Page 144 of Hades

And Lettie’s mother only came alive during Harvest Week.

That couldn’t be coincidence.

My phone buzzed.

All clear. No movement. Lights on in kitchen.

I typed back. Stay on rotation. Check again in two hours.

Copy.

I shoved the phone in my pocket and drained the whiskey. It burned going down but didn’t touch the tension coiling in my gut.

Zeus appeared from the hallway leading to his office. He looked like shit. He still hadn’t met his son, and it was eating him alive. He caught my eye and jerked his chin toward the door.

I followed him outside.

The night air was cool. Quiet. The kind of quiet that felt too heavy.

“You’ve got prospects running extra patrols,” Zeus said. Not a question.

“Yeah.”

“Around Lettie’s place.”

“Yeah.”

He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “You see a threat?”

“I feel one.”

Zeus nodded slowly. He understood that language. Instinct over evidence. Gut over logic.

“What do you need?”

“Time,” I said. “And eyes. Coeus is already running plates. I’ve got Pegasus and two other prospects doing wide loops near her property. Nothing close enough to spook her. Just watching.”

“She know?”

I hesitated.

Zeus smiled. It wasn’t kind. “She caught you.”

“Not yet.”

“She will.” He flicked ash onto the gravel. “Lettie’s not stupid. She’s been watching her own back for years. You think she won’t notice extra bikes on her road?”

He was right.

Fuck, he was right.

“When she does,” Zeus continued, “don’t lie to her. That woman will gut you for lying faster than she’ll forgive you for overstepping.”

I stared at him. “You giving me relationship advice?”

“I’m giving you survival advice.” He took another drag. “Reggie’s pissed at me because I tried to control the situation instead of talking to her like a goddamn adult. Don’t make my mistakes, brother.”

He clapped me on the shoulder and walked back inside.