Heart of Fire (Blood of Zeus #2) - Meredith Wild Page 0,42
who?”
“My brothers happen to be in town. Figured they might want to meet their long-lost nephew.” Z grins then and slaps Maximus affectionately on the arm. “What do you think? Up for a little family time? Get your mind off missing your beloved for a few hours?”
Maximus and I share a knowing look. A meeting including Hades means Z will be negotiating for my safety. For my freedom. And that’s exactly what we need to happen. But it doesn’t mean I need to feel comfortable about it.
“Should I be there too?” I ask.
Z clucks his tongue a couple times. “I think not. Let’s see how this goes, and we can see about introducing you to the in-laws a little later. Sound good?”
“He’s right,” Maximus says to me, skipping clear over Z’s innuendo. “I don’t want you near them until we hear what they have to say. The safest place you can probably be is at the premiere with your mother.” He looks back to Z. “When?”
Z turns his palms up. “Ready when you are.”
Chapter Thirteen
Maximus
We don’t take my truck to Labyrinth this time. After Z pries me away from a final kiss with Kara, he snaps his fingers, and we’re standing in the vestibule of the Olympian watering hole. Outside, there’s still a beach and waves and a cloudless sky. But this time, the surroundings don’t vaguely resemble Ventura. I’m not even sure we’re still in America.
I am sure that I don’t really care. It’s time to focus on the business at hand. No matter what story Z is trying to sell me here, this isn’t a family reunion. It’s a negotiation. That simple. That vital.
Do I wish things were different? Of course. For so long, I’ve begged Mom for the keys to my past. Now they’re just steps away. As easy as sitting down with my father and my uncles, ordering some nectar from the back, and listening as they tell me stories from my childhood. Memories that have been taken from me.
Except even that’s not the important point right now. I’m here to fight for Kara, no matter what it takes.
“Son.”
Instinctively I bristle at the word until better sense takes over. The fortitude in Z’s undertone is exactly what I need right now. I heed him with a silent glance.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“Does it matter if I’m not?”
He nods, but it’s just the top of his head. His stubbled jaw is already firmed. “Said the wise kid to his proud dad.”
It’s the boost I need to keep moving forward. By his side, I move through the mullioned glass doors that slide apart on our approach. Beneath the wide, arched doorway and into the main room of the bar, I’m slammed by perception-pounding shock, along with the most unsettling realization.
Walking into the Labyrinth before earned us a few stares, but none like the two men pinning their otherworldly gazes on us. The seasoned surfer and the brooding hellhound, obdurately serene.
And obscenely familiar.
Z and I come upon their slick mahogany bar table.
I stop a couple of paces behind Z like I’ve just run into a cement slab. That fast, my recognition has morphed from shock to outrage.
“You’ve been following me,” I blurt.
Z looks over his shoulder, an eyebrow arched in question.
I jab my chin at the pair before us. “You got past the security gauntlet at Yamashiro. Then the parking garage at my apartment building. Now, here you are.”
Only this place can’t be found with a GPS and doesn’t seem to have bribable doormen. I don’t see the men’s cameras anywhere, which solidifies what I fear to be the truth. They’re not paparazzi working the celebrity beat. They’re my fucking uncles.
“Do I get an answer?” I bite out.
The surfer has a walking cane, its grip carved out between two tines of an ornate trident. He nods toward an open chair. “Why don’t you relax and have a seat?”
My feet refuse to move me an inch closer. “Why don’t you tell me why you’ve been following me for nearly a week?”
“Why the hell do you think? Sit down and quit your posturing.” The hellhound growls it with a sinister energy that matches his crimson three-piece suit. He drums the table, making the blood-colored gems decorating his fingers glimmer in the dim light. I don’t miss the pin on his silk tie either. It looks like a snake wrapped in a cypress leaf. Even in the human realm, nobody could mistake his king-of-hell vibe.