by Faith Gibson
Double the MAYHEM
The Hounds of Zeus MC
Book 2
By Faith Gibson
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction.
Copyright © 2020 by Faith Gibson
Published by: Bramblerose Press LLC
Editor: Jagged Rose Wordsmithing, Candace Royer
First edition: April 2020
Cover design: Jay Aheer, Simply Defined Art
Cover photography: © Wander Aguiar Photography
Cover model: Dylan Horsch
Back cover photo: Kris Meier – Animal Photography
ISBN: 978-1393231219
Dedication
For Julie Winslett. Your words always bring a smile to my face.
Acknowledgements
Things are upside down in the world right now, and each person is being affected differently. Still, my tribe is with me in one way or another. Candy, Chris, Jen, Kendall, Kerstin, Nikki, and Riley, together we will get through this.
With this book, I asked my readers for names. So, here’s a huge shout out to those who suggested names I used in this book: Candy R, Josie K, Lita B, Michelle G, Milgia S, Natasha K, Samantha K, and Tarah D
I love this cover so very much. Wander Aguiar is a fantastic photographer, and Jay Aheer took the photo of Dylan and made it Maveryck. Thanks to all of you for bringing my Mayhem to life.
Thank you to Yanka for the Russian translations.
A huge shoutout to the man. Life hasn’t been easy the last year, but you’ve continued to support me and my dream. I love you.
Table of Contents
Russian Terms
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
A Note From The Author
Coming Soon
About the Author
Other Works by Faith Gibson
"Now hear another monstrous sight: Beware:
The sharp-beaked hounds of Zeus that never bark"
~ Aeschylus, "Prometheus Bound", 5th century BC
Russian Terms
Otvali! - piss off
Mudak - asshole
Printessa - Princess
Сho ty khochesh', suka!! - what do you want, bitch?
Ty cho ebanuti?” - what are you, fucking crazy?
svoloch’ - bastard
mor cectpa - my sister
blyad’ - whore
Prologue
2048
“Ah, Tatiana. So nice of you to join us. Take one step closer and I slit his throat.”
She stopped walking, but she was smiling. She took in the scene before her, letting the calm before the storm settle into her body. This moment had been the one she had trained for all her life. The culmination of years of hard work. Years of training to become one of the best assassins the world had ever seen.
“Thank you,” she said to the other woman.
“What the fuck are you thanking me for?” The blade at the male’s throat loosened just a fraction. It was no longer cutting into his skin but was still close enough that one flick of the wrist would end his life.
“For helping me get what was rightfully mine. With everyone out of the way, I can now take over the family business.”
The other woman scoffed. “Like you would know anything about that. You were trained to be a killer, not head of a Russian mafia.”
She grinned, cocking her head to the side. “So you think. So he thought. By keeping me in the dark, I learned so much more than shooting a gun. Or taking a punch. Or how to make it so the bodies were never found. You see, he taught me how to be invisible. I learned how to hide. How to listen. How to find all the best places in the manor where voices carry. Where to stash money so no one else could find it. Where to place listening devices that recorded everything. I have to say, fucking my cousin? There’s not enough bleach in the world to wash that image from my brain.” She gave a full-bodied shiver. “But why now?”
“I knew you had something to do with me getting kicked out of the house! I should have killed you then. Instead, I bided my time. Put a plan in motion to destroy you and those you care about.”
“Too bad your plan didn’t work. Your days of treachery are over.” Fire ran through her veins as she prepared to fight.
“You think so?” When the other woman turned, she was holding a sai in one hand and a short sword in the other.
“Yes. I do.” Tatiana held her empty hands out beside her thighs.
The other woman sneered. “As you wish.”
Chapter One
Maveryck
What a clusterfuck. As one of the mercenaries for the Hounds of Zeus, Maveryck was damn good at his job. He never went in half-cocked. He studied his mark. Then studied them some more. Maveryck had watched Anatoly Volkov for a couple weeks. Had studied the men guarding the three-story home and surrounding acreage. Taking out several security personnel was easy for a shifter. His stealth and strength were no match for humans. He, however, wasn’t immune to bullets. Before today, Volkov had been protected by three men. Today? There were at least eight. Instead of fighting through the ones guarding the exterior doorways and alerting those protecting Anatoly in his bedroom, Mav stripped, stowing his clothes and boots in the special bag designed to carry his gear, and shifted into his eagle, flying from the trees to the rooftop. From there, he shifted back, redressed, and slipped into a third-floor window. He thanked Zeus the windows were older and had no screens getting in his way.
Mav hadn’t noticed any women at the compound other than an older woman who was probably the housekeeper, but the room he entered most likely belonged to Valkov’s daughter, Tatiana. Mav had yet to set eyes on the only female in Valkov’s family. The scent of wildflowers had him momentarily forgetting his mission while he searched the room for the cause of the fragrance. If Tatiana had been in her room, Mav would have incapacitated her. He didn’t kill innocents.
We don’t know she’s innocent.
His Gryphon was right. Being the daughter of a mafia boss meant the woman had been raised in a world of drugs and violence. Was she immune to all of it? Or had she been groomed to take her father’s place?
Let’s hope she’
s innocent, because I want to shift into our lion and roll around in that scent. It’s too intoxicating.
Again, his Gryphon was right. It was intoxicating, but Maveryck didn’t have time to ponder why that particular odor was so distracting. Voices from below broke him out of his stupor, and after inhaling deeply, he crept to the door and listened for signs of guards in the hallway. Finding the third floor empty, Mav eased his way down the staircase, stopping every few steps to listen. The only conversation he heard came from below, and although he didn’t speak Russian, the words didn’t sound urgent.
The lion was close to the surface, but Mav pushed back against it. He needed to remain in control, at least for the moment. When the coast was clear, he edged his way down the hall to where the mark’s bedroom was located. The conversation continued, and Mav slowly turned the knob, pushing the door open enough to see into the large room. Two guards were sitting at a table, not paying attention to their surroundings. No one would expect the threat to come from above; instead, they assumed an assassin would be taken out by those guarding the lower points of entry. Volkov wasn’t visible, but he was speaking to the guards from the en suite bathroom.
With their attention on their boss, Mav extended his claws and silently stole across the carpet. Before either one could alert Volkov, Mav struck, slashing across their necks with the swiftness of his predator.
“Did you hear what I said?” Volkov asked.
Maveryck strode into the bathroom. “Yeah, I heard you.”
“How did—?” Mav cut off the man’s words. Volkov grabbed his neck, blood spurting between his fingers. Anatoly’s eyes darkened briefly before they glazed over. Maveryck didn’t hang around to make sure his mark was dead. Nobody came back from having their carotid artery ripped open. Moving to the window, Mav flipped the locks and raised it and looked outside to see where the guards were. Two of Volkov’s nephews were standing at the edge of the lawn, bickering. One of them jumped when the dirt around his feet sprayed outward from a gunshot. The bullet exploding hadn’t been loud, so whoever was shooting at Volkov’s nephews was using a suppressor. Who the hell would be shooting at those two?
“You bitch! I will kill you!” Viktor Volkov hissed.
Bitch? Was it Tatiana shooting at her cousins? Interesting. As much as Mav would like to get a glimpse at the woman whose scent was so heady, he didn’t have time. He undressed and stowed his things so he could shift. He should probably move to a room toward the back of the house, but he didn’t want to chance taking the extra time. While the brothers were preoccupied, Mav gripped the bag in his beak and took off toward the woods. It wasn’t until he had shifted back and was on his bike, riding away from the estate that he realized he should have driven a car. Shots from a handgun hit the ground all around, and Mav rolled on the throttle. He didn’t breathe easy until he put a couple miles between him and the compound.
That had been too damned close. Being a Gryphon, Maveryck “Mayhem” Lazlo wasn’t easily shaken by much, but being shot at when the job should have been an easy in and out had his shifter cursing him. Loudly. He ignored the beast within as he drove his bike as hard as he could without laying it down, steering around the curves leading away from the Volkov compound. He’d encountered guards inside the house he dispatched without trouble. Taking down Anatoly Volkov had been uncomplicated once Mav found the man on the toilet. At least when he released his bowels upon death, he’d been in the right place.
You’re not funny.
I’m fucking hilarious, he quipped back at his Gryphon.
We almost died, so no, you’re not.
Almost being the operative word.
Yes, he was being flippant, but such was the life of a mercenary. The Hounds went into dangerous situations every time they took on a new job. This one was no exception. He knew the Russian mob boss had plenty of protection surrounding the house. It was the one in the woods he had missed. What he couldn’t figure out was how that happened. Having retreated the same way he’d entered the house, no one should have seen him leaving. His bike had been hidden well, and he hadn’t shifted back to his human form until he was a good distance from the house.
Someone saw you.
Yeah, no shit.
Mav eased off the throttle when he didn’t see anyone following. Another thing he couldn’t figure out was why Volkov was being guarded so heavily today. Mav had watched the compound for weeks. Studying who came and went. Someone had tipped the man off that there was a contract on him, and Mav needed to find out who that was. He needed to call Ryker and give him a heads-up, because if one contract was compromised, all the others could be as well. He was less than four hours from home, so Maveryck rode without stopping except for gas, opting to have a face-to-face with his oldest brother, who was the President of their MC, as well as the one who gave them their assignments.
The Hounds of Zeus wasn’t only the name of their motorcycle club. It was the name the god Zeus had given the Gryphon shifters he created to watch over humans, contrary to what history taught. Only Gryphons were allowed to be members of the MC. This ensured their true nature was kept secret. It also meant all those who rode in the club had the same “serve and protect” mentality. Their MC wasn’t about running drugs and guns. They didn’t have a clubhouse full of half-naked women there to service their more carnal needs. The Hounds were all about family. His consisted of two loving parents, six sisters, and four brothers. One of those brothers was his twin, Warryck. War had recently quit his job as a college professor and after a twenty-five-year absence had reentered their lives.
That alone was almost enough to consider his life perfect. Almost. If it wasn’t for that one summer day four years ago...
Maveryck sucked in a breath as the needle pierced his left nipple. “I hate you,” he seethed as his younger brother, Kyllian, laughed at his pain.
“Come on, Mav. It’s not my fault you lost the bet.” Kyllian “Khaos” Lazlo was younger by a few years, but he wasn’t the brother closest to Mav. That honor went to Warryck, his twin. Maveryck tried not to think about the other part of his soul, because when he did, he got all tied up in knots.
Maveryck ignored Kyllian while the tatted blonde gave him after-care instructions for his new metal. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to take care of piercings considering the myriad he had in his ears, his nose, and his eyebrow. It wasn’t even the first one he’d gotten somewhere sensitive, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Mav did like blondes. He really liked blondes who could appreciate a nice Prince Albert, and by the way she kept eyeing his crotch, he had no doubt she would really appreciate his. But Mav had another blonde waiting for him. One he was pretty sure was in it for the long haul.
After paying the woman and giving her a large tip, he pushed Kyllian out the door and proceeded to wrap a muscular bicep arm around Kyllian’s neck. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
Kyllian twisted out of the hold and skipped backwards down the cracked sidewalk. “Ready to go another round?” he taunted. Mav sucked at video games, but this time, he’d lost shooting pool. When they were younger, Mav and War spent their days outside, running through the woods close to their home, swimming in the lake, playing ball, and riding motorcycles when they were old enough. Kyllian and Hayden, their youngest brothers, preferred to hang out playing video games. Mav knew better than to take bets placed by either one of his younger brothers, but his pride often got in the way.
“I’m running out of places to pierce. Besides, Ryot has called church tonight.”
“But it’s Tuesday.”
“Doesn’t matter. If our brother calls church, we go.”
Sutton Lazlo, father to Maveryck and his siblings, had been President of the Hounds of Zeus. Sutton was retired from both the Army as well as the police force. A hardass who took his position in society seriously, Sutton was tough on his boys, but he was fair, and he loved them and wasn’t afraid to tell them so. He wasn’t afraid to let them know when they fucked up either. When Sutton dec
ided to go undercover twenty years prior, he handed over the gavel to his oldest son, Ryker.
Climbing on his black and chrome bike, Mav grinned, thinking about the pretty blonde waiting for him at home. He had a ring picked out and couldn’t wait to give it to her. “I’ll see you later,” Mav called out to Kyllian. His brother gave him a two-fingered salute and fired up his own bike, headed the opposite direction.
When Maveryck got home, Jenna’s car wasn’t there. She hadn’t mentioned going anywhere after work, but she might have stopped at the store on her way home. Mav parked his bike in front of the garage since he had to go back out in a couple hours. When he stepped into the living room, something seemed off. The house was too quiet, and his heavy boots echoed on the hardwood floor. He walked toward the bedroom, pulling his phone out to call his female. When he saw he had a text from Jenna, he smiled. He had turned the ringer off while getting his piercing and had forgotten to turn it back on. He opened the text, but when he saw the words, Mav sat on the bed so he wouldn’t fall.
Jenna: Mav, I need some space. I’m leaving to find myself.
That was it. No other explanation. No saying when she’d be back home. Mav threw his phone across the room, the plastic and glass shattering into hundreds of pieces, and his Gryphon took over.
Maveryck did his best not to think of that day, but every once in a while, the memory slipped back in. He had thought he was finally getting what his parents had. Sutton and Rory were the perfect couple. They were a team. Even when Sutton had been President of the Hounds, he still turned to his mate for advice. Aurora Rose Lazlo was one of the smartest, fiercest females Mav knew. He wanted a partner in his life who was as strong and loyal as his mom. He thought he’d found that in Jenna. He’d been wrong. Four years later, and she hadn’t made contact with him one time. He could have found out where she was, especially now that Lucy, War’s daughter, was working with the Hounds. Lucy was skilled in all aspects of computers and could have easily tracked down Jenna, but Mav didn’t need to know where she was. That knowledge wouldn’t change the fact that she’d walked out without looking back.
