Page 46 of Dark Restraint
Minos picks up on the first ring, the eager fucker. “Well?”
“We have a plan. Aeacus is getting things lined up. I don’t have a timeline yet, but we’re moving as fast as is feasibly possible.”
He curses. “I need it done next week.”
I pause. “What?”
“Next week, Minotaur. Circe’s orders. She’s got something in the works, and she needs that tower to come down to make it happen. So we will make it happen.”
Easy for him to say. He’s sitting nice and safe in his penthouse, yelling commands without any comprehension of the implications. He wasn’t always like this, but something about all the repeated failures has cracked his confidence. Or maybe it was Ariadne’s defection. Or Theseus’s. Impossible to say the specific thing that pushed him over the edge, but now I’m the one having to deal with the consequences.
I bite back my impatience. “Minos, that’s impossible. It’s not easy to bring down a building.”
“Sure it is. Go in there. Kill everyone. Set explosives and get the fuck out.”
If I do that—and it’s a big if because at the first sign of attack, those blast doors are coming down and it will take more explosives than we have to get through them—then Hera will hurt Ariadne. She might do more than hurt her. “I’m telling you, it’s impossible.”
“And I’m telling you that I don’t give a fuck. I’m calling Aeacus now. Figure it out, Minotaur. That’s an order.” He hangs up.
Fuck. “Fuck.”
“Rough day?”
I throw myself back, pulling my gun on instinct. I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone, and it takes several long beats…and Hermes’s wicked laughter…for me to register who has broken into my house. “What the fuck?”
“Got to keep you on your toes.” She steps out of the shadows in a completely different place than I expected. I don’t know how she managed that trick, but even if I’d started shooting, I wouldn’t have hit her. There’s no such thing as magic, but this woman makes me doubt that. She’s so damn sneaky.
My adrenaline is rushing in my ears and my body is tense with the need to attack after being startled so thoroughly. I have to spend a few seconds breathing steadily before I can slip my gun back into its holster. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on you.” She bounces on her toes and then she’s off, skipping the short distance to my kitchen and rooting around in my fridge. She shuts it and sends me a disgusted look. “I know you’re out here living the bachelor life, but you’re in serious danger of becoming a stereotype with that fridge. Don’t you eat?”
“When I want to eat, I go out.” I don’t move from my spot. “Answer the question, Hermes.”
“I did. I’m checking on you.” She leans her elbows on the kitchen counter. “You’re bringing down Dodona Tower.”
There’s no point in pretending otherwise. She’ll have heard the entire conversation with Minos, and there’s a decent chance she knew what the plan was even before that. The woman deals in secrets and has an uncanny knack of sourcing them. “The only thing you need to worry about is bringing down the barrier.”
“On the contrary, my dear Minotaur, I worry about all manner of things.” She examines her nails, and I catch a glint of glitter. “Like the fact that our very own Hera is instigating a rebellion when we’re on the verge of a siege—if not an all-out war.”
I lift my brows. “Neither of those things are my responsibility or my problem.”
“No, I don’t suppose you’d see it that way.” She sighs. “Truly, it’s like herding cats. Just when I get a few of you in order, half a dozen others start getting wild ideas about mutiny.”
“Mutiny is only for ships.”
“That’s not actually true, but same difference.” She flicks her fingers at me. “What terms did Hera give you?”
I start to feel foolish for standing across the apartment from her and slowly approach the other side of the kitchen peninsula. “If you know so much, I’m surprised you don’t know that.”
“Gods, Minotaur, I expected better of you.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know everything, but all you have to do is act like you know everything and people tell you all sorts of delicious details. It works on most.”
Damn it. “Did you know for sure that Hera was instigating a rebellion before I confirmed it?”
She smiles serenely. “You’ll never know.”
It really isn’t my problem, and I just need to remember that. I need Hermes more than I need Hera, but fuck, that’s not exactly true. Hera is the key to Ariadne’s safety. Shit. I can’t think. I scrub a hand over my face. “Are you going to stop Hera?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”