“They mean well.”
“They’re just scared of you,” I tell him. I nearly clap a hand over my mouth the second I say it, because what the fuck am I doing? Just because I feel like acting out doesn’t mean I have to toss all sense of self-preservation out the fucking window, do I?
Because when it comes down to it, I am scared of Zeus, too. I’m not here just because I don’t want to go back to my lonely apartment. I am also here because I know if Zeus wants me back, there is nothing stopping him from taking me back. It is easier to stick close by and hopefully know what he might be up to.
I am under no illusions that Zeus isn’t just another cruel person in a long line of many to walk through my life, so that’s why I’m surprised when he laughs.
Yes, laughs.
The sound of it is quick and sudden, a flash of warmth in the dark luxury of the Cairn. We aren’t in the public area of the club, not where people play for cash. We are in a different part, where only Zeus and his chosen walk the halls. There should be more warmth to it, more evidence that a home was made, but it is still as cold and beautiful as the rest of it. Still, Zeus’ laughter has a way of casting the dark room with all of its finery, the marble floors, the table laden with delicacies, the sparkling chandelier, in a new light. When he laughs all of it is given a glow that makes it feel magical.
I know I shouldn’t let that laugh disarm me, but I’ve never made the best decisions and I feel my shoulders drop slightly.
“You’re not like your mother,” he says with a smile still playing on his lips.
I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”
He takes a healthy sip of his wine and sets it down with a nod. “Thank god. It would make everything far less enjoyable.” He rises from the table and I go tense again. He is back to business, the laughter forgotten as whatever it is that Zeus is going to tell me is about to happen. I tense in my seat and resist the urge to bolt from the table. I stay put, but just barely, as Zeus approaches me. He moves as if he doesn’t have a care in the world, but that makes sense. This is his world. He is the one at home while I am the guest.
He comes to a stop just a foot away from me, leaning against the table. “There really is no elegant way to say this.”
My mouth feels dry and my voice comes out in a croak when I speak. “What?” I ask.
My heart is pounding, and I’m starting to feel light-headed as one second rushes into the next. Maybe it is a good thing I’m not standing, I might pass out with how I feel right now. “I-I just say what-”
“You’re my daughter.”
CHAPTERFOUR
LAW
“We’re here,” Taylor’s gruff voice cuts the silence in the car. We’ve just pulled up outside of Addie’s building. It’s a modest building but it's a good neighborhood in the city at least. I don’t want to think about my assistant somewhere she isn’t safe. I trust Addie to keep my day-to-day running smoothly. Plus, there's the fact she’s managed to grow on me.
I look into the rearview mirror to see Taylor watching me. He isn’t any happier than me to be here, but the difference is that I keep my emotions off my face, while I read exactly what he is thinking from the look he gives me.
“It’s just questions.”
“She wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or Honey.”
“Not willingly, no.” I open the door before he can say another word. I have a job to do. “I’ll call when I’m done. Shouldn’t be long.”
Taylor grunts in response. He’s pissed I’m here to question Addie. So am I. I slam the door shut and head to the front door. There is no door man but the lobby is well-lit and clean, which is something. I ride the elevator to the fifth floor where Addie’s apartment is and it's just another minute before I’m standing in front of her apartment door.
I knock on the door and listen carefully. I meant what I said to Taylor. Addie wouldn’t betray me willingly. If she has something to do with Honey nearly getting grabbed, she’s an Academy Award winning actress, or I have been more of a fool than I realize. Gone far softer around some people than I ever should. When it happened she’d been just as shocked and confused as I, worried about Honey, worried about the security of her computer even.
But maybe that had been to throw me off. What if she’s working with someone and Addie is my blindspot? It would make sense.
I hear someone shuffling around on the other side of the door before the sound of a chain sliding away. The door opens an inch and I see Addie’s familiar green eyes staring at me.
“What are you-” she starts, eyes going wide for a second before she cuts herself off and then shakes her head as she opens the door wider. “Come in.”
I nod at her. “Thanks.” I follow her into her apartment, but stop in my tracks because things are not all right in Addie’s world. At least, not from what I am seeing in her space. I know Addie to be fastidious to a fault. Without fail, she is meticulous in her appearance, every last detail thought of. Even on her less than stellar days she is neat.
Today things are not neat in her world, judging by the dirty plates and cups that litter the living room. I glance towards where I think the kitchen is and spy an overflowing trash can that hasn’t been taken out. There is clothing all over, jackets, pants and boots that hadn’t quite managed to be put away all over the living room.
But even without all of that, there is Addie. She is all the proof I need to know shit is fucked. Her hair is in a messy bun, dark circles show beneath her eyes and the way her shoulders slump is evidence that something has gone down hard in her world.
“What happened?” I ask her, immediately on high alert.
