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Penny’s eyes widen. “That isn’t what I said at all!”
“Yer a liar.” He clears his throat, giving me a hard gaze. “Ye’ve known me my entire life, Hades. I’m telling you the truth.”
Penny practically roars her disagreement.
“You kidnapped me and held me hostage! You were about to give me to some strange man who would make sure that I never bothered you again! I was trying to keep you at bay until the cops came!”
I look between Ares and Persephone, my lip curling. “And just who am I supposed to believe?”
Penny ducks her head, flushing. Ares is quick to say, “ye’d best believe me. I am yer brother, for better or for worse.”
“And ye just… what? Happened to find Penny right here, where Lazlo suggested that I start looking for her?”
He looks me in the eye and doesn’t even flinch. “Aye. I heard a whisper from a source. I came to find out if there was any truth to it before I got yer hopes up. And it’s a good thing too, because she’s trying to run from us.”
“Trying to run from you!” Penny says, pointing an accusatory finger at Ares. “You have been quite clear in your belief that if I was made to vanish, you and your brothers’ lives would return to normal.”
Ares bares his teeth and moves toward her, clearly threatening her. “Stupid bitch.”
Instinctively, I move between them, sheltering Penny with my brawn. Ares stops, his gaze flicking to me.
“Ye can’t trust her,” he says, his voice gone to gravel. “She’s a woman, just like all the rest. She lies and tries to play us against each other. She’s damaged goods and she knows it, so she’s going to cling to ye and use yer strength in place of her own.”
Persephone gasps softly. My eyes narrow on Ares.
“That’s enough out of ye,” I rasp. “I’m going to talk to the lass and judge her tale on its own merits.”
“Yer letting her make a fool of ye.” Ares turns his head and spits on the ground. “Da would be a-rollin’ over in his grave if he heard ye talking like that against yer brother.” He thumps his chest. “I’m yer blood.”
“Yer a snake in the grass at the best of times.” I tense, feeling that at any moment, he might have the nerve to land the first blow.
First of many… and I’m fairly sure that if we start to fight, it won’t end until one of us is near death.
Penny clasps my hand, tugging me backward.
“Hades…” she whispers. She sounds afraid.
I am on a precipice, poised between two lives. In my bones, I can feel the momentousness of this moment in time. On one hand, Ares stands, reminding me of the nomadic life I lived with my brothers and how much wealth and success stands to be gained.
One the other is delicate young Persephone, her swollen stomach a sign of the future she now offers me. I suck in a breath, already knowing just who I’m ready to go to war to protect.
Ares catches my expression and his lip curls derisively. Before I can say another word, Ares steps back, giving me a flinty look. “Run along with your bitch, then.”
My shoulders twitch as I stare him down. He seems haughty, which in my current mood is the nail in the coffin for me. It’s time to tell him who is the boss. I lean closer, a wicked intent in my eyes.
“You don’t tell me what to do, little brother.”
Penny wraps her body around my arm, trying to pull me back again. “Hades…”
Ares sneers at me, shaking his head.
“Look at ye. Ye’ve just found her and yet she has ye jumping around at her commands, like yer nothing but her well trained lap dog. It’s like Ma and Da, ye know. Just like history repeating itself.”
I growl at him, feeling the need to fight building in my chest and rippling through my veins.
His face contorts with disgust and he turns on one heel, storming away. His words cut into me, lashing me to the bone.
“What, yer going to leave me here like this?” I grate out.
