‹ Prequel: mobster mash
love in the time of trash fires
thirteen
Athena stood in front of Max as he sat on the bed, crossing her arms and staring at him. He was trying to avoid her gaze and Athena finally grabbed his face in her hands and made him look at her.
“Spill,” she demanded.
“Your mom…may have come to see me and Michael,” he said, with great reluctance. “We agreed it was best not to tell you.”
“She came to see you for what?”
“Uh, she wanted to talk.”
“Why?”
“She wanted to talk about you.”
“Max!”
He sighed and pulled her hands off his face. “She tried to buy us off,” he admitted. “She offered us both money to…to leave you so you’d go along with whatever she wants you to do.”
“She. Did. What?” Athena snarled and Max grimaced.
“We tore up the checks and told her to get lost,” he said. “And I thought that’d maybe be the end of it, but then that Seth asshole showed up and a Dragon tried to—“ He cut himself off as Athena gave him a sharp look.
“A Dragon tried to what?” she asked.
“Tried to…jump a really big puddle. It’s harder than it looks.”
“That cut on your neck the other day wasn’t from your razor, was it?” Athena asked accusingly. “A Black Dragon tried to attack you.”
“Yeah,” he said, shrinking a little when she leaned forward.
“My mother tried to pay you to leave me and someone held a knife to your throat and you didn’t tell me?” she snapped, smacking his arm. “Max, what the hell?”
“I didn’t want to upset you,” he said, fending off her frustrated little smacks.
“Oh, well, that was clearly a success,” she scowled.
“You were already so upset about the accident and everything your mom said to you, and you were happy when we got engaged and I just didn’t want to ruin that.”
He scooted back slightly on the bed, catching her hands when she tried to swat his shoulder again.
“I am happy we’re engaged,” she said irritably. “And no one is going to ruin it.”
She turned and started marching toward the door. Athena didn’t think she’d ever been so furious in her entire life.
“Athena, where are you going?” Max called after her.
“For a walk.”
“Athena.”
She wrenched open the door but only made it partway down the hall before Max caught up to her, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her back to the room.
“Max, put me down,” she demanded, squirming in his arms.
“No. You’re about to do something reckless and dangerous.”
“Dammit, Brian really is good at his job,” she complained, unable to flail free. Max closed the door and pinned her to the bed while she kept wriggling.
“Yes, he is,” Max agreed, holding her down. “Athena, you need to calm down.”
“The fuck I do. That woman abandoned me like I was roadside trash and then she comes back only to try and ruin my life.”
“I know, she’s horrible. But what were you gonna do, Athena? Show up at her fancy house and punch her in the face?”
“No. I was gonna show up at her fancy house and strangle her.”
Athena managed to partially wiggle free and tried to scramble across the bed to freedom. Max cursed and caught her again, pinning her back down.
“You can’t just go running through the streets of this city half-cocked,” he insisted. “It’s not safe.”
“You’re the one she has a hit out on.”
“Maybe she’d have someone snatch you off the street.”
“I dare them to try it.”
Max sighed. “Athena—“
“I watched you almost die once already, Max. I’m not letting her take you away from me.”
Max sat up and pulled her with him, though he still kept a hold of her so she couldn’t bolt again.
“No one is taking me anywhere,” he promised. “Okay? We’ll figure this out. Rationally.”
“Fine,” Athena relented.
“Can I order some food now?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Let me see the menu.”
But she wasn’t about to let this go. After dinner she curled up in bed with Max, waiting till he was asleep. Then she silently climbed out of bed, grabbing her shoes and a jacket and slipping out the door. She stuffed her hair up under the hood and pulled out her phone as she left the hotel and started towards the Hounds’ hangout. First she called Lion to tell him she was coming, and then she called a man known as Spider. He was a brilliant hacker, and Athena had saved his and his brother’s lives last year when they hustled the wrong people in a game of pool and got themselves stabbed.
He had said she could call on him for a favor any time. She hadn’t thought much of the offer at the time, figuring she’d never need a hacker’s services.
“Dr. Athena, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Spider asked when he answered the phone.
“I need to call in that favor you promised me, and it’s a pretty big one.”
“Well I do like a challenge. Who am I capturing in my tangled web, pray tell?”
“I need you to look into Kent and Veronica Hamilton, and a man named Seth Rathbone. I need any scrap of dirt you can find on them.”
“Rathbone? That’s a stupid name. This guy definitely has embarrassing secrets.”
“I hope so. I need you to send whatever you find to me as soon as you have it.”
“Whatever the doctor orders.”
Athena hung up and hurried to the Hounds’ bar. After getting a spine-crushing hug from Bobo, she sat down to give them a quick rundown of what was going on.
“I might be able to get my mother to back off, but in case I can’t, I need to take out the Black Dragons that she hired,” she explained. “Or at least make an example out of one of them so the others will bail.”
“Look at our sweet Athena,” Lion chuckled. “Behind that pretty face lurks a genuine she-hound.”
“I can enlist help from the Hornets too,” Athena said. “They run things in the neighborhood where the clinic is; they help make sure no one hassles me and my dad. I know they’d help me with this if I asked them. Do you know them?”
“I’ve met their leader a couple of times. He’s a cool guy.”
“I have Spider working on getting dirt on my mom and Seth. If he can find anything dirty enough, it might scare my mom into dropping the whole thing since her husband is running for office. But if we do need to slay some dragons, how do you think we should do it? I don’t even know which guys are involved.”
“I’ll bet Brolin knows something,” Lion said. “We could always start by pulling him in for a friendly chat.”
The door banged open behind her and Athena winced when she turned to see a disheveled Max, Zip peeking out of the pocket of his hoodie.
“How did I know I’d find you here?” he said, exasperated. He marched over to the bar and gave the Hounds a stern look.
“Please don’t tell me you guys were helping my fiancée plot crimes?”
“The lady asked for help,” Bobo shrugged.
“Fucking unbelievable,” Max muttered. He looked at Athena, who stubbornly folded her arms and stared back at him.
“What?” she asked defensively.
“What do you mean, what? I wake up and you’re gone, and I find you here planning to hunt down dangerous gang members?”
“They’re not going to kill me,” Athena said. “My mom doesn’t want me dead. She wants you dead, which is why I didn’t bring you with me.”
Max ran a hand over his face, looking frustrated.
“You should’ve stayed at the hotel, Max.”
“Like hell. When will you learn that I’m not going to let you walk into danger alone?”
“Fine. Then I guess we’ll wait here together to hear from Spider.” She pulled Zip out of Max’s pocket and snuggled him.
“Spider? He agreed to get involved too?”
“Spider will get involved with just about anything. One way or another, this thing with Veronica and the Black Dragons ends in the next forty-eight hours, and we can get on with our lives in peace.”
“I don’t like any of this.”
“Tough.”
“Spill,” she demanded.
“Your mom…may have come to see me and Michael,” he said, with great reluctance. “We agreed it was best not to tell you.”
“She came to see you for what?”
“Uh, she wanted to talk.”
“Why?”
“She wanted to talk about you.”
“Max!”
He sighed and pulled her hands off his face. “She tried to buy us off,” he admitted. “She offered us both money to…to leave you so you’d go along with whatever she wants you to do.”
“She. Did. What?” Athena snarled and Max grimaced.
“We tore up the checks and told her to get lost,” he said. “And I thought that’d maybe be the end of it, but then that Seth asshole showed up and a Dragon tried to—“ He cut himself off as Athena gave him a sharp look.
“A Dragon tried to what?” she asked.
“Tried to…jump a really big puddle. It’s harder than it looks.”
“That cut on your neck the other day wasn’t from your razor, was it?” Athena asked accusingly. “A Black Dragon tried to attack you.”
“Yeah,” he said, shrinking a little when she leaned forward.
“My mother tried to pay you to leave me and someone held a knife to your throat and you didn’t tell me?” she snapped, smacking his arm. “Max, what the hell?”
“I didn’t want to upset you,” he said, fending off her frustrated little smacks.
“Oh, well, that was clearly a success,” she scowled.
“You were already so upset about the accident and everything your mom said to you, and you were happy when we got engaged and I just didn’t want to ruin that.”
He scooted back slightly on the bed, catching her hands when she tried to swat his shoulder again.
“I am happy we’re engaged,” she said irritably. “And no one is going to ruin it.”
She turned and started marching toward the door. Athena didn’t think she’d ever been so furious in her entire life.
“Athena, where are you going?” Max called after her.
“For a walk.”
“Athena.”
She wrenched open the door but only made it partway down the hall before Max caught up to her, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her back to the room.
“Max, put me down,” she demanded, squirming in his arms.
“No. You’re about to do something reckless and dangerous.”
“Dammit, Brian really is good at his job,” she complained, unable to flail free. Max closed the door and pinned her to the bed while she kept wriggling.
“Yes, he is,” Max agreed, holding her down. “Athena, you need to calm down.”
“The fuck I do. That woman abandoned me like I was roadside trash and then she comes back only to try and ruin my life.”
“I know, she’s horrible. But what were you gonna do, Athena? Show up at her fancy house and punch her in the face?”
“No. I was gonna show up at her fancy house and strangle her.”
Athena managed to partially wiggle free and tried to scramble across the bed to freedom. Max cursed and caught her again, pinning her back down.
“You can’t just go running through the streets of this city half-cocked,” he insisted. “It’s not safe.”
“You’re the one she has a hit out on.”
“Maybe she’d have someone snatch you off the street.”
“I dare them to try it.”
Max sighed. “Athena—“
“I watched you almost die once already, Max. I’m not letting her take you away from me.”
Max sat up and pulled her with him, though he still kept a hold of her so she couldn’t bolt again.
“No one is taking me anywhere,” he promised. “Okay? We’ll figure this out. Rationally.”
“Fine,” Athena relented.
“Can I order some food now?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Let me see the menu.”
But she wasn’t about to let this go. After dinner she curled up in bed with Max, waiting till he was asleep. Then she silently climbed out of bed, grabbing her shoes and a jacket and slipping out the door. She stuffed her hair up under the hood and pulled out her phone as she left the hotel and started towards the Hounds’ hangout. First she called Lion to tell him she was coming, and then she called a man known as Spider. He was a brilliant hacker, and Athena had saved his and his brother’s lives last year when they hustled the wrong people in a game of pool and got themselves stabbed.
He had said she could call on him for a favor any time. She hadn’t thought much of the offer at the time, figuring she’d never need a hacker’s services.
“Dr. Athena, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Spider asked when he answered the phone.
“I need to call in that favor you promised me, and it’s a pretty big one.”
“Well I do like a challenge. Who am I capturing in my tangled web, pray tell?”
“I need you to look into Kent and Veronica Hamilton, and a man named Seth Rathbone. I need any scrap of dirt you can find on them.”
“Rathbone? That’s a stupid name. This guy definitely has embarrassing secrets.”
“I hope so. I need you to send whatever you find to me as soon as you have it.”
“Whatever the doctor orders.”
Athena hung up and hurried to the Hounds’ bar. After getting a spine-crushing hug from Bobo, she sat down to give them a quick rundown of what was going on.
“I might be able to get my mother to back off, but in case I can’t, I need to take out the Black Dragons that she hired,” she explained. “Or at least make an example out of one of them so the others will bail.”
“Look at our sweet Athena,” Lion chuckled. “Behind that pretty face lurks a genuine she-hound.”
“I can enlist help from the Hornets too,” Athena said. “They run things in the neighborhood where the clinic is; they help make sure no one hassles me and my dad. I know they’d help me with this if I asked them. Do you know them?”
“I’ve met their leader a couple of times. He’s a cool guy.”
“I have Spider working on getting dirt on my mom and Seth. If he can find anything dirty enough, it might scare my mom into dropping the whole thing since her husband is running for office. But if we do need to slay some dragons, how do you think we should do it? I don’t even know which guys are involved.”
“I’ll bet Brolin knows something,” Lion said. “We could always start by pulling him in for a friendly chat.”
The door banged open behind her and Athena winced when she turned to see a disheveled Max, Zip peeking out of the pocket of his hoodie.
“How did I know I’d find you here?” he said, exasperated. He marched over to the bar and gave the Hounds a stern look.
“Please don’t tell me you guys were helping my fiancée plot crimes?”
“The lady asked for help,” Bobo shrugged.
“Fucking unbelievable,” Max muttered. He looked at Athena, who stubbornly folded her arms and stared back at him.
“What?” she asked defensively.
“What do you mean, what? I wake up and you’re gone, and I find you here planning to hunt down dangerous gang members?”
“They’re not going to kill me,” Athena said. “My mom doesn’t want me dead. She wants you dead, which is why I didn’t bring you with me.”
Max ran a hand over his face, looking frustrated.
“You should’ve stayed at the hotel, Max.”
“Like hell. When will you learn that I’m not going to let you walk into danger alone?”
“Fine. Then I guess we’ll wait here together to hear from Spider.” She pulled Zip out of Max’s pocket and snuggled him.
“Spider? He agreed to get involved too?”
“Spider will get involved with just about anything. One way or another, this thing with Veronica and the Black Dragons ends in the next forty-eight hours, and we can get on with our lives in peace.”
“I don’t like any of this.”
“Tough.”