Page 70 of Banshee
“And I’m not opening the gate unless I know you can behave yourself.”
“King.” Rhea Cooper walked forward, her husband Kronos right behind her. She was still a gorgeous woman at almost sixty.
“Hey, Rhea, good to see you. Tank, open the side gate and let Rhea in. And only Rhea. Kronos tries to come through that gate, put him on his ass,” King ordered.
Tank moved forward and opened the small gate, letting Diana and Aspen’s mother into the compound. Kronos was a big son of a bitch, but he wasn’t as big or as young as Tank. He eyed me from the other side of the fence, and I didn’t hide my grin.
Fucking bastard.
He was the reason Aspen had been hiding here in Diamond Creek.
Rhea stepped up to King, and he leaned down, letting her kiss his cheek. “Is all this really necessary, King?” she asked, her voice low.
“I’m afraid it is, Rhea. There’s a lot of shit going on, and the Gods of Mayhem are aligned with an enemy.”
“What enemy?” she asked.
I hadn’t expected King to answer. “The Death Dogs.”
Rhea looked over her shoulder at her husband and son. Swinging back around to King, she said, “I would like to see my daughter.”
“I will gladly bring you inside, but you know as well as I do, those two hotheads won’t let you in there alone.”
As King spoke, I kept my gaze switched between Zeus and Kronos. They were both loose cannons. Like father, like son. They looked almost identical, a carbon copy. Zeus was the younger version of his father. In looks and temper. I wondered how much Diana had told them when she called.
Did they know she was married? Had children? Did they know Aspen was here too?
“They will behave.”
“Rhea, I can’t let them in. Not yet. Who will he let come with you?”
“King, what is going on?” she asked, her voice laced with fear. My president looked over her shoulder at the impatient men who stood there.
“Choose someone, Rhea.”
Rhea studied the set lines on King’s face. My president was a stubborn son of a bitch, and everyone, including Rhea and Kronos, knew it. We’d been allies when we were in Little Rock, but ties had been severed, at least with our chapter, when Kronos tried to marry his daughter off to me. I’d told him to fuck off. His daughter was only twenty-three, and I was thirty-eight. Given what she had been through, I would regret until my last breath not claiming her when I had the chance.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Rhea turned and shouted, “Poseidon.”
“Rosebud,” Kronos growled.
Tank opened the small gate, allowing the Gods of Mayhem enforcer through.
“Rosebud!”
“Lucas, wait here.”
“Mom!” Zeus shouted.
“Dammit, Rhea.”
King looked around. “Tank, Big Ben, and Jonah, stay here.” King held his arm out to Rhea, and she took it with a smile. Poseidon followed behind her.
Diana stood just inside the door waiting for her mother. Bane held her back until the door closed behind us. When it was clear only Rhea and Poseidon were coming in, Bane let Diana run to her mother.
“Diana! Oh, Diana!”
The two women held each other tight, tears streaming down both their faces. I looked around the room for Aspen, but I didn’t see her or Diesel.
