Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lettie
Everything happened in a matter of seconds.
I stood at the edge of the room talking with Cash and Kytten when Zeus’ voice exploded across the space.
Shouting. Rage dripping from every syllable.
I hadn’t seen her come in, or I would have said hello.
Now all eyes were on her and Zeus as he towered over her like a goddamn predator closing in on prey.
I knew Reggie well. Not only was she my doctor, but we got together often to discuss homeopathic remedies. Cerberus loved her little boy, Gus. Sweet kid. Gentle soul.
“Did you have my fucking kid?” Zeus shouted.
The words hit the room like a bomb. Silence detonated in the aftermath. Every conversation died. Every breath held.
Reggie didn’t answer him. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
Defiant. Unafraid. I’d never asked Reggie about Gus’ father.
It wasn’t my business. If she’d wanted me to know, she would have told me.
But watching Zeus now, watching the fury radiating off him in waves, I could see it.
The resemblance. The truth written in the tension crackling between them.
“What are you talking about?” Aspen asked. Her eyes darted between her friend and her brother. Confusion. Shock. Betrayal starting to bloom across her face.
“Nice to see you too, Kane.”
“Answer my fucking question,” Zeus hissed.
The air in the room turned cold. The warmth that had been swirling around from the celebration of Kronos’ life vanished. Replaced by something darker. Something violent. The kind of tension that preceded bloodshed.
“Did you sleep with my brother, Reggie?” Aspen asked.
“Maybe we should take this into church,” another man offered. He was the one who’d stared at me during the service. The one who saw deep into my soul. Dark eyes that stripped away every layer of protection I’d built around myself.
“Maybe she should answer the fucking question.”
“Fuck you, Kane.”
Reggie dropped her arms and spun around to leave, but Zeus clamped his hand on her arm, holding her captive. His fingers dug into her flesh. Possessive. Brutal. The kind of grip that would leave bruises.
No one saw the woman slinking around the room. No one stopped her to ask what she was doing or who her target was.
Until it was too fucking late.
Indie jumped on Zeus’ back. Her legs locked around his chest. One hand covered his forehead, yanking his head back.
The other held a blade to his neck. The edge pressed against his throat.
One wrong move and his blood would paint the floor.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Adrenaline flooded my system.
Fight or flight screaming through every nerve.
I took a step forward, but Cash stopped me. His hand clamped on my arm. Firm. Unyielding.
“Stay back, Lettie. Indie’s got this.”
Indie whispered in Zeus’ ear, and a darkness came over him like nothing I’d ever seen. Something primal. Something that made my skin crawl. He dropped Reggie’s arm and held his hands up. Surrender. Or the illusion of it. His body was coiled tight. Ready to strike the second the blade moved.
“What’s happening?” I whispered. My voice was barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
I looked at the other man. His hand rested on his gun, but he didn’t draw it.
His other arm stretched out behind him, holding his club brothers back.
Indie said something else to Zeus, and he went rigid.
His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched tight.
Rage mixed with something else. Something that looked like fear.
But he held himself still as Indie jumped to the floor, Mimic waiting to pull her behind him when Zeus spun around.
“Get the fuck out of my clubhouse,” Zeus snarled at Mimic and Indie.
The two of them walked away without a word. Mimic nodded to Cash, who took Kytten’s hand and said, “Time to go, ladies.”
My feet stayed planted on the floor, still reeling from what I’d witnessed. The violence. The threat. The blade against flesh. The way Indie moved like death itself—silent, efficient. Deadly. Until Kytten grabbed my hand and dragged me across the room.
“Baby girl, we need to go,” Banshee said as he followed us out.
I climbed into the truck, moving on autopilot as I turned the ignition.
My hands shook, adrenaline still coursing through my veins, making my fingers tremble.
Kytten stared out the window, and Diesel jumped into the bed as I waited for Mimic and Indie to lead us out.
It was something I’d learned in the last few days of driving Kytten around that Mimic and Indie led the way, and Cash picked up the rear.
As if she were the most precious thing in their lives and their only duty was to protect her.
Again, envy speared through me at the love this woman had from not only her man, but her brother and father.
Her family.
It was the one thing I’d always longed for. I loved the life I lived, but there had always been something missing. I had my mother but given the way she rejected me time and time again, I couldn’t help but feel alone in this world. Isolated. Unwanted.
Having guests over the last few days had been wonderful. Love and laughter filled every corner of my little farmhouse. And friendship. I didn’t have friends, not real ones.
I knew most of the people in town, and many came to buy products from me, but the closest thing I had to a friend was Reggie. And even she was mostly a business arrangement. Transactions. Exchanges. Nothing deeper.
The house would be quiet again once the Silver Shadows and their old ladies went home to Nebraska. I’d loved my quiet life until I discovered what it was like to have people around. People I enjoyed talking to, laughing with. People who filled the empty spaces I hadn’t realized existed.
I pulled into the yard at home and turned off the truck. While Cash collected Kytten, I sat quietly, thinking about what I’d witnessed. The violence. The threat. The way Indie moved with the blade. Like she’d done it before, like she’d do it again without hesitation.
Banshee surprised me when he opened my door and held out his hand. I smiled as his hand engulfed mine, and he helped me climb down. Gentle despite his size. Protective in a way that made my chest ache.
Cerberus was barking and yelping inside the house, and Diesel bounded up the steps, doing the same. I chuckled as I opened the door and stood back, letting the two dogs get reacquainted. Their joy was a stark contrast to the tension still coiled in my gut.
We piled into the kitchen, and I made my way to the coffeepot, busying my hands while the others talked quietly. I needed something to do. Something to focus on besides the image of that blade pressed against Zeus’ throat.
“She slept with my brother,” Aspen said aloud, her tone somewhere between a whispered shock and a revelation she was sharing with the room. “I knew she had a crush on him. She always did. But she hated him. He was always dismissive of her, like she was a fly to swat away.”
“Baby girl, people change. You’ve been gone five years.”
Aspen spun around on Banshee. “She has a child!”
“Gus,” I supplied.
“What?”
All eyes turned to me as I answered, “Her son’s name is Gus. Well, Augustus.”
Aspen’s shoulders slumped and her eyes filled with tears. “She had a baby with my brother and didn’t tell him.”
“Baby girl, you don’t know that he’s Zeus’ kid,” Banshee argued gently, trying to soothe her.
“Yes, I do. Reggie used to go on and on about marrying Zeus. She always said their first-born son’s name would be Augustus because he was the first ruler of Rome.
Augustus used his connection to Zeus to gain power over the city.
” Aspen snorted. “Reggie used to say that Zeus’ son would be as conceited as him, so it was only right that his name conveyed power. ”
I barked out a laugh, and everyone looked at me.
“Sorry, but Reggie was way off the mark with that one. Gus is the sweetest little boy. If he’s Zeus’ son, then he got his personality from you, Aspen, not Zeus. Not even Reggie.”
Aspen smiled. “No, Reggie is a ball-buster, that’s for sure.”
The front door opened, and Diana and Bane walked in. She went straight to Indie and pulled her into a hug. Indie stiffened for a moment before leaning into it. Accepting the comfort. The acceptance.
“I’m so sorry,” Diana said.
“For what?” Cash asked.
“My asshole brother. I don’t understand what his problem is.”
Indie looked at the floor, but Diana’s focus had already moved to her sister. “Was that Regina?”
Aspen nodded.
“Gosh, she grew up beautiful.” Diana’s eyes widened. “Not that she wasn’t pretty as a child,” she quickly added.
Aspen chuckled.
“She and Kane, huh?”
“I guess so,” Aspen conceded. “It must have been after I left, or she would have told me. I just can’t believe she has a son, and Zeus never noticed.”
“Zeus doesn’t leave the clubhouse much.” I brought the tray of cups to the table with cream and sugar, then turned to grab the coffeepot. “I’ve actually only met him once before now.” I poured coffee into each cup and handed them out before asking, “Do you think he would hurt her?”
Reggie was the closest thing I had to an actual friend, and if I needed to, I wouldn’t think twice about protecting her. Wouldn’t hesitate to brew something that would put Zeus in the ground if he laid a hand on her.
“I’d like to say no, but he’s not the same person he was when I went to college,” Diana said. She stared into her cup as Bane rubbed her back.
“That wasn’t your fault, baby.” Diana nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe him. She was carrying guilt that didn’t belong to her.
“Indie, what did you whisper to him that made him let go of her arm?” I asked, taking a sip of my own coffee.
I choked and spat it on the table when she answered, “That I would slice his throat the same way I did his father’s.”
“WHAT?” Diana and Aspen both screamed.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Indie squeezed her eyes shut, and Mimic pulled her into his chest.
“They need to know the truth, babe,” he said against her hair.
“What truth?” Diana asked. Aspen stared at her nephew, her eyes welling with tears. Fear and understanding began to dawn across her face.
“What did he do?” Aspen asked. Her trembling voice told me she would believe whatever they said, and I wondered again what her story was. What horrors she’d survived.
“Did you know?” Diana asked her husband.
“Yeah, baby.”
Cash and Kytten stood quietly in the corner of the room. Cash held Kytten against his chest while she wrapped her arms around his waist. Protective. Shielding her from whatever was coming.
“Let me give you some privacy,” I said, standing up from the table.
“No, Lettie. You live next door to the club. You should know what the risks are,” Cash said as he led Kytten to the table. He sat down and pulled her into his lap.
“I spoke to King earlier, and we both agreed it was time you ladies knew the truth.” Cash rubbed Kytten’s back and looked at Diana.
“It’s up to you what you tell your mother.
But Kytten and Aspen are both old ladies in my club, and since Kytten and Mimic are your children, we made the decision to tell you as well. ”
Cash turned to me. “As for you, we want to make sure you’re safe living so close to the club. We don’t believe Zeus was involved in this shit, but we don’t know about the others.” He looked back at Diana. “She needs to hear everything, and that starts with you.”
Diana nodded and told me her story. For the next hour and a half, they shared their secrets with me, ending with Indie explaining how Kronos fit into the story she’d already told me.
The words painted pictures I didn’t want to see.
Violence. Rape. Trafficking. Evil so deep it made my stomach turn and my hands shake with rage.
“Oh my God, how do I tell my mother?” Diana cried. “This will devastate her.”
I’d met Kronos a few times, and if I were being honest, I didn’t get that vibe from him. Either he was innocent and Indie was mistaken, or the man was a damn good actor. A monster hiding behind a mask of respectability.
“Aspen, are you okay?” I asked, placing my hand over hers.
She’d sat at the table quietly while Indie shared everything. She hadn’t said a word since. Just stared at the table. Processing. Breaking apart inside.
“I forgave him,” she said absently, eyes still fixed on the table. “I believed his excuses, his tears.” She shook her head. “He sold me off to a fucking monster and I forgave him.”
Diesel whined and nudged his nose under her hand until she placed it on his head.
Cerberus moved to the other side and did the same thing.
The two dogs pressed their noses together in her lap, and I couldn’t help but smile despite the pain they were all going through.
Despite the horror that had been revealed.
“I can’t go back to the clubhouse. Not right now,” Aspen said, her eyes pleading with Banshee not to make her.
“We’ll get a hotel, baby girl.”
“What about you, Diana?” Bane asked.
“I need to go back. I have to talk to my brother.” She looked at Aspen. “I’m sorry, but I have to hear it from him.”
Aspen nodded. She stood and looked at me. “Thank you for giving us a place to escape.”
“Of course. Anytime. I’ve enjoyed having people here.”
Diana and Aspen left, and the others walked them out. All except Indie, who stayed back to help me clear the table.
I placed the cups in the sink and turned to her. “I don’t even have words for what you all went through.”
She shrugged, and I grasped her hand. “Don’t do that. Don’t diminish what you went through. Have you talked to anyone? Can you talk to anyone?”
“One of the old ladies back home is a psychologist. She’s been working through some shit with me.”
“I’m glad.” I took a deep breath and said, “I wish I’d known. All this time the biggest monster in Athens lived right next door, and I did nothing.”
What good were my instincts if I’d missed the biggest evil in my own backyard? What good was my darkness if I hadn’t seen his?