𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑, luke castellan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞

After having escaped from San Diego without being pursued for throwing Sebastian off the balcony, Jon was confident that the police wouldn't be a major problem in the quest.

His perception changed as they stood in front of FreedomDrive Rentals, a company that rented cars to tourists, located south of San Francisco, almost outside the city near the airport.

Sure, it was better than stealing a car from a person, as he initially thought Keira had suggested, but the plan made him somewhat uncomfortable. It didn't seem easy to steal a car from a rental agency, no matter what powers their father might have passed down to them.

Luke, though not entirely free of doubts, wore a more confident expression as they entered through the glass doors into the offices. The room was spacious, with white walls and the company's green logo in the background, positioned behind the desks of the customer service employees.

Luke approached one of the women who had no one at the counter to attend to. Jon followed, envying the sudden confidence of the blond when it came to these plans. Without appearing deceitful or manipulative, Luke seemed to have no issue taking action to carry out these plans. Jon, on the other hand, had always been a bit more reserved despite being a son of Hermes. Although he had inherited powers related to theft, money, and cunning, he possessed a strong sense of ethics that held him back in moments like these. After all, his mother had always instilled moral values in him.

"Good morning," Luke greeted, leaning gently on the counter, completely serious as the girl prepared to attend to him.

She was a brunette, with dark brown eyes and curly hair. She was engrossed in her computer and appeared irritated by the interruption. However, when she lifted her eyes from the screen and directed them towards Luke, her expression suddenly transformed.

She smiled kindly and blushed as she scanned his face, replying, "Good morning, how can I help you?"

Jon chuckled. It was quite obvious that she found Luke attractive, judging by the change in her voice to a higher pitch and the way she blushed upon seeing his face. The girl seemed to be only two or three years older than them, but Luke also appeared older for his age, which likely influenced her attitude.

"I have a reservation for a Toyota Camry," he stated casually, his expression unaffected by the sudden change of interest shown by the employee.

"Name?" she asked, smiling in a somewhat creepy way, attempting to flirt but failing miserably.

The situation was making Luke uncomfortable, who internally cursed Keira for putting him in this position. Was it her fault that the receptionist was attracted to him? Probably not, but at this point, he no longer cared about the extent of her plans. He simply hated being a part of them.

"Sebastian Tyler," Luke replied, revealing his false identity, not reciprocating the smile and being curt. As he pronounced the name, he felt Jon squirm uncomfortably beside him. Surely, the mention of the guy, even if only as an alias, still made his half-brother nervous. Luke discreetly shot him a furtive glance with pursed lips, silently urging him to behave while the girl typed on her computer.

"Marital status?" the girl asked boldly, turning her gaze back to him. Luke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Never mind, I'll look it up in the system," she muttered, embarrassed.

"Could you hurry up?" Luke pressed her curtly again.

Jon knew it was time to start the show. This was an invitation to begin his act.

He put a hand on his brother's shoulder and, with an empathetic tone, softly asked, "Man, could you please calm down? It's not her fault."

"Isn't it?" Luke asked incredulously, widening his eyes and looking at his brother with evident annoyance. "Aunt Mary is dying at her home in Los Angeles alone, and we can't go see her before she passes away because the miss doesn't want to spend Valentine's Day alone," he added, nodding toward the employee.