Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

EROS

“That was for fucking drugging me and tying me to a goddamn chair,” Perseus bellows, leaning over me, spittle flying in my face.

I may have had that one coming. The pain is instant followed by my mouth filling with the coppery taste of blood, and I spit most of it on the floor. I think he knocked a few of my back teeth loose.

Fuck, he has always had a killer right hook. Hits like a fucking sledge hammer.

“I thought Paris was the one…” I try to say, but my jaw is throbbing. There is a ringing in my ears, and a fresh wave of the metallic taste in my mouth.

“No!” he yells in my face again, his eyes so wide I can see the whites all the way around the blue. “You know one of us would never hurt Freya. And if you had evidence, you should have come to me.”

“Would you have listened to me?” I shove him back far enough so I can get to my feet.

The room sways a little around me, and Athena reaches out to steady me. I look down at her and smile. Her brows furrow like she is worried, but I just pull her into my side where I can feel her warmth and know she’s safe.

“Of course I would have listened,” Perseus says, and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Athena leads me out of the library, away from all the broken wood in the parlor, and helps me down to the couch .

“You all sit there.” She points to the couch across from me. “And don’t kill each other until I get back.”

I don’t know why, we listen to her. I tip my head to the back of the couch and allow my eyes to slide closed. I’m not falling asleep, but I have a headache starting. My ears are ringing, and the adrenaline is wearing off. I can feel every punch Heph landed. That motherfucker hits like a Mack truck. I am going to be sore as fuck in the morning, but with any luck, maybe I can get Athena to dress in one of those sexy little white costumes with the stethoscopes and plunging necklines, and she can nurse me back to health. It’s going to take time, rest, aspirin, and blow jobs. Lots of blow jobs.

I don’t know how long it is until I hear her return to the room with a silver tray from the bar with a bunch of different things on it, including the ice bucket, nice and full.

She comes over to me first and wipes something over the cut on my lip that stings like a bitch.

“What the fuck?” I grunt in a manly way, and not at all like a whining child.

“I am cleaning this so it doesn’t get infected. Stop being a bitch, and I will give you a lollypop when I’m done.”

“Really?” Maybe a nurse fantasy isn’t too far off.

“No, now hold still.”

I try not to make too many noises as she cleans the cut on my lip, putting some type of ointment on it as well as the gash on my temple. Guess she doesn’t want my pretty face to scar. Which is fair. If she is going to use my face as a seat, she shouldn’t have to deal with cracked upholstery. When she is done with that, she puts a bag of ice in one of my hands and moves it to the cut on my head, then puts a tumbler in the other with a healthy pour of something strong. It’s perfect, but she really does need the stethoscope and tight plunging neckline.

Then she moves to Heph. She gives him the same treatment and the same scolding about being a bitch, hands him ice and bourbon. Perseus, she just hands the bourbon.

“What, no ice for me?” he asks.

“You weren’t in a fight. You threw a single punch after a fight like a pussy. Be grateful you get the booze,” she says before collapsing on the couch next to me.

It’s silent for a moment while we all take a few drinks and let the alcohol dull the pain. Eventually, it’s Heph that breaks the silence.

“Why do you think Paris killed Freya? ”

“Freya got a letter from someone threatening her life if she didn’t pay up,” I answer.

“So it was probably her ex, Troy,” Perseus says. “Still mad he paid out so much to her in the first place.”

“But he didn’t,” Athena answers. “I had my P.I. do some digging. Yeah, she got a sizable payout when she left, and this house, but she also got a stipend of around $55,000 a quarter. Enough to keep this place running, but not much else. To put that into perspective, my father pulls a salary of twenty percent of the profits of Medusa Enterprises. To cut to the chase, the Godwins are wealthy as fuck. Every single one of us… especially my father. There was no reason to kill her. Troy Godwin will absolutely get his hands dirty if the situation calls for it, but killing Freya didn’t get him a thing. He wouldn’t have done it after all these years.” She shrugs like that is just how it is. She knows her father better than I do, so I believe her.

“Okay, then one of your brothers,” Perseus says.

“They think she died years ago. Just like me. When I told them she was alive until recently, they were just as surprised as I was. When Dad came clean, they didn’t really care. My brothers detached a long time ago. And like my father, not one of them needs any more money.”

“It had to be one of us,” I say, looking at Perseus.

“No. I want you to go look. Find proof, actual proof of who did this. I’m sure the evidence will lead you outside one of us.”

“I have proof.” I throw my hands up in annoyance. “We are the only ones that knew she was alive. I know I didn’t do it. I know you didn’t do it. You loved her too much, and I know Heph didn’t do it. He would never betray you.”

“That doesn’t prove shit,” Heph yells.

“Why would Paris want her money?” Perseus asks. “He is the only one of us that grew up with money. He doesn’t need it.”

“I… I don’t know,” I admit. I haven’t gotten that far in my investigation. I’m still sure it was him. I just know in my gut it was him.

“Okay stop, everyone.” Athena pours us all another double. “Take a drink and calm down. Let’s figure this shit out.”

“Why the fuck would we need you to do that?” Heph holds out his glass for more. “Just because you fucked two of us does not make you part of us, and it certainly doesn’t make you our boss.”

Athena rolls her eyes before pouring more. “Really? Asshole? How many do I have to fuck for you to listen to me? Do I have to fuck you, too?”

I love the fire in this woman. It is sexy as fuck to watch her stand up for herself and fight back. I can’t wait to bring that fight out of her in the sack. It is going to be so amazing when I have her working through the anger of a bad day by riding my cock.

Heph grumbles something under his breath that I can’t quite catch, but Athena does. She takes his glass from his hand and downs the contents before throwing it at the wall, where it shatters.

“No, fuck you, asshole. I am so sick of your shit. You want to have this fight? Let’s go.”

“Okay sit down, little girl, or leave,” Heph snarls from his seat.

“Do not tell me what to fucking do, asshole. And don’t ever think of calling me little girl again.”