Chapter 15 Persephone
Persephone
It’s our third day in Valencia. Hades hasn’t gotten up yet. Or at least, he hasn’t made his presence known. But I’m up early, having tossed and turned all night.
Yesterday, I used my brand new iPad to email my brother Lawrence. Younger than me by two years, he has always been closer to me than either one of my parents.
Which is why I stayed in touch with him, even after I disappeared from New Orleans.
I feel more nervous than I should as I check my email. But there is nothing from him.
My inbox is empty.
I get up and make some coffee, staring off blankly. Before me is a picture window with a view of the ocean. But I’m acclimated to it now.
I am thinking about my brother and the reasons why he didn’t respond. Is there a chance that he didn’t get my email?
As the coffee maker brews, I check my sent mail. The email I sent him last night is the first email listed.
I purse my lips, rubbing a spot between my eyebrows. Letting out a huge sigh, I pour myself a cup of coffee.
“Hey.”
I practically jump out of my skin, sloshing the hot coffee over the rim of my mug.
Turning around, I see Hades stride into the room, already dressed in the same style of black suit, black pants, and a black shirt.
He’s eschewed wearing a tie this morning but otherwise, he’s a perfect, handsome robot.
I scowl at him and the corners of his lips lift just slightly. His version of a smile.
“Jumpy, jumpy. Careful, lass.”
I glare at him, taking a too-hot sip of my coffee. Without asking, he pours himself a cup from the pot I’ve made.
He takes a sip and then eyes his mug critically. “Ye call this coffee, do ye? I’ve had stronger milk tea.”
“If you don’t like it, you should get up earlier and make your own pot of coffee,” I snap.
Hades feeds me the faintest smirk. “And what has got ye in such a temper?”
My iPad chimes. I look over at it, biting my lip, my breath seizing. Hades didn’t explicitly forbid me from contacting anyone… but at the same time, I know that it’s probably not exactly welcome, either.
I don’t really want to hear him shouting me down for emailing Lawrence. So, I wrinkle my nose and set my cup down, ignoring the chime.
Hades squints at the iPad. “It seems that Apple wants ye to know something, lass. What do ye think it is?”
“Oh…” It feels strange to lie to Hades. “I don’t know. I haven’t really set it up right yet. It chimes and buzzes all the time and I’m not really sure why.”
His gaze flits to me, studying my face. He sips his coffee as casually as you would please. But his eyes are calculating.
If only I could keep the flush from my cheeks.
“Ye wouldn’t be trying to contact the authorities, would ye? Because I can assure ye that would be a very poorly thought out idea.”
I look up, drawing a breath. “No. I understand our deal all too well, Hades.”
His green eyes seem to see right through me, illuminating all my dark, hidden depths.
“Mm,” he says at last, a frown tugging his mouth down. “Well then, lass. I have someone for ye to meet. He has ink and contact paper. But I would rather ye see it first-hand rather than just trust it. He’s charging exorbitant prices, but ye never know with men like him.”
I nod slowly, sipping more coffee. “When?”
He glances at his wristwatch. “Now is as good a time as any. We can stop for some real coffee on the way. Plus, it’s too early for crowds.”
I stretch my neck to the side, pulling a face. I don’t particularly want to leave the relative safety of the villa. But at least leaving will give me a reason to tidy away the iPad and its’ chiming.
“Okay. Give me a minute to get dressed.”
Picking up my iPad, I head into the bedroom that Hades had set up for me. Tossing the device onto the bed, I stretch again and head into the villa’s walk-in closet.
Like the island mansion, this villa has a closet of beautiful, expensive clothes already curated for me.
I’m not sure who was in charge of the wardrobe choices…
but they have sleek dresses in solitary colors, trendy black jumpsuits, cashmere sweaters, and even ballet flats and stiletto heels in just my size.
Pulling on a long white silk dress and a pair of plain black flats, I pull my hair up into an elegant pile on the back of my head and pin it into place.
The scoop neck of the dress suggests that I should wear some jewelry, perhaps.
But whoever picked my clothes out apparently did not think to buy anything decorative.
Wrinkling my nose a little, I sigh and flounce out of the bedroom.
Hades is frowning at his nails rather impatiently near the front door.
When he hears me approaching, he straightens.
His expression tightens when he sees me, his eyes traveling from my face down to my chest, his nostrils flaring slightly.
My neck gently flushes as I feel his eyes roaming my body. I clench my right fist, a flare of exquisite awareness shuddering across my bare skin.
“Ready?” I ask. My voice is too high and my tone too bright.
He clears his throat and I notice the way his big hands clench into fists. “Aye.”
Hades holds open the front door. I step outside, wincing at the sunlight. Already the entire world is sticky with brightness and it’s only a bit past eight in the morning. The heat hasn’t quite kicked in yet, but I have no doubt that it will as the morning progresses.
Hades reaches in his pocket and offers me a white leather pouch. I take it, squinting, only to find a pair of sunglasses.
“Ah,” I murmur. I put them on, looking at him. “Thanks.”
He gives me the faintest smirk as he slides on his own sunglasses. “Come on.”
He leads me out through the gates. We head down the hill. I am alert, watching for signs of a crowd. But he was right; it’s too early for most people, it seems.
We walk back down toward the sea. Hades takes us on a slightly different path than we took previously.
Still the beautiful light blue of the sea stands out against the multitude of white and off white sandstone buildings and their distinctive red roofs.
From a distance, the businesses and houses look like rows of imperfect white teeth against the darker paving stones of winding streets.
I take it all in silently, chewing on my bottom lip and darting anxious stares at the smallest noise. When Hades touches my elbow to steer me into a shop, I jump at the graze of his skin.
“Easy, lass,” he says. He slides me a frank look as he points to the little coffee shop. “Maybe ye should get decaf.”
I glare at him. But I don’t shake off his touch. Instead, I let him anchor me as he urges me into the shop.
The unmistakable scent of roasting coffee beans hits my nose the second we enter.
It’s a small, cramped space, room enough for a barista working a little cash register, a stack of paper cups, and four air pots of coffee.
The rest of the space is dominated by a huge cylindrical copper coffee roaster, easily ten feet long and half as many high.
There are also two tables crammed into the shop.
One is empty but the other has a young family sitting at it, dressed for a casual day at the beach.
A young fair haired man, his dark-haired young wife, and a little boy with dark hair and glowing red cheeks remind me of nothing so much as Pinocchio for some reason.
The man scowls at the boy and pushes a piece of breakfast pastry across the table at him.
As Hades steps up to the cash register, speaking to the barista in very broken Spanish, my gaze catches on the family again. The father says something sharp to the boy in a foreign language that doesn’t sound Spanish.
The boy is more interested in his action figure, a little green piece of plastic that he moves across their table. The mother says something quietly, reaching over to push the hair off the little boy’s furrowed brow.
The boy looks over in our direction for a moment and I smile at him. He studies me with a very intent look for a few seconds and then returns to playing.
I have the exact reaction I’ve had for years upon seeing this content, cozy little family. A distinct pang of longing.
Someday, I hope to have that idyllic family.
Hades shoots me a look as the barista fills two cups of coffee for us. I clear my throat and jerk my gaze away.
“So, this man we are supposed to meet. What’s his story?” I ask.
Hades raises an eyebrow. He picks up the two cups of coffee and carries them over to the empty table. I follow him, casting a dubious glance at the young family.
But Hades just sits down so I do too. He passes me a steaming cup of coffee, the taste of which is exactly as rich and nutty as this entire tiny room smells.
“I dinnae really know anything about him, other than that I have worked with him before,” Hades rumbles.
I nod, sipping my coffee. The warmth of it combined with the sunshine outside feels right in some way I can’t put my finger on.
“The coffee is good.”
He angles a vague smirk at me. “The best cup I’ve had in the city. It’s too bad that no one seems to know about it.”
I’m facing away from the family now, but I am still aware of them. A whispered argument breaks out between the man and woman, though I can’t understand what it is about.
“At least there isn’t a line to get a cup of coffee,” I say, trying to keep the conversation going. I’m distracted, though. Hades purses his lips and shifts his gaze behind me, his eyes narrowing.
There is a loud bang, followed by the boy’s soft whimper. I turn around and look at the family just as the man stands straight up, a menacing scowl fixed on the little boy.
His mother intercedes, putting a hand on the man and whispering plaintively. I lick my lips nervously and glance at Hades.
His coffee sits on the table, forgotten. He rises slowly from his seat, his gaze riveted on the man, his fists bunching.
The man yells something at the little boy, who bursts into tears. When he makes a move towards his son, his wife lurches from her seat.
Hades grimaces and yanks me out of my seat, pushing me behind him. The husband rears up, his hand rising as if to hit the wife.
Instantaneously, Hades surges forward and grabs the man’s hand. He twists it in a way that makes a distinct crunching sound.
The man struggles, shifting his murderous gaze to Hades, and lets loose a bellow right in his face. The guy is big, but Hades is bigger; besides that, I think Hades is taking up all the air in the room right now, absolutely radiating hatred for this stranger he doesn’t know.
Hades hits the guy right in the solar plexus without letting the man’s hand go. The stranger howls and makes a halfhearted attempt to scratch at Hades’ face with his free hand.
Hades doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he uses his strength to find a pressure point near the man’s wrist.
“Fuck off, ye fucking bully,” Hades grits out.
In seconds, he manages to twist the bully’s arm at a painful looking angle and back the bully up a full step. The mother is sobbing, her son clutching at her skirts.
My heart thumps against my ribs as I watch Hades continue to twist the man’s arm. There is a shout and the man’s step falters.
The stranger goes down onto his knees, a look of shock and rage on his face. He bleats out a curse and tries to get away.
Hades releases him, squares off, and punches him right in the nose. Blood spurts from his face but that doesn’t deter Hades.
Hades punches him again and again, kneeing the stranger in the stomach, stomping on his ribs. I hear the sound of bone splintering as Hades punches him in the face again.
The mother wails and backs into the corner, clutching at her visibly distraught son.
I flatten myself against the wall. My eyes are on my captor.
This unhinged side of Hades, the one who is currently beating a total stranger to a pulp?
It scares me more than anything else he’s done or said.
Hades, for his part, looks as though he could potentially kill the man shouting incoherently at his feet. When he stomps on the man again, I shudder.
“Hades—” I try. I realize that I’m trembling all over as I reach out a shaky hand towards him.
The woman finally rouses herself, pushing off the wall. She looks afraid, of Hades or her husband or both, but she still flings her hands out over his body slumped on the ground.
“No!” she yells, her breathing ragged. She catches Hades’ eye, sheltering the body of her husband.
She keeps talking, ignoring her young son who tugs at her skirts. I can’t make out any of the rest of her statement, but Hades gives her a moment.
I seize upon that moment to pull at Hades’ arm. “Let’s go. You won, okay?”
Hades glares down at his fallen counterpart, wiping a sheen of sweat away from his forehead. He rears up for a second and I jerk back.
But he only spits on the man, who has stopped moving entirely.
“Coward,” Hades grits out.
He straightens, swinging his wild green gaze around the room. I shrink back as he turns his glare upon me.
I catch a brief note of confusion on his face before Hades pushes past me. I watch, wide eyed, as he plucks a napkin from the table in the back in the shop. He wipes his hands with it and then returns his scowl to me.
He doesn’t say anything, just jerks his head. I practically run out of the shop, my whole body shaking, my thoughts a mess.
When Hades stalks off toward the sea, I bolt back toward the villa like a frightened rabbit.