Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

their cover, casually pulled Tiernan into his arms and kissed her so thoroughly that he nearly forgot they were standing in the middle of a very public place.
    When he finally released her, something flashed in the corner of his brain—a glimpse of nearly forgotten memory, elusive as moonlight on choppy waves. The barest glimpse of her curves, shining wet in the shower the night before.
    He did remember her. He would always remember her.
    He’d worry about the how later.
    Litton cleared his throat quite loudly. “Well. Yes. How lovely for you. But science waits for no one, and we have quite a lot to cover. If you’ll come with me, we have transportation ready to show you something I’m sure you’ll find very much worth your time.”
    Brennan raised an eyebrow. “Ten million dollars’ worth of my time?”
    Litton’s pasty face turned a little bit paler, but he nodded. “Definitely. You will be very, very pleased. Shall we?”
    The doctor gestured that they should precede him out the door, and Brennan glanced down at Tiernan once their backs were to Litton. She shook her head in a tiny gesture, barely noticeable, but clear enough for him to know that she’d caught the truth.
    Litton was lying. He didn’t expect Brennan to be pleased at all.
    As they walked back through the doors they’d just entered, a pair of shiny black vehicles rolled up, gleaming in the afternoon sun. They were enormous, not long like the limousine, but square and high like army tanks. More ridiculous consumption of fuel. Didn’t these humans realize they were the custodians of the planet?
    “Hummers,” Tiernan murmured. “Compensation for small penises.”
    He couldn’t keep the laugh from escaping. “You continually surprise me,” he told her.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 133 of 232
    She smiled a mysterious female smile. “Good.”
    Litton joined them and pointed to the first of the two vehicles. “We can travel in this one, Mr.
    Brennan, and Ms. Baum can ride with our second group.”
    Tiernan’s hand tightened convulsively on Brennan’s, and he stared down at Litton. “She goes with me.”
    Litton made a few sputtering noises of protest, but Brennan ignored them completely and crossed to the vehicle, helping Tiernan climb up into the seat.
    “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.
    He climbed up next to her and pulled the door shut, leaving Litton to climb into the front seat next to the driver, who was yet another goon. This one was thickly muscled with a bald head and tattoos on his neck, but he obviously wasn’t a vampire, given the time of day. Shifter, maybe?
    Before he could ask, Tiernan did it for him.
    “Yeah,” the guy replied, after looking at Litton. “I’m with the local Pack here in the park.”
    Tiernan touched the back of Brennan’s hand and made a back-and-forth motion with her fingertip, telling him that the shifter was lying about being in Lucas’s Pack. Interesting. What motivation could he have to do that? They had no knowledge that Brennan knew Lucas, did they?
    A darker thought occurred. What if this were one of Litton’s enthralled shifters—an experiment? What if he went crazy with whatever had infected the others? Brennan regretted allowing Tiernan to enter the vehicle first; now she sat directly behind the driver, in his reach if he twisted around. Shifters were quick, even in close quarters, as he’d had many occasions to observe over the centuries.
    Brennan would just have to be quicker. He touched the pocket of his jeans, reassuring himself that the small bottle Alaric had given him was still there. His secret weapon, if they were . . .
    detained.
    As the shifter put the vehicle into gear and drove away from the hotel, Litton started a stream of general commentary on the local sights, what had happened thus far in the conference, and so on. A nervous talker. Brennan hated nervous talkers.
    Tiernan leaned across him to gaze out his window, and the warm weight of her body against his nearly made him groan. Memories of their lovemaking that morning were not conducive to keeping him sharp and alert in the presence of potential and proven enemies.
    “Look at how beautiful it is here,” she said, pointing to the shimmer of water through the trees.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 134 of 232
    “Let’s take some time after the conference and explore it, okay?”
    She turned her head to smile up at him, and her lips were only a breath away