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It was frigid. Fucking freezing. Went straight to my core. I’d never been particularly worried about Zeus or his brothers—tall, yes, strong, yes, but able to kill me? Probably not.
That day, I was worried.
“Don’t do this,” Zeus said.
“I’m going to that motherfucker’s office.” It shocked me that Hades didn’t raise his voice. I didn’t know someone so quiet could be so terrifying. “Are you going to come with me and get those animals off your son’s neck, or would you like me to handle it for you?”
Your sonknocked the breath out of me.
“You can’t kill him.” Zeus smiled, like it was a joke, but I knew it wasn’t. “Prison is unlivable for a man such as yourself.”
Hades smiled back, and every instinct in my body saidrun. “I won’t kill him, Zeus. I’ll make him wish he was dead.”
They left, Zeus driving the SUV.
The charges were dropped by dinnertime.
He’s easy enough to Google, and, I’m seeing now, that was the same year their parents’ main business declared bankruptcy. Nobody in Zeus’s family ever mentioned a settlement, but I have no doubt Hades was behind it. Who knows? Maybe it was all three of them. I wouldn’t put it past their wives, either.
So, what happened to Kenneth?
He took over one of the family’s auxiliary businesses after he graduated from…
Stanford.
The asshole was scared enough to run to the opposite side of the country. No sign he strayed from Stanford during his time here.
What’s Daisy scared of?
No—those two things aren’t connected. I’m sure that whatever Hades said in Coleman Sr.’s office all but guaranteed that his son would never come near her again. She didn’t come to California out of fear.
She came because…
I don’t know why. Some vague bullshit about making her own way. I’ve made it a point not to ask because hearing her name is like a bullet to the gut for no fucking reason at all.
Maybe I should find out.
Another day.
Regardless, Kenneth didn’t linger. He went back to New York to take over the business after his dad died.
Afterbothhis parents died.
But after she decided tomake her way. If their paths had crossed, she would have told me. The only red flag here is how gladly I’d stomp him all over again.
The problem with all this research is that it’s directly connected to Daisy. I want eyes on her. I want to be sure she’s okay.
I don’t check the app, but I want to.
Instead, I text Shane about any other possible leads. He has the security footage from the art gallery. Whoever tried to pick them off did it from a position where they were out of range of the camera.
Shane:About halfway through the list of attendees. Not finding anything.
Hercules:Send it over. I’ll look too.
Working my way down the list of every person who attended Daisy’s friend Marie’s exhibition takes me the rest of the afternoon. My shoulder aches, and my back is stiff, and the sun’s going down when I text Shane that I came up with nothing.
Shane:We didn’t either. No unusual activity on the property today.
