by April Zyon
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2017 April Zyon
ISBN: 978-1-77339-345-2
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Amanda Jean
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To my editor, Amanda, thank you for everything you do to make my books so much better.
To Diana, thank you for everything that you have done for me in getting the Heroes ready to submit to Evernight—you totally ROCK!!
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FATAL TRUTHS
Heroes of Olympus, 2
April Zyon
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
There is a time and place for all things—a funeral wasn’t exactly the place to announce an engagement. However, that was what the crass-as-hell Donovan Swan did when he announced his engagement to the grieving daughter of the late, powerful Henrick and Felicity St. John. The funeral goers didn’t know who was more stunned at the proclamation: the attendees in the pews of the church, or the bride to be in question.
A complete hush fell over the church at the announcement—no, at the drunken statement. In addition, Donovan added he was going to take over St. John Industries, because it was what Daddy H would have wanted it.
That was the moment Kasper lost her shit.
She attacked the slick bastard with fists and feet, not the typical style of a young woman. No, she fought like a true fighter. She punched, kicked, and beat the hell out of him, before being pulled bodily away. The man lay on his back gasping for air and pointed a shaky finger at her. “I’m going to fucking sue you, bitch.”
“Try it.” She spat on him. “Please, remove him and ensure that he doesn’t come anywhere near the gravesite,” Kasper informed her guards. When they nodded, she accepted the handkerchief the reverend offered her and shakily cleaned her hands. “Thank you, Father. Please proceed?”
She tried to calm herself, but she knew now just who had had a part in killing her parents. The touch of Swan’s hand to hers was all it had taken—it was why she’d lost her mind and beat the man. Now she had to think of how to prove it, and prove it she would.
All it took was a touch of skin to skin and Kasper could see and hear every truth of a person. What she’d seen in Donovan Swan sickened her more than any of the assholes she’d been tasked to spy on during her time with the CIA.
Kasper heard the whispers of the people around her, but she ignored them. She simply focused on putting her parents to rest. She listened to the pastor, and to the people who came after, speak about her parents.
Her parents were well loved. Who wouldn’t have loved them? Her mother was like walking sunshine, and her father was one of those men who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it.
Why? Why would someone kill her parents? They ran the family business, they gave largely to charity, and they were humanitarians. So why Donovan would kill her parents was beyond her. She hadn’t been able to hold onto Donovan long enough to glean all the information needed to get that one questioned answered. With any luck, Kasper would find closure one day, however. Perhaps she would make a nighttime visit to the asshole and torture him until he explained to her exactly why he had done what he had.
She sniffed, trying to keep the wrenching sobs at bay until she was alone. No, she couldn’t show any amount of weakness, because if she did, then her male cousins and her uncle would latch onto it and try to get something from her they didn’t deserve. Oddly enough, the one female cousin she had didn’t want anything to do with the family money, and that made Kasper like her even more.
Kasper took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. She smiled as her mother’s old au pair spoke eloquently, as only she could, about her mother. She spoke of when Kasper’s parents had brought Kasper home from the adoption agency, and Kasper smiled. She loved that story. Her parents had brought her home without the first clue as to how to care for a child, but they wouldn’t let the au pair, Alice, take over, not unless Kasper was in pain and colicky.
She watched as Alice stepped down and her daughter took over. The woman had been her nanny—Bonnie was her name—and she and Kasper had bonded almost instantly after Alice had retired. Kasper blushed at the stories she told about some of the things they’d gotten up to when they were out on their walks. Bonnie had full care of Kasper because by that time her mother and father both had schedules packed with work and charitable duties. However, both parents had always been home to tuck Kasper in, something that Bonnie made certain to tell everyone. Nothing like having your nanny telling everyone in attendance how you would throw a fit when your mommy and daddy weren’t there to tuck you in, even when you were fourteen or fifteen years old.
Then her father’s best friend got up, and that was when she lost it. Kasper began to sob, something she hadn’t wanted to do. She cried her heart out, as everyone else in the church seemed to do as well. Everyone, that was, except her male cousins and uncle, who were in the back, snickering.
She was going to enjoy breaking their arms.
A short time later, the mourners were standing graveside, the twenty-one-gun salute resounding through the peaceful cemetery. She looked to the Marine detachment and bowed her head in thanks. Her father had been a Marine, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father, and all but one of his brothers. Unfortunately, her father’s brothers had all lost their lives.
Kasper noticed a group of men who stood well apart from everyone else. They were all bowing respectfully toward her father’s casket and Kasper wondered who they were. She knew that he had been mentor for several Marines and Special Forces types, but these men looked so much… well, more. One male in particular held her interest. Not because of attraction, but because for a moment she thought she recognized him from a time very long ago. She never forgot a face, and there was something about the blond-haired giant of a man she recognized. There was one woman with the group of twelve men. How odd. Kasper had to look away from them or she would give her uncle something more to use against her. Heaven help her if she paid one group more attention than she did another group.
She shook her head, her long, intensely bright blonde hair coming free just a bit from the bun at the back of her neck. She tucked it back behind her ear and pulled her black cloak a bit tighter around her body. Kasper didn’t look back at the men and single woman huddled in a group together and focused on keeping her shit together.
Instead of staying behind and accepting the sympathy from the people at the funeral—and the sneers from her uncle and his little bullying bastards—she walked off with her attorney. They needed to get ready for the reading of the will, something she knew was going to be a serious nightmare.
Once more, she saw the small group of thirteen on their own. She was intrigued by them, felt drawn to them. Kasper heard the men talking to each other and wondered what about. She saw the woman all but
radiating happiness, hope, and love, and it was that happiness and hope Kasper felt from that woman made her smile.
In that rare moment, photos were snapped. The next day, the headline in the paper would read Heiress Smiles as She Buries Her Parents.
*****
Two weeks later…
Kasper sat at the massive oak table and looked at her so-called family. She listened to her uncle shouting, saying she didn’t deserve the St. John name; she watched as one of her younger cousins flinched and shook her head. It was only when the man slapped the young woman and told her to shut the fuck up that Kasper finally spoke.
“Davis St. John.” Not Uncle Davis, which no doubt everyone noticed. Her attorney reached out to touch her, but she shook him off. “When your father died, he didn’t have a dime to his name. Your mother did. She used her head and ensured that they never ran out of money. She invested, and invested well. Nonna St. John was a forward thinker. She had you, and she had my father left after your older brothers died in combat. You claim that I don’t deserve the St. John name, when in reality it’s you who doesn’t deserve the name. My mother and father were amazing people. They gave to the community. They worked in the community. They were the very epitome of goodness, but you and your sons? Not so much.” She looked at the four sons and sighed. “You wasted the money that Nonna left you—all of you did. You came to my father for money, and he gave it to you but asked that you work for it. You refused.”
Shaking, she clenched her fists under the table as she spoke in a tone that wobbled, at least to her ears. “The only one of you that is halfway decent is Pepper, and you slap her, treat her terribly, and ground her under your boot heel.” She looked to the young woman in question. “Pepper, I’m offering you a job. First, I want to send you to college, anywhere you want to go, everything paid. You choose your career path. Will you accept?” The young woman had just turned eighteen three days ago: the choice had to be hers.
Uncertainty shone in Pepper’s face, but finally she nodded, straightened her shoulders, and smiled. “I would like that, Kas. Thank you.” When her father went to hit her again, Pepper grabbed his hand and said, “No more.” She got up, moved away from her father and brothers, and took a seat next to Kasper and her attorneys.
Kasper knew why the man would dare strike Pepper even in front of people; it was because he felt that he could get away with anything simply because he was a St. John. Well, he was going to learn his name was not going to protect him now.
Kasper looked to her attorney and nodded, watching as he gave Pepper a handkerchief and asked her if she wanted to press charges.
“If he touches me again, yes.”
Kasper nodded. “Now, Davis, Brian, CJ, and Danny, you are all officially cut off. If you want a job inside of one of the many companies that are St. John’s holdings, then you will start from the bottom up. Literally. No more free rides. My father took over the companies after buying you out of your parts of them. You were paid well for it all. All of you. I’m assuming you spent the money that Daddy put into trust for Pepper?”
At the look on the men’s faces, she saw it was true.
“Don’t worry about it, P. I’ll take care of that. Now. Who wants a job?” When they all glared at her, she smiled and nodded. “Just as I thought. You’ll find there is nothing you can do to override my parents’ wills. None of you can afford it anyway,” she stated bluntly. “Now get out.” She watched as they sat there, and then Kasper looked to the giant men at the doors and nodded. “Please escort these men out of the building. Oh, and if you would please ensure that they have copies of the restraining orders as well, I would appreciate it greatly.”
It seemed as if her uncle and cousins had only just noticed the bodyguards. Kasper sighed. Life was about to get very interesting—she just knew it.
Chapter Two
Mount Olympus, home of the gods…
Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, watched the men train. They were all delicious-looking men, and as descendants of gods, they were perfectly suited to the roles they played. Finally, she shifted into view. “Ares. I see that you are training them well,” Artemis said with a smile. “Which is very good, because it’s time.” She looked her brother, the God of War. “I need to speak to you privately.”
She looked back down at the well at Mikhail, one of the Scions on Earth, and bowed her head to the large man even though he couldn’t see her. Mikhail lifted his head and looked up at the skies and directly up at her as if he felt her gaze.
“What is it?” Ares asked as he moved to Artemis, casting a spell to ensure no one else could overhear them.
“Apollo’s descendant. There have been two attempts on her life, and her adoptive parents were just killed in a third attempt.”
Ares hissed, and she saw him look to Mikhail on Earth, just as she had. “He doesn’t know.”
“No, but you’re going to have to tell him. Bringing her here without him knowing will cause distrust.”
“He’ll be distrustful anyway. It’s how he is.”
“She’s his half-sister. He deserves to know. He will help keep her safe, just as her mates will. She’s…” Artemis hesitated and then bowed her head and sighed. “I’m afraid that I have rubbed off on her a bit,” she confessed.
“Artemis,” Ares growled.
“I ensured that she knew how to fight, how to take care of herself. The CIA picked her up when she was young—not my doing, by the way—and she worked for them for three years. The only reason she left was because of the first attempt on her life. Someone is trying to kill her. It’s not only humans out to kill her, but the dark ones as well.”
“Shit.” Ares began to pace in their small bubble of silence. “This is going to hurt him.”
“I know, and I wish we could do something to lessen the pain, but there it is. The truth would be better coming from you, someone able to take the beating he’ll heap upon the messenger.”
Ares nodded, looking resigned. “He knew that his father wasn’t exactly the most faithful man, but knowing he fathered another child? It’s going to hurt him.”
“I know, but you must ensure he knows that it’s her mother that is Apollo’s descendant, not his father. Sadly. He would have been a fine Warrior on Olympus, don’t you think?” Artemis asked as she looked at the men. “Are her men ready for her?”
“As ready as they ever will be. I’m not sure how they will react knowing she was with the CIA, however.” Ares cocked his head, asking Artemis, “What aren’t you telling me?”
“While she can’t create sunshine, Kasper can know truth from touching a person or anything they have touched. It takes time to gather a great deal of information and even more if she’s under stress or emotional. She can see and hear everything from that touch. The longer the touch, the more she knows; she didn’t tell her handlers how she was so good at ferreting out the secrets that she did or she would have never been freed from them. The group needs to be prepared.”
“I will make sure it’s so. Anything else?”
“Yes. To her, I’m her adoptive aunt. I’ve been there for her all her life. She’s hurting right now. She just buried the only parents she ever knew, and if that wasn’t enough, some idiot decided to announce at the funeral she was going to marry him. Before you ask, no. He’s a slimeball of a man that she went on three dates with and never touched. She’s actually surprisingly gentle for being the descendant of Apollo.” Artemis tilted her head to the side and frowned. “She’s going to be calling in another protection agency. Shit.” She growled and looked down at her glowing arms. “One of her bodyguards just tried to kill her. Get them ready. The call will come to them.”
That was the last thing she said before disappearing in a flash of light.
*****
“The Farm”, somewhere in Texas…
Ares made his way toward his men, the Scions and protectors of the Descendants. These men were all specially trained military men before he’d gotten his hands on them.
Now, after having trained in the halls of Olympus, they were the Heroes of Olympus. Deadly, powerful men whose very DNA had been changed by spending time in the Heavens.
Ares needed to explain their next case, a case that they were already aware of, since they had just attended the funeral of the woman’s adoptive parents’ weeks earlier. Ares took a deep breath before he addressed the men. “I need to talk to you about the funeral you all attended more than two weeks ago.”
Camilla spoke. “You mean the one where the daughter was smiling when she was getting into her limo? From what I hear from the boys, that man was a hero, and his wife was as close to a freaking saint as possible, so why was the daughter smiling? Did she kill them? Are you sending the guys to take her in?”
Ares could see that they all believed Camilla. Not good. That wasn’t at all what he had been thinking they would ask. He never would have thought that anyone would believe that Kasper St. John was a bad person or a person who would want her parents dead. Then again, no one really knew her the way that Artemis and Ares did.
“No,” he said with a sigh. “I’m sending you in to protect her. There have been several attempts on her life. She’s Apollo’s descendant. Kasper is actually a very good person, but I know you, Cam, and I know that you’ll have to see that for yourself.”
Camilla snorted. “Of course. He’s a womanizer and an ass, so of course she would be his.”
Ares laughed. “That’s my girl,” he said with a wink. “But he’s not like the myths state. One day, you’ll meet him and understand. Oh, and just so you know, Artemis will be around more often. She has been the one watching over Kasper, and she’s rather attached to her, so don’t be surprised if she drops in from time to time.”