by Tate James
Confused, I peeked inside the bag and huffed a laugh. "Twenty minutes. Done."
I hauled ass back inside the house and used the powder room off the foyer to change out of my yoga pants and tank top, and into a pair of black, figure-hugging jeans, a black push-up bra with decorative straps crossing my chest, and a low-cut sheer blouse. Finished off with my favorite pair of shiny black Louboutin’s and a heavy coat of makeup, Hades was back.
My appearance was like a layer of armor, and when I headed back out to the waiting helicopter nineteen minutes later, it was with a straighter spine, a higher chin, and a level of confidence I hadn't felt in three long weeks.
Zed's gaze heated as he watched me approach the helicopter, but his pilot just gave me a short nod and climbed back into the cockpit.
"Boss," Zed murmured as I stopped in front of him. "You're back."
I shot him a smirk. "Damn right, I am."
The cool wind blew past, making me shiver in my thin top. Without asking, Zed took the bag from my hand and tossed it into the helicopter, then held out his own jacket for me to put on. It was a charcoal-gray sport coat, and I had a feeling it matched my outfit beautifully. Almost like he'd picked it out deliberately.
A moment later we were strapped into our seats and on our way back to Shadow Grove. Zed's hand brushed the outside of my thigh as we watched the endless forest flit past below us, but he didn't push it any further.
Two hours of flying saw us landing at the private airstrip outside Shadow Grove just after lunchtime, and I could already see Lucas waiting for us on the tarmac with Zed's cherry-red Mustang.
"Fucking kid has just claimed that as his own, hasn't he," Zed muttered as we landed.
I grinned because he was right. But the car suited Lucas beautifully, so I was all for it. Besides, Zed was much more of a black Ferrari kind of guy.
We climbed out of the helicopter, and our pilot came around to exchange a couple of quiet words with Zed. Then the old guy turned to me with a stern nod.
"Pleasure to meet you, Hades. Give 'em all hell." His gruff advice was accompanied by a strong handshake, then he returned to his seat in the cockpit.
Zed tossed our bags over his shoulder, and I couldn't fight the smile spreading over my lips as we strode toward Lucas, who leaned on the side of the Mustang.
He met me halfway, sweeping me up in a tight hug before cursing and dropping me back to the ground abruptly.
"I'm so sorry," he groaned. "Shit, Hayden, I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine," I cut him off, reassuring him. "I'm okay." Sort of. That full-bodied hug had shocked the shit out of me after spending eight days being so damn careful about casual touches. But I hadn't slipped into panic mode, so that was a win in my book.
Zed wasn't so forgiving, though, clipping Lucas around the head with his hand. "Wake the fuck up, Gumdrop."
"Sorry," Lucas replied, wincing, then he shifted his gaze to me, "Sorry, Hayden." But he wasn't even trying to hide the smile on his face as he opened the passenger door for me. "It's so damn good to have you back."
I shot him a smile as I slid into the seat. "It's good to be back." In more ways than one.
Zed tossed our bags into the trunk, then grudgingly climbed into the backseat so Lucas could drive. He muttered under his breath about it but shut up quick when I dropped my hand between the seats to touch his knee. He just shifted in his seat and leaned forward to loosely link his fingers through mine instead.
Lucas gave the motion a pointed stare as he drove us out of the airstrip, then shot me a soft look.
"You look incredible, babe. Like you've done a lifetime of healing in the last week." Then his eyes shifted to the rearview mirror. "You both have."
Zed's fingers squeezed mine lightly, and I changed the subject before the thick haze of affection in the car could melt my Hades shell.
"Are we heading straight to see Seph?"
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, Demi and Rex are with her at Club 22 now. Rex said some shit about not wanting to lead people right to his front door by having you go there."
I huffed a laugh, but it made no difference to me about where we met. In fact, it’d be better for me to stick to my own properties for a while—at least until I found my footing within the Timberwolves once more.
"Have you seen her yet?" I asked, glancing over at Lucas. He was dressed sharply in a black button-down and designer jeans like he'd taken style notes from Zed's casual days. It suited him, making him look much older than he was. But I quietly thought he looked his best in a hoodie and backward cap.
Or, you know, in nothing at all.
"Seph?" he asked. "No, not yet. I left a message, but she didn't call back."
When he'd gone to visit her earlier in the week per my request, she'd refused to see him, and Rex backed her up on it. Some shit about not forcing her to do anything she didn't want to do, which was a load of horseshit from him.
"Probably still sulking about being shipped off to live with Rex," Zed commented. "Seph does sulk like it's an Olympic sport."
Lucas grinned at that, and I couldn't deny it. It was entirely my own fault for sheltering her to the point of stifling her development. But I’d never claimed to be a parent or even a good guardian. All I'd known was that I didn't want Seph to turn into me. So I'd done a hard one-eighty on how I was raised and turned her into a spoiled, selfish princess with no sense of self-preservation.
I should have done better by my sister. I should have given her more of my time and attention. I should have prepared her for the real world. The horrible, dark, dangerous world we lived in. But I hadn't, and all I could do now was ensure she stayed alive long enough for me to give her that time.
"That reminds me," Zed spoke up. "I've had a few calls from Steele."
I shifted in my seat to give him a narrow-eyed look over my shoulder. "What the fuck does he want?"
Zed shrugged. "Testing the waters, was my guess. Offering assistance if we need it."
"Fuck that," I muttered, still salty over their failure to keep Seph safe. Of course, it was just as much my own fault, but it was easier to lay the blame at someone else's feet.
Zed chuckled softly. "I'll tell him we're still thinking about it."
I rolled my eyes but wasn't shocked. Zed and Steele had history, with Zed having put Steele through a season of sniper training years ago. I knew he had a small soft spot for the former Reaper.
"Has Chase been seen around town?" I asked after a long silence in the car.
Lucas shook his head. "Not a single sighting."
I raised my hand to my mouth, biting the edge of my thumbnail in an old habit. "That almost seems more worrying."
"Agreed," Lucas murmured. "We'll be ready for him, though."
A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Club 22, and I mentally prepared myself to deal with my little sister. The last time I'd seen her, she was shooting snarky insults at me about my decision to send her to Rex. Now, three weeks later, I couldn't imagine the climate had changed for the better.
My gaze darted around the parking lot as we exited the car, and I spotted increased security in the form of an upgraded camera and a rifle-armed Timberwolf on the roof of the building opposite. When he saw me glance up, he dipped his head in respect.
"Big Sal?" I asked Lucas, thinking I recognized what little I could see of the man.
He shook his head. "Little Sal. Big Sal is apparently all kinds of comfortable on guard duty for my mom." Something in the way he said that, the irritated set of his jaw, told me he wasn't thrilled with that situation.
I made a mental note to pay a visit to Sandra soon. Hopefully, she could answer at least some questions about Brant Wilson, and I already knew Lucas hadn't brought it up with her.
"Good work, Gumdrop," Zed commented as he held open the club door for us. "You're a natural." The look he gave me was pointed, and I remembered our conversation about Lucas's guild ties.
Lucas shot Zed a suspicious glare, then fell into
step beside me as I moved inside the club. "I don't ever know when he's being sarcastic," he admitted. "Should I hit him anyway?"
I swallowed a laugh. "If in doubt, always err on the side of violence."
Lucas grinned, then hung back a step to punch Zed in the arm. They were like children some days.
The music was up loud inside Club 22, and I spotted a handful of dancers on the stage in casual clothes as Sabine ran them through choreography. I didn't pay them much attention as we passed by, making our way up to the VIP lounge where Demi usually met me.
We barely made it two steps into the lounge, though, before Seph came shrieking toward me like a banshee.
My whole body locked up on instinct, panic washing over me with such strength I could taste it like acid on my tongue. But Seph didn't pause for even a second, throwing herself at me and wrapping her arms around me in some kind of red-haired teen version of a hungry squid.
It took me a second to realize she was, indeed, hugging me and not attacking.
"Seph! Get back!" Zed was shouting, and Lucas was on my other side, his eyes wide as he tried to peel Seph's arm off my neck. He was getting nowhere, though, and Seph was sobbing so loudly into my chest she probably couldn't even hear Zed snapping at her.
I was okay, though. Once that initial wave of instinctual terror had faded, I realized that I was okay with her hugging me. So I gave Lucas a reassuring nod and told him and Zed to back off.
Cautiously, like I was handling a live wire, I hugged my sister back, tucking my face down into her hair.
"Hey brat," I whispered when she continued clinging and crying. "I thought you would’ve been happy to get a break from me."
Seph gasped, pulling away from me with a stricken look on her face. "How could you even think that? Dare, I thought you were dead! Those bastards let me think you were dead for nearly three weeks, and the last thing I had said to you was some bitchy crap about how you didn't care about me."
My brows shot up, and I turned an accusing glare to Lucas.
He just shrugged and looked totally unapologetic. "Oops."
19
No fucking wonder Seph had refused to see Lucas when he stopped by to visit her a couple of days ago. She was pissed at him and had every right to be if they'd neglected to tell her that I was okay.
"Let's all sit down and get a drink, shall we?" Demi smoothly intervened, giving me a warm smile. "We have a lot to catch up on, and I find these discussions go so much smoother with a martini in hand."
Inclined to agree, I coaxed Seph back to the couch area she and Demi had occupied before we had arrived. My sister shot absolute death glares at both Lucas and Zed and sat so close to me she was practically in my lap.
"I'll put in our orders," Zed suggested, heading over to the vacant bar at the side of the VIP lounge. He used the waitresses tablet screen to submit an order for all of us, then came back over to sit down. "Where's Rex?"
Demi rolled her eyes dramatically, and Seph cracked a smile for the first time since she'd pounced on me.
"On the stage," my sister chuckled, sniffing away the residue of her tears.
Frowning my confusion, I rose back to my feet and peered over the railing at where Sabine was clapping a beat for the dancers to block out a new routine. Sure enough, there in the back row, sandwiched between two gorgeous, big-breasted women... was someone who most definitely didn't belong.
"Rex Darenburg," I barked, letting my voice carry over the loud music. His head snapped up toward me, and a huge smile split his face. "Get your sweaty old ass up here right this minute. Leave my dancers alone."
Sabine sent me a bright grin and a wave, then tossed Rex a towel as he climbed down off the stage.
A moment later, he lumbered up the stairs to the VIP lounge as he patted sweat from his brow and grinned wide.
"Hades, baby! My favorite niece!" He spread his arms, showing off dark circles under his armpits, and his breath wheezed.
I leveled him with my ice-cold Hades glare. "Touch me and I'll castrate you, Rex. What the fuck were you doing down there?"
"Hey, what the shit, Uncle Rex?" Seph complained. "She's your favorite? What the hell am I?"
His heavily lined face screwed up, and he gave a shrug. "My other favorite niece of course. I can have two, can't I?" He shifted his attention to Zed and stuck his hand out to shake. "De Rosa. You've grown."
Zed ignored the offered hand and gave me a long look that clearly said, I hope you know what you're doing here.
Simmering with anger, I hardened my glare. "Rex..."
"I know, I know." He flapped his hand and dropped his solid bulk onto the couch beside Demi. "I was just having a little fun while we waited." He wheezed again, leaning forward with his gut resting on his legs. This time his gaze was a whole lot sharper as he took me in. Calculating.
"Stop it," Demi snapped, smacking his arm with the back of her hand. "Just sit there and keep your trap shut."
Rex shot an amused look at his ex-wife and turned back to me with a small grin. "It is good to see you, little H." There was an implied statement under his words that said he’d expected me to look a hell of a lot worse than I did. I needed to thank Demi for putting that bag of clothes and makeup together for me because no one else would have done it, even with Zed's guidance.
All of a sudden, Zed had a knife in his hand and was polishing it on his pants.
"Call her that again, Rex," Zed murmured in a dangerously quiet tone. "I dare you."
Rex, thankfully, had sense enough to back down at that threat. He and I were far from loving family members. Hell, we were only related through his former marriage to Demi, and she was the only reason he'd survived the Timberwolf massacre. That and the fact that he'd been in prison that night. When he’d been released a year later, he'd had time to plead his case to me by way of Demi.
Ultimately, if Demi hadn't vouched for him, he'd have caught a bullet between the eyes a second after he stepped out of the Cloudcroft penitentiary.
"Apologies, Hades," he grumbled, shooting me a tight smile. "Being around little Persephone these last few weeks got me all nostalgic, and I forgot my place. Won't happen again."
I internally rolled my eyes. Nostalgic? For the days before his incarceration when he’d been the Timberwolf’s enforcer? Not really happy, fuzzy, family memories.
Still, he'd done me a service lately, and I needed that to continue.
"I appreciate your help keeping Seph and Demi safe while I was gone," I told him in a cool voice. "I hope there haven't been any incidents?"
Rex shot Demi a pointed look, but my aunt just gave him a hard glare back.
"Nothing we couldn't handle," she told me with a serene expression. "And Seph has been safe around the clock."
My sister's hand found mine, holding onto me like she was a little girl again. "You missed our graduation, Dare," she said in a small voice, "but Uncle Rex took heaps of pictures for you."
Guilt rippled through me, and I sent Lucas a glance. He just shook his head, silently telling me it didn't matter. Fuck, it made me feel awful, though. I'd totally lost track of time.
"I'm so sorry, Seph," I said softly, dipping my head toward her.
She gave me a genuine smile. "I don't care; it was totally lame anyway. And Lucas didn't even show up. But I wanted you to know that I did graduate."
"You sure did, squirt," Rex said with a proud nod. "And she's been pulling her weight in the shop too."
That surprised me more than anything. Not that Rex had put her to work in his garage, that part didn't shock me. But that she'd actually done it.
"Well, I'm impressed," I murmured. "Rex, I'd like Seph to stay with you a while longer, if it's not too much trouble. The guys and I have a bit of trash to take out around town, and I have a feeling things might get worse before they get better."
Seph stiffened against my side. I thought she was about to protest staying with Rex any longer, but the frown she gave me was all concern. "You're talking about Chase, ri
ght. He's who took you out of that FBI car?"
I stared back at her, slightly at a loss for what to say. I was still adjusting to the fact that she now knew what kind of scum Chase was.
"That's right," Zed answered for me. "Until Chase and his associates have been handled, we don't feel like you're safe."
Seph's eyes rounded, but she nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I understand. Whatever it takes."
Rodney arrived then with our tray of drinks and placed them down on the low table while everyone waited patiently.
When he was gone, Rex gave me a long look before turning to Seph. "Kiddo, can you give us a minute? I need to chat business with your big sister."
Demi gave a small sigh and grabbed her martini before standing up. "I'll go with you, Seph. This isn't a conversation for me, either."
Surprisingly, Seph went without complaint, and I stared after her in shock. Who the hell was that sweet, understanding girl, and what had she done with my snarling, sarcastic sister?
Rex cleared his throat, pulling my attention back, and I stifled a sigh as I sipped my Manhattan. Yum.
"Name your price, Rex," I murmured, knowing exactly why he wanted to talk away from Seph. He was more than happy to continue protecting her, but not for free.
He gave me a sly smile. "Have I ever told you that you run the Wolves a hundred times better than your papa ever did?"
I rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't be hard. That man never looked at the bigger picture. Too busy indulging his own sick fetishes with the Lockharts. So, spare me the pandering, and name your price. You want a second chop shop in Timberwolf territory?"
Running a hand over his bristly chin, Rex gave a husky laugh. "Nah, nothing so expensive. Persephone has really grown on me, you know? She's like the daughter I never had. I'd probably protect her for free."
"But you won't. Not when there's something you want and something I can give. So what is it, Rex?"
His beady eyes glittered with determination. "I want back in."
My brows shot up before I could mask my surprise. "No."
He shook his head slowly. "Come on, Hades. You know I can be useful to the Wolves, and from where I'm sitting it sure looks like you need some fresh blood with total loyalty."