Chapter 3
Tink
There are times when forty-eight hours can stretch for what feels like weeks.
Glorious nights spent playing the bratty submissive to my favorite Dominants followed by days working with Meg in the office and handling the various other duties that fall under my nebulous position as an assistant manager.
Not this time.
It feels like I blink and I’m in Hades’s office again, though this time we aren’t alone.
Meg and Hercules stand at either side of him, a perfect little triangle of polyamorous love.
It might make me sick if I didn’t like Meg and Hercules so much, mostly despite myself.
Impossible not to resent the place they’ve carved out for themselves, for each other.
I dislike Hades intensely, but no one can argue that he runs his territory like the others in Carver City.
He doesn’t. I benefited from living under his rule.
He watches me with those cold dark eyes. “Our deal is now complete. Your price has been paid in full.”
My throat burns, but I muscle down the physical reaction just like I have countless times in the past. There are submissives who don’t mind crying in public.
Or crying in general. I’m not one of them.
I’ll give up control of so much during a scene, but not that.
Outside of a scene? Forget about it. “I’d say thank you, but you’re kicking me out.
Hard not to take it personally. I’m sure you understand. ”
Hercules opens his mouth like he might jump in, but Hades anticipates him and holds up a hand. “As token of my appreciation for the time you’ve spent here, you’ll always maintain a membership here in the Underworld.”
A membership. Not a job.
People would kill to have a membership here. They have in the past. It’s outstandingly expensive, and Hades curates who he allows in, picking only the most powerful, and those who fit the tastes of the most powerful. Having this invitation extended to me is a big deal.
I still want to throw something.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Meg is watching me with her heart in her eyes, all sympathy and understanding, but again Hades is the one who speaks.
“You’ve saved a significant amount of money in the last five years.
You’ve started your own clothing business.
The fact that you’re asking me this question proves I’m making the right decision. ”
His tone is almost paternal. That is, if by paternal, I mean patronizing as shit. I glare. “If I wanted life advice, I would have asked for it.”
“Then let me lay it out explicitly. I’ve allowed you to find your feet in more than one way while you lived under my roof and my protection.
Despite our bargain, I only took five percent of your clothing profits, when we both know I was entitled to a much larger slice.
You have resources. You have money. The only thing you’re lacking is courage.
” He stands slowly, glowering down at me.
“It’s time to the leave the nest, Tink. Because these two have tender feelings for you, I am content to hold your possessions until you find a residence—within a reasonable timeline. ”
He just knocked the wind out of my best argument for more time. I swallow past my suddenly dry throat. “How long are you giving me?”
“Three days. That should be more than enough time to nail down living arrangements.” He makes a show of looking at his watch. “That timeline starts now. I wouldn’t linger.”
None of them make a move as I turn on my heel and march out of the room.
I won’t hold this against Meg and Hercules later, but right now the betrayal lies thick on my tongue.
I’ve made Hades a shit ton of money over the last five years, and the second he has a chance to drop me, he doesn’t hesitate.
For all his talk of loyalty and the like, he’s a fucking hypocrite.
I absolutely refuse to see his side of things. I’m not interested in being fair right now. Only angry.
I stop on the employee residential floor to grab some things and stop short when I find Allecto leaning against the wall by my door.
She’s Hades’s head of security, and she’s so beautiful I’d be jealous if I didn’t enjoy her snarky attitude so much.
She’s got her long black braids up in a messy bun on top of her head and is wearing combat boots, jeans, and a black tank top that shows off her impressive arm muscles.
She catches sight of me and straightens.
“You have ten minutes to grab your shit, and then I’m escorting you to the exit. ”
“Ten minutes and an escort.” I try and fail to keep the hurt out of my voice. “Hades really is pulling out the stops.”
Allecto shrugs, her dark brown skin gleaming in the soft light of the hallway. “Time to fly, little bird.”
“I hate all of you.”
“No, you don’t. You’re just pissed. You’ll get over it.” She motions to my door. “Clock’s ticking.”
As much as I’d like to stand here and yell at her until I can exorcise some of the horrible emotions tumbling through me, it won’t make a difference. Allecto isn’t responsible for this decision any more than I am.
I hurry into the room and bypass the racks half-filled with clothing from my last styling appointment and the compulsively organized corner of the room that houses my desk, sewing machine, and a small fortune’s worth of fabric and accessories.
I might not trust Hades as far as I can throw him, but I don’t believe for a second that he’ll mess with my things.
He wants me gone, not broken. The two things feel remarkably similar in this moment, but with distance, that will change.
I’ve already been intimately acquainted with being broken. This isn’t what it looks like. Not by a long shot. I’m pissed and my feelings are hurt, but that’s the worst of it.
I wade into my walk-in closet and dig through the garment bags to the spot in the corner where the pink suitcase sits.
It’s shiny and new and has never been used.
It’s also packed with enough clothes to see me through a week of whatever the hell life can throw at me, duplicates of all my cosmetics and hair shit, and six pairs of shoes.
Oh, and of course, a taser and two cans of bear mace. A woman has to be prepared, after all.
I heft it out of the closet and do a quick circuit of the room. My phone charger goes into my purse, the stash of cash I kept in a little fireproof safe in the nightstand follows. It’s not everything I have, but it’s more than enough for a month or two of rent to get me started.
I stop short. Holy shit, I’m going to have to find furniture, do my own grocery shopping, do everything. The sheer number of things I need to take care of has me wavering. Would Hades really put me out if I hid in my room until further notice?
I know the answer even before my mind finishes the thought. He would and he will. No, there’s no option but to leave gracefully. Jump and figure it out on the way down.
I muscle open the door and haul the suitcase behind me. Allecto is exactly where I left her and she raises her eyebrows at the luggage. “Subtle.”
“It’s called character, asshole.”
“You better take a cab or something. Dragging that shiny thing behind you is like carrying a neon sign just asking to get mugged.”
As satisfying as it would be to tell her where to shove her opinion, she’s right. “I’ll call from the lobby. Wouldn’t want to give you any excuse to drag me kicking and screaming from the building.”
“Aw, Tink, you ruin all my fun.” She gives me a wide grin and, even with my world turned on its head, it has heat licking up my spine. Allecto plays just as mean as I do, and we’ve had a lot of fun together in the past.
Will we still do scenes if I’m no longer on the payroll?
I shake my head and push the thought away. I have larger things than my sex life to worry about right now. And I certainly will not be thinking about Hook’s offer.
Marriage. Fucking. Him.
It’s more than that, though. If I agree to his terms, if I let him fight this battle for me, if I agree to forever, it wouldn’t be as simple as signing a paper, putting a ring on my finger, and then lying back while I think of England.
Hook would never settle for that. No, he wants me, body and soul.
I’ve only just gained ownership of both. I’m not in a hurry to give either away, let alone to a person I know I can’t trust. Hook is a goddamn villain, no matter how pretty he smiles.
“Tink.”
I blink. Allecto sounds annoyed enough that this can’t be the first time she’s said my name. “What?”
“The car.”
“Right. My bad.” I fish my phone out of my oversized purse and pull up the app to call the car service. It’s only when I’m typing in the pickup address that I pause.
I have no idea where I’m going.
Staying in Hades’s territory in the center of Carver City would be ideal, but even without having looked into it in detail, I know real estate prices are astronomical.
Neutral territory is worth its weight in gold, and people are only too happy to pay through the nose to live inside his boundaries.
It allows for dealings with a variety of criminal types without having to worry about stepping on territorial toes or pledging long-standing alliances to a single ruler.
I might be able to afford the cost of rent, but it would deplete my resources really fast. If I devoted more time to my fashion gig instead of using it as a side hustle the way I had for the last couple years, I might be able to make up the difference, but that is a lot of might.
I can’t pay my newly acquired bills with “might.”
“Don’t let all the possibilities hamper your decision-making abilities.”
I give Allecto a sharp look. “I don’t need you crawling around inside my head.” I don’t need anyone doing it.