Page 11 of Zeus

"Was she wearing a ring?"

His brow furrows.

"You didn't look at her left hand?"

He shakes his head, giving the cabin another look. "I wasn't paying any attention to her hands."

He jerks when a laugh bubbles past my lips.

"What's done is done," I tell him, slapping him on the back to urge him back toward his cabin.

We have work to do, and there's no sense in getting lost in something he can't change now.

"I just figured," he continues after we start walking, pausing when I stop to pull open the cabin door. "These people are tourists. I'll never see her again."

"Never see who again?" Lark asks.

Casper freezes again, surprise on his face at someone standing right there.

Yep, this guy would never make it undercover. I almost feel bad for him, but watching this drama unfold is taking my mind off all the other shit I have going on, so I'll take what I can get.

Casper looks to me, but then turns his attention back to Lark, his head hanging a little lower than it was just a minute ago.

"I hooked up with one of the girls next door," he says in a way that makes it sound like he's confessing a mistake to his dad or something.

"That cabin?" Lark asks, stepping around him to point at the cabin Casper just made his walk of shame from.

"Yeah. I figured I'd never see her again, so it's not a big deal," Casper explains.

"That cabin?" Lark repeats. "With one of those women?"

Unease fills Casper's eyes.

"Yes. Why?"

"Never thought you'd see her again?" Lark continues, and I can see where this is going from a mile away, but Casper continues to look lost.

I roll my lips between my teeth and clamp down. I don't know any of the dynamics between these guys, but I can tell Lark feels comfortable giving this guy a hard time. This can play out in two ways. One, Casper takes the ribbing in stride, or two, he gets mad, and Lark doesn't care. What I know of Lark, however, suggests he's not a hateful guy.

"Those women come here once a month for a long weekend," Lark clarifies. "At least they have been since I got here."

Casper's eyes widen dramatically. "What?"

"Yeah," Lark says, giving the cabin one last look before turning his full attention to Casper. "They're like a divorcée support group or something."

"That answers your question," Casper says to me.

"It does," I agree, trying to hold back a laugh that's threatening in my throat. "It's no big deal. Two consenting adults and all that."

Casper frowns. "It is a big deal. The entire reason we're situated here is that people come and go. It's all short-term rentals. It’s not supposed to be known that we actually live here."

"They think we have a boys' trip once a month," Lark tells him. "If you don't want to see her again, just don't go outside on the second weekend of the month."

"That makes no sense," Casper mutters. "We have several women living here with us now."

"And that lie was told before any of the women, but Zara was here," Lark explains.

"Logistically that—"