Learn My Lesson (Wicked Villains Book 2)

by Katee Robert

  I head for the free weights and begin the process of going through my old routine. My body remembers the motions, allowing my thoughts to wander right back to Hades.

  Wanting the man who manipulated and trapped me is the height of idiocy. He didn’t pick me by random; his cruelty is too calculated for that. If I’d stopped reacting to Meg and thought for a few minutes, I’d have realized that a long time ago. All roads lead back to Olympus—to my father—I’m sure of it. Would it change my actions? I don’t think so. Even knowing what I do now, I still want her. I should be smarter than this, but I’ve already proven that should has no place here.

  I want him.

  I want her.

  They desire me—some things can’t be faked—but they both have an agenda that hints at a deeper game. My thoughts last night might have been drugged on pleasure and exhaustion, but it doesn’t make them any less true. In the light of day, they feel all the clearer.

  Hades plans to use me to get to my father.

  I can’t say if it will work. My father hasn’t tried to summon me home since I left, allowing his lack of attention to translate into a punishment. He’s always been like that, giving and withdrawing love in turn. Except, with Zeus, love is an edged weapon even when he’s effusive and happy. Even with family.

  With anyone who isn’t family? They don’t have the slightest bit of protection to keep my father from taking what he wants, when he wants. I hiss out a breath and push the barbell away from my chest. The ridiculousness of the situation is not lost on me. If Hades had come to me and offered a plan to bring my father down, I would have agreed and gladly.

  Instead, he’d used Meg as both bait and a strange kind of punishment. That is the part that doesn’t make sense to me. What little I know of this man paints a picture of someone who does nothing without a reason. He wouldn’t put together a messy plan that potentially hurts the woman he appears to care about without a damn good reason.

  In the end, does it matter what Hades’s endgame is? I gave my word. I’m his for life. If he was going to try to kill me, he would have done it by now. If my being here aggravates my father, I’m still furious enough to enjoy the thought of that. That anger isn’t going away. Not ever. He hurts everyone he comes into contact with. He plucks them, uses them, and then disposes them like they’re tissues instead of people. And Olympus lets him. Everyone looks the other way because he has power, and that’s the only god anyone in that cursed place worships.

  I tried and failed to change things, so I left rather than witness it happen again and again.

  The door opens and Tink walks in. She gives the entire room a dirty look before settling on me. “There you are.” She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt that has a picture of a skeleton holding a pair of eyes perfectly centered on each breast with the text My eyes are up here. Tink is… quite the character. She snaps her fingers. “Up here, Hercules.”

  “I like your shirt,” I say drily.

  “It’s my day off,” she snaps back, but her lips tug up a little at the edges. She might be mean as a snake, but I like her. She gives me a long look, lingering on sweat slicking my bare chest. “Hades wants to talk to you. You should probably, uh, shower first. I’ll wait.”

  “You want to watch?” I don’t know why I offer. I’m mostly teasing, I think, though Tink is gorgeous enough that if the situation were different, I’d make a real pass at her.

  She raises her eyebrows. “What a cute little exhibitionist you are.” She laughs. “But I know better than to play with the boss’s toys without permission. Get your ass in the shower and be quick about it.”

  She follows me back to my suite and takes up residence on the couch while I head into the bathroom. I shower quickly, telling myself that it’s prudence causing me to do so, rather than anticipation for seeing him again. I’m a goddamned liar.

  I walk to the closet situated off the bathroom and flip on the light. And freeze. Yesterday, I’d dropped my bag into the middle of it with the intention of hanging up my clothes once I had some down time. The bag is gone. Now the space is filled to the brim. On one side is apparently my work wear, an array of fabrics in very small packages. On the other are more clothes than I’ve seen in one place since I left home. Slacks in black and gray. Button-down shirts in a wide range of colors. They’ve even bought me fucking shoes.

  I wrap my towel around my waist and raise my voice. “Tink!”

  “I’m not watching you wank it.”

  Her response almost detracts from my growing irritation. “Get in here.”

  She walks through the door and frowns. “What?”

  “My closet.” I motion at it. “What the fuck is this? Where the hell are my clothes?”

  She peers past me and gives me a look like I’m having one over on her. “Is this a trick question? You have plenty of clothes.”

  I feel like I’ve entered a completely different world all over again. I thought I had things down, at least a little, but I didn’t expect something as surface level as this closet being filled to rock me. And yet it is. “Where did they come from?”

  “Oh. That” Tink rolls her eyes. “I know you liked your beggar white-bread style, but you can’t dress like that here. Hades and the Underworld have a reputation, and as employees of both, we are part of upholding that.”

  I point at her chest. “What about what you’re wearing?”

  “Look, I have seniority and I’m playing errand girl when I’m off the clock, so how about we don’t criticize my excellent taste in clothing?” Her humor is gone and she’s glaring again. “Put on some clothes and let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time and I have shit to do today.”

  This time, I don’t argue. In the end, we all answer to Hades and expelling my frustration at Tink is a shitty thing to do. I pull on a pair of black slacks and a light gray shirt. There are ties, but I ignore them. A quick comb through my hair and I’m ready. Tink doesn’t say anything as she takes me up to the top floor, and I miss her snark a little bit. She punches the button to keep the elevator door open when we reach our floor. “Only door in there. That’s where you’re headed.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She blinks. “What?”

  “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot about the clothes. I was just surprised and you were there so I took it out on you.”

  Another of those slow blinks. “Hercules, you barely raised your voice.”

  Her shock at my apology doesn’t make me feel better. In fact, it makes me feel worse. “I’m sorry.”

  “Uh… consider it forgiven.” She motions for me to get the hell out of the elevator. This time, I obey.

  This isn’t the same office from last night—or even the same floor. I’m not sure what I expect when I push open the door, but it’s not the room I find myself standing in. Aside from the big windows overlooking Carver City, the walls are filled with black bookshelves from floor to ceiling, and the shelves are packed with books. Not just filed neatly. They’re stacked as if the occupant ran out of space and couldn’t bear to sacrifice even one. I barely notice the desk and overstuffed chairs across from it, or the thick patterned rug beneath my feet as I wander to the nearest shelf. Again, I’m surprised. The books are genre fiction, each spine weathered as if they’ve been reread countless times. Mystery, fantasy, romance, science fiction.

  “By all means, feel free to look your fill.”

  I jump and turn to face the desk. Hades sits behind it, watching me with an amused expression on his face. As I’m coming to expect, he’s wearing black-on-black again. He’s as put together as ever, and the exhaustion weighing me down after last night seems to roll right off him. He motions to one of the chairs across from him. “Sit.”

  I consider standing just to make a point, but it’s a silly hill to choose to die on. I walk to the closest chair and sink into it. It’s a rich emerald green that somehow fits in with the rest of the office, luxurious and sturdy and obviously well-loved. The whole room feels comfortable in a way I’
m not prepared for. “Can I ask you a question?” I don’t intend to speak, but I don’t do well with secrets and bullshit. I’d rather just get this all out in the open so I can deal with it.

  Hades raises his brows. “By all means.”

  “What did my father do to you to piss you off enough to target me?”

  He studies me for a long moment, something like surprise written over his face. “You don’t have a subtle bone in your body, do you?”

  If I did, I wouldn’t be in Carver City in the first place. I would have found a better way to fight my father, to help Leda, to make a difference. “I’d rather see the playing field clearly.”

  He sits back, still seeming to consider my question. Or, more likely, considering whether or not to answer honestly—or at all. “He took everything from me.”

  I was right. I don’t know if that’s good or bad at this point. I try to relax into the chair, but it’s hard when I have Hades’s full attention on me. “I’m not him.” I don’t hurt people the way he does. I don’t hurt people at all. At least, not on purpose.

  “Trust me, I’m well aware of that. You are, however, a possession that matters to him.”

  I was right. This is about revenge. I should have known I couldn’t escape Olympus’s politics even if I escaped the city itself. Carver City seemed like a safe bet for a place to settle down, but obviously Zeus’s influence has spread to even here. “It must have been bad for you to go through this much shit to get back at him.”

  “A son for a son, little Hercules.”

  The implications hit me hard enough that if I weren’t sitting, I’d be on my knees. A son… My father took his from him? But that doesn’t make sense. I would have heard about it. I’m sure I would have heard about something like that. “When?”

  “Before you were born.” He waves it away with a flick of his wrist. “I have no intention of discussing it further. You wanted to know why; there’s your why. Does it make you feel better?”

  Since he sounds genuinely curious, I answer honestly. “No.”

  “There you have it.” He shrugs. “I didn’t call you here for that, however. I have a task for you.”

  My mind whirls with the implications of what he’s told me. Within all the confusion and anger, there’s hurt. No reason for his motive to sting. Did I really want to hear that he saw me across the room and couldn’t rest until he had me as his own? That kind of shit only happens in movies and fairy tales. This is real life. Real life is ugly and brutal and filled to the brim with pain. I know this too well already. Of course he didn’t want me. He has Meg.

  Meg.

  “Does she know about this?” There were a thousand ways Hades could have accomplished this goal without involving her. I don’t understand that. He wields cruelty with the precision of a surgeon with a scalpel. “It’s really shitty that you’d hurt her just because you want revenge on my father.”

  “Hercules.” The censor in his tone makes me flush. “The conversation is closed. I trust it will stay between us.”

  I open my mouth to argue, but his sharp look stops me. Instead, I swallow hard. “A task?”

  “Normally Tink acts as Meg’s assistant, but her contract is coming to an end. Regardless of whether or not she chooses to stay on at the Underworld, you’ll be trained to take her place.”

  I swallow. “You want me to train to be Meg’s assistant.”

  “Yes.” His gaze doesn’t leave my face. “Do not fuck her. Regardless of what else happens, that is a line you will not cross. If you do, I’ll punish you both publicly.” He leans forward. “And trust me when I say that you won’t enjoy it in the least.”

  A thrill courses through me despite common sense whispering that crossing this man is a mistake, even in a game. I’m still furious at Meg. Last night changes nothing. But, like with Hades, I want her enough to cloud my judgment, and the protective urges that drove me to make this bargain in the first place haven’t disappeared. Hades obviously knows that and plans to use it against me. Is Meg in on this particular game? I don’t know. Our short history more than proves that I can’t trust her. “Okay,” I say slowly.

  “‘Yes, Sir’ is the proper response.”

  “Yes, Sir,” I immediately repeat. I have a lot to think about, but in the end it changes nothing. I gave my word. If I didn’t know the reason Hades wanted me, that’s on me. I charged in here, thinking I knew everything I needed to know, and ended up in over my head as a result.

  Embarrassment heats my face. All I want is to do good, but every time I turn around, I’m fucking things up worse than they were before I arrived. I can’t keep up with the major power players no matter how hard I try. I don’t even know if I’m capable of thinking about the long game the same way Zeus and Hades do. Every time I try to slow down, my instincts get the best of me and I jump without checking for water.

  I need to change that about myself, and I don’t even know where to start.

  Hades studies me as if he can divine my thoughts right out of my head. “There’s no shame in the impulsiveness of youth, little Hercules.”

  I try for a laugh, but it comes out bitter. “Are you a mind reader now?”

  “I don’t have to be when you wear your thoughts on your face for anyone to see.”

  “I don’t know how not to.” I don’t know how not to do a lot of things.

  He leans forward and braces his elbows on his desk. “Time and pain are the best teachers. You’ll learn. Maybe not soon enough, but you’ll learn.”

  I should end this conversation, but he’s actually talking to me with something almost like compassion. I can’t trust it—I know enough to know that—but I also don’t want it to end. “Were you ever like me? When you were my age?”

  “No.” His smile is quick and bittersweet. “I was much, much worse. Or better, I suppose, depending on how you look at it. You had the self-awareness to realize all was not as it seemed and to look past your father’s charismatic mirage. I didn’t.”

  I can’t imagine that, a Hades with stars in his eyes. It’s possible he’s lying to me about this, too, but my gut says it’s the truth. I clear my throat. “I’m sorry for what he did to you.”

  He takes off his glasses and pulls out a black cloth to clean the lenses. It’s such a mundane action, but it leaves me breathless. “Meg will be in her office. It’s the next floor down.” He glances up. “Tonight, we’ll have another lesson.”

  That’s a dismissal if I’ve ever heard one. I should be happy to leave this man’s presence, but reluctance weighs me down. That was almost a full conversation without animosity or manipulation. Almost. I push slowly to my feet. “I’ll see you later, then.”

  He lets me get nearly to the door before he speaks again. “And Hercules?”

  “Yes, Sir?” I pause, but don’t turn around.

  “Next time you walk through that door, I don’t want you wearing anything but your skin.”

  Chapter 15

  Meg

  As much as I love the late nights in the Underworld, mornings are my favorite time of day. The entire building feels like it’s a slumbering dragon, and I’m the only one around to witness it. The cleaning crew comes through before I’m up, so everything glistens and shines and feels brand new. Part of my job is ensuring they didn’t miss anything, but I enjoy the quiet moments walking the empty lounge and back rooms. Without the bustling energies of people filling it to the brim it feels like…mine.

  Mine and Hades’s, though he stopped doing these quiet walkthroughs with me years ago.

  It doesn’t stop me from looking for him every single fucking morning. I should know better by now, but my stomach still drops a little when I don’t find him waiting for me in the lounge.

  I circle the bar that gleams in the low light, and then check all the booths. Our cleaning crew is the best, so this is mostly a formality. Next is the public playroom behind a locked door. When the Underworld is filled with patrons, this door is usually manned by Allecto or one of h
er people. I push through, putting my disappointment into movement in an attempt to exorcise it from my body.

  The public playroom holds a little bit of everything. There are spanking benches and St. Andrew’s Crosses and various racks for suspension play. Scattered throughout the room, there are also couches and other furniture for people to sit on to observe or fuck or do whatever they want to. The only limit is consent.

  Everything is as it should be. The room smells faintly of citrus and I inhale deeply. It doesn’t completely banish the sick feeling in my stomach, but it dilutes it. All my complicated feelings for Hades don’t make a difference when I’m in this room. Knowing I’m responsible for the people who work here, that they depend on me for guidance and safety. It’s a heady feeling. Hades might have paved the way for me to take this position, but I earned their trust on my own.

  Next are the back rooms. They’re all themed, from a mundane bedroom to a study to a doctor’s office to a stable. During the day, the viewing wall is transparent so I don’t have to enter the rooms to check them. Clean. Perfect. Ready for tonight.

  By the time I finish my walkthrough, I’m steady enough to focus on the office work that comes next.

  First up are spreadsheets and the reports from the staff who worked the night before. Sometimes it’s just a simple record of their scenes with clients. Sometimes they have gems of knowledge that were dropped during the equivalent of pillow talk. All are filed and brought to Hades. He likes to hold all the cards when it comes to negotiations, and one never knows who will want a deal, so he has files on every major player in Carver City.

  There are a lot of them.

  The city is carved up into slices, each ruled by a different faction. Some of them are stable. Some are significantly less so. All have the ability to endanger the careful balance we have if they go rogue. By creating a neutral territory in the center, we ensure that nothing will happen without us knowing about it first. While Hades doesn’t intervene without a deal, knowledge is power. And power is everything in Carver City.