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and get another one."
    "I don't have a place and I don't have another
    shirt."
    Was he serious? "What do you mean?"
    Xypher moved to stand before her. He looked
    down at her and smirked. "Why can't you follow
    this, human? I was let out of hell, not an
    amusement park. They don't exactly send you into
    the world with a wardrobe and wallet."
    "But you've been here for a few days, right?
    Where have you been staying? How have you been
    eating?"
    He didn't answer as he pushed his way past her.
    It was then she knew what he refused to say.
    "You've been sleeping on the street, haven't you?"
    "Who says I've been sleeping at all?"
    He opened the door.
    Carson looked up from where he sat at a dark
    cherry desk as if expecting Xypher to intrude. He
    reached for a shirt that was folded on his desk
    and chucked it at Xypher. "You can have that one."
    Xypher took the shirt without so much as a
    thank-you. He was pulling it over his head when
    Simone joined him in the room.
    Her cell phone rang.
    72
    Simone pulled it out of her pocket and looked
    at the ID. It was coming in as a restricted call.
    She flipped it open. "Hello?"
    The voice that answered was deep and incredibly
    sexy, and laced with a lilting accent that
    actually sent a chill down her spine. "This is
    Acheron Parthenopaeus returning Xypher's call.
    Could you please hand the phone to him?"
    Yeah, but she really didn't want to. She'd much
    rather talk to this polite voice that was eerily
    soothing and peaceful. Reluctantly, she held it
    out to him. "It's Acheron."
    In typical Xypher form, he yanked the phone
    from her hand. "Where the hell are you?"
    Jesse leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
    "That would so make me want to help him. How about
    you?"
    "Shh . . ." she said, stifling a smile at his
    honest words.
    Xypher slammed the phone shut and handed it
    back to her. Another bright light flashed before a
    huge man manifested in front of them. Close to
    seven feet tall, he was lean with long black hair
    and an aura so lethal it made Xypher seem like a
    kitten.
    He was wearing black Oakley sunglasses and a
    long, pirate-style coat over a black Misfits Tshirt.
    That being said, Johnny Depp had nothing on
    this man when it came to sheer sex appeal. Acheron
    oozed it from every pore.
    He stood with his weight on one leg and had a
    black leather backpack slung casually over one
    shoulder. Simone frowned as she noticed his redtinged
    black Dr. Martens combat boots that
    probably added two inches to his impressive
    height.
    " 'Bout time," Xypher growled.
    73
    Acheron's only reaction was one perfectly
    shaped black eyebrow that arched over the frame of
    the sunglasses. "While I respect suicidal
    tendencies on most days, you'd do well to remember
    who you're addressing and, more to the point, what
    I can do to you. No one says you have to go back
    to Tartarus in one piece."
    Xypher crossed his arms over his chest.
    His mood lightening, Acheron turned toward her.
    "May I see your bracelet?"
    Polite. Deadly. Gorgeous. Respectful. Sexy
    beyond human endurance. Oh, someone put a bow on
    this man, she definitely wanted to take him home.
    Swallowing as a shiver went down her spine, she
    did as he asked.
    Acheron took her arm into his hands and held it
    up so that he could study the locked catch. After
    a moment, he released her arm and looked back at
    Xypher. "You want the good news first or the bad?"
    "Does it really matter?"
    One corner of Acheron's mouth turned up in a
    taunting grin. "Not to me . . . The bad news, I
    can't touch this. I mean I can, but you both will
    die if I tamper with it."
    Xypher cursed. "Who the hell invented this?"
    Acheron placed both hands on the shoulder strap
    of his backpack to anchor it over his jacket.
    "Archon, the king of the Atlantean gods. Trust me,
    he was a total prick."
    Simone let out a breath she hadn't realized she
    was holding. This wasn't looking particularly nice
    for them. "So what's the good news?"
    "Somebody has a key to it and no, you