Page 36 of Hades

I’d expected the scowl to be because of Indie. She’d done a piss-poor job of staying out of Zeus’ line of sight. I’d barely gotten him to agree to hold off on his revenge. Barely convinced him to wait until we knew the whole fucking story.

If what we learned turned out to be bullshit, I’d help him take her out. Her old man too, despite the war it would spark outside the clubhouse and inside his family. Mimic was Diana’s son, Zeus’ nephew. But seeing the kid with Indie, he wouldn’t take lightly to her being killed, and he might have to be neutralized with her. Collateral damage. Necessary casualties.

But the anger twisting my president’s face had nothing to do with Indie. And everything to do with the dark-haired beauty who’d made our lives hell growing up.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” I asked. Other than a few glances in town, I hadn’t seen or heard from the woman since Aspen married Pepper. She’d vanished from Athens like she’d never existed.

Regina Brooks had been Aspen’s childhood best friend, and the bane of Zeus’ existence. “Irene!” she screeched across the room, her voice cutting through the noise like a knife.

“Reggie? Oh my God!”

Aspen dashed across the room, and the two women collided in a hug, rocking back and forth. I kept my eye on my president, whose face had gone dark. His eyes were locked on Reggie. Predatory. Possessive. Hungry in a way that made my gut clench.

“I’m so sorry about your dad,” Reggie said.

“Brother, tell me you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” he asked without bothering to look at me, and I knew the answer before the words left my mouth. Knew it in the way his body had gone rigid. The way his jaw clenched.

“Did you fuck your sister’s best friend?” I hissed.

The corner of his mouth hitched slightly. The only recognition that he’d even heard me. The only admission I was going to get.

“When?”

“When what?” he asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the woman and looking at me.

“When did you make the biggest fucking mistake of your life? Because when your sister finds out, we’ll be burying you next to your father, and I want to know what to put on your headstone.”

“It was ages ago. She was looking for Shug, and when I told her she’d gotten married, she was pissed. It just happened.” He shrugged and looked back in Reggie’s direction. Like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t just admitted to fucking his sister’s best friend.

“Is the kid yours?” I asked.

His eyes snapped to mine. “What kid?”

“Reggie’s got a kid, man. Didn’t you know?”

“No, I didn’t fucking know. What kid?” He pushed off the bar, and I grabbed his arm.

“Brother, don’t do something stupid.”

Zeus looked across the room, and I followed his gaze. Reggie turned and saw him. A look of unmistakable fear spread across her face, there and gone in a flash, replaced by hatred so sharp it cut through the room. Raw. Visceral. The kind of hatred that came from being hurt by someone you’d cared about.

Aspen turned and looked in our direction, her brow furrowing as she glanced between her brother and her best friend. Confusion. Suspicion. The pieces starting to click together in her mind.

“How old is the kid?” Zeus asked.

“I’m not sure. Three or four, maybe.”

“That fucking bitch,” he snarled, pushing off the bar and stalking forward. I stood to follow him, and my eyes landed on Lettie. She was still here, tracking Zeus as he stomped across the room. Watching. Assessing. Those beautiful eyes taking in every detail.

“Did you have my fucking kid?” Zeus shouted. Someone lowered the music, and Reggie crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her fear behind bravado. There was no question Reggie was a tough bitch. But she’d always been half in love with Zeus. Always wanted what she couldn’t have.

“What are you talking about?” Aspen asked, her eyes darting between the two people glaring at each other.

“Nice to see you too, Kane.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Reggie was playing with fire, and by the smirk on her face, she knew exactly which buttons to push. Knew exactly how to make Zeus lose his shit.