Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)(45)

The alley behind the hotel was pungent with smells Diana’s mind could barely make sense of—a rotting vegetable stink coupled with what she thought might be urine and human feces, all of it made worse by the summer heat.

They passed through the back of a cleaning facility, crowded with moving racks of clothing packed in plastic, the cloyingly sweet steam welcome after the alley. Then they crossed the street and raced down the sidewalk to another alley, where a sleek black car was idling.

“Hey, Dez,” Alia called to the driver as they climbed inside.

“Hey, Al.”

Diana noticed Alia didn’t correct the driver’s use of the nickname the way she had with her brother.

The air inside the car was crisp and fresh, and Diana allowed herself a small, contented sigh as the sweat cooled on her skin. She was surprised at how pleasant the vehicle was inside, spacious and dark as a cave, its black seats stitched with a precision that could never be accomplished by hand. Jason poured himself a drink from a bar tucked in the car’s paneling, and Diana watched the streets slide by slowly through glass tinted dark as smoke, the sounds of the street muted in a heavy, comforting hush. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of leather and something she couldn’t quite identify.

“What are you doing?” Jason said abruptly. He was seated across from Diana, watching her closely.

“I did nothing.”

“You were smelling the car.” He turned to Alia. “She was smelling the car.”

Diana felt her cheeks color slightly. “It has a pleasing aroma.”

“It’s new-car smell,” Alia said, a smile twitching her lips. “Everyone loves that. And Jason is so uptight about keeping the car clean, Betsy never lost it.”

“Betsy?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Alia insists on naming every car. How has Diana Prince, Origins Unknown, never smelled a new car?”

“They don’t drive where she’s from,” Alia said smoothly. “They’re almost Amish.”

“Amish with combat training?”

Diana ignored the jab. “Why can’t we leave for the spring immediately?”

“The annual board meeting for Keralis Labs is tonight, followed by the reception for the Keralis Foundation’s donors. We’ll leave as soon as it’s over.”

Diana sat forward, the appealing smell of the car forgotten. “You want us to stay in New York for a party?”

“It isn’t a party; it’s a reception. Our family is the face of the Foundation. And if we want to keep it that way, I need to be there. Alia should attend, too.”

“A public event?” Diana could hear her pitch rising, but she simply couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“It’s hardly public. It’s a private event at the Temple of Dendur.”

Diana frowned. “So it’s a type of holy rite?”

Jason took a long sip of his drink. “Where did you find her? It’s a permanent exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. People throw galas there all the time.”

“Galas,” said Diana. “I believe that’s another word for parties.”

“Hold up,” said Alia. “What do you mean, ‘if we want to keep it that way’? How can there be a Keralis Foundation without Keralises?”

Jason leaned back in his seat. Diana knew that he was only a few years older than Alia, but there was a weariness in him that made him seem older. “You don’t go to the board meetings, Alia. You don’t read the reports. The Foundation’s been taking a beating in the press recently. The company’s profits have slowed. The board doesn’t take us seriously. If we want to be a part of our parents’ legacy, we have to step up.”

“You’re saying the board is going to try to keep you from taking control?” Alia said.

“Michael is worried,” Jason admitted, his gaze troubled. “It’s one thing for me to be involved with a charity, but no one is that excited about a twenty-one-year-old taking over a multibillion-dollar corporation.”

“Who’s Michael?” asked Diana.

“Michael Santos,” said Alia. “Our godfather. He’s been running Keralis Labs since our parents…since the accident. But now that Jason’s coming of age—”

“He wants me to take more responsibility.”

Alia fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt, then said, “Would it be such a bad thing for you to let Michael run the company awhile longer? You could finish up at MIT, go to grad school—”

“I don’t need a degree,” Jason said sharply. “I just need a lab.” Diana wondered if he was trying to convince Alia or himself. “And I can’t miss the meeting tonight,” he continued. “It would mean a lot for us to present a united front at the reception.”

“This is absurd,” said Diana. “Alia can’t possibly attend.”

To her surprise, Alia said, “Agreed. One hundred percent.”

Jason pursed his lips. “You’re only saying that because you hate getting dressed up.”

“I feel like death threats are a totally legitimate reason not to put on a gown.”

“No one would know you’re going to be there,” said Jason. “I thought you were going to be on that stupid boat trip—”