

“Eight?” Danny glanced at his watch, amazed at how quickly the time had flown since his lunch break. Lately, he spent so much time watching the clock, his work day took forever. Today his mind had been elsewhere.

Talking with Stella had helped, but he hadn’t really talked things out with his father yet, other than submitting to a hug when he got home, offering an apology, and hearing John’s promise that Danny would always be his son and he would always be there for him.

Much the same had happened with Joey, though they hadn’t exactly hugged so much as Joey stared at Danny with wide-eyed adoration and fumbled over his words when they spoke. A full conversation would have to come later, if Danny ever got the chance to breathe again.

“Why are you here so late, Dad? Did you want to grab something to eat?” Danny asked, smiling hopefully at his father as he pulled his blazer from the back of his chair and swung it around his shoulders.

He could tell when his father was keying himself up to broach a difficult subject, and two days of passing each other tensely in the hallways at home had been more than enough to tip the balance.

“I can come back to the precinct after. I was going to do a quick patrol tonight in case Ludgate shows.”

“Sure…yeah, Joey’s at a friend’s house tonight, we should do that.” Leaning against Danny’s desk, John indicated not at all subtly that he wasn’t moving any time soon.

Danny let out a slow, steadying exhale before he grabbed his messenger bag. Facing John off the side of his desk, he was more than prepared for the coming lecture. “I know I haven’t made up for the things I said yet, Dad, and there isn’t much I can do—”

“Make up for—” John cut himself off sharply and shook his head.

“Danny, you don’t have to make up for anything.

You don’t owe me. You apologized plenty.

I’m the one who didn’t see how much you’ve been hurting.

I’m the one who thought leaving you out of the loop with Joey was doing you a favor, instead of realizing it’d make you feel even more disconnected. ”

“Dad—”

“No, let me say this.” He seemed about to stand taller but deflated as he looked at Danny mournfully.

“There’s one thing I haven’t brought up yet.

And I don’t want to push, but damn it, I have to on this one.

” There were few things that chipped away at Danny’s armor more than seeing his father cry, and right now his eyes glistened.

“Don’t you ever say something like what you said that night.

That you wish you could erase yourself from our lives. Don’t…don’t ever say that.”

“Dad, I…” Danny felt a chill shudder through him as he processed what John must be thinking. “I didn’t mean —”

“I sure as hell hope not, but you still said it, and that…that scared me, son. That scared me, not your powers, not how angry you were. We don’t blame you for what happened with Thanatos, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything.

Not a damn thing. No—not even to have never had Zeus in our lives.

Because even though I wish your mother was still with us,” a sad, sympathetic smile strained across his face, “I have two sons now instead of one. And I love them both.”

Blinking back the tears flooding his eyes, Danny nodded and laughed shakily, because of course he knew that was the truth, not merely kind words to appease him, but at his lowest it was as if there were separate versions of him, conflicted and arguing inside his head.

“I love you too, Dad. So much. And I’m sorry. You said I don’t have anything to make up for, but I do. Not just to you, but to Joey too. I’ll talk to him again, I promise. I never meant for him to find out about my powers like that.”

“I know, kiddo,” John said, standing and gripping Danny’s shoulder with that familiar, firm almost-hug that often felt more comforting than a full one. “Honestly, I think Joey’s a little starstruck learning that you’re Zeus.”

“The novelty will wear off eventually,” Danny muttered. “Can’t be easy finding out your hero is a basket case.”

“Hey,” John squeezed his shoulder tighter, “I think you’d be surprised how he sees you now that he understands a bit better what’s been going on.

Not even heroes are meant to be perfect.

” At last he let Danny go, and they turned together to head toward the door.

“You going to be around to help us move his things upstairs to the new room? Plan was for this week. Almost got it ready.”