Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“She went to the lower city.”
I smile reluctantly. “That’s my theory. And they have no love for me as a member of the Thirteen, so it’s a dead end.” Not to mention Hades wouldn’t have thanked me for trespassing in his domain. There are circumstances when it would behoove me to test him, but not over something as mundane as this. It aggravates my curiosity to no end that I don’t know what Hermes did to the building after she acquired it, but ultimately it’s a country house that I would never set foot in.
Or so I thought.
Cassandra examines her long red fingernails. “Will Hermes be at the party?”
“I don’t know.” The guest list is another thing that’s been kept under wraps. Minos hasn’t kept a convenient list to peruse, at least not digitally.
“Poor Apollo,” she murmurs. Her eyes are alight with amusement. “It must be aggravating to have run into so many dead ends. So we need to map the house as quickly as possible, find out where Minos keeps the keys to the kingdom, and use them to unlock his mysteries.”
“Nice metaphor.”
“I try.”
We share a grin that quickly becomes…something else. It’s my fault. My gaze falls to her lips, and despite my best efforts, I can’t help thinking about that kiss the other night again. She’d tasted of wine and had practically melted when I deepened the contact.
Not even cold showers were enough to combat that memory over the weekend. I haven’t had my body take over so intensely since I was a teenager, but back then, I was jacking myself to whatever I could find on the internet that suited my tastes.
These days, my fantasies all revolve around one woman.
Cassandra frowns. “I don’t understand why this is all necessary, though. If Minos bargained for information in exchange for his citizenship, why hasn’t he given that information?”
“He has.” I shrug. “Or so he says. He was recruited to a militant group fifteen years ago, but according to him, he was part of a cell that was only informed about the Ares tournament. Which we already knew, since he showed up here for that event. We don’t know anything about their leader, their motivations, or their plans.”
“You think he’s still working for them?”
“That’s what I am to find out. He says he defected. We’re not naive enough to believe it. I need evidence of correspondence or a money trail or something to prove he’s still answering to the enemy.”
“Okay. That makes sense. We need to get you access to Minos’s personal computer, since I doubt he’s got paper files just hanging out with incriminating evidence.” Cassandra licks her lips. “I, uh, suppose we’ll be doing more kissing this week.”
“Yes.” The word is low. A command I’m practically daring her to challenge. If she did…
Well, it doesn’t matter, because she just gives a jerky nod. “All for the cause, right? I’ve kissed worse people for shittier reasons.”
I don’t like to think about her kissing worse people for shittier reasons. I have very intentionally not looked into Cassandra’s private life. Oh, everyone in the city is aware her parents were killed in a car crash after displeasing Zeus—and I know the truth behind that public lie—and that she and her sister were publicly shunned afterward.
That’s one thing. Her personal life is something else.
I don’t pry. I don’t check up on her. I don’t ask her who she’s dating or why she’s changed her perfume and started wearing redder lipstick about a year into working for me. I had thought she might be seeing someone, but she wouldn’t have agreed to Zeus’s bargain if she was. She wouldn’t be leaving her partner behind when she walks out of Olympus for good.
Except all that’s an excuse, isn’t it?
I don’t care if she is seeing someone. I will keep my priorities in order and find the answers Minos wants to keep hidden, but I won’t lie; I am greedy for every minute with Cassandra. After this week, all I’ll be left with are my memories of her. I only have seven days to shore up a lifetime’s worth of them.
I don’t know if it’s going to be enough.
9
Cassandra
By the time we reach the house, I’m about ready to throw myself from the car. It’s not that things got awkward with Apollo. He keeps looking at me with that strange expression on his face, but he’s maintained a steady flow of easy conversation.
Still, I can tell it bothers him that he doesn’t have all the information. Not on Minos. Not even on the house we’re going to be spending seven days in. It makes me feel the irrational urge to comfort him. What a laughable impulse. Apollo doesn’t need my comfort. No matter the setbacks, he’ll get to the bottom of this and find answers. It’s what he does. He might even end up enjoying the challenge.