Three Fates Read Online Free PDF

of panic in her eyes. What she was, he decided as he loitered on the corner, watching the hotel entrance, was shy.
    What a woman floating in money, status and privilege had to be shy about, he couldn’t say. But it took all kinds to make the world, he supposed.
    The question could be asked, he admitted, why a perfectly sane man with a reasonably content life, a reasonably decent income should travel to Helsinki on the chance that a woman he’d never met might lead him to a treasure that may or may not exist?
    The question, he thought, had too many layers for a single easy answer. But if he had to choose one, it would be family honor.
    No, that wasn’t quite enough. The second part was that he’d held Fate in his hand, and wouldn’t rest until he had a hold on it again.
    Tia Marsh was connected to his past and, to his way of thinking, to his future. He checked his watch. He hoped, in very short order, they’d take the first step ahead.
    It pleased him when his guess proved out. She’d come straight back to the hotel from the university, he noted as he watched her climb out of the cab. And she’d come alone.
    He sauntered down the sidewalk, gauging his timing. He glanced toward her just as she turned. Once again they were face-to-face.
    “Dr. Marsh.” The tone of his voice, the spread of his smile were calculated for surprise and flattery. “You’re staying here as well, then?”
    “Ah yes. Mr. Sullivan.” She remembered his name. In fact, she’d been thinking how attractive he was while she’d rubbed antibacterial lotion on her hands in the taxi.
    “It’s a lovely hotel. Fine service.” He turned as if to walk to the door and open it for her, then stopped. “Dr. Marsh, I hope you won’t think this out of line, but I wonder if I might buy you a drink.”
    “I . . .” Part of her brain fizzled. She’d actually woven a complex little fantasy on the taxi ride as well. One where she’d been witty and sophisticated during their conversation, and they’d ended up finishing the evening with a mad, reckless affair. “I don’t really drink,” she managed.
    “Don’t you?” Amusement touched his face. “Well, that knocks down the first approach a man might use to spend some time with an interesting and attractive woman. Would you fancy a walk?”
    “Excuse me?” She couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t be hitting on her. She wasn’t the type men hit on, particularly wildly attractive strangers with fabulous accents.
    “One of the charms of Helsinki in the summer is the sun.” Taking advantage of her confusion, he took her arm, gently, and steered her away from the hotel entrance. “Here it is, half past nine already, and bright as day. It’s a shame to waste such a light, isn’t it? Have you been down to the harbor?”
    “No, I . . .” Baffled by the turn of events, she looked back at the hotel. Solitude. Safety. “I really should—”
    “Have you an early flight in the morning?” He knew she didn’t, but wondered if she’d have the guile to lie.
    “No. No, actually, I’m here until Wednesday.”
    “Well then. Let me take that case for you.” He slid her briefcase off her shoulder and onto his own. Though the weight surprised him, it was a smooth move. “It must be a challenge giving talks and seminars and such in a country where you don’t have the primary language.”
    “I had an interpreter.”
    “Yes, she was very good. Still, it’s a bit of work, isn’t it? Do you wonder at such interest here in the Greeks?”
    “There are correlations between the Greek gods and myths and the Norse. Deities with human failings and virtues, the adventures, the sex, the betrayals.”
    And if he didn’t steer the conversation as he was steering her, Malachi thought, they’d be right back in lecture mode. “You’re right, of course. I’m from a country that prizes its myths. Have you ever been to Ireland?”
    “Once, when I was a child. I don’t remember it.”
    “That’s a shame. You’ll