Ascension by Sable Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

sighed. She was pretty certain he wasn’t going to let the issue of his lovely swim drop, but he wouldn’t be unprofessional and bring it up now. His saturated jeans pooled water onto their vinyl booth, drenching the backside of her leather pants. She tried to scoot away, but only dragged the water with her.
    “Kyana was just about to tell me about the key,” Geoffrey said.
    Kyana shot Geoffrey a look that begged him to die a painful death for that lie, but surprisingly, Ryker didn’t seem to care whether Geoff knew anything.
    “Oh? Know anything about it?” was all Ryker said.
    “He doesn’t know anything,” Kyana snapped. “And whatever he thinks he knows, we’re not talking about it.”
    Ignoring her still-empty stomach, she downed the rest of her drink and tried to nudge Ryker out of her way so she could stand. He didn’t budge.
    “As a matter of fact,” Geoffrey said, leaning across the table, “I do know something. Turns out I know quite a bit about many things. Want to hear some of it?”
    “What do you know?”
    Kyana looked at Ryker, waiting for the punch line. Apparently, there wasn’t one. Ryker actually bought into the bull Geoffrey was selling.
    “You don’t know jack, Geoff.”
    But the serious looks on both men’s faces had her skin tingling. Geoffrey did have an appalling ability to know things he shouldn’t. Why should this time be any different?
    Geoffrey’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Simple. You want to find the key only Cronos knew about, you find his followers.”
    Kyana rolled her eyes. “Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Why don’t we just ask for a show of hands right now? Anyone want to give themselves up for being a traitor? Yeah, we should do that.”
    “Let him finish.” Ryker reached across Kyana and pulled a wad of napkins from the dispenser and used them to dry his arms and face. “I’m guessing he has some idea how to find these followers or he wouldn’t be here.”
    That raised her hackles. What the hell was going on? Ryker and Geoff didn’t exactly like each other. Before now, she’d never heard them do more than grunt at each other. Usually they just glared in passing. Why would Ryker have faith in Geoff all of a sudden?
    “Okay,” Kyana said. “I’m listening.”
    Geoffrey rested his elbows on the table. “Someone nicked that key from Tartarus when Cronos was exiled. Maybe Cronos himself. Maybe not. Even if it was Cronos, he had to have passed it off to someone for it to be used now, right?”
    “What’s your point?” Kyana took a long pull from the bottle of raki. She’d already covered that much with Artemis and they’d already determined that the key was used as a diversion to kill the Chosen.
    “My point is,” Geoffrey continued, his blue eyes twinkling, “Cronos’s name has been muttered more lately than I can ever remember. Weeks before Tartarus even broke loose. I don’t think much of our population was as surprised as you’d expect when Tartarus opened.”
    “You’re trying to say we have a lot more Cronos supporters than we thought. So what? Sad as it may be, it’s not a crime to be a Cronos lover.”
    “Supporters who weren’t shocked when Tartarus opened? It doesn’t bother you that they might have known it was going to happen? I think that is a crime.”
    Great. So instead of one asshole, they were dealing with several?
    “It shouldn’t be hard to start rounding them up. Eventually you catch the right bastard.”
    “Mmm. A concentration camp for Cronos followers. I don’t much care to become a Nazi, thanks.” Kyana pushed her drink away and folded her arms across her chest. “And even if that wasn’t a disgusting thought, you make it sound like these people are walking around with scarlet A’s on their chests.”
    The heat of Ryker’s sudden stare pulled her attention. He looked utterly flummoxed. “What?” she asked. “I can read, you know.”
    He shrugged. “I just pegged you for more of a Stephen King fan