Chapter 13

Derek just about lost his mind. Arriving not even twenty minutes after everything went down to see his grandparents injured scared the fuck out of him. They could have died. It also made him mad, because who the fuck attacked folks in their seventies?

Knowing Athena had been taken crushed him. He'd not been around to protect her, and now she was gone.

The only good thing to come out of this mess? Frank was finally persona non grata.

The fucker, who'd been tied to a chair, had the nerve to whine, "Your bitch girlfriend hit me."

Derek offered him a stiff, "I'm sure she had a good reason."

"She's psycho that's why," blurted Frank.

"Say that again," Derek growled, his fists clenched. The urge to hit something rode him hard, and who better than his smug cousin?

"She attacked me for no reason."

"I doubt that," Derek muttered before adding, "And in case you hadn't noticed, we've got bigger problems than your little boo-boo. Grams and Gramps were attacked." He didn't add Athena had been kidnapped. Frank would probably say something dumb, and then Derek would have to kill him.

Frank's lips turned down. "Wasn't expecting that to happen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" a bristling Derek retorted.

Grams had figured it out, though, hence why Frank was bound to a chair. She glared and hissed, "You fucking piece of shit. How dare you betray this family."

"Dare what? I didn't do nothing," Frank complained.

"Liar. You knew those thugs were coming. The driveway alarms should have gone off, even without power since they're on a battery backup. Someone tampered with them. The same someone who offered to go to the basement to fetch me a new jar of jam after he accidentally knocked the open one off the counter." Under her unrelenting scowl, Frank squirmed and fessed up.

"I didn't expect them to get rough."

"Them who?" Derek barked. Derek had gone beyond rage. He was now cold. Stone. Fucking. Cold.

"I don't know." Frank shrugged. "They didn't post a name, just a reward to whoever had information on Athena's location."

A good thing Gramps held him back because Frank would have died in that moment. "You fucking son of a bitch. You sold her out!"

"You would have, too, for twenty K."

"No, I wouldn't have. No person with any kind of empathy or fucking morals would," Derek snapped.

"I don't see the big deal. She's mixed up in some shady business. You should thank me for finding out before you got dragged into whatever mess she's involved in." Frank tried to justify, but Grams wasn't having it.

"You're not welcome here," she stated. "Git out and don't come back." She grabbed a knife and sliced at the tape holding him.

"You're gonna kick me out over a stranger?" Frank had a surprised Pikachu face.

"No, we're kicking you out because you're a scum-sucking low-life. Lord knows, I've tried to be understanding. Tried to look past your many faults, but this…" Gramps shook his head. "This is the last straw."

"Is this because they roughed you up? I swear I didn't know that would happen."

"Git out before I smash your smug face." Grams was done talking and threatened with the meat tenderizer.

"Gramps—"

"You heard my wife. Out, and don't ever come back, because if you do…" Gramps left the threat open-ended.

Frank opened his mouth, and Derek stepped in. "Let's go. You heard them."

"But—"

Derek quite enjoyed grabbing Frank by the scruff and literally tossing him off the front porch.

That small pleasure didn't last.

Athena was missing and in danger. Worse, he didn't have the slightest idea where to start looking so he could save her.

He tried, though, scouring the dark web for any mention of the bounty. Cursing himself for not having seen the one Frank spotted. Mad that he'd been fighting fires instead of defending his family and lover.

He had no appetite for the food Grams had brewing in the crockpot, no one did, and they were all on edge when Gramps muttered, "Someone's coming up the drive."

Gramps had flipped the power back on, meaning the security system was online. Grams held out her phone so Derek could peek at the vehicle approaching. A blue pickup truck he didn't recognize.

"You stay here. I'll go see who it is."

"Don't you worry. We've got your back." Grams had a shotgun gripped tight, and Gramps held his rifle. It killed him to see them shaken. To see them finally realize they weren't the brawlers of their youth anymore, but old folk.

Derek headed for the front door and stood arms crossed on the porch as the truck parked and a big dude emerged.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Not exactly the most polite of greetings, but given Derek's shit day and mood, the best anyone was getting.

"You Derek?" asked the guy, eyeing him up and down.

"Who's asking?"

"Athena's brother."

The response shot up Derek's brows. "Ares?"

"Yeah. Where's my sister?"

"Not here." An admission that almost stuck in his throat.

"Where is she? I need to talk to her right now."

"I don't know." Derek slumped. "She was taken a few hours ago."

"Fuck!" Ares turned and kicked the tires of his truck while letting out a litany of curses Grams would have admired.

"Sorry. I should have been here, but I was called in to fight a fire. My grandparents did their best to protect her, but Rogers came with some goons."

"Busy little fucker," Ares spat. "He also took my mom and sister while I was at work."

"Oh shit," Derek muttered.

"Yeah, shit for Rogers because I'm going to fuck him up good. I was hoping to have Athena as backup, but guess I'll have to go alone."

"Not alone. I'll help."

"As will we." Grams and Gramps stepped out behind him.

Ares blinked. Probably wasn't used to seeing an old lady toting a gun with a knife strapped to her hip.

The man shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but this is going to be ugly."

"It already is ugly. Those fuckers came here, beat on my grandparents, took Athena, and also kidnapped her family. That kind of shit ain't cool. Not one bit. And if we can figure out where they are, I want to be there helping with the rescue and beatdown."

"It might get bloody," Ares warned.

"So be it. They struck the first blow. Time to show them why that was a bad idea." Derek always wondered if he had a killer gene. Grams and Gramps certainly did. His dad… not so much. But apparently, Derek just needed the right motivation.

"I could use the help. I ain't exactly Rambo." Ares raked his fingers through his hair. "We'll need a plan. The place they're in, while remote, is guarded."

The words hit, and Derek blurted out, "Wait, you know where they are?"

Ares nodded. "After Athena went missing without a trace that first time, I had us chipped." He held up his wrist. "Think of it as an air tag but for people. Athena doesn't have one yet, but I imagine she's being held in the same place as my mom and Selene."

"Holy shit." Hope suddenly blossomed.

Grams clapped her hands. "This calls for some sticky pudding and coffee. Git inside, boy. We've got some planning to do." She eyed Gramps. "We'll need Big Bessie ready to go. Load her up."

"Big Bessie?" Ares questioned.

"Armored vehicle with mounted gun," Gramps explained. "Good for smashing into things and can also withstand heavy fire."

"We'll also bring some grenades and other explosives in case we need to blast our way in," Grams added.

"Hold on, you have explosives?" Ares asked in a high-pitched voice.

"And flamethrowers and assault weapons." Grams rolled her eyes. "I swear I don't understand why more people aren't prepared for the apocalypse. Does no one see what's going on in the world?" She kept ranting as she entered the house with Gramps.

Ares cocked his head, looking puzzled. "Is your grandma always that gung-ho about going to war?"

"Dude, my grams has been ready since she was born."

"Well fuck. Guess this might not be a suicide mission after all," an incredulous Ares stated.

"We'll get them back," Derek promised, because the alternative, a life without Athena, wasn't something he even wanted to contemplate .