Counterfeit Cupid (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Cupid #2)(24)

“I’m okay. I got hit with a chunk of a Precious Moments figurine. You have to stop this before they break a hip or something.” Her skin looked pale, almost gray, and her expression was filled with disgust.

I gave her another once-over to be sure she was okay, so relieved to see her mostly unharmed, I wanted to pick her up and carry her to safety. A plate shattering over our heads snapped me out of it.

“I’m going.”

She touched my arm and smiled. “Be careful.”

I turned toward the shouting couple and finally saw what was going on. My jaw dropped in shock.

Mr. Kingston was mostly naked, except for a patch over one eye, a pirate hat, and a belt around his waist, which probably was meant to carry the plastic sword he waved over his head. “There’s no use fighting me, wench! Yer cargo be mine, and I’ll be boarding your ship, me fine beauty!”

I prayed to the gods they’d erase this vision from my memories when this was over.

Mrs. Browning shrieked and threw a vase at Mr. Kingston’s head. She wore a corset, stockings, and silver elbow-length gloves. “You cad! My father is the governor. He shall have you hanged for treating me so!” He reached for her, and she bit him.

My wristband was vibrating off the charts. These two, while apparently having a lot of fun, weren’t in the least bit romantically compatible. Forcing a love spell on two people so far off from each other’s match would, in some rare cases, cause a form of madness.

Mr. Kingston drew back, waving his sword, and grabbed the drapes with one hand as if about to swing across the living room over the glass coffee table, swashbuckler style. Mrs. Browning, having run out of ceramics, was in the kitchen reaching for the knives sticking out of a butcher block.

Both were about to kill someone.

I went for Mr. Kingston first, lunging as he tried to take off. I slid my hand over his sweaty chest, and he went still.

“Good gracious. What’s going on here?” He stood blinking among the wreckage of his living room, not yet aware that he was flashing the room.

“You’ll not be taking my virtue, you devil!” Mrs. Browning let a knife fly through the air. It hit the couch and bounced off.

I hurried toward her and reached for her upraised hand. A second knife went flying before I had a chance to stop her. When I touched her wrist, she went quiet and stared at her empty hand. “What on earth?”

Relieved, I turned to go. If we moved quickly, they might not remember seeing us. Then I could place a call and get a cleaning crew out here to fix the mess and erase the event from their memories. Too bad the gods ignored me and refused to erase it from mine.

“Annie, we did it.” I raced toward the door and found her sitting on the floor. Blood sopped into the carpet beneath her. “Oh, gods.” I knelt beside her. “What happened?”

She gave me a weak smile. “I’m okay. It looks bad, but it’s just my arm. I tried to get out of the way, but I was too slow and caught that last knife. You did a good job, though.” Somewhere she’d acquired a scarf, probably from the coat closet next to the front door. She had it wadded and pressed against her left bicep.

“Let’s get you some help.” I scooped her up and carried her out the door.

“I can walk. I’m fine.” Her voice was quiet, and those big green eyes stared up at me, making my heart beat faster.

“Let me just get you to the car. You probably need stitches with that much blood.”

I walked as quickly as I could while trying not to jostle her. At the car, I set her on her feet so I could open the door for her.

“You were very brave,” she whispered.

For a moment, I thought she was about to kiss me, but then she turned and climbed into the car. I removed her dangling wings and placed them in the back seat.

I climbed in behind the steering wheel and started the car. Before I pulled out of the parking space, I sent a text to the Mt. Olympus Protection Department letting them know what happened, the extent of the damage, and where they needed to go. Their response was immediate. Someone would likely be there within three minutes. We didn’t need to wait.

As we headed toward the abandoned church on the other side of town, Annie reached out her wounded left arm and held my hand.





12. Annie


What happened in that apartment was the craziest thing I’d ever seen. And Josh had been incredible to watch, dodging flying objects and lunging for the couple who had clearly, thanks to me, lost their freaking minds.

When the knife came flying, I ducked, but I hadn’t moved far enough. At first, it didn’t even hurt. It sliced through my arm without effort. Taking it out had taken far more effort, and that’s when it started to hurt. And bleed.

The odd thing was, I didn’t care. Not one bit. Josh had picked me up and carried me to the car. He’d been so gentle, and his expression had been so worried. I tried to reassure him, but my head was fuzzy. At the car, he put me on my feet, and I thought he might kiss me, but he didn’t. A few minutes into the car ride, I realized I’d told him earlier that I didn’t like him. I couldn’t let him think that.

I reached out and grabbed his hand. I may have lost more blood than I’d thought. I couldn’t remember anything after that.

I woke in what appeared to be a hospital room. My arm and head were bandaged, and an IV dripped into my arm.