Free Flirting Under a Full Moon by Ashlyn Chase Page B

trouble.
    “At least you asked someone who you could trust,” Gaia said. “What if you had to go to one of the less friendly vampires? Someone who would just love to expose your kind?”
    “I-I wouldn’t have.”
    “So, what would you have done had Anthony not been there to bail you out?”
    “I know a couple other vampires I could ask.”
    “Do you, now? So, I guess that makes it all right. You have a couple of backup vampires in case you screw up.”
    “Well, I guess so…” A bead of sweat trickled down his spine.
    “Wrong!” she yelled. “That’s the wrong answer, dipshit.”
    “What’s the right answer?”
    “The only answer is this: if you ever expose the existence of paranormal beings again, I’ll send you to Mount Vesuvius and go all Pompeii on your ass. You get me?”
    Nick’s mouth went dry. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Don’t call me ‘ma’am’! You can call me Mother Nature, Gaia, or Goddess. Got it?”
    “Got it.”
    “Good. Now get out.” She pointed toward the elevators.
    “But I don’t know where I am or where to go.”
    She jammed her hands on her hips and leaned toward him. “Oh, I’ll tell you where to go if you stand here much longer, believe me.”
    One of the white-robed men hurried over and grabbed him by the arm. “I’ll show him out, Gaia.”
    She spun on her heel and marched off toward the small forest in the corner.
    The elder, or whatever he was, ushered Nick to the elevator and pushed the down button. While they were waiting, Nick figured he’d use his one and only chance to ask a question or two.
    “So, the Council members…who are you exactly?”
    The white-robed man looked at him with a pitying expression. Nick imagined him thinking something like: “You poor, dumb earthling,” but instead the man answered in a voice that seemed sincere.
    “We’re the Gods And Immortals Association. Thus the initials, GAIA.” He leaned in and whispered, “It’s just like her to name the whole shebang after herself.”
    “I heard that,” a female voice called out.
    The white-robed gentleman rolled his eyes. Nick decided to press his limited opportunity and ask another question.
    “Are there any other females on the Council? If so, where are they?”
    “There are other female immortals, all working for the greater good. Some are goddesses and some are mere muses, but they don’t hang out here very often.” He whispered behind his hand conspiratorially, “Gaia likes to be the center of attention, so she stays here most of the time and delegates all the tasks she doesn’t want to do.”
    “Apollo!” Mother Nature’s voice bellowed.
    Nick gasped. “ The Apollo? ”
    At that moment, the elevator doors whooshed open and the god shoved Nick inside. There were no buttons to push for a particular floor and no need for any. The doors slammed shut and the elevator dropped like a rock. Just when Nick was afraid he was about to hit the ground, it slowed to a stop. He felt as if he had left his stomach a few stories up.
    The doors opened on a familiar lobby. Nick stepped out and noticed the directory on one wall. He scanned it, not knowing what he’d find there. It seemed innocent enough. The building was made up mostly of law offices. Nowhere did it say “GAIA.” or anything that could be construed that way. He went back to the elevator he had just exited and saw a whole panel of buttons to push for the different floors.
    Whoa, that wasn’t there a minute ago. “I must be losing my mind,” Nick muttered to himself.
    He thought he heard a feminine laugh.
    ***
    Brandee was just walking past the bar’s large window when it shattered. Someone screamed, so she dropped her tray and hit the deck.
    “What was that?” Wendy yelled.
    Malcolm, the bartender who alternated with Angie, shouted, “Holy shit, is that a harpoon?”
    Brandee took in the scene directly opposite the window. A long, rusted metal rod with a sharp barb at the end was sticking out of the wooden edge of the