Page 41 of Hades

“Mr. Cooper, it’s highly unlikely a judge will grant you full custody. You’d have to prove his mother is unfit.”

“She fucking kept him from me. How much more unfit can you get?”

“Zeus,” I warned. My voice cut through his fury, sharp and commanding.

“Miss Brooks is a respected, certified nurse-midwife. She has a stable job, a stable home, and an income to support herself and her son. Unless you can prove the child is in danger, visitation is all you’ll get.”

“Then maybe she should lose her fucking job.”

“Zeus, shut the fuck up,” I growled. The words came out harsher than I intended, but goddamn, he needed to hear them.

“I’ll remind you again, Mr. Cooper, that privilege applies to crimes in the past. Not something you confess to doing in the future.”

“I didn’t confess shit. People lose their jobs all the time.” Zeus’ jaw clenched, the muscle jumping beneath his skin. His hands fisted on the table, knuckles white.

I rubbed my hand over my face and groaned. The lawyer stood and gathered the paperwork Zeus had signed, his movements quick and efficient. Professional. “I’ll file this petition and let you know when we have a court date.”

When the door closed, I glared at my best friend. “You’re making a big fucking mistake, brother.”

“He’s my son, Hades.” The words came out quiet. Broken. The kind of quiet that preceded violence.

“I understand. Had I known, I would’ve told you sooner. But, brother, this isn’t the right way to go about it.”

“I want my kid.”

A knock on Zeus’ office door cut off my response. Coeus walked in, laptop tucked under his arm, that gleam in his eye that said he’d found something. “I have something.”

“About Reggie?” Zeus asked, leaning forward. Hope and desperation mixed in his voice.

Coeus looked from Zeus to me and back again. “I didn’t know I was looking for anything on Reggie.”

“Then what the fuck are you in here for?”

“Brother, sit the fuck down. Jesus Christ,” I cursed. The frustration bled through every word. Turning to Coeus, I asked, “What did you find?”

“Before the funeral home cremated Harlan, I had the M.E. run more bloodwork.”

“For what?” My gut clenched. That familiar feeling that said we were about to step into something dark.

“For anything outside standard protocol.”

I glanced over at Zeus, who was only half listening. I could see the gears in his head working, grinding away at whatever the bastard was plotting. Whatever scheme he was cooking up wouldn’t help his case for meeting his son. It would only make things worse.

“What did they find?”

“Wolfsbane,” Coeus said, a glimmer in his eye. Excitement. The kind that came from solving a puzzle.

“What the fuck is wolfsbane?”

Coeus set his laptop on the table and spun it around. On the screen was a picture of purple flowers.

“Wolfsbane, also known as monkshood, is a highly toxic flowering plant. Every part of it is deadly. In fact,” Coeus explained, his voice taking on that professor tone he got when he was excited about something, “just handling the plant without gloves can lead to toxicity.”

“Okay, so what does it do?”

“A variety of things. Vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis...” He paused for dramatic effect. He always did that shit when he got excited about learning something new. The anticipation practically vibrated off him.

“And?” Zeus prompted, letting his impatience show. His fingers drummed against the table.