Page 16 of Security and Submission
Zeus shook his head, ignoring the confused glances from the others.
“Alright then.” Lincoln refocused, gesturing at everyone. “Let’s get started then. Claudia and Mason should be joining us shortly. They got a bit held up at the gun range.”
Where Claudia would have been practicing her sniping skills. There was a reason her call sign was ‘Scary’, even though most men noticed her looks first and only learned to be scared when she opened her mouth.
Zeus was surprised Lincoln stayed for the training, doing it alongside them. This was the first time he’d ever done so. He started to suspect Mason’s hand in it once the other man showed up and seemed both unsurprised and pleased to see Lincoln there. Mason kept trying to do team-building stuff while training. He wasn’t exactly two-faced, but Zeus could tell that Mason didn’t really trust him, yet he kept trying to do trust-building exercises.
No thanks.
Falling onto people and hoping they caught him—or being part of the group catching them—wasn’t going to convince them that he wasn’t spying for Devlin if that’s what they thought deep down. Sometimes, he wished Mason would be more forthright about his distrust, like Drew.
It wasn’t that he didn’t respect Mason; he did, but the guy was almost too smooth. Too polished. Posh was definitely the right call sign for him, but it put Zeus’ back up for some reason.
Having Lincoln there helped more than anything. Drew kept his comments to a minimum, Zeus felt more comfortable, and everyone seemed more relaxed in general. It was like having Dad join the team. Not Zeus’ actual dad, but the kind of dad who showed up in TV shows and movies. The supportive dad who kept everyone grounded and focused.
Zeus didn’t even mind the trust exercise Mason had arranged for the end of the session, playing Never Have I Ever. Much better than falling on people and surprisingly insightful.
“Never have I ever tortured a man’s balls for information, then had him beg me to take him with me,” Lincoln said.
Claudia scowled at him, putting her first finger down, as everyone else laughed. Zeus might not know the story, but he chuckled anyway, amused by her reaction at finally having to put a finger down with the rest of them.
Apparently, she’d never done drugs, she hadn’t touched alcohol until her twenty-first birthday, and she’d never had a threesome, which had left her as the only person with all their fingers after Mason, David, and Jensen had taken their turns.
“Never have I ever had sex at my own daughter’s wedding,” Claudia retorted.
“This is getting oddly personal and specific,” Drew joked as Lincoln scowled and put his finger down. Which might be the first time Zeus had actually ever heard him make a joke. The magic of Lincoln’s presence, perhaps. “Never have I ever cheated on my wife. Especially not at my own daughter’s wedding.”
“I was getting ready to file because she was already cheating on me,” Lincoln growled, putting his finger down. “It was only technically cheating.”
“It still counts,” Claudia said, smirking.
Zeus was officially starting to get curious. He’d heard there was some drama around Lincoln and his marriage to his wife, Ashley, but he’d figured it had to do with the fact that Ashley was half his age. And possibly that her father had been married to Lincoln’s daughter. Although they were getting divorced now. Lincoln’s daughter and Ashley’s father, that was, not Lincoln and Ashley.
Everyone turned their heads to look at him, waiting to see what he would say. He’d already put his fingers down for the first three more normal confessions. Zeus considered for a moment.
“Never have I ever passed information from Black Fox on to Marshall Devlin or anyone else outside of the company.”
The way they all froze was almost enough to make him start laughing, but that would have ruined the moment. After a moment, Lincoln started chuckling, then Jensen’s expression broke into a grin, and he reached out with his palm. Zeus didn’t crack a smile, but he did give Jensen a high five. Everyone else was smiling by then, except Drew, and Mason’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Drew looked at him with consideration before giving him a slow nod.
Which was better than nothing.
All in all, it wasn’t the worst training exercise he’d ever done.
Chapter 7
Zeus
Right after training, Zeus went back home. He decided to check on Hope first, so he could walk her and Tiger at the same time. Tiger might be surprised to be going as slow as Hope needed to, but he could take his dog out for a longer, more energetic walk after Hope had done her business.
Letting himself into Sarah’s house, he immediately glanced to the right, where Hope had been on the couch. He hadn’t seen her peeking through the bushes from the walkway, so he figured she might have moved to the actual couch, but she wasn’t there either.
Frowning, Zeus stood still for a long moment, tilting his head to the side, listening. Hope had never been a particularly noisy dog, but she did make some noise when she was moving around. The silence was unusual. He’d never been to Sarah’s house without Hope coming to greet him, especially during times when Sarah had asked him to take Hope for a quick walk or something like that.
Shit.
“Hope? Come here, Hope.”
