Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Hades
The warehouse came into view through the dust. Corrugated metal walls, rusted roof, single door hanging crooked on its hinges.
I killed the engine, and silence crashed down around me.
No screaming. No struggle. No sound of violence in progress.
Either I was too late or she’d already handled it herself.
I kicked the door open. The hinges screamed as metal scraped concrete, and there she was, standing in the center of the warehouse with a knife in her right hand, hair tangled and wild, eyes sharp and clear.
Alive.
Whole.
Lethal.
My gaze dropped to the body on the floor. Dakota Stone. Dead. Blood pooled beneath his head. His eyes stared at nothing; his mouth hung open in a silent scream that would never come.
I looked back at Lettie. She hadn’t moved.
Hadn’t flinched. Hadn’t dropped the knife or tried to explain.
She just stood there, waiting, and when our eyes met, I saw all of it.
The woman who’d poisoned Echo, who’d killed Professor Halston and Harlen Troy and Darlene Kessler and God only knew how many others.
The woman who’d helped Rhea escape, who’d systematically eliminated abusers across Texas for years without hesitation or remorse.
The woman who’d just killed a man with her bare hands and a vial of poison.
My queen.
I crossed the warehouse floor, boots echoing on concrete, each step deliberate and controlled.
She didn’t back away. Didn’t lower the knife.
Just watched me come. I stopped in front of her, close enough to touch, close enough to see the flecks in her eyes, the way her chest rose and fell, the steadiness in her gaze. No fear. No apology. No shame.
I reached up and touched her cheek. Still wet. She didn’t flinch. I took the knife from her hand, set it on the floor, and then pulled her against me. Hard. Possessive. Mine.
Her arms came around me immediately, fingers digging into my back, face pressed against my chest. I buried my face in her hair and breathed her in, tears and sweat and something darker, something that belonged to me.
“You killed him,” I said against her temple. Not a question. A statement.
“Yes.”
I smiled. Slow and dark and absolutely fucking feral. “Good.”
Her eyes widened slightly. I leaned in, pressed my forehead against hers, and let my hands slide down to her throat. Not threatening. Claiming.
“You think I give a fuck about the bodies you’ve left behind?” My voice came out rough and raw.
“Brock—”
“I don’t.” I cut her off. “I don’t care about any of it. You know why?”
She shook her head, a small movement, barely there.
“Because you’re mine.” I tightened my grip on her throat and felt her pulse jump beneath my fingers. “Every dark piece. Every kill. Every secret. All of it belongs to me now.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” I kissed her hard, brutal. Claiming. “You’re my queen, Lettie. Not my old lady. Not my woman. My fucking equal. You stand beside me. Not behind me. You make your own choices. Fight your own battles. Kill whoever the fuck needs killing.”
Her breath hitched, and I knew she understood. This wasn’t possession disguised as love. This was acceptance. Complete and absolute.
The sound of motorcycles grew louder outside, and moments later, the warehouse filled with my brothers.
Zeus entered first, followed by Atlas, Kraken, Iapetus, Ares, and Hermes.
But it was Ares who held the massive black Cane Corso by a reinforced leather lead, the dog’s muscles coiled tight as he took in the scene.
Cerberus.
The dog’s eyes locked on Lettie immediately. His entire body went rigid, nostrils flaring as he caught her scent mixed with blood and concrete and death. A low, rumbling growl started deep in his chest. Not aggressive. Protective. Primal recognition of his person in danger.
“Easy, boy,” Ares said, but he was already releasing the lead.
Cerberus moved like a missile. A hundred and fifteen pounds of pure muscle and loyalty, crossing the warehouse in three strides to press his massive head against Lettie’s legs.
His body became a barrier between her and everything else.
His eyes stayed fixed on the corpse on the floor, then swept back to me, assessing.
Calculating. Making sure I wasn’t a threat to what was his.
Because Cerberus understood what I’d just claimed. She was ours. Both of us.
Lettie’s hands came down into his fur, her fingers threading through the black coat. I watched her shoulders drop slightly, watched the tension ease from her spine just a fraction. The dog was her anchor. Her proof that something in this world still recognized her as worth protecting.
“How’d you do it?” Kraken asked quietly, his massive frame filling the doorway as he studied Lettie with something like respect.
She reached up to her necklace. Her fingers found the chain and lifted it. The vial was gone.
“I made it after meeting you,” she said, meeting Kraken’s eyes. “Figured if I ever needed to take down someone your size, I’d need something concentrated enough to work fast.”
I laughed. Couldn’t help it. The sound came out rough and dark and absolutely fucking genuine. My queen had been planning for war the whole goddamn time.
“You made poison specifically calibrated for giants?” Hermes grinned. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Fuck off,” Kraken muttered, but his mouth twitched.
“What?” Hermes spread his hands, all innocence. “She took one look at our boy and thought, ‘I could drop him if I had to.’ That’s love, brother.”
Atlas snorted. “That’s paranoia.”
“That’s preparation,” Lettie corrected quietly. Cerberus leaned against her leg, his weight solid and grounding.
Zeus had been silent through the exchange, but I watched his expression shift. Saw the exact moment the pieces clicked into place. His eyes moved from Lettie to the body on the floor, then back to her. His jaw tightened.
“Poison,” Zeus said slowly. His voice was too controlled. Too measured. “You make your own poison.”
Lettie met his gaze without flinching. “Yes.”
“Concentrated enough to drop a man Kraken’s size.” Zeus took a step forward. “Concentrated enough to make deaths look like heart attacks. Natural causes.”
The warehouse went quiet. Every brother present understood what was happening. Cerberus growled low in his throat.
“The suspicious deaths,” Zeus continued, his voice getting harder. “Harlen Troy. Leanne Turner. Agnes Mayfair. All those men and women across Texas who died of apparent cardiac events.”
Lettie didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. The answer was written all over her face.
“That was you.” Zeus’ hands curled into fists. “You’ve been killing them. For years.”
“Yes,” Lettie said quietly.
“And my mother.” Zeus’ voice dropped to something dangerous. “Rhea. She disappeared two days after you became Hades’ old lady. Vanished without a trace. Like she’d had help.”
I stepped between them. “Zeus—”
“Did you help my mother escape?” Zeus demanded, looking past me to Lettie.
“Yes,” Lettie said. “I gave her something to disable whoever followed her. Gave her a head start. She deserved to get away from all of this.”
Zeus’ expression went cold. “You had no right.”
“She asked for my help,” Lettie said. “I gave it to her.”
“She’s my mother.” Zeus’ voice rose. “You don’t get to make that decision. You don’t get to—”
“Back the fuck off.” I moved fully in front of Lettie, blocking Zeus’ path. “Right now.”
Zeus’ eyes snapped to mine. “She helped my mother disappear. She’s been killing people for years. And you knew.”
“I didn’t know—not at first.” I didn’t back down. Didn’t apologize. “But I don’t give a fuck.”
“You don’t—” Zeus stopped and stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “She’s a vigilante killer, Hades. She’s been murdering people.”
“Abusers,” I corrected. “Predators. Men and women who hurt vulnerable people. Men like that asshole on the floor. She’s not doing anything we wouldn’t do if we knew it was happening.
She just does it neater, without bloodshed, without having to worry about the fucking law finding a body in a shallow grave. ”
“That’s not her call to make.”
“Don’t be a fucking hypocrite, brother.” I stepped closer to Zeus.
Close enough that he’d have to go through me to get to her.
I wasn’t worried—he’d never get through me and if he did...
he’d never get past the hellhound on his feet beside me.
“I’m not asking her to stop. I’m not doing a goddamn thing except standing here and telling you that if you have a problem with what she’s done, you take it up with me. ”
Zeus’ jaw clenched. “She helped my mother escape.”
“Your mother was suffocating under the weight of her grief. Drowning in yours and your sisters’ too. In the grief of the entire fucking club.” I lowered my voice. “She doesn’t even know everything yet. She needed out, and Lettie gave her a way. You should be thanking her.”
“Thanking her?” Zeus’ voice was incredulous. “My mother is in the wind. I don’t know where she is. Don’t know if she’s safe. And you want me to thank the woman who helped her disappear?”
“Your mother is safer away from the club than she ever was in it,” I said. “And you know it.”
Silence stretched between us. Heavy and dangerous. The kind of silence that preceded violence.
Then Zeus exhaled slowly. His hands uncurled. His shoulders dropped slightly.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
Zeus looked past me to Lettie. “The people you killed—they all deserved it?”
“Yes,” Lettie said without hesitation.
“You’re sure?”
“I don’t kill people who don’t deserve it.” Her voice was steady. Certain. “I research. I watch. I make sure. And then I act.”
Zeus was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I asked.
“Okay.” Zeus looked at me. “She’s your old lady. Your responsibility. Your choice. But if this comes back on the club—”
“It won’t,” I said.
“It better fucking not.” Zeus turned to Lettie. “And my mother. If you hear from her—”