Page 83 of Throne of Secrets

“Your mom,” she said as if he were dense.

“Oh, she already loves you.” Ethan stood up and held out his hand. “Time to get ready for a marathon. This,” he waved at the books, “could take years to come to court. I can’t imagine the families’ lawyers won’t stall it or motion it into obscurity.”

“But I’ll be okay in Colorado? They won’t be able to find me?” Star took his hand and stood up.

“I guarantee it.” And he prayed the cavern wasn’t actually on a fault line.

CHAPTER22

Ethan had warned Star that life at his parents’ apocalypse-proof mountain home would come with … adjustments. But oh, God, the place was beyond her wildest imagination. First, it was huge, like palace-sized huge. The entrance was in plain sight, but if you didn’t know it was there, you would walk by it without ever knowing it.

Ethan gave her a tour when they first arrived three months ago. When he mentioned self-sufficiency, she’d thought maybe solar power. But no, it was not just about power; it included water, sewer, internet, and food. The hydroponic cave seemed to stretch on forever. Bethanie had proudly shown her each tower and explained how they functioned, the nutrients she added to the water, and the amount of light each plant received from the grow lights. Dinners were a bounty of wonderful fruits and vegetables. The meat they consumed was harvested from the mountains and a local ranch that provided one hundred percent grass-fed beef. Self-sufficient?

Yeah, the world could implode, yet the home would remain, functioning and protecting them. Heck, it could probably survive a full-on nuclear blast. She felt safe there—so safe and far removed from the drama unfolding with the accounting books. Daily news reports covered the arrests of very old mobsters and younger members of the crime organization who were covering up even more discovered crimes. All of it stemmed from the leads garnered from the books she had found.

Her uncle’s house was blown up two days after the books were surrendered to the FBI, a full week after she and Ethan had left the area. The official explanation cited a gas leak, but that was absurd. The house wasn’t even fitted for gas. Someone was trying to send a message and intimidate her. They couldn’t. Ethan and his father were protectors of the highest order, and their refuge was serene, transcending everything and everyone, even the reach of the Star Curse. Ethan still checked in with Bianca to make sure none of the businesses were being threatened. Everything was back to normal with no Mafia muscling their way in. Star sighed. Her life now was wonderful.

The wing she and Ethan had moved into featured a spacious main bedroom with an en suite bathroom supplied with warm water from a natural spring. The lights turned on as she entered the room. Her transcription business was housed in a lovely, cozy office that Bethanie had furnished for her. She glanced at her watch and powered down her transcription computer. She strolled down past the three unused rooms to the incline where she entered the massive common area. The living room boasted a gigantic fireplace for the cold winter days that started early at the top of the Rocky Mountains. She and Ethan had helped to haul wood his father had been chopping from downed trees all year. Her life was perfect.

She wandered into the greenhouse—well, what she called the greenhouse. It was the hydroponics room. The sound of dripping water and the brightness of the grow lights always made her feel calm and centered. She loved gauging the plants' growth and seeing how vibrant the produce looked.

A rustle beside her made her look to her left. “Thor?” She looked around the base of one of the vertical planters. “Missy? Peanut?” She called the names of Bethanie’s wolf-dog and her baby. Her skin started to crawl. The dogs would’ve been right beside her if they were in the cave. Rounding the corner, she saw a mound of mousy brown fur rapidly moving toward her.

A rat!

Star scrambled to the top of Bethanie’s desk and screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Ethan heardStar’s scream and knew one of two things had happened. Either Star was being kidnapped by rogue mercenaries from an alien spaceship, or something totally normal had gone completely wrong. He jogged out of his office and followed the next scream. His dad and mom met him in the living room, both of them looking as bewildered as he was. With Star’s next shriek, his name, they all took off running to the hydroponics’ cavern.

His parents were right behind him as he sprinted inside. Star was standing on top of a hydroponic workstation, pointing wildly at the corner, her eyes huge.

“A rat! Oh my God, it’s huge!” she shrieked.

Ethan followed her finger. He moved cautiously so he could see what she was talking about. Then he covered his mouth and tried not to laugh.

A massive, fluffy, well-fed raccoon, looking like he owned a 401k, was sitting inside one of the hydroponic grow beds, methodically washing a stolen tomato in the nutrient-rich water.

Bethanie followed Ethan. She blinked and then laughed. “Oh, honey, that’s not a rat; that’s Bandit.”

Star trembled and looked at him. “Not a rat?” She leaned a bit to look where Bandit was lounging.

“No, not a rat,” Ethan said, trying his best not to laugh harder.

“You’re sure?” She lowered a bit on the desk. “He could be like a giant fat rat.” She put her weight on her hands and peered around the bushes at Bandit. “Oh.”

“See, it’s just Bandit,” Bethanie said. “He’s not a pet. He’s wild, and we can’t keep him out of here.”

Star turned her wide, betrayed eyes to Bethanie. “You named it?”

Lycos crossed his arms. “He was here before us.”

Star promptly ass-planted on the top of the desk, and Ethan lost it. He laughed so hard he bent over and held his stomach. He couldn’t help it. Star wasn’t to be pacified, though. Her mouth fell open, and she yelled, “Wait a second, you mean to tell me you built an untraceable, multimillion-dollar mountain fortress with hydroponic farms, solar panels, and top-tier security measures—and you’re just allowing a … a …raccoonto freeload off you?”

Bethanie raised a brow. “Well, yes. We coexist. He doesn’t eat much.”

Bandit stared at them all, then took a slow, deliberate bite of the tomato.

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