Page 111 of Hades’ Revenge

“You’re forgiven.” I licked my lips. “How is Atticus feeling?”

“He’s getting stronger every day.”

“Good.”

An overwhelming sense of relief blanketed me now that we weren’t in New York. Sebastian got back to his club, Atticus went back to protecting him, and I began focusing on switching my degree to fashion.

“Is Zeus still in America?” I asked.

“For a few more days,” he said.

“Business?”

“He didn’t say.” Sebastian shrugged. “I got the impression that he needed to address some of his own demons. He has an interesting past, and like me, it all started in New York.”

“Are you going to tell me about it?”

“That’s a story for another day.” He winked. “I’m sure you’ll come up with a whole set of new and complicated questions for me to answer about Zeus and his intriguing occupation.”

“Actually…” I touched his forearm, gliding my fingers along the dagger that hovered over the buildings of the city. “Are you ever going to tell me about this tattoo?”

“As I told you, when I met your father, he had found himself in some trouble with a dangerous group of men. They were in a motorcycle gang, nothing official but they were people that shouldn’t be fucked with. Of course, Leo had a knack for getting into difficult situations.”

“Why would my father get involved with those people?” I really didn’t understand why my father did most of the stuff he did. Maybe I should have asked him more questions when I was younger.

“Various reasons,” he said. “Everything Leo did back then led him to who he is today. When we started hanging out together, we were both wild and full of bad choices. It wasn’t easy, but we managed to find success in an extremely brutal life.”

“That shaped who you are too.”

“For better or worse, I am who I am.”

“I think you’re wonderful.” There wasn’t anything I would change about him.

“Back at you, baby.” He stared down at the tattoo. “We got these tattoos to remind us of where we started. The dagger represents our struggles and the things we had to do to stay alive. It seems silly now, but that’s who we were back then.”

“You both kept the tattoos even after everything that happened between you.” I set my hand on his arm. “That means something.”

“More fate?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, by keeping it, I found you, so if that was a message from the universe, it worked.” He kissed my cheek. “I hope the meaning behind the tattoos isn’t underwhelming for you.”

“You left a lot of your story out.” I arched a brow. “But that’s enough for tonight.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you want to go for a swim?” I asked.

“I always want to swim with you, my little shark.” He trailed his hand under my dress. “But only if we’re not wearing bathing suits.”

“Is there any other way to swim together?”

“No.” He slid his hand in his pants pocket. “But before we do that, there is something I need to do.”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember the night in front of the bakery?”