Page 73 of Banshee
“And Thorne?” Rhea asked, searching for her grandson, who had disappeared.
“Mimic is one of my enforcers; he’s already in there.” King was right. As soon as Rhea asked to speak with King, Mimic sent Indie to sit with Johnny, and he and Jingles moved into church.
We entered church and sat at the table. Kronos, Rhea, and Zeus took a seat along with Atlas, the SAA, Poseidon, their enforcer, and Apollo and Asclepius. The others stood behind them as guards.
King stared at Kronos, waiting for him to begin. Kronos looked at Rhea. “You want me to tell him?” he asked his wife.
“No.”
“Mom, you don’t have to do this.”
Rhea smiled at Zeus, patting his arm. “I do.” Rhea stood up and faced King. Before she could start, the doors slammed open.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aspen
As soon as the door closed behind Banshee, I stood from my perch on the couch and looked at Diana. “I can’t stay here. I can’t see them. Not yet.”
“Aspen, wait!”
I shook my head and left the room quickly, Diesel nipping at my heels. I ran up the stairs to the room I now shared with Banshee.
They were here. There was no question Zeus was here. And my father. Was my mother here too? Uncle Issac?
I wondered who they would bring. Hades would have stayed behind. He and my brother rarely left the compound together. Atlas? Erebus?
Oh God, if Erebus came with them and Banshee learned I’d slept with him... my father would surely find out.
I paced the room as Diesel whined from the end of the bed. He was begging me to sit so he could calm me down. But I didn’t think even he had the power to soften my anxiety.
What would happen when they found out I was here?
I stopped and looked at the door. Maybe they didn’t have to. If I waited until they were all inside, I could sneak out. Ask the prospect outside to take me back to the ranch.
They’d found the person responsible for Grayson’s accident. It had nothing to do with me or the war the Death Dogs had declared.
Everything I’d done. The secrets I’d kept, the lies I’d told—all to protect my family and the Silver Shadows. It was all for nothing. We were at war anyway; despite everything I’d done to prevent it.
And it wasn’t even about me. Everything I’d done was for nothing.
A soft knock on the door pulled me back to the current situation. I didn’t dare answer it. Not without knowing who it was.
“Aspen, it’s me, Brandy. Banshee sent me.”
I closed my eyes. Of all the people he could have sent, he sent her. I slowly made my way to the door and unlocked it. Opening it carefully, I looked behind her down the hallway.
“I’m alone. He asked me to sit with you until he could come up.”
I hesitated, but only for a second before opening the door wider and letting her in. I walked to the bed and sat; Diesel whined as he crawled closer.
Brandy closed the door and locked it behind her. And I wondered if she truly understood what I was feeling. She sat on the other side of my dog and quietly said, “I won’t pretend to understand what you are feeling right now, but I’m a good listener.”
I snorted my disbelief. She was the last person I wanted to talk to. She was too close to Banshee. Too friendly. When I didn’t speak, she decided she would.
“Most people think I must have come from a troubled home. Maybe had a mother with addiction problems, an absent father, or worse, an abusive one. But I come from a regular middle-class family in Connecticut.”
I glanced at her through the corner of my eye.
