Page 121 of Bonds of Hercules
“No,” I said as I grabbed Kharon’s back, pulling him out of the dark stairs into the brighter hallway. “We agreed.” I shoved him against the wall. “Weneedto earn Alexis’s trust … We’ll leave him for her.She’sthe one that’s been wronged—she can decide what she wants to do withherfoster father.”
“She’s gonna forgive him or some fucking bullshit,” Kharon spat.
Seething, I nodded in agreement.
“We have to kill him.”
FUCK.
No.
I stopped both of us from leaving the hall.
The protective urges—the unholy madness—was making it hard to think. I was being torn to shreds.
Kharon placed a hand on my shoulder. “I … understand,” he said through gritted teeth. “What you’re saying.”
His support grounded me, allowed me to think, to focus. “We have to show Alexis that we respect her,” I said hoarsely. “That means we respect her wishes … whatever they are.”
Kharon nodded sharply, then his chest caved in like he’d been punched. He gasped as he hyperventilated. “I can’t do this—I need to kill someone. It’s too much. It’s—”
I wrapped my arms around him in a hug, holding him upright.
“Breathe,” I coached as we inhaled at the same time.
He relaxed against me.
Neither of us moved, silent understanding coursing betweenus. We were doing this together; we would be better men for Alexis, or we’d be nothing at all.
Footsteps sounded around the corner.
“No way,” Alexis’s voice echoed.
“Oh,come on,” Helen replied. “Just open it—it’s probably an expensive necklace or something pretty. Everyone knows that Kharon loves blue diamonds—rumor is the House of Artemis has an entire vaultfullof them. I’m jealous. The House of Aphrodite prefers pearls, which is soboring. My life is not fair.”
“You gotta just open it to see,” Drex said.
Kharon stiffened in my arms, and I released him.
Alexis and Helen are heading to breakfast.
They were going to pass us in the hall.
Standing up straight, I wiped my bloody knuckles on my black pants hastily.
Kharon adjusted his wrinkled shirt. He ran his hands through his hair, desperately trying to pat it down, but somehow looked messier after he touched it, strands sticking out in every direction.
Then, he relaxed his shoulders and smiled, like he was practicing looking approachable—his teeth were covered in blood.
I pointed at them, and he scrubbed them clean with his finger.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. Kharon had struck a dramatic pose, leaning against the wall, knee bent, arms crossed.
“Act casual,” he said out of the side of his mouth.
I put my hand on the wall and leaned toward him like we were talking.
Alexis, Helen, Drex, and Charlie stopped as soon as they turned the corner. A small horse (Fluffy Jr.?) and two hellhounds halted beside them.
