AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Although she checked for some reaction in Byron and Hugo, she didn’t read any. They were afraid of him. Yes, they were relaxed, eating dinner, drinking wine like nothing was wrong. But they should feel something upon being told they were less than the man they paid to command their dirty work.
“If it does, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be there, defending what is yours?”
“Olympus is not a place. It’s a mission,” Zeus said. “It’s been my mission longer than it’s been anyone else’s.”
“Longer than anyone living,” she said because the distinction was relevant. To her anyway.
“Unless you know the details of its inception, there’s no way for you to be sure,” he said, narrowing discerning eyes. “What has your father told you about Olympus?”
Her father? As little as possible. Her Heart? Well, that didn’t matter. Zeus hadn’t asked that question. If he could be pernickety, so could she.
“If all you wanted was to ask questions, you could’ve done that on the phone.”
He almost laughed. “Because I’m sure you would’ve rushed to talk to me.”
Something occurred to her. Something not about Zeus, but about another man at the table: Hugo. “Did Garrick know this was your plan?”
In her own mind, she had already decided Harry didn’t know about her journey to London. Hugo was a liar. Garrick, the third principal, had used her to lure Harry and Daire to the desert house. Were they planning to try the same trick again?
“Garrick has been busy this week,” Hugo said and glanced at Zeus. “Distracted.”
Nothing was secure. Everything that had occurred in Vegas, between the men, or in discussions with the Six, Tess had to assume all of it had been relayed to Zeus.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Hugo,” she said. “I guess you’ve been scampering back to your master, filling him in on every little detail. You’ve provided this man a courtesy you didn’t extend my father.”
The servers came back to clear the plates and serve the entrée, brought in under silver. The formality was a joke given her disdain for the host. Ceremony wouldn’t win her over.
“I don’t want this to be hostile,” Zeus said, to which she scoffed. He frowned. “You have been given every courtesy. A flight on a private plane, cars to transport you. This is an exclusive block in a sought-after area of the city. You have your own room; everything has been provided for you.”
“Except free will,” she said. “I don’t care how pretty the prison is, it’s still a prison.”
Zeus shook his head. “Harry assumes the worst of everyone too. You must get that from him.” He sighed. “Tess, this is not your prison. I plan to provide you an allowance, you will be allowed to roam the city.”
“Because you know I can’t go anywhere,” she said. “Even if I could find the embassy, I doubt they’d believe I was dragged here by an ex-president against my will. I don’t have ID; I can’t prove my identity.”
“You don’t have an identity. You can be anyone you want to be… We can make that happen.”
Suspicious, she didn’t like the sound of that. “Are you threatening me?”
“No,” he said, taking the time to explore his plate before picking up his cutlery.
Only after he cut some steak and took it to his mouth, did the other two men at the table begin eating. They’d been waiting for him. Because it was correct etiquette or because he had them whipped? For the first time, she was glad Daire wasn’t present. Seeing him defer to Harry irritated her sometimes, but she understood the obedience was rooted in respect. If he was to be as soft with Zeus as the two men opposite, she couldn’t imagine stomaching that in silence.
“You were brought here for your benefit,” Hugo said. “We want to help you.”
“Oh God,” she groaned. “I didn’t ask for your help. If you think I’m going to fall at your feet because I’m just so grateful, you need better intelligence.”
“I don’t want intelligence on you,” Zeus said, gesturing to a server who came rushing over to top off the wine. “I want to get to know you… and for you to get to know me.”
“Which is just firsthand intelligence.”
“Yes,” he said, dabbing his semi-smile with his napkin as he waited for the server to finish with the wine. “You’ve made assumptions about me. That’s natural. I have tried not to make them about you. Olympus can be a severe organization. There are times we are forced to deal in absolutes… to do what’s unpleasant.” That was no revelation. “But we do, when we can, approach others with care and consideration. I can be your friend. Your ally. There’s no reason not to be.”
No reason…? All her knowledge about the man came from others. While he was right that assumptions had been made, one truth was undeniable… as far as she was concerned.
“You put me and my mother in danger,” she said. “Repeatedly… If that wasn’t enough, you kidnapped me, extorted my mother, and forced my father into an impossible position.” The letters also gave hints on his capabilities. “You used me against him. Any time he stood up to you or you got annoyed with him, you threatened me and my mother.”
“Leverage is valuable.”
