7th Circle (Hades Book 1)

by Tate James

  With a small sigh, I shoved him a bit harder and brushed past to head toward my apartment entrance.

  "No one likes a tease, Cass. It's just rude, especially after the night I've had." I tossed the words over my shoulder, not expecting a response at all, given how economical he tended to be with his voice.

  So it made me pause when I heard his gruff reply. "Who says I was teasing, Hades? Maybe I just regret my choice the other night."

  Get fucked. He did not just say that.

  Then I remembered how he'd seen the security footage of me fucking Lucas in the supply room and how this was probably just male ego at play. He didn't regret turning me down; he was just... I didn't even know. Jealous? Annoyed that I could so easily replace him?

  "Why are you here, Cass?" I asked again, ignoring that comment and spinning around to level a steady glare at the big inked-up fuck.

  He didn't flinch away from my stare; instead he held it, unblinking and confident. "I figured you might want eyes on Seph if you were going to be gone a while." He nodded to the remnants of blood all over me. Yeah, torturing Joseph had taken longer than anticipated, so I was quietly glad he'd taken the initiative.

  "Thanks," I said, my voice clipped. I wasn't in the habit of offering thanks, because it could so often be misinterpreted as a weakening in power. My mother would turn over in her grave at how infrequently I used my manners these days.

  But Cass often looked out for Seph, making sure she got places safely and keeping an eye on her when she thought she was alone. It certainly wasn't his job to do so, either, but I did appreciate it. Maybe he just felt protective toward her, seeing as she'd taken a liking to the big grump when he’d first met her. Seph had been an annoying seven-year-old, and Cass hadn’t stood a chance when she asked him to hold her doll during a meeting with the Timberwolves.

  "If this is about the Lockharts, they'll target her," he told me, totally unnecessarily. I was well aware of this, and it was the reason the cold acid of fear had been sitting in my belly since he’d told me about the angel dust. I didn't give a fuck if someone took revenge on me for the Lockhart family deaths... but if they touched Seph, so help me I would burn the whole world down.

  I drew a deep breath to calm my exterior, knowing there was no hope for the turmoil in my mind. "I know," I told him, my jaw tight and my spine stiff. "It'll be their own funeral."

  Cass gave a small incline of his head, not breaking eye contact for even a second. "I expect nothing less."

  Not sticking around for more confusing conversation that set my skin on fire and my pulse racing, I spun back around and headed inside my building without a backward glance at him. He was acting fucking strange, and I didn't have the emotional capacity to dissect his actions. Not now. Not while Seph could be in danger again.

  10

  The sun was already on its way up by the time Zed left my apartment, and it felt like I'd barely been asleep for five minutes when Seph ripped my blankets off.

  "What the fuck?" I groaned, fumbling around to try and find my stolen blanket without opening my eyes. "Seph, I swear to fuck if my blanket doesn't reappear in three seconds, I'll—"

  "You'll what?" My little sister flopped down beside me, pushing my face until she could share my pillow. "Gonna go all big bad Hades on me, Dare? Ooh, I'm shivering in my boots."

  The sarcasm in her voice was enough to make me crack an eyelid and glare at her. "Test me, brat. Fucking test me. You'll make Rapunzel look like a goddamn party girl by comparison."

  She just poked me in the nose and smirked. "Fuck off, you love me too hard to lock me up and throw away the key."

  Her sass levels had gone off the damn charts since she’d made friends with Madison Kate. If I didn't like that girl so much, I'd have labeled her a bad influence.

  "Right now I'm thinking that nice Catholic boarding school in Alaska is looking like a really good option," I mumbled, cracking my second eye open to glare at her properly. "Why are you in my bed? What fucking time is it? Shouldn't you be at school?"

  Seph rolled her eyes. Damn kid was too pretty for her own good. The number of teenage boys that have needed to be warned off her since we moved to Shadow Grove was insane. I had a feeling she was crushing on someone new too.

  "It's eight," she told me, blinking those long, dark lashes of hers. Yep, she was wearing a touch more makeup than usual. "And I'm in your bed because someone forgot to drop off my car to be fixed yesterday."

  She gave me a pointed look, and I groaned.

  "This is your own fault, Dare. I could have taken it to the mechanic myself, but no. You insisted you'd take it, and now you have to drive me to school. Come on, get up; I don't want to be late."

  There was no way in hell I was letting her anywhere near my mechanic, so yeah, I'd stick by my word on that one.

  "Since when did you give a fuck about being late for school?" I grumbled. A long yawn pulled my jaw as I rubbed my eyes and shoved Seph off my bed. She landed on the floor with a yelp—she'd been right on the edge—then scowled up at me when I climbed over her.

  "Since when did you complain that I was taking my education seriously?" she shot back, picking herself up and smoothing down the skirt of her Shadow Prep uniform. I gave her a suspicious look, trying to decide if her skirt had mysteriously gotten shorter since last week. Had she grown? Or just rolled the waistband?

  "Besides," she hurried on before I could ask prying questions, "where were you all night? And how come Zed was leaving our place at dawn again if you're not fucking?"

  Sneaky minx. Nothing quite like going on the offensive when you’re feeling defensive.

  "Because Zed is my second and we had shit to do all night," I told her with an eye roll, grimacing at my reflection in the mirror. I'd showered before falling into bed—no way did I want blood flakes all over my sheets—but my hair was still damp and looking a bit like a flame-red lion mane.

  Fuck it. I was only driving her to school, then coming straight back to bed. I tugged my threadbare men's T-shirt off and wiggled my tits into a sports bra before throwing an oversized Vampire Diaries sweatshirt over the top. It’d been a joke gift from Seph a few years ago because it read Mystic Falls Timberwolves. But it was also super cozy, so I wore it way more than I should.

  "Come on, brat," I told her, stuffing my legs into a pair of ripped jeans. "You can tell me all about this boy you like on the way."

  Seph's cheeks flooded with redness, and she gaped at me. "What? I don't... What makes you think... Ugh, shut up!"

  I snickered a laugh as she stormed out of my room, leaving me to hunt out a pair of sneakers and tie my wild hair into a high ponytail. With no heels, no leather, and not a scrap of makeup on, I was virtually unrecognizable. I looked like Seph. Until you looked into my eyes, that was, and saw how truly dead inside I had become.

  Yawning again, I made my way through the apartment while tucking a small pistol into my jeans and grabbing my Desert Eagle off the counter where I left it far too often. It was my security blanket to carry with me everywhere, even if it didn't exactly work with my outfit.

  "Double armed for a school drop-off," Seph commented as we locked our apartment and headed for the elevators. "Something happen that I need to know about?"

  I glanced at her sideways, then sighed heavily. "Maybe."

  When I said nothing more, she stayed silent all the way down to our underground parking garage. Only when we reached my "family car," a soft blue Range Rover, did she reach out and give me a one-armed hug.

  "I trust you, Dare. You'll keep me safe, like always. Just give me a heads up if I should start carrying a weapon to school or something, okay?" She gave me a bright smile, and I forced myself to echo it, even if I was all messed up inside.

  I rolled my eyes, shrugging off what could have been a heartfelt moment between my sister and me. "You should always carry a knife at least, Seph. You know that."

  She let out a laugh as I peeled myself away from her hug and climbed into the driver’s side of
my car. It was the one I used when I was taking her places or showing up for meetings at her school and shit. The Timberwolves were still, for the most part, just rumor and legend. There was simply no need for me to show up in full Hades attire and scare the poor parents of Shadow Prep.

  Seph hopped into the passenger seat, then unzipped her bag and pulled out the silver-black butterfly knife I'd given her on her fourteenth birthday. It used to be mine, but she needed covert weaponry more than I did, and it made me feel better knowing she could defend herself.

  "Good girl," I muttered, turning on the engine and buckling my seat belt. "Now, about this boy..."

  "Dare, shut up," she groaned, tucking her knife away and buckling her own belt. "There's no boy, so you don't need to go sending Alexi to pick me up again."

  I snickered, remembering last time a boy had asked my sister out. I'd had one of my upper management—a semi-pro MMA fighter—pick Seph up from school on his motorcycle. She'd been furious, but it’d served the purpose I needed.

  "Sure, there's not," I teased as we exited the parking lot. "You just get dressed up for the teachers’ benefit, huh?" Then my eyes narrowed. "He's not a teacher, is he?"

  Not that I had a problem with age gaps; I still wanted to fuck Cass, who was eleven years older than me. But I did have a problem with a man in a position of authority taking advantage of an eighteen-year-old girl.

  "What? No! Ew, Dare, don't be gross. If I wanted to hit on an old dude, I'd be more likely to take Zed up on his offer." She shot me a smirk, and I slammed my foot down on the brakes.

  I almost caused an accident. As it was, the car behind me leaned on their horn, and I just flipped them off in the rearview mirror.

  "Fucking excuse me?" I demanded, staring at my sister in alarm.

  "I'm joking," she replied with a wide grin. "Jesus, you are touchy about him. Pretty sure you guys are fucking."

  Seething, I started driving again. "That's not fucking funny, Seph. I don't have the time or patience to find a new second-in-command right now." Not to mention it'd sting a bit to have to shoot my oldest friend for hitting on my kid sister.

  "Oh my god, drama," she muttered. "As if Zed has ever treated me as anything other than a little sister. I'm just saying, that girl he was with two months ago? Candace? She's only six months older than me. She graduated from Shadow Prep last year."

  I snorted a laugh, wondering if Zed knew that or not. Probably not. If he didn't plan on seeing them more than once, he barely even got their names, let alone their life stories.

  "Nice deflection, brat," I told her with a grin. "I still wanna know who the boy is. I thought I'd scared off all the punks in your school already."

  She glowered. "Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. I'm going to be the oldest virgin in the entire country at the rate you intimidate guys."

  I just shrugged, not even feeling the slightest bit guilty. "You'll thank me one day, Seph. Guys should treat you like the queen you are, not get you drunk and fuck you in the back of their dad’s Porsche after some rich douchebag’s party."

  "You'd know all about that," she muttered, sounding bitter as she looked out her window in a sulk.

  My temper flared, but it wasn't her fault. She had no idea that someone was sending me reminders of my first love—the boy I'd lost my virginity to in the back of his dad's Porsche, only to find out later I'd been drugged. The same boy who, years later, I'd shot in the head.

  Neither one of us spoke for a while, and the tension grew thick and uncomfortable inside the car. Eventually, Seph sighed.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  I nodded my acceptance but didn't trust myself not to be a horrific bitch if I spoke, so I kept my mouth shut. She had no idea what I'd dealt with over the weekend, and I wasn't about to clue her in. I wanted her to have a normal life... as normal as she possibly could, even with me as her sister.

  "He's kinda new," Seph told me after another long pause, "and so freaking hot; he has the whole cheer squad falling all over him."

  I wrinkled my nose. "So? You're hotter than those plastic bitches."

  She just glared at me like I was making a mom statement. As if it wasn't true. The only reason Seph wasn't a cheerleader herself was because she couldn't dance for shit. I'd never seen a kid so out of tune with the music in my life.

  "Doesn't matter, anyway," she sighed. "He's in my art class and has never even said two words to me. Pretty sure I don't exist on his radar."

  "Then he's blind as well as stupid. Forget him, Seph. Plenty of better fish in the sea... after you graduate." I gave her a wide, slightly teasing smile, and she groaned.

  "Yeah, as if you'll let me date even after graduation. I bet you'll still be chasing guys away when I'm thirty." She glared at me. But we'd just arrived in front of her school, so the argument was over already.

  I just shrugged. "Probably. Only because I love you, Stephanie!" I sang her birth name loudly right as she started climbing out of my car, and the look she gave me could boil a lesser woman's blood.

  My sister was the cutest. I was still laughing to myself as I pulled away and left her to all the high school drama of liking a boy who didn't know she existed. Although that, I'd bet, was far from the truth.

  11

  Leaving Shadow Prep grounds, I made a snap decision to drive through Reaper territory on my way home. There was a kick-ass coffee and cake shop there, and I was curious to see the crime scene where Sonny-boy had been killed. Maybe there would be some clues that the stupid cops hadn't totally destroyed in their quest to become better police. Gag.

  Their whole "no longer taking bribes" policy was total crap and not something I believed for even a second. This recent spate of angel dust only proved it. They were still taking bribes, just not from me or any of the gangs under my rule.

  Someone was paying better and blackmailing harder.

  I parked in a covered lot a block away from the crime scene, not wanting to immediately announce my presence to anyone on the lookout, then walked to Nadia's Cakes.

  The old woman who owned the store was the definition of hospitality, getting me coffee in a takeout cup and offering me a slice of apple pie while I waited. There was a cautious look in her eyes, though, so it was safe to bet she wasn't fooled by casual Hades.

  Not wanting to be stared at while I ate, I politely declined the pie and took my coffee back outside with me. It should only be a short walk over to the house Sonny-boy had been killed in, if I was thinking of the right area.

  I made some calls while I walked over, setting up a death benefit for Sonny's wife and unborn baby. There wasn't anything I could do to bring him back from the dead, but I could at least provide a college fund for his kid.

  It wasn't hard to figure out which house was the crime scene. It was all sealed up with SGPD tape in some lame attempt at stopping people from accessing the area. Either the idiots who closed the scene were new to this town or they were just ticking boxes, but a bit of tape wasn't keeping anyone out.

  Certainly not me, anyway.

  I simply ducked under the tape and went on inside like I had every right to be there. And I did. The Shadow Grove Reapers were firmly under my rule, so I didn't need permission to go anywhere in "their" territory, including this abandoned house, riddled with bullet holes and stained with Timberwolf blood.

  The chances of there being any clues remaining after god only knew how many cops had trampled through the house were low. But I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, so I took my time looking around, sipping my coffee as I went.

  "Find anything?" A low, rumbling question came from the front entrance about fifteen minutes after I'd arrived.

  I shook my head, nudging an old, torn armchair with my toe. "Nope. Nothing. Except that my man was shot up by a firing squad in the middle of your territory and no one heard anything." I arched a brow at Cass. "Why is that?"

  He shook his head, not rising to the bait. "Your guess is as good as mine, Hades. None of the local residents seem to have
been paid off, either."

  I narrowed my eyes at him, weighing whether he was bullshitting me or not, then nodded. "Silencers, maybe. Might have suppressed the sound enough that neighbors at a distance didn't notice it. The houses directly next door are vacant too, aren't they?"

  Cass grunted a sound of confirmation. "They were bought up by Samuel Danvers during his rejuvenation project the other year. The ones opposite too."

  I finished the last of my coffee, then shook my head in annoyance. I needed to access the written reports to get a better idea of what had gone down, but even then I couldn't trust the information—not if they wanted to claim my man was carrying angel dust. Even if we did sell PCP, Sonny-boy was a strip club security guard, not a drug dealer.

  "You look different," Cass observed, taking a couple of steps into the dim room.

  I scoffed a sharp laugh. "Seriously? Fucking hell, Cass. Now you're taking a second look? Maybe I should have fucked a stripper under your nose years ago."

  "That's what you think?" He sounded genuinely confused as he closed a little more distance between us with those long strides of his. "I've taken a hell of a lot more than a second glance over the years, Red," he told me in a low voice that went straight to my pussy like a lightning bolt.

  Red? Where the fuck had that come from?

  "But in case you haven't noticed," Cass continued, getting all up in my personal space again, just like he'd done in the early hours of the morning while I was covered in blood. "I'm too fucking old for you, and we're rivals."

  In stark contrast to his words, his tattoo-covered fingers came up to my face and stroked a loose tendril of my very red hair away. His touch was almost reverent, like he was scared I might break or explode, but it made me shiver nonetheless.

  "Don't flatter yourself, Cass," I told him, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. This time, when my palm flattened on his chest, it wasn't to push him away from me. "We're not rivals. I could flatten your entire operation with a snap of my fingers." His lips twitched with the hint of a smile, and my fingers twisted in the front of his T-shirt.