Chapter 28
It was the morning of the heist. We sat around the dining table in their apartment as the sun rose, with Grayson talking us through every detail of the plan for the millionth time.
Gemma and Hunter listened patiently and seriously, taking everything in, once again.
And so did I. It was another one of Grayson’s rules.
Rule Number Three: Always be overprepared.
Preparation beats improvisation every time.
It amazed me how thoroughly Grayson had planned everything out.
There was no scenario I could think up that he wasn’t already prepared for.
And I really tried to find a hole in his planning, while Hunter just laughed at me, knowingly.
Grayson had patiently mapped out his plans on a whiteboard for me, for every curveball I could imagine happening, and when I could think of no more, he had filled me in on a few possibilities I had missed.
By the time he was done there was a labyrinth of information on the board that I struggled to keep straight.
I had never been dumb. Some teachers had even considered me gifted, but this?
It made me downright look like a Slow Loris.
“Are you done testing me? Or would you like to hear my contingencies for the contingency plans?” Grayson had smirked when I had gone quiet in awe.
By now, after the many repeats, the labyrinth on the whiteboard looked more like a beautifully orchestrated web, with paths and connections interlacing to create an inescapable snare for our prey. A death trap that would leave utter carnage behind.
“How are you feeling, Gray?” Gemma asked when Grayson was done and had gone quiet again.
“It’s surreal.” He pressed his fists onto the table where he was standing, taking a deep breath.
“For more than two decades I’ve dreamt of this day.
Facing Anderson, making him pay for all he’d taken from me.
” He looked up at each of our faces. “I know what I’m about to do is hard to stomach for all of you, so if you don’t want to be a part of it, you can still walk away. I understand.”
Hunter held his hand up. “Do you remember that time in Mexico when I was drunk off my ass and picked a fight with that gang? We were outnumbered two to twelve. You laughed in their faces when they gave you the chance to walk away. You stayed by my side and took the beating of a fucking lifetime. Or what about that time in Switzerland when I almost killed myself snowboarding? You carried my unconscious ass for three miles through thick snow then never left me for one second the whole week I was in the hospital. Or what about that time in Egypt in the museum when you jumped in front of that bullet for me? Or that time in the Caribbean when…”
“Hunt, I get it,” Grayson laughed.
“What I’m saying is, you’ve always had my back, brother. I’m sure as hell gonna have yours. No matter what.”
“Ditto,” Gemma added, giving Grayson a kiss on the cheek.
He nodded appreciatively, tension falling from his shoulders. His eyes found mine, waiting for my answer.
“You already know there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Gray,” I whispered. Even the killing part.
He smoothed a thumb over my cheek as sorrow flitted across his features. “Then we’re all set. You two will make sure everything is in place for tonight?” He directed his question at Gemma and Hunter.
“We’re on it,” Gemma answered as she grabbed Hunter’s hand, pulling him to the door.
“And for God’s sake, Hunt. Remember to charge the batteries this time,” Grayson called over his shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah.” Hunter laughed as he closed the door behind him.
“Why don’t we have anything more to do?” I wondered.
“Oh, we have plenty to do, Princess,” Grayson answered as he pulled me into his arms. “It’s your first official heist. We need to work off all that nervous energy.” He winked at me.
My heart sputtered in excitement.
But then his face became serious again. “We’ve been out of step. And that’s on me. But right now, I need you. Spend the day with me. Me and you, Princess. One last time, before everything goes up in flames tonight,” he joked, flicking my nose playfully.
I smacked at his chest. “Don’t say that!
You’ll jinx us! The gods are mischievous.
You’ll give them ideas.” I shifted from foot to foot, my nerves getting the better of me.
I’ve had a sickening feeling gnawing at my insides from the moment I opened my eyes this morning.
And it was getting to me. “I have something for you, actually. I wanted to give it to you tonight, but I’m just going to give it to you now, since you’re hellbent on jinxing us.
” I glared at him, then motioned for him to follow me up the stairs to our bedroom.
I pulled open the bottom drawer of the vanity table Grayson had gotten for me when he saw me struggling to find a decent space to dry my hair on our first night here.
“I hope you like it,” I said nervously, as I handed him the black box. I had never gotten him anything before, while he had made it his mission for me to not want for anything. I’ve had to be careful not to look at things too long, or it would appear on my pillow the next day.
“Aegis,” he whispered as he stared at the open box.
“You know what it is?” I asked surprised.
He nodded and swallowed heavily. “It’s Athena’s shield.” He made a crooked smile. “I’ve been reading up on your gods while you’re snoring.”
I was too happy to let his teasing get to me. “It’s for protection. I’m hoping you will wear it tonight?”
“I will never take it off, Princess. Thank you,” he said, his voice thick. He hadn’t yet taken his eyes off the gold pin.
“You’re just like Athena, you know,” I mused.
“A fierce and cunning warrior. Homer called her Heaven’s Daughter, whose spear levels battalions of heroes in her wrath.
Not unlike you,” I added in a whisper, smiling in awe at my proud and ferocious lover.
That was his plan for tonight, wasn’t it? To level a battalion of crooked men.
He placed the box onto the vanity before turning his sights on me. I leaned back nervously at the hunger in his eyes. A look like that, from him, was unpredictable. I had no idea what was coming next. But somehow it always ended the same—with me panting, flushed and trying to recall my name.
“You don’t see me as Hades anymore?” He took a menacing step towards me.
My heart sped up. “You pretend to be,” I lied breathlessly, taking a step back, knowing what my words would trigger. He never tried to hide his darkness. He was always making sure I didn’t forget who he really was. Like he needed me to know the worst of him.
He arched a brow. It pulled at his scars, making him look every bit as terrifying as he was. “Pretend?” He took another step forward, stalking his prey.
I stepped back again.
“Princess, you forget. Tonight, I will torture a man; take pleasure in his screams for help, then, when his body finally shuts down and I’m covered in his blood, I’ll send him to hell where he belongs.”
I shuddered, taking another involuntary step back. The sudden shift from playful to serious, giving me whiplash.
“Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m good.” Another step forward. “You’d be lying to yourself.”
“You’ve been good to me.” I fought hard against my instinct to take a step back as Grayson took another towards me but lost. I startled as my back hit the wall.
But Grayson smiled. I was right where he wanted me. Where he’d trapped me. And I had been too preoccupied to notice what he was doing. There was nowhere for me to go.
“Yes, I’ll admit, you’ve made me want to climb out of my hell and taste the light again. And God, how fucking good you taste, baby,” he almost moaned. “But that light is turning dark, the longer I touch you. Look at you. You barely flinched when I told you what I was planning for Anderson.”
I wanted to tell him it was a lie. Because with each stolen glance he thinks I don’t notice, with each little smile appearing on his lips because of me, with each stroke of his fingers on my skin, I was glowing brighter and brighter.
Yes, the colour of my glow might have changed, shifted, but I was fucking beaming. Because of him.
But I knew he would never see it that way. “If that is how you see it, then I don’t want light. I want whatever dark you are. If this is hell, then sign me up.”
He laughed coldly. “This is not hell, Princess. Hell comes later.” He took another step forward.
One more step and our bodies would brush.
“First the devil lures you.” He took that last step, placing his palm flat against the wall, next to my head.
“With a caress here,” he stroked my cheek lightly, as I stopped breathing.
“And a kiss there.” He kissed my lips, barely touching them, making me inch after him as he pulled away, leaving me wanting.
“Then he will delight in showing you pleasure like you’ve never experienced.
Darling, he will fuck with your head so good, you will be ready to worship him as your god.
” His breath was hot on my face, sending shivers through me.
My whole body was tingling in anticipation from the raw look in his eyes.
I wanted to crush myself against him, to release the tension between us, but I was frozen. Locked in place by his stare.
My mouth was dry. “Is that when he drags you to hell? Then I’m in serious trouble.” I tried to joke to ease the tension.
He gave a daunting smirk. “You’re that far gone, hmm?” He pushed my hair backwards and I instinctively pulled my shoulder off the wall so he could complete the action, letting my hair fall over my back. My body reacting to his will.
I nodded, trying to remember how to breathe.
Grayson took a step back. “On your knees then.”
Oh, gods. I took in a ragged breath as electricity coursed through me. I held his hungry gaze as I dropped to my knees in front of him.