I passed him and he pinched my bum as I scooted by. I whipped around and glared. He winked. “I’m just hoping you’re as feisty in the sack and that if I piss you off enough, you’ll give me a shot at that sweet ass.”

I closed the distance between us, my anger making me bold. I poked him hard in the chest with two fingers, sending him stumbling back into the arms of the others in the lineup. “Not in a thousand years would you have a shot at me, donkey butt.”

The crowd burst into laughter. “Did she just try to call you an asshole?”

My fury evaporated under embarrassment.

Hurrying, I made my way to the front of the line, the men parting down the middle to let me by. The bouncer at the front was shorter than me but about three times as wide. He wore only leather pants and had straps over his chest that strained when he folded his arms. Or tried to fold his arms. They kinda stuck out from his body because of all the bulk.

“We don’t let women in here. There’s another club down the road—”

“Let her in, Jimmy! She lifted me up with one hand, and I almost blacked out,” my “friend” from the line yelled. The rest of the men waiting rumbled with appreciation.

“I’m meeting someone. Business only,” I said, fighting to keep my face blank and not flushed with embarrassment. This was for Tad, I could do this.

Jimmy looked me up and down. “Doubt that.”

Irritation flashed through me and I stepped up to him, looking down at his face. “I suggest you let me in, Jimmy. Or you’re going to find out just how honest your friend back there is being. Do not try my patience.”

A low rolling hiss started up in my chest, and Jimmy backed up a step, his eyes wide. “What the fuck?”

I didn’t wait for him to offer to let me in. Just strode up the final two steps and into the club before he could pull himself together. As soon as the doors opened, the sound of wild music poured out into the night, the heavy thumping bass accompanied by a tempo that made my blood jump in time. I wrapped my arms around my torso as the music crawled up and down my skin, blocking me from sensing anything other than its rhythm.

Shivering, I forced myself to move forward. Every table was full of men, dressed like the ones outside with only slight variations in where the leather was placed. And where it wasn’t, as I saw more than once. Good grief.

Their eyes tracked me as I moved through the club, and I fought not to notice how many of them were next to naked. Or completely naked. A man wearing nothing but a leash sat at the feet of another man who petted his head, as if he were a dog.

Every step I took showed me far more than I’d ever thought I’d see in my life, never mind what I might have imagined was out there.

I’d walked the entire length of the building before I saw the god of thunder and lightning. Zeus was at the back of the club, leaning against the wall with an arm over each of the shoulders of two younger-looking men. He kissed one, then the other, but his eyes never left mine. I flushed and looked away.

As he lifted his head he grinned as though just noticing me. “Ah, you made it, Alena. How did you get in?”

Was he serious?

He held his hands out. “They wouldn’t have let you in without some sort of show. What was it?”

Embarrassed, I all but spit out the words. “I choked one of the patrons.”

He slapped his hands on his leather-clad legs, laughing uproariously. “Oh, I wish I had seen it. Who did you choke? Jimmy? He can be a pill, and I would like to choke him myself a time or two, for the sheer joy of it.”

I had to remind myself I needed his help. That was the only thing that kept my feet planted firmly where they were. “I don’t know. Some guy in line wearing a face mask. I only threatened Jimmy.”

Zeus’s grin widened. “Too fun. Okay, boys”—he slapped them on their leather-clad behinds—“I have business. Come find me later.” He patted the two men on the head as they slunk away, alternately pouting at Zeus and glaring at me.

I rubbed at my arms. “Is there somewhere the music isn’t so strong?”

“Nope.”

I realized that was why he wanted to meet me here. I was at a disadvantage by not being able to pick up on any vibrations other than the music. Not that I knew what to do with the vibrations on my skin, not really. But obviously Zeus knew it was something I could use in my favor, or he wouldn’t try to block it. Not that I really knew myself well enough to even use all the tricks in my bag.

He gestured for me to slide into the booth behind him. I did and he slid in the other side. Ernie floated in and dropped onto the middle of the table.

Zeus waved at him. “Go get us drinks.”

“You got it.” He zipped off and Zeus slung an arm across my shoulders.

“I don’t trust him. I think Hera has him in her secret pocket.” His eyes scanned the crowd, and before I could formulate a question in regard to what he meant by a secret pocket, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, he plowed on. “We don’t have much time. A few minutes before he’s back with the drinks. Here’s the deal.” He leaned in close so his mouth was against my ear, his coarse short beard tickling the edges of it. “Hera is up to something, and for whatever reason you’re at the center of it. If Achilles kills you, he proves he is a hero. People will flock to him like they did in the old days.”

“What does that matter?”

Zeus pulled back so he could look me in the eyes. “Belief is a powerful thing, young Drakaina. The more people who believe in you, the more power you have. The more power Achilles has, the more powerful the goddess he worships will become. He’s working for Hera. She could climb the ranks in a way she’s never done before.”