Page 22 of Gilded Gods

“He has a finance background and will help you with the books.”

“What about Uncle Alexander?” She drops the fork onto the plate, leaving her half-eaten pancakes untouched. “He handles the finances.”

Belen shakes his head. “Not anymore. I’ve given him a promotion.”

Her face drops at the news. “To what?”

“Alexander will handle the shipments at the warehouse. Nothing you need to worry about, Phe.”

In other words, her uncle oversees Belen’s illegal businesses. The women, guns, drugs, and products he imports and exports. That’s where he gets the money to open more clubs. It’s why we’re sitting in a ten thousand square foot mansion with ten bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms.

“Okay,” Ophelia says with a sad look in her pretty brown eyes. “But if Apollo isn’t up for the task, I want Uncle Alexander to return to Olympus.”

“I’m up for the task.” Apollo slides his arm across the back of her chair, careful not to touch her. “Looking forward to working with you, sis.”

He winks, and she groans.

I love watching her squirm.

ChapterThirteen

OPHELIA

I needto get the fuck out of this house before I lose my mind. Living under the same roof with my new stepbrothers is suffocating. My father and his line of work make it harder to have friends, leaving Constantine. He’s my driver, bodyguard, and confidante.

I park in front of his house and bang on the door. “Connie, it’s me.”

He lives in a single-story house on the South Side of Beacon Bay. It’s not the nicest neighborhood, at least compared to mine. That’s why I begged my father to give Constantine a raise, but he still lives in the same old house despite the vast difference in his income.

Constantine opens the door, shirtless and wearing a pair of black track pants hanging low from his hips. He’s solid muscle from head to toe and tattooed. My bodyguard is a former Navy SEAL and is the only person who makes me feel safe.

As the heir to the Drakos empire, I have a target on my back. One time, Constantine even had to take a bullet for me. He’s the most loyal person I know and my only real friend. There’s no one I trust more with my secrets.

He scrubs a hand through his short, dark hair and eyes me up. “Something wrong, O?”

“Yes.” I throw my hands up in anger. “Everything is wrong, Connie. Can I come in?”

I’m being a little overdramatic, but I want Constantine to hug me and remove the pain. Thinking about how my father is betraying my mother’s memory six months after her death kills me. It’s one thing to date Athena but another nightmare to marry her.

He holds the door with his hip, giving me enough room to enter the house. “What happened?”

“My dad is engaged to Athena.” I follow him into the living room and sit on the leather couch that smells like cigars. “He also moved her annoying sons into my house. Those assholes woke me up last night making all kinds of noise.”

His eyes widen. “This is news to me. Your dad usually tells me everything.”

“Me too,” I agree. “Why would he do this? Is he sick, too, and he’s afraid to tell me? You should have seen him last night.” I shake my head, furious with my father. “He comes home with dinner that I thought we were eating alone and announces he’s marrying Athena. And then he gets pissed at me because I’m not over the moon about it.”

He scratches the dark stubble on the corner of his jaw. “He did that to you on your mom’s six-month anniversary?”

I bob my head, on the verge of tears, wondering what Mom would think about this marriage. “Convenient timing, huh? He’s been in mourning with me since before she passed. There’s no way he forgot the day.”

Constantine wraps his arm around me. “I know this hurts, O. But I get where your dad is coming from.”

I swipe at a fallen tear and look at him. “You do?”

He nods. “When my wife died, I couldn’t stand to be alone. I went to bars and picked up women every night. I even did drugs. Anything to stop my mind from returning to my good memories of her. But after months of partying, I lost my job and could barely pay my rent.”

“That’s when my dad bailed you out of jail.”

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