It’s just as well. My hands are shaking too much to dial. I stare into my wife’s eyes as Adonis barks orders into the phone. I barely register his words. I’m too busy trying to will the color back into Eris’s face.
I knew I didn’t want her dead, but it’s not until she passes out in my arms that I realize exactly how much I want her alive and with me.
35
ADONIS
I’ve never known fear like what I feel in the ten minutes it takes for the paramedics to arrive. They’re not the same people who help the main population of Olympus; these are a team specific to the Thirteen. It’s the only reason I trust them enough to move back from Eris’s unconscious body as they sweep in.
That and the fact Zeus followed them in.
He looks like shit, and I don’t give a fuck because Eris is dying on her floor and it’s his fault. I surge to my feet and am on him in a handful of steps. He doesn’t bother to fight me as I slam him against the wall. Later, that will bother me. Right now, I flat-out don’t give a fuck.
“You did this.”
He looks past me to where the paramedics have strapped Eris to a gurney. “I had nothing to do with this.”
I slam him against the wall again. “Don’t lie to me. I know the ultimatum you gave her.”
Zeus finally focuses on me. His blue eyes flash. “Then you know I gave her three days.” He shoves me off, easily breaking my hold. “Then you know I would never endanger my sister.”
“Not without cause.” My heart is in my throat as the paramedics wheel her out of the penthouse just as three people rush in. I immediately recognize Ares and her two partners. She’s pale, but takes in the situation in a single glance. “Achilles, you and Patroclus secure the attacker. Alive. I want answers and I want them as soon as possible.”
For once, Achilles doesn’t have an arrogant remark in response. He moves efficiently to the downed attacker and checks the zip tie I fastened around their wrists. Apparently satisfied, he hauls them up and passes them to Patroclus, who keeps them on their feet with a stern hand on their shoulder.
The lead paramedic pauses. “We won’t know the full extent of the damage until we get her into surgery and get that knife out,” she says to Zeus and Ares. “Would one of you like to ride with us to the hospital?”
“I will.” Zeus straightens his jacket that I rumpled when I slammed him into the wall and turns away from me as if he’s not concerned I might attack his exposed back.
I actually take a step forward before Pandora catches my elbow. She shakes her head. “Don’t.”
“Easy for you to say. I—”
She digs her nails into my skin and narrows her eyes. “Do not tell me what is or isn’t easy for me to say.” She shifts closer. “Fighting right now delays her getting to the hospital. Have your pissing match with Zeus after we know she’s okay.”
Zeus disappears through the door while she holds me back. I wait a beat and then step away from her. If I hadn’t had such a nice chat with her while we disposed of the poisoned food, I would have been here when the attacker first showed up. I could have stopped them.
Ares turns to us, her hazel eyes narrowed. “I’m going to have some questions for all three of you, but it can wait until after Eris gets out of surgery.” Her voice breaks a little on the last word.
Achilles clasps her shoulder. “She’s going to be fine. Just like Patroclus was fine after the tournament.”
Her face goes hard as she looks down to where Theseus is leaning against the wall. “If my sister—” Her voice breaks off and she swears. “I will finish the job I started in the maze.”
I tense, fully expecting Theseus to say or do something to escalate the situation. His obvious contempt for the Thirteen is inflammatory, to say the least. But he doesn’t say anything at all. He just nods at Ares and watches her sweep out of the room with her men and their prisoner at her back.
The door slamming shut springs us into motion. Pandora and I hurry to Theseus. We go to our knees on either side of him. She reaches for him, but stops before touching him. “Are you hurt? Your knee?”
“No.” He struggles to sit up straighter and winces. “Maybe. Not my knee, but that fucker got in a good kick.” He gingerly touches his right side. “Might have cracked a rib.” He turns his attention to me. “Did you recognize him?”
“No. I’ve never seen him before.” Which only means he wasn’t one of Athena’s. My stomach drops out. Eris has to be okay, but the thought of how close I came to losing them both leaves me shaky. “Let’s get you to the hospital, too.”
“No.”
I blink. “What do you mean, no?”
“No.” He nods at Pandora and they share a look I can’t quite decipher. Theseus clears his throat. “I have something I have to take care of first.”
I look between them. “Eris just got stabbed. What could you possibly have to do that’s more important than coming to the hospital with me?” I knew he was a hard man, of course, but this is another realm entirely. If not for the panicked way he’d commanded Eris to stay with us, I would think he’s entirely unaffected.
Pandora presses her lips together, dark eyes worried. “Are you sure?”
I feel like I’ve missed an entire conversation. “Are you sure of what?”
Theseus ignores me. “Yeah.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No. I got it.”
Frustration lances my throat, hot and cloying. “What the fuck are you talking about? Go where?” I grit out.
He finally looks at me. “This has gone far enough. I’m going to deal with Minos.”
“Deal with Minos.” Surely he doesn’t mean—
“Not permanently.” Theseus takes my hand and allows me to leverage him to his feet. “I don’t have it in me to do that to him, even if he deserves it. I’ll meet you both at the hospital in a little while. Be there for our woman when she wakes up, even if I can’t be.”
Our woman.
The two words toll through me, changing something forever. He’s right, though. Eris is ours. All of ours. I clear my throat. “What are you doing? If you aren’t going to kill him—”
He rolls his shoulders. “I’m going to make sure this never happens again. Not to her.” Theseus stalks out of the penthouse before I can figure out a response to that. It’s only when the door closes behind him that I realize he still had Eris’s blood on his hands.
“He can’t stop it.” I feel numb. It won’t last, but it’s almost pleasant for this beat of silence before we have to move, before reality comes crashing back in. “He can’t stop anything.”
“You’d be surprised what Theseus can do when he sets his mind to it.” Pandora can’t quite mask the worry on her face, though. “Come on. I want to be there for Eris when she wakes up.”
I look at the bloodstain on the marble floor. “Go on ahead. I’m going to clean this up.”
“Adonis,” she says softly.
“I don’t want her coming back and having the first thing she sees be a reminder of what happened to her.” I can’t go back in time and save her. I can’t fix this, no matter how much I want to. But I can make damned sure she doesn’t have to face the memory all over again when she comes home.
She has to come home. I can’t allow myself to consider another outcome.
Pandora nods slowly. “Okay, that’s smart. Let’s do it together.”
“You don’t have to. I can…”
She’s already moving into the kitchen and poking around beneath the sink until she finds the cleaning supplies. It takes us less than ten minutes to remove every trace of blood from the penthouse. It seems like it should be more difficult to erase evidence of such catastrophic events, but my numbness has me in a stranglehold.
I don’t think I’m going to breathe until I see Eris and can confirm that she’s alive and well. Or as well as can be expected considering tonight’s events.