by Tillie Cole
Du Pont shook his head. “You can’t be serious.”
“Choose,” I snarled, shaking the dice harder. I leaned forward, his friends’ blood mixing with a falling drop of sweat from my brow. Fucker watched it fall to the ground. Du Pont’s eyes flew to his friends, and his face crumbled, no doubt seeing what his future would be if he chose wrong.
“Six,” he spat.
I released the dice and watched as they fell onto the barrel. As the dice stopped rolling, Du Pont’s eyes slammed to mine. “There’re no numbers on them!” he hissed, panicked. “They’re fucking blank!”
I smiled and locked my gaze on his. “Hades says you lose.”
I was off the stool in seconds, Hades’ dice back at home in my pocket. Du Pont started shouting behind me. I picked up the can of gas I’d brought. I shook it, listening to how much was inside. “Enough,” I said and turned to Du Pont.
He was shaking on his seat, eyes wide. “You won’t get away with this,” he said, his breathing getting faster and faster when he looked at his friends. Not one of those fuckers was recognizable anymore.
“Get away with it?” I laughed and poured the gas over his head. It ran over his body, and I poured until not an inch of him was spared. Throwing the can to the side, I leaned down to his ear. “Hades always gets away with it.” I inhaled deeply. “It’s you who’ll pay. For fucking with Valan. For killing his parents . . .” I paused for dramatic effect. “For being the racist, fascist cunt you chose to be.”
I struck a match and watched the flame chase its way down the wood. Du Pont watched it too. He met my eyes, and as he stared at me, my eyes the last thing the fucker would ever see, I dropped the match in his lap . . . and the cunt was immediately eaten by flames.
I stayed exactly where I was, his screams like a fucking symphony to my ears. I stayed beside him, letting my face be the last thing he saw before his body slumped with death . . . and Hades’ justice had been served.
Kicking the fucker’s body to join his friends, I threw a white hood on his still-scalding head and left them for their Klan kin to fucking find.
As I walked out of the barn, I rolled the dice in my hands, Hades’ thirst for blood satisfied for now. Thunder fell into step beside me, and we got the fuck on our bikes.
Four cunt lives traded for the two they took from my brother. I smiled, the night air slapping my blood-drenched face as I rode. Because I knew it wouldn’t be long before Hades would decide to play again.
And he would kill any cunt who tried to fuck with his Hangmen.
I’d make sure of it.
Darkness Embraced
(Hades Hangmen 7)
Tanner & Adelita’s story coming soon!
Plus, look out for a new accompanying series of Hades Hangmen novellas starting this summer!
Playlist
Glitter & Gold — Barns Courtney
Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked — Cage The Elephant
Hard Time — Seinabo Sey
Fire — Barns Courtney
GREAT NIGHT (feat. Shovels & Rope) — NEEDTOBREATHE
Tell That Devil — Jill Andrews
Heavy Is The Head — Zac Brown Band, Chris Cornell
Hate The Way You Love Me — John Paul White
Cover Me Up — Zac Brown Band
Never Seen Such Good Things — Devendra Banhart
Nothing Arrived — Villagers
To Leave Something Behind — Sean Rowe
All I Want — Kodaline
Dust On The Ground — Bombay Bicycle Club
See You Again — Elle King
Trust — Jeremy James
I Know The Way Home — Andrew Galucki
I Am The Moon — The White Buffalo
Bruises — Lewis Capaldi
Tomorrow — Shakey Graves
Leave a Light On (Acoustic)— Tom Walker
Handyman — AWOLNATION
Psalm 23 (Live) — Shane & Shane
To listen to this playlist, click here
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my husband, Stephen, for keeping me sane. This past year with you, and our little man, Roman, have been the best of my life. I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Roman, I never thought it was possible to love somebody so much. You’re the best thing I have ever done in my life. Love you to bits, my little dude!
Mam and Dad, thank you for the continued support.
Samantha, Marc, Taylor, Isaac, Archie, and Elias, love you all.
Thessa, thank you for being the best assistant in the world. You make the best edits, keep me organized and are one kick ass friend to boot!
Liz, thank you for being my super-agent and friend.
To my fabulous editor, Kia. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Neda and Ardent Prose, I am so happy that I jumped on board with you guys. You’ve made my life infinitely more organized. You kick PR ass!
To my Hangmen Harem, I couldn’t ask for better book friends. Thank you for all for everything you do for me. Here’s to another step forward in our Dark Romance Revolution! Viva Dark Romance!
Jenny and Gitte, you know how I feel about you two ladies. Love you to bits! I truly value everything you’ve done for me over the years, and continue to do!
Thank you to all the AMAZING bloggers that have supported my career from the start, and the ones who help share my work and shout about it from the rooftops.
And lastly, thank you to the readers. Without you none of this would be possible. Our Hades Hangmen world is one of my very favorite places to be. Some people don’t understand us, and our undying love for our favorite men in leather… But we have each other, our own tribe, and that’s all we’ll ever need as our biker series grows!
Our Hangmen world kicks ass!
“Live Free. Ride Free. Die Free!”
Author Biography
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
After several years living in Italy, Canada and the USA, Tillie has now settled back in her hometown in England, with her husband and new son.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than spending time with her little family, curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, and convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that last square of chocolate.
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www.tilliecole.com
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