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No. Paris is always the calm one, even-tempered and refined. He is the gentleman out of all of us. His anger this morning, the way he yelled at me and the rage in his eyes. That isn’t the Paris I know. Something is changing.
Perseus is nothing like the real him. He’s avoiding Athena. He never avoids problems. He never ran from something, even when we were skinny homeless kids. He faced everything head on even when he should have run.
Right now, Perseus is in the basement gym working out in a place he knows he won’t run into Athena.
I need to talk to him, find out if our plans are changing.
Downstairs in the basement, Perseus is on the bench press, and I try not to focus on the way his muscles flex under the strain of his workout that looks like it’s been going on for a while.
“We need to talk,” I say.
He pulls the earbuds from his ears and sits up while I toss him a bottle of water.
“Thanks, what’s up?”
“Have our plans changed?” Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms over my chest.
“What are you talking about?”
“With Athena. Have you changed your mind about what we are going to do?”
“Absolutely not. I will get what is mine.” He throws his towel off to the side. “Why? Are you saying you don’t want to go against her now?”
“No, I am loyal to you, but you don’t seem to be focused on taking her down anymore. Eros is being led by his dick, and I just caught Paris sucking her tits while she dry humped him on the fucking patio.”
Perseus’s face twists into rage. I stop for a moment and wonder if he is mad that the others like her, or mad Paris was touching what he covets. Dismissing that thought, I go back to riling him up.
“How much longer are we going to let her live in your house, our home? How much longer is she going to get to pretend this money is hers?”
“Not long.” He jumps up and starts pacing. “Are Paris and Eros still on board?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I hope so, but…”
He nods. “We will keep an eye on them. In the meantime, are we still on track?”
“My part is good to go. Yours?”
“Yeah. When Eros or Paris are with her, I want one of us close by at all times,” he says. “No more make-out sessions in coffee houses, and I want a copy of her texts with Eros. I want to make sure they are only sexting, and she isn’t seducing them to her side. We need this plan to go off without a hitch. So if they have jumped teams, we need to know.” He is pacing through the gym at this point, with his fingers running through his hair. Not for the first time, I wonder what his hair would feel like against my skin.
“I’m tired of hiding in my own home. We need that bitch out now!” Perseus roars. There he is. That is the man I would follow anywhere.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Athena
“I’m tired of hiding in my own home. We need that bitch out now!” Perseus’s words keep ringing in my ears.
I went down to ask Perseus and Heph if they wanted to order Indian food, my treat. I was planning on making a peace offering after I heard from the mechanic saying he couldn’t find any evidence of foul play, but then I heard Perseus and Heph talking, and I slipped away. I don’t know what they are planning, and I don’t really want to know.
Which is crazy. The old me—the woman who entered this house a couple of months ago—would be taking notes and preparing to go to battle. But now… I don’t know what’s happening.
I’m tired.
Maybe I’m growing soft.
Maybe I’ve lost my edge.
Maybe I’m simply done fighting.
Is all of this worth it? I have grown accustomed to this house, but it’s not my penthouse apartment big enough for just me. The money really isn’t that important.
The only thing I wanted when this all started was to get to know the woman my mother was. I think that through her diary I got that. I learned so much about the woman she was and the sacrifices she made. I learned how she loved me unconditionally and did what she felt would give me the best life.
Maybe I should just leave. I can pack up all her diaries, take a few dresses from her closet and the jewelry as my inheritance, and just move back home. It will void out the will. Perseus will get everything, and I won’t have to wonder if Eros and Paris want me or want to destroy me. I’ll find out one way or the other within days.
Giving up isn’t in my nature, but neither is pouring time and effort into losing projects.
