She groaned, dragging her hands down her face. “I’m never drinking again.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“Okay. I’m not drinking today.”
The smell of salt, coffee, and breakfast food wafted through the air with every gust of wind. It was quiet save for the low murmurs of surrounding conversations and the tide crashing against the shore. I wondered if this was what the Elysian Fields would be like.
Sara flopped her napkin on the table and scooted across the booth seat. “I’ve drunk so much water I feel like I’m peeing every two minutes. I’ll be right back.”
I chuckled and ate a piece of pork. Hades walked around a nearby corner, dressed all in black. Had the guy never heard of the color grey before? Heaven forbid he switched it up for something crazy like green or blue. He leaned against a beam, crossing his arms over his chest. Another man walked up to him with black cropped hair that transitioned to wavy in the front. He dressed like he’d gotten out of a business meeting. A full tan suit, jacket draped over his shoulder, the sleeves of his white button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows. Aura colors of brown and dark muddy pink eked from his pores. This guy was bad news.
I leaped from my seat to eavesdrop. Another pillar stood adjacent to the one they were by, and I ducked behind it.
“What I don’t understand is how she worked her way around it,” the dark-haired man said, rubbing a hand over the light beard on his chin.
“Well, she had a long time to figure it out, didn’t she?” Hades asked.
“The clause was solid. I made sure of it.”
“Oh, yeah? Tell that to Theseus.”
“If you’d have been patient like I said all those years ago, maybe you wouldn’t be a depressed fool all over again,” the dark-haired one scoffed.
“Theseus?” I whispered to myself, so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice their conversation had come to a screeching halt.
“Who’s your friend?” The dark-haired man asked, a light flashing in his eyes.
A hand gripped my arm, and Hades yanked me from the confines of my pillar.
“Eavesdropping on me now?” He glowered down at me, letting go.
“Pfft. Don’t flatter yourself. I was uh…” I eyed the smoothness of the pillar next to me and dragged my finger down it. “Admiring the resort’s infrastructure. Top-notch craftsmanship.”
The dark-haired man smiled, his pearly whites beaming in contrast to his olive complexion. He slipped a hand in his pocket.
“This is my brother,” Hades grumbled.
His brother stepped forward and slapped Hades on the back several times. “Jesus.” He extended his hand. Pronounced: Hey-Seuss.
I shifted my eyes, heat rising up my spine. “Nice to meet you, Jesus. I’m Stephanie.” I managed to introduce myself with only two stutters.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Stephanie? How interesting.”
“It’s a—pretty common name.” I chuckled, and he squinted at me. “Is this the one who has a thing for water?”
Hades kept his gaze fixed on Jesus. “No.”
“I’m more of a fan of thunderstorms, to be honest,” Jesus said, winking.
I put a hand on my hip. “Oh? Are you one of the ‘getting caught in the rain’ types?”
“Not so much the rain as it is the lightning. The way it crackles across the sky.” He grinned, shifting his glance to Hades, who rolled his eyes.
“That’s a nice suit,” I said.
“Why, thank you. I’m in the middle of a big case right now, actually. I came to check in on my brother. Make sure he’s relaxing like he said he would.”
Hades’ hands balled into fists.
“Case? Are you a lawyer?” I knew something felt off about him.
“I am. Criminal defense.”
Criminal defense lawyers were the absolute, positive scum of the earth in my profession.
“And somehow, you manage to sleep every night?”
Hades arched a brow in evident surprise.
Jesus’ grin spread wide. “There’s nothing quite like the challenge of defending someone you know is guilty.”
My jaw dropped.
Hades stepped in front of me, casting a shadow. “Darlin’, your friend’s back.”
Sara slid back into the booth at our table.
“I’ll uh—I’ll leave you to it.” I took one last look at Jesus, and he waved with his fingers.
Absolute. Scum.
As I walked back to Sara, I replayed the snippet of conversation I heard them having in my head. Theseus? Why did that name sound so familiar? I sat down and dug out my cell phone from my bag.
“Care to fill me in?” Sara asked.
“Eavesdropping turned into meeting Hades’ brother.”
“Does their entire family look like Greek gods?”
I dropped the phone long enough to give her an exasperated look.
She laughed and slapped the table. “Oh, right. That was a joke I didn’t even realize I was making.”
I flicked my thumbs across the screen, searching through my Google results.
“Why are you on your phone during our vacation?” She snatched it.
“Hey!” I went to grab it back but returned with nothing but air.
“Theseus? The Greek hero? Why are you randomly looking this up?
My knee bounced underneath the table. “Wanted to be prepared for trivia later tonight. I know my gods and goddesses more than heroes, and you know they’ll ask both.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Uh, huh.” She held the phone out to me, and I yanked it back.
I could never get away with any B.S. with her.
“All I’m seeing are references to him and the minotaur.”
“He was in a lot more stories than that one.” She licked butter from her thumb. “Like the one about the Underworld?”
I lifted my eyes. “What about it?”
“You don’t remember? Him and Pirithous ventured there to rescue Persephone. They were captured until Hercules released him. But Pirithous had to stay. Poor guy.”
Hades and Jesus were finishing up their conversation. Jesus pointed a finger at Hades before turning to walk away. Hades dragged a hand over his face, clenched his fist, and stormed off.
“Let’s get going. For some reason, this resort feels claustrophobic all of a sudden.” I stood up, tossing my napkin in a perfect tri-fold on the table.
“You okay? You seem spooked.”
“I’m good.” I gave a reassuring smile. “Great.”
We grabbed a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the nearest bazaar, or plaza, or mall…whatever they called them here. We walked through the city center with a dozen businesses. There were shops for sandals, spices, alcohol, jewelry, leather, virtually anything imaginable. The buildings were an ancient Greek style with a modern flair. Patrons of all forms made their way over the white tile walkways. You could quickly tell the locals from the tourists by the speed they walked or whether they stopped to take selfies.
We found a boutique with gowns in the window. The small width of the entrance was misleading. The place was massive. There was a high ceiling with a circular design cut into it. Wooden planks filled the circle, and every wall had racks of clothes, shoes, and purses.