Page 5 of Banshee
“Twenty-three.” I shook my head. Glaring at Kronos, I growled, “I’m almost fucking forty.”
“Banshee—”
“I am old enough to be her fucking father,” I shouted.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kronos scoffed.
“How old was Rhea when she had Zeus?” I didn’t dare mention Diana. I didn’t want to get hit a second time. Though, by the way the Gods of Mayhem president was looking at me, I might not be so lucky.
“You keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” he snarled as he bumped me with his chest.
My father tried that shit with me when I confronted him about messing with my little sister. I put him in the fucking ground. Which was where I wanted to put this piece of shit.
“The answer is no.”
“Banshee—”
“He said no, Steele.” Steele looked across the table at Chasm. “The deal was that it was his choice. We agreed not to force a brother to take a woman. Not even to secure an ally.”
Steele narrowed his eyes at Chasm and then turned back to me. “You won’t even consider it?”
“Fuck no.”
Her sharp intake of breath made me feel like an asshole. “It’s nothing against you, baby girl; you’re fucking gorgeous. But you deserve to fall in love. You don’t deserve to be used as a pawn in fucking politics.”
Kronos hadn’t taken his eyes off me. When I met his gaze, I saw the anger he was trying to control. No one told Kronos no. He’d built a name that most men feared.
His club might not be big. They had only one chapter, like us. But the Gods of Mayhem were fucking lethal. They were a club few people crossed.
“Hey, Aspen. You ready to talk?” Blackwater asked in a quiet voice, pulling me out of my memory. Aspen took a deep breath and nodded. She was still that girl who sat quietly in church while her father tried to sell her off.
“Aspen, honey, do you want to talk in private?” King asked.
He and Declan stood off to the side, trying not to crowd her.
Without looking at him, Aspen nodded again.
“Gunner, set them up in church. Nav will shut off the cameras,” King ordered.
“Come on, Haizley.” Gunner helped Haizley from her seat and asked, “Aspen, honey, you ready?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Standing to her feet, she pushed her shoulders back and shuddered. Amber took her hand and smiled. As they walked toward church, I stepped in front of her.
I tucked a finger under her chin and tipped her head up until she looked in my eyes. “Hold your head high, baby girl.” Her eyes widened with recognition, and I leaned in and whispered, “I want that fucker’s name.”
Aspen stared into my eyes. Her face held a blank expression, but her eyes bored into me. I saw every fear in her eyes as she whispered back, almost too low to hear, “Greg.”
I nodded once, then stepped aside, letting her continue into church. I felt my brothers’ eyes on my back as I stomped out the door.
Son of a fucking bitch!
Chapter Two
Aspen
It was him.
I couldn’t believe he was here. Why did he leave Arkansas?
