Page 22 of Hades

“I don’t give a fuck who he is. He isn’t welcome here. Not with her.”

I looked around for the her Zeus was talking about, but I only saw one woman. She was tiny, looked about fourteen years old and, if I wasn’t mistaken, pregnant. She’d been in the van with Apollo and two other men.

“Kane, they are my children.”

I took a step back. Not hiding, really, but I didn’t want to be noticed. Didn’t want to draw attention to myself while I watched this family implode.

The Gods of Mayhem commanded respect in the town of Athens. They’d proven their worth by keeping drugs off the streets, keeping the town protected. But that child... pregnant, scared if the look on her face was any indication, and the man who stood behind her, his arms around her, hands cradling her belly, had to be in his thirties.

Something wasn’t right.

He held her the way a lover would. Protecting her. Shielding her. But who was shielding her from him? Who protected her from the predator?

“KANE LUCAS COOPER!”

Every eye turned toward the porch, settling on the woman who stood at the top of the five steps leading into the clubhouse. Her presence demanded respect, commanded it without effort, even with the tears that slipped down her cheeks, glistening in the afternoon light.

“Would you like to tell me why my grandchildren are not welcome in my home?”

Zeus’ jaw twitched. He clamped his mouth shut, teeth grinding so hard I could see the muscle jump in his cheek. Then he glared at the young man, his body lean, his face clean, almost as if he hadn’t hit puberty yet.

Then I saw her.

Another woman slipped in beside the young man. Her hand found his, small fingers threading through his with the kind of intimacy that spoke of shared trauma, shared survival. She stared at Zeus, challenge blazing in her eyes. The look sent a shiver down my spine. Recognition, maybe. There was no doubt that this woman, whoever she was, was dangerous.

Like recognized like.

Her head turned, her eyes found mine, and she smiled. A beautiful, genuine smile that reached her eyes. The kind of smile that said I see you. I know you. I understand what you are.

“I don’t want them in my clubhouse,” Zeus said to his mother.

“Why?”

“I have my reasons,” he countered.

“That’s not good enough.” Rhea walked regally down the steps. She wasn’t very tall, but she moved with elegance, like a queen descending from her throne. She stopped directly in front of Zeus and glared at him, unflinching despite the rage radiating off her son in waves.

“Club business,” he said, staring into his mother’s eyes.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. I lost my husband to this club. My children lost their father. You lost your father. I know you’re hurting. We’re all hurting, but those are my grandchildren. They lost someone too.”

“They didn’t fucking know him,” Zeus argued.

The woman snorted. A sharp, derisive sound that cut through the tension like a blade. Zeus glared at her. She glared right back, unafraid of his threatening presence, and I knew then she was someone I wanted to know. Someone who understood what it meant to stand your ground when the world tried to knock you down.

“They can stay with me,” I blurted out without thinking.

Zeus never took his eyes off his mother, but Rhea turned to look at me.

“Lettie?”

“I’m only two miles away. I have those two extra bedrooms upstairs,” I offered.

“Would that be alright with you?” Rhea asked the young man. He didn’t answer. Just stared at her before turning his eyes my way. Assessing me, calculating, deciding if I was a threat or an ally.

“That would be fine with us,” the woman said.

She dragged the man closer. “My name is Indie, and this is Mimic.”