Page 93 of Hades

“I don’t want the club digging into her,” I said.

Zeus’ eyes lifted. “This is club business.”

“She is not club business.”

“She became club business the second you called a vote,” Zeus said.

I leaned forward. So did Zeus. The air between us went sharp. Dangerous.

Atlas shifted in his seat.

“Careful, brother,” Atlas said softly.

I didn’t look away from Zeus. “She’s mine.”

“And you’re fucking mine,” Zeus shot back. “My VP. My brother. My responsibility. If your woman has a stolen identity tied to a missing child, that affects this club.”

“She doesn’t have a stolen identity,” Apollo said before I could respond.

Both Zeus and I looked at him.

Apollo swallowed. “Not like that. If she’s Colette, she didn’t steal anything. It was stolen from her.”

That shut us up.

For half a second, anyway.

Zeus leaned back first. “Fair.”

I stayed where I was. Leaning forward. My blood was running hot. Adrenaline spiking. Violence coiling in my muscles like a snake ready to strike.

Because that was what this was really about.

Not club business. Not missing children. Not DNA tests or investigations or any of that shit.

This was about Lettie.

My woman.

My queen.

And I’d burn this whole fucking clubhouse down before I let anyone hurt her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Hades

“If anyone starts digging,” Apollo said, “it needs to be quiet. No pressure on Lettie. No questions. No confronting her mother.”

“Not yet,” Zeus agreed.

My eyes narrowed. “Not ever without me.”

“Fine.”

“And not without Lettie deciding what she wants,” I added. I’d be damned if I let them force her to confront something that might cause her pain.

Zeus stared at me. So did Apollo. Because that wasn’t what they expected from me. Possessive, yes. Protective, yes. But this? Letting my woman make the decision for herself. That was something else. That was me recognizing what Apollo had already said—if Lettie was Colette, then she’d spent her whole life with choices stripped away before she ever knew they existed. I wouldn’t add to that. Wouldn’t take from her the way everyone else had. She’d decide. When she was ready. If she was ever ready. And until then, I’d protect her from every fucking person in this room if I had to.