Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lettie
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
“I brought you some dinner. I know there are a lot of men here to feed, but I figured right now they could fend for themselves. This is for you and your son,” I told her, resting my hand on the casserole dish.
“And don’t worry about the pan. I don’t expect it back.
Grief shouldn’t come with the burden of returning dishes. ”
“That’s very nice of you,” a woman behind me said.
“Oh, Lettie. Let me introduce you to my daughters.” Rhea grabbed the woman’s hand and tugged her over. “This is Aspen, my youngest.” Diesel slinked close to Aspen and leaned against her leg. “Lettie lives in the old Granger house.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well.” Aspen shook my hand. “Are you new to Athens?”
“My mother and I moved here about five years ago.”
“Must have been right after I left,” Aspen said.
Her voice softened with that revelation, and I wondered why she’d left. But I didn’t ask. Her reason for leaving and not coming back until now was none of my business. Death had a way of bringing split families back together.
“And this is my oldest daughter, and Zeus’ twin sister, Diana.”
Diana looked too young to be the same age as Zeus. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Not that Aspen wasn’t, but Diana had an air about her that radiated confidence. Something Aspen didn’t quite have. I chalked it up to big sister, little sister dynamics.
I’d never had any siblings, so maybe the tension I was feeling was normal. Or maybe it was just grief.
I smiled at Diana, and Cerberus nudged my leg.
“Oh, I brought you a few things.” I grabbed the basket and pulled out the first jar.
“This is a special tincture I make that helps with puffiness and swelling.” I dug out the next jar.
“And this is a lavender and chamomile lotion. It will help you sleep. Rub a small amount on the inside of your wrists and along your neck.” I bit my lip and stared at the jars in my hands.
“I wish I had something that could help with grief,” I said softly.
Rhea put a hand on my arm. “Thank you, Lettie. This is very sweet of you.”
Grief was something I didn’t understand. I had never lost anyone because I’d never really had anyone besides my mother. Sure, there were one or two men she dated who had been nice to me. I missed them when they’d finally had enough of my mother and left us.
But I didn’t grieve them.
I’d read articles by people who said they grieved the childhood they wished they’d had. I didn’t understand how you could grieve something you didn’t know. They didn’t have the childhood they wanted, but who was to say a different childhood would have been better?
“I should go. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Aspen said.
“Thank you.”
Aspen and I walked quietly through the hall until we reached the front door, Cerberus and Diesel beside us. We stepped out onto the porch, and Kraken caught my eye. He lumbered over, and I felt Aspen stiffen.
So it wasn’t just me. Diesel started to growl, and Kraken halted. Cerberus, feeding off Diesel, growled and stepped in front of Aspen and me.
“Cerberus,” I hissed. “Platz.” The command came out sharp, and Cerberus’ growl disappeared. Aspen looked down at Diesel, who had also gone quiet.
“How do you do that?” Aspen asked. “Diesel only ever listens to me or Banshee. Well, and King, but I think that’s out of fear.”
“Are those other Gods of Mayhem members?” I asked, ignoring her question.
“No, King is the president of the Silver Shadows in Nebraska. Banshee is a patched brother in the Silver Shadows, and he’s my old man. That’s where we live.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a parent.”
Aspen looked away. Her eyes trailed over the land, scanning the horizon like she was searching for something that didn’t exist anymore. “Thank you.”
“I should go,” I said, the awkwardness settling over me. The vibes here weren’t just grief. Pain screamed into the air, sharp and unrelenting. A pain I didn’t understand, couldn’t name, but felt pressing against my chest like a physical weight.
As I stepped down the stairs, the rumble of motorcycles cut through the air with a deep, throaty sound that vibrated in your bones. I paused as a van pulled up to the steps. Men climbed out while one remained in his seat.
Waiting.
Watching.
Assessing.
His eyes met mine and narrowed, sharp and calculating, like he was peeling back layers I didn’t know I had.
He was handsome; the shaggy cut of his hair showed streaks of light blond mixed with darker shades.
His green eyes pierced through me as if he were reading my fucking soul, cataloging every secret I’d ever kept, every dark thought I’d ever had.
The men moved around us, barking orders, while he stayed in his seat, arm resting on the open window. Casual. But there was nothing casual about the way he watched me. Like a predator sizing up prey.
“Lo, you ready?”
“Yeah,” the man said, his voice defeated.
Hollow and broken, like something fundamental had been ripped out of him.
His focus cut from me to Kraken, who opened the door.
Kraken lifted the man into his arms like he weighed nothing, and my brows crinkled together.
Could he not walk on his own? Was he injured, or—
“Apollo injured his back,” Aspen whispered beside me.
“Oh, that’s awful.” I turned to look at her. “Is it permanent?”
“We’re not sure. The doctors said it could take weeks for the swelling to go down.
But I’m optimistic. I have a friend back home in Nebraska who fell off his horse a few months back, and he’s starting to feel sensations and sporadic movements again.
He’s in physical therapy learning how to walk again. ”
Kraken disappeared inside the house with Apollo. The door hadn’t closed yet before Zeus, Rhea’s son, slammed it open and stormed outside.
I’d met Zeus once at the market in town when he was there with Rhea. I didn’t like him. He was arrogant and crass, the kind of man who took up too much space and expected everyone to move around him. Watching him stomp across the yard to the newcomers only reaffirmed my dislike.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he yelled in the face of a tall young man.
“Kane, he’s my son,” Diana shouted as she trailed behind her brother.
I should have left, but the scene unfolding in front of me was too intriguing.
These people called out to me. Not all of them.
Not Zeus, but his sisters. Something about them resonated, like recognizing your own reflection in a stranger’s face.
“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.”
“Violet Foster.” I offered my hand, and she took it, her grip firm, her palm warm against mine. “But everyone calls me Lettie.”
“Would his sister and her old man be able to stay as well? Mimic and Kytten are kind of inseparable.” Indie chuckled, and I turned as the young girl walked over.
I stared at her, then glared at the man behind her, my protective instincts flaring hot and immediate. “I… um...” My eyes darted back and forth until Kytten smiled.
“I’m not as young as I look,” she said. “I’m twenty-one. And yes, Cash is thirty-four, so there’s an age gap, but I didn’t even know him until I was twenty. I promise he’s not a predator.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her. Thirteen years was still a huge difference, especially for someone so young. But the way she looked at him, like he hung the moon, made me pause. Made me wonder if maybe I was wrong.
“Lettie, I would really appreciate it if my children could stay with you.” I turned and found Diana standing there. “If you had more room, I might ask to stay with you too,” she said, glaring at her brother.
Zeus stood to the side with his arms crossed over his chest, unwilling to budge.
“I wish I had more room for all of you.”
“Thank you.” Diana turned to Kytten. “I’ll have your father drive you over and bring the van back.”
“Oh, no need. I have a truck. She can ride with me.”
“Are you sure?” Rhea asked. “How will your mother feel about company?”
Shit, I’d forgotten about her. “It’s not her house.” I shrugged. “I apologize now for the woman who gave me life.” I chuckled half-heartedly, but inside I was dreading the moment my mother found out what I’d done. The screaming. The accusations. The guilt trips that would last for days.
“We don’t want to be a burden,” Kytten said.
“Nonsense. She rarely comes out of her room anyway.”
Cash and Kytten followed me to my truck. He opened the door and lifted her off the ground, and she laughed as he set her on the seat and secured the seat belt around her. His movements were careful, reverent, like she was something precious he was terrified of breaking.
Then he kissed her.
I looked away, uncomfortable. Not because of my earlier thoughts about their age gap, but because of the intimacy. The way this man kissed her like he needed her to breathe. Like she was oxygen and he’d been drowning his entire life until he found her.
“I’ll be right behind you, Rosie.”
She placed a hand on his cheek. “I’ll be okay.”
“I won’t,” he said with a sigh, and I was stupidly jealous. I wanted a man to look at me that way. Someone so overcome by my presence that even a moment apart felt like death. Like being ripped apart at the cellular level.
Cash closed the truck door without taking his eyes off Kytten. Then, with a heavy sigh, he walked to his motorcycle. She watched him in the side mirror and smiled when he started the bike, the engine roaring to life, loud and powerful.
“I can’t wait to ride again.”
“He won’t let you?” I asked, fishing for information. The love they shared aside, my desire to protect this girl was strong. Primal, even. Like something in me recognized something in her that needed protecting.
She rubbed a hand on her belly, barely noticeable now that she was sitting down, and sighed. “Not while I’m pregnant.”