“It was you?” Apollo asks. “You went to the cops?”
The way he looks at me…
Oh God…the way he looks at me. The pain in my heart is as if he’s already stabbed me.
“I acted out in desperation.” I look at Troy, Athena, Phoenix, and then back to Apollo. “I wanted out of the marriage, and I thought this was the way. But if I could take it all back—”
“Ares was going to go to jail for the rest of his life because of you,” Athena hisses.
“Do you know what the punishment is for betraying a Godwin?” Troy asks with a devilish grin. He doesn’t look angry. He actually appears amused. Like this is all fun and games for him.
“I’m sorry,” I say again, noticing that all four of them block the only way out of the room. I consider screaming for help, but by now, most of the guests will have left, and even if they heard me, would they even dare go against Troy Godwin? Plus, making a scene could just make this situation worse.
“We’re leaving,” Apollo announces, surprising me by grabbing my hand and tugging me to him.
“Apollo, she did this toyou!” Troy booms. “She videoedyouand then it snowballed to the point where your brother was going to go to jail forever. All because of what your wife did to you.”
It’s clear that Troy, Phoenix, and Athena aren’t going to get out of the way of the door. But I hold on to Apollo’s hand as if it’s my lifeline, and truthfully, it is. The fact I’m still alive and he hasn’t killed me says a lot. But then again, it was Ares who was the killer in the family. I suppose I should be grateful he’s in the coffin right now.
“She needs to die,” Athena says as Phoenix nods. “Either you kill your wife, Apollo, or I will.”
Apollo takes a deep breath and then says. “We aren’t going to do anything right now in a coatroom. In achurch. I’m going to handle this my way.My way. She’s my wife, this ismy situation, and I need you all to back the fuck off.”
I’ve never heard Apollo speak so firmly before. Never. And clearly, by the way that Troy, Phoenix, and Athena stare back with mouths open, they’ve never heard it either.
“She needs to be punished,” Troy says, his eyes narrowing in on me as he no doubt is thinking of all the ways to make that happen.
“And she will,” Apollo says. He then glares at me and orders, “You go home. Now. You wait for me there.” He then turns toward his family and says, “We are going to go bury my brother. He deserves to be put to rest before we do anything else. The priest is ready, and we aren’t going to keep him waiting.” He pulls me through the sea of hate until I’m outside the coatroom. “Go home, Daphne.”
Fury. I can hear it, feel it, taste it in every syllable of his words. But I also see…reason. Apollo has always been the reasonable one.
I’ve never been so relieved but also terrified in my life. What happens now? What do I do? Where do I go? Do I listen to my husband? Or is he the one who’s going to kill me?
ChapterTen
Daphne
It’s dark outside, really dark, but I can still make out the shapes of the cars below. I don’t see him.
Not yet.
Being in the heart of downtown Seattle means outside is loud and active, but the walls of the hotel snuff most of the city sounds. The ringing of my ears and the pounding of my heart are all that remain.
Hiding in the hotel is temporary. I know this. You can’t hide from Gods. And Zeus himself confronted me tonight. I can't walk away from this unscathed because Troy Godwin knows what I did. They all know what I did. But I need time. I need to think. I need to plan; or maybe I need to hide.
Looking down on the street below, I wonder if Apollo will come for me or if it will be Troy. Maybe neither. Now that Ares is dead, they can’t send the family hitman, so they have to handle me themselves. Maybe I’m not worth their time and they will simply hire someone to take care of me. A nameless and faceless employee to take out the trash.
My eyes flutter closed, then open, then closed again as I try to wash away the memories of the funeral. The way Apollo looked at me as his father informed him of what I did…
I’ve never seen what a man betrayed looks like. Now that I have…
Fuck. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could go back in time and talk down the hurt woman on a mission for revenge. It isn’t worth it. The pain won't go away. It won’t take away the demons. Don’t do it. Don’t do it!
Why did I do it? Why?
My phone rings, interrupting my desire to turn back the pages in this dark, macabre book. Walking over to the table, I utter a groan when I see it’s my sister. I’m half tempted to not pick up—fearful that she’ll notice the fear in my voice and want to help—but I also know Ani’s relentless and will keep trying all night until I take her call.
“Hi, sis,” I say as I sit down on the couch. I try to even my voice to disguise just how terrified I am, but my sister knows me better than anyone. My best option is to say as little as possible in this conversation.