Page 131 of Zeus

"In the last hour, facial recognition discovered one of the women, Hailey Parker, was wanted in Oregon in connection to a house fire that killed her parents and three younger siblings," Casper explains.

"Her involvement with that?" Zeus asks before I get the chance to open my mouth.

"It's not a hundred percent clear, right now," Casper offers. "The FBI is leaning in the direction that there's a very good chance the fire was in retaliation for something she didn't do that upset The League. It was suspected before the raid that she was a participant in the murders, despite her not being visible on the house's cameras. The initial case was worked by local agencies, but with this new information, the FBI has now taken over."

"That's all they have on her?" I ask, feeling such a load of grief for that poor woman.

"She went missing a week before the fire," Casper says, looking at his computer screen as if he's seeing the information for the first time. "Just didn't show up at work one day. A week later, she was still gone, and her family was dead. Police thought the two were connected, but instead of working it from the missing woman angle, they were quick to place blame despite there being no motive."

A huff of irritation, as if this is something most of the men in the room have dealt with more than once, floats through the room.

"The FBI will treat her right," Casper assures us.

"You fuckers talking about us and we're not even in the room to defend ourselves?"

Despite the pain I feel, I whip my head in the direction of the conference room door.

Clementine Monroe, aka Melody, the diner waitress, stands in the doorway.

"Us?" Kincaid asks from the front of the room. "If you're here, then that means there's no longer an us where you and the FBI are concerned."

"Let me rephrase," she says with an easy smile. "Are you fuckers talking about them when they aren't even in the room to defend themselves?"

"Everyone," Hemlock says. "Meet the newest member of Cerberus Tennessee, Clementine Monroe."

"Zero," she corrects. "I go by Zero."

“Jesus,” Lark whispers. “Dreams do come true.”

Chapter 40

Zeus

"Hey, Zeus?" Kincaid says as we all stand. "Can you hold up a minute?"

The other guys filter out of the room, and I notice Zayne is slow to rise. But once he's standing, he shows no signs of leaving.

It's hard to wrap my head around the meeting and the details given after curiosity died down with Zero's introduction.

They found shallow graves on the property, some with bodies that fit within the timeline of our presence there. I don't know how to feel about it. They were all men, members connected to the group, and thankfully, no women. But to know murders took place while we were there, and that it could've been something we prevented, is a lot to deal with right now.

"You're free to go, Zayne," Kincaid says.

"If this is about the mission," Zayne begins, ready to argue his right to stay.

"It isn't," Kincaid assures him. "Close the door behind you."

Zayne does as instructed, and it seems to take him forever to leave the room, not as a stall tactic, but because he's in so much pain, he just can't manage to go any faster.

Each second that ticks by increases the tension in my shoulders. I overheard some of the last private conversations Kincaid had with only a single Tennessee member in here, and it didn't fucking end well for Nyx.

This isn't exactly the same. Shadow, Hemlock, and Casper are all still in the room, but it feels more like a four-on-one attack than anything else.

"Take a seat," Kincaid urges, his hand indicating a chair in the front of the room.

I walk that direction, letting my eyes drift briefly down to the chair, but when I look back up at him, I lift my chin a little higher.

"I think I'll stand," I say.