Chapter 9
Persephone
After all the excitement of last night, this morning was anticlimactic. Hades drives the boat straight across the water through the dark, rough seas until I can see land. Wild, overgrown, and sandy, this beach is shockingly similar to the one we just escaped.
In the early hours of pre-dawn, we disembark. As I open my mouth to ask where we are supposed to go, I see a bunch of palm fronds piled high right next to the dock. Hades doesn’t say anything to me.
He just jerks the duffel bags off of the boat and heads down the dock. In less than a minute, he has pulled the palm fronds away to reveal a battered old Jeep. When he starts to pile the bags in it, I slide in with only a moment’s hesitation.
My brow is furrowed, though.
“How did you know that this Jeep was here?”
The wind suddenly picks up, ruffling his hair as he takes the driver’s seat. He spares me a glance as he pulls out. “In my line of work, it’s important to have contingencies. This was our first option if we were driven away from the island by force.”
I squint at him. I’m even more confused than ever. “You didn’t think we were safe back on the island?”
“No. On the contrary, I wasn’t particularly worried about anyone finding us.
” Hades exhales and looks straight forward.
It’s hard to read his expression just now.
The Jeep climbs up a little path cut into the woods and he splays his arm across the back of my seat as he navigates.
“But knowing that I had four backup plans in place made me sleep more peacefully. And I’m sure that yer glad that we have somewhere to go now, too. ”
I turn and aim my frown out the open passenger door. A million questions bubble up inside me. But Hades seems to be fixated on driving. So I guess they will have to wait.
We pull onto a paved road. The Jeep follows it around as it cuts a wide arc through the brush. At last, we head down a little flattened track.
The beach blooms before us, the sun just beginning to brush long fingers across the horizon. There is a tiny, gray-slatted cottage that we drive down to and park nearby.
He gets out of the vehicle and starts grabbing the duffel bags.
I shiver and hug myself as he opens the front door of the little house.
Inside is spartan and not lit at all. A little kitchenette, a cheap faded white plastic patio table, a mismatched set of dingy wood chairs. He jerks his chin toward the door.
“There’s a cot in there.”
With that, he vanishes back outside. I hear the Jeep start up again and start to reverse up the beach.
I go into the bedroom and find the cot, the only piece of furniture in the entire room. It’s musty and so I sit down on it, putting my back against the wall. I glance out the window at the beach, my thoughts whirling.
I keep thinking that I thought I had Hades fixed in my mind. And yet, when he was threatened…
He changed before my eyes, completely and irrevocably.
He’s a lot more dangerous than I thought.
A shiver races up my spine as I close my eyes and remember how unbelievably deadly he looked on the beach, squaring off against all those men.
He was protecting me, after a fashion.
Do I find that attractive? Yes, I do. I’m ashamed of it, but the fact is that dangerous men just do it for me, every time.
I feel my body beginning to relax. It seems like I’ve only been sitting here for a few minutes when I flutter my eyelashes open again. But the sun pouring through the window is bright and my body is stiff.
God, time has not been my friend ever since I was kidnapped.
Standing up gingerly, I stretch and think about what I will do now.
The memory of the amazing shower at the last place I was held comes to me, unbidden.
The amazing closet full of fresh clothes in just my size, too.
I might not have been there by choice, but at least I was comfortable.
I wince at the crick in my neck. I need to get out of this house.
Preferably away from Hades, too.
When I head out into the main room, he’s there, sipping a coffee mug. He looks handsome, his dark tousled hair grown out to chin length and pushed back, his eyes the same eerie green that pierces straight through me. His normal few days facial hair has settled into the beginnings of a beard.
As usual, he wears a dark button up and dark slacks but the suit jacket I’m used to seeing is nowhere to be found. His sleeves have been casually rolled and pushed up to expose his muscular forearms. He looks up as I come out of the bedroom, his eyes narrowing on my face.
He sets down his cup and he starts rolling down his sleeves. I tilt my head just a little, watching him do it. I wonder what the impulse inside his head is that makes him do it.
Does he not want me to see him like that for some reason? Is his suit more like a metaphorical suit of armor?
I dare not ask. Instead, when I hit the floor, I turn and move toward the front door.
His voice rings out, his words falling like a snare. “Where are ye going, lass?”
I come to a halt, turning my upper body back toward him. “Out.”
Anger flares on Hades’ face. “Out where?”
Growing exasperated, I shrug my shoulders. “Does it matter? You know as well as I do that there is nowhere to go.”
He shoots me a glare. “That’s why I’m asking.”
I exhale through my nose and roll my eyes. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back at some point.”
I move toward the front door again, only to be brought up short by his voice. “Give me a second. I’m going with ye.”
Feeling for all the world like a brooding, mopey teen, I stomp out the front door. The heat is immediate, pressing in on me, making me wish that the lovely air conditioning from the last house came with me. The sun beats down on me mercilessly.
Still, that doesn’t hold me back as I stalk out onto the broad white sand circle that is the driveway. I take a beat, then head straight down toward the shore. The white sand beach is still here but this one is different from the other. More rocks jut from between the dunes.
Sand and rocks fall in clumps as I go down a steep slope, crumbling and falling to the bottom on the rocky ground at the bottom.
I get to the place where the ground begins to flatten out and the sand stretches before me, the aquiline sea beckoning to me.
I hear crumbling just behind me and turn to see Hades making his way down the steep hill.
He wears thick black boots on both feet and a look of something like derision on his handsome face. “I told ye to wait for me.”
I toss a scoff over my shoulder. “You’ve already trapped me on your private island. You don’t get to set any more rules for me unless you plan on tying me to my bed.”
His brows lift. “Oh, lass. Ye dinnae want to be putting ideas in my head like that unless ye would actually like me to tie ye up…”
My cheeks go red, and I jerk my eyes away from his, scowling. “Fuck off.”
I set off at a lope, trying to ignore the feel of the desert island sun on my skin. I’m also not entirely sure that the interaction Hades and I just had could not be counted as… well, flirtation. I mean, Hades is twisted and cruel. And his intentions are surely the worst.
But that doesn’t mean my mind doesn’t flit to me on a bed, bound and gasping while Hades hovers over me, his eyes burning with malevolent intent. And it definitely doesn’t stop a small throb of need from beginning somewhere low in my body.
I grit my teeth and run to the water, stopping just short of plunging myself in. Why do I find guys like Hades so fucking sexy? They do such dirty rotten things to me, after all.
The surf crashes, the water rushing up toward me, fanning out until it just kisses the tips of my sneaker-clad feet.
Hades strolls up and stops beside me. I cast a glance over at him, frowning. He is exactly my type, tall and broad shouldered, mean as the day is long. His lips are set in a grim line. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t share the reasons why he is so cruel.
Yep, I want him. I hate myself for being so weak but that doesn’t stop the fact that I’m attracted to him.
He cocks a brow at me. “Is this as far as we go?”
Making a disgusted sound, I turn and trot along the shore.
Hades keeps pace with me without so much as breaking a sweat.
The heat begins to set in as my body works beneath my hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
I can feel perspiration beginning to stick the sweatshirt to my skin at the lower back and underarms.
Christ, it’s hot. I slow my pace to a walk and ignore the way that Hades does the same. He keeps looking at me, making me blush even though I’m not exactly sure why.
“Could you stop?” I ask, aggrieved.
His eyes narrow. “Stop what?”
I stop, spearing him with my gaze. “Stop following me. Stop looking at me. Just stop everything.”
An amused look crosses his features. “I dinnae think so, lass.”
“Stop calling me lass, too.” I cross my arms. “I am never going to understand why you’re just keeping me here.”
Hades sucks in a deep breath. “I already told ye why.”
My mouth turns down and I shake my head. “I want to leave, Hades.”
“We will leave, Persephone. As soon as we have the materials ye need and a place for ye to start working.”
I push my cheek out with my tongue. “I hate you.”
He opens his mouth, a retort apparently ready. But I start off again, running this time. I don’t harbor any illusions about outrunning him. I know that he barely has to trot to keep up with my much shorter stride.
I drop my gaze, keeping an eye on where I step. The sand shifts beneath each step. It’s tricky and a misplaced foot could become a turned ankle without a second thought. I puff out my cheeks, my heart rate rising. I have to work to control my breathing and keep watch of where I step.
For a good fifteen minutes, I run unchecked along the beach. There is no one else in sight, no one but me and Hades.
My left hand starts tingling and bothering me. I flex my left hand and grow aware of how much harder my left foot and the entire left side of my body are working to keep up with the pace I have set.
But I can’t let it show. That would be declaring my weakness to the enemy.
Not here, with Hades.
Not ever.
When I finally slow again, my left hand is so tingly that it verges on pain. I halt, squeezing my hands into fists. Dropping my hands to my knees, I suck in breaths and feel sweat slipping down from the sides of my face and my lower back.
I look out over the sea, trying not to glance at Hades. Shaking out both hands at once feels strange but I am at least attempting to mask my discomfort.
Hades clears his throat, which causes me to startle and swing my gaze over to him.
As I do, I realize that I’ve been running toward a steeply sloping rock jutting forty or so feet out of the sandy beach.
I do a double take, catching sight of a little rocky outcropping on the ground nearby.
The sea laps at it gently, gurgling as it washes over the rocks.
I pull in a breath, feeling my chest tightening. For a second, I stare at the rocks on the ground and watch the sea as it recedes gently.
I can smell the thick tang of blood in the air. I can see it, smeared across the rocks in a haphazard manner.
Maddie’s blood.
I can feel myself begin to shake.
Dark water swirls around my knees as I climb to my feet.
It can’t be Maddie’s blood, I tell myself. Maddie is dead.
Remember?
“Persephone.”
I swing my wide eyed gaze over to him, my heart beating a mile a minute.
Hades tilts his head, his gaze calculating. “Lass. Have ye seen a ghost? Ye’ve gone pale.”
I lick my lips, my gaze nervously flitting back to the rocks.
I’m stunned to see that I find just that. Rocks.
There’s no blood.
There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Just the water, gently ebbing and flowing. I wonder if I may have made up the cliff’s edge, even.
But I’m too terrified to look.
I turn my back on the scene, nodding vaguely. “I’m fine.”
He gives me a troubled look. “Ye dinnae look it, lass.”
I summon a glare, shooting it his way. “And how would you know how I’m doing? Hm? You’ve known me for barely a week.”
I’m trying to tamp down my strong emotions here and the last thing I need is for Hades to sniff it out.
But as much as I protest that I’m fine, I’m betrayed by my own body.
As soon as I try to take a step, I wobble.
My hands fly out to try to balance me. I lurch forward, eyes widening, completely off kilter.
Hades steps in smoothly and slips his arm around my waist to steady me. He grabs my right hand, bunching it in his fist. My whole body goes haywire at the brush of his skin against mine.
He is so much bigger than me that he could easily sweep me off my feet again, taking all my autonomy from me. I can’t let that happen even though I might be uncertain on my feet.
I grit my teeth and growl at him. “Don’t touch me!”
Even as I protest, I can feel my body beginning to slump. It’s not the first time I’ve been betrayed by my own body. But this might be the most humiliating time for my body to simply choose not to do what I ask of it.
Hades glares at me as he wraps his arms around me. His face is only inches away from mine when he grips my back and scans my face. “What is going on with ye? Are ye going to faint?”
I swallow, not quite able to meet his eye. “Nothing,” I rasp.
His hands grip me, shaking me. “Look at me. No, dinnae look away. Look at me!”
Tears press in on me as I lift my gaze, taking in his green eyes and concerned scowl. I don’t say anything. The only options are to lie, to tell him the complete truth about my medical problems, or to stay silent.
I choose the last option because I’m not sure what will come out of my mouth if I open it. I’m uncomfortable being pressed against him. Being touched by his hot hands is a new kind of torture.
Certainly, I will do what I have to do to keep my own counsel.
But what real choice do I have?
“What aren’t ye telling me, lass?” he whispers. “Hm?”
I muster all the strength left in my body to raise my hands to his chest and shove him away. I look at him, warning him with a steely gaze.
“Don’t,” I say softly. “Please, Hades.”
Last time I used this voice on him, Hades roughly pushed me away. And this time is no different. He releases me instantly, a sneer lifting his lip. I stumble back, my steps unsure.
“Be careful what ye wish for, lassie.”
He stalks away, his expression imperious. I watch him go, waiting until he is nearly out of sight before I sit down, my muscles trembling with the effort I expended to stay standing.
The soft sands greet me like a long lost lover. I turn my gaze toward the ocean, repressing tears.