The Valhalla Prophecy Read Free Page B

Nina’s personal assistant at the International Heritage Agency. The reason for her departure was peering curiously at the world around him from a papoose on the chest of Lola’s husband. “Lola, Don, hi! Wow, it’s so great to see you both again! And to meet this little guy in person for the first time. Oh, he’s beautiful!”
    Nina’s own husband also stood. “Yeah, that’s not a bad-looking sprog you’ve got,” said Eddie Chase with a grin. “Shame about the name, though.”
    Lola pouted. “What’s wrong with Gino? It was my grandpa’s name.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not as good as my suggestion. Now, Eddie—
that’s
a name for a baby.” He frowned. “Wait, that didn’t come out like I meant it to.”
    Nina laughed. “Accurate, though.” The balding Englishman pulled a face, to which Gino responded with a gurgling laugh of his own. “Aw, look at that! He’s so sweet.”
    “He is,” said Lola, embracing the pair, “when he’s not occupying every moment of my time. And I thought you were demanding, Nina!”
    Now it was Nina’s turn to look affronted, while Eddie chuckled. “Come on, sit down,” he said, pulling a chair out for the young mother. “So being a parent’s a bit stressful, is it?”
    “You have no idea, man,” said Don as he unfastened the papoose. “I thought being a firefighter was tough, but pulling people out of burning buildings is a cakewalk compared with watching out for a baby.”
    “Don’s worse than I am,” Lola said as she sat. “There’s danger everywhere, isn’t there, hon? To him, every room looks like a death trap out of a
Final Destination
movie. It drives me nuts, ’cause now I can’t even plug in my hair dryer without unlocking the gadgets he’s put on all the outlets.”
    “Safety’s a serious business, babe,” Don replied, in a way that suggested it was far from the first time he had been teased.
    The big-haired blonde took Gino from the papoose, settling the baby on her lap. “Anyway, we’re just about getting a handle on things, so we can finally catch up with everybody. What have I missed? What have you guys been up to? Have you found any more ancient wonders or saved the world again?”
    “What, since the last time?” asked Eddie with a mocking snort. “Come on, it’s only been a few months. Give us a chance.”
    “I’m enjoying the fact that we
haven’t
been running around the world being chased and shot at and having everything blow up around us,” Nina said, with considerable relief. “It means I get to do the things I joined the IHA for in the first place. Like being an actual archaeologist, you know? Overseeing digs, research, writing papers …”
    Eddie yawned theatrically. “Yeah, it’s thrilling.”
    “Oh, shut up,” said the redhead. “But it’s amazing how much more productive you can be when you aren’tbeing attacked by helicopter gunships and hunted by assassins.”
    “And ninjas. Don’t forget the ninjas.”
    Don’s eyebrows rose. “Babe? You are
so
not going back to the IHA.”
    Lola kissed Gino’s head. “This little guy’s going to be my boss for the next few years, don’t worry.” She looked back at Nina. “If things are nice and easy at work, is that giving you more time to plan things at home?”
    “What things?” Nina asked.
    “You know.” Lola held up Gino, who let out a little squeak of delight, and kissed him again. “Family matters.”
    “Yeah,” added Don. “You’ve been married for, what, two or three years now? I’m surprised you don’t have kids already.”
    Nina found herself feeling surprisingly defensive. “My work hasn’t been exactly conducive to it, what with all the … ninjas and world saving.”
    The burly firefighter nodded. “But now everything’s quieted down, you’re thinking about it, yeah? I mean, you don’t want to leave it too late.”
    Eddie huffed. “We’re not
that
old.” He put on a crotchety old man’s voice. “I’m