Chapter Fifteen
Raven
I woke up not with a start, but with a lazy stretch that quickly reminded me of all that happened last night.
A small smile touched my lips immediately, but it quickly grew into a big, goofy ass grin because holy shit I had sex last night!
Not just any sex either, but the really good kind of sex that makes you walk funny and daydream about it to the point of distraction.
I sat up and looked around the room, frowning because it was really fucking bright outside.
Usually when I woke up, the sky was still more dark than light, evidence that I only slept for a few hours, but the sun shining outside had me scrambling to look at the time.
When I did, I sat back with a heavy sigh and a smile.
I slept all the way through without waking up. Without nightmares too.
Hades must be my good luck charm. Or maybe it was all the orgasms.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and winced, which served as another reminder of just how sore I was from the all night sex-a-thon.
Muscles I never used before were sore and every step I took to the bathroom reminded me of that fact.
As if I could forget. The shower was hot and steamy, and just what I needed.
And yeah, my mind wandered back to what happened last night and how much I enjoyed it.
My legs were still weak when I stepped out of the shower and got dressed in another tank top and another pair of jeans. I left the bedroom—mine, not his—and went in search of Hades with a little more energy in my steps.
I stopped just as I rounded the hall when I heard his voice, low and tense.
Serious as fuck. I strained my ears to listen, but I couldn’t hear a fucking thing.
I read body language fluently, though because I had to.
Between living on the streets and my time with Viktor, I learned quickly.
Hades’ shoulders were tense and his gaze was fixed on the floor at his feet.
Tension radiated from his broad shoulders.
And that put me on edge. I stood there, rooted to the spot as I strained to hear what was being said. Ringing sounded in my ears and my blood rushed through my veins, thick and heavy. Eventually Hades turned to see me standing there and he spoke, but I still couldn’t hear him.
“Raven,” he called again, brows dipped in a blend of worry and confusion.
I blinked a few times, shaking my head to clear the fog. I looked at Hades and yeah there was lust and attraction, but the set of his body was tense and angry. “What is it?” I knew it was something and I trusted him enough not to lie to me.
His shoulders fell as if relieved to be rid of that weight so quickly. “We’re moving to another safe house.”
Those five words turned my blood cold. My breaths came in short, harsh pants I couldn’t control. “What,” I shrieked. “Why?”
He took a few steps forward, his brows dipped in disappointment and worry. “This location is fucking compromised. I don’t know how the fuck it happened or who did, yet. All I know is that it is.”
“How can we be so sure?” My hands shook as they went to the hem of my shirt, gathering the fabric in my palm and twisting hard enough to sting my knuckles.
“A few of our guys spotted some Russians heading this way. Reports of them stopping at the truck stop asking questions about vacation homes on the lake.”
My eyes went wide and my heart rate kicked up another notch. “Holy shit. That’s super specific, Hades.”
He cut a glare my way and nodded. “Yeah. It’s too fucking specific.” His jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached, and I could almost hear the gears twisting in his head. “We need to pack up and get the fuck outta here ASAP.”
I nodded absently, knowing now was not the time for conversation.
Now was the time for action so I moved on shaky legs back to the room I just left and yanked my meager belongings from the closet and the dresser and shoved them back into the backpack and duffel that fit it all.
It took ten minutes to pack my shit, double check the room and head back to the living room where I waited for Hades.
“Ready?” His dark brows were knitted into a dark frown that only made him look more devastatingly gorgeous, which was not something I should’ve been focusing on.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Should we empty the fridge?”
His lips kicked up into a lopsided grin. “Nah, the prospects will take care of it soon.” He opened the door and stepped out first, scanning the area for safety before we headed to my car because a motorcycle would be too conspicuous.
I climbed into the passenger seat, fastened my seatbelt and gazed out the window as we drove.
The woods became the highway before it turned into a lonely dirt road that wound around a steep hill or maybe it was a mountain.
It was a mostly silent drive, which let me get lost in my thoughts, wondering if this shit would ever end.
Viktor had hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars, he could search for me until I took my last breath.
Living the rest of my days on the run or in hiding sounded like its own version of hell.
I wondered if I should just run off and risk it on my own.
That would be safer for everyone else, anyway.
As I thought about Viktor’s resources and his uncanny ability to find people’s deepest, darkest hiding spaces, another thought occurred to me, and I turned to Hades because I needed to watch him as he processed the question and responded.
“You think there’s a mole in the MC?”
The muscles in his jaw snapped tight enough that the outline was visible and his nostrils flared angrily. His hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He didn’t verbalize his answer, but my body language expertise told me he agreed.
That was a small comfort, I guess, but it still left me unsettled.
It didn’t make a lick of sense. The Steel Demons MC were the most loyal group of people I’d ever met.
Not even Viktor’s men were actually loyal to him.
They were well paid, loyal to the salary and bonuses he offered but I knew if someone offered even a dollar more, they’d double-cross him in a heartbeat.
But the Steel Demons? They weren’t like that.
“That doesn’t make sense but it’s the only fucking thing that makes sense.
” I hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but my brain was too full.
Hades was still quiet. Still angry. Still thinking.
I wished like hell I knew what he was thinking about.
Was his mind filled with trying to figure out how Viktor’s men knew where we were or was he busy regretting last night?
This wasn’t how I wanted to spend my morning after what happened last night.
We hadn’t even had a chance to talk about what we did.
Was Hades okay with everything? Did he regret it?
I sure as hell didn’t, but now I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking getting involved with me was a big mistake.
***
After thirty minutes of driving in relative silence I spoke. “How far until we get there?” This was the longest drive of my life and my anxiety threatened to explode out of me.
He said nothing for a long, long time and just when I thought he wouldn’t answer, he finally did. “About forty miles. It’s a spot just over the county line. We’ll be safe there. It’s a different jurisdiction but so far away from civilization that not even the law will know we’re there.”
I let out a sarcastic half-laugh. “That’s what you all said about the place we just left.”
He reached out and his touch startled me and in the next second, it comforted me. “You’re safe, Raven. We’re together and I won’t let shit happen to you.”
“What about if there’s a mole?”
“No one other than Diesel, Rocky, and your brother know where I’m taking you. We’re gonna keep it that way. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry. I’d heard those words too many fucking times in my life. “Oh okay,” I said. “If you insist, I won’t worry.” Yeah, I turned the sarcasm up to twenty.
“Good,” he replied, ignoring my snarky tone. “I appreciate it.”
I flipped him off and he laughed, breaking the tension that filled the inside of the car. Hades kept his hand on my thigh even after he turned his attention back to the road that was more dirt and trees than anything else.
The sounds of civilization grew fainter, which normally would’ve had me on the verge of a panic attack, but I was calm.
Or maybe it was the way his hand branded me that made me calm.
Even when we pulled up to what looked like a regular house, just secluded as fuck, I didn’t freak out.
The house was at the top of what felt like a mountain but was probably just a big ass hill because I was pretty sure there were no mountains in Nevada.
“Wow,” I sighed as the place came fully into view.
The outside was rustic, a faded shade of red that had seen better days.
It was much smaller than the last place, and when Hades opened the door, I realized just how small.
“It’s small, but it’ll have to do.”
Small was a goddamn understatement. There was a mudroom that took up half the space, and just beyond it was a bathroom and kitchen. “Where’s the bedroom?”
He pointed up and that’s when I spotted the ladder that seemed to jut up into the sky. I climbed up quickly and gasped at the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of an endless sea of trees. I could see all around for miles so yeah, it was safer.
But it was so fucking remote I wasn’t sure I’d get any sleep until this shit with Viktor was over once and for all.