Chapter Twenty
Hades
The car was silent for an hour after the most fun I’ve had in a backseat, including when I was a teenager. Raven was like a woman possessed, and she wasn’t afraid to tell me when she liked what I did to her. But once we settled back in our respective seats, the car was plunged into silence.
I had no fucking clue if she was quiet because of the earlier events of the night or if it was because she felt what I did in that backseat.
It was like everything, all the scattered pieces of my heart and mind clicked into place.
It was fucking with my head, to be honest, feeling what I was feeling and not knowing what she was feeling.
It was a welcome distraction to nearly dying. To witnessing Raven with a gun pressed to her head. It was a lot, but it felt right.
It felt fucking perfect.
“I need to ask you something,” she said, finally breaking the quiet.
“Anything.” I risked a glance her way and found her nibbling her bottom lip, her eyes filled with worry. “Talk to me, Raven.”
“I’m just,” she started and stopped. “I don’t know, I guess since we’re heading back to the clubhouse, I’m wondering if this was just sex to pass the time. Or… not.”
I knew it took a lot for her to ask that question, which was the only reason I wasn’t angry that she thought that.
“It’s okay if it is,” she began and shook her head. “Well, not okay but if it is, just tell me now.”
“I thought it was obvious,” I said as I gripped the wheel and turned to her again. “I’ve wanted you for a long time.”
She snorted with disbelief.
“I have,” I admitted again. “But you know why I couldn’t go there.”
She laughed but the sound was filled with disbelief. “I’m still his sister and he’s still a Steel Demon.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’m aware, but now I don’t give a damn.”
“You don’t?” I heard the skepticism in her voice and when I turned, she had one brow arched.
“I mean, yeah, of course I care. He’s my best friend. But I don’t care enough to give you up.”
“For now,” she added and I wasn’t sure if it was for her sake or mine.
“Raven, I wouldn’t have gone there with you, and I would not have risked my friendship with your brother for a fuck. Even if they’ve been the hottest fucks of my life.” My words seemed to echo in the car.
She gasped and then smiled. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Fuck, yeah.” I reached for her and squeezed her hand. “Don’t ever think otherwise, darlin’.”
“It has been pretty fucking awesome, right?” She shook her head. “It’s never been like that for me. Not even before, you know…”
I’m not ashamed to admit that my chest puffed out with pride hearing her words. “It’s my new favorite game, seeing what I can do to get you to make my favorite sounds.”
She swallowed hard. “What sounds?”
“Easy. The ones you can’t help but make, like when I slide my tongue up your slit. Or when I swirl it around your nipple. But my favorite sound is the one you make when my cock settles in your cunt for the very first time.”
She gasped. “Holy fuck.”
“Add that one to the list. I wonder what I have to do to hear that sound again.” She laughed and the sound was beautiful.
“I guess you have your work cut out for you.” Her words trailed off as if she was suddenly distracted.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Raven inhaled slowly and let it out in a quick rush of breath. “Don’t freak out.”
“I never freak out,” I answered quickly.
“I think we’re being followed.” Her words weren’t paranoid but matter of fact. “There’s a dark SUV back there. They’re keeping their distance, at first, it seemed like just a coincidence.” She shook her head, suddenly uncertain of herself.
“Don’t do that. Don’t second guess yourself. Why does it no longer seem like a coincidence?”
“Because it’s late and the roads are empty. They haven’t come close to passing us in this old ass hooptie, and surely, they’d try under these conditions.” She caught me looking at her. “What?”
I couldn’t help the smile that touched my lips. “Nothing, just good observations.” I looked in the rearview mirror until I spotted the car about a quarter mile in the distance. “Got your seatbelt on?”
“Always.”
“Good.” I hit the gas, putting more distance between us before I took the exit at the last minute.
“What the hell, Hades?”
“Need to confirm your hunch.” I sped off the exit only to slow down to give them time to catch up. “If they’re following us, we’ll find them soon enough.”
Two minutes later the car resurfaced but turned into a gas station when they spotted us.
As soon as they stopped at a pump, I sped off and jumped back on the highway. We drove a few miles before the dark SUV showed up again. “Your suspicions are correct.”
“Great. What a fucking thing to be right about.” She huffed out a bitter laugh and shook her head.
“They must’ve been sitting on the house waiting for an update from their friends.” Which meant they’d been following us for a long damn time.
Too long.
“Shit. What do we do now?”
It was a good question. “We can’t go back to the clubhouse, not right away.” I pulled out the burner and called Falcon. “Talk to your brother.”
“Ugh,” she groaned and tapped the speaker button. The ringing sounded loud as fuck inside the car.
“Yo,” he answered.
“Is that seriously how you answer the phone?”
Falcon went silent for a long moment before he laughed. “It is when a number I don’t recognize calls me in the middle of the fucking night.”
She rolled her eyes. “The Russians found us at the second safe house. Hades handled them and we’re both safe. But we now have a Russian tail following us on the highway, so we’re not coming straight back to the clubhouse.”
“Why not? The Russians probably know where it is,” Falcon muttered.
“Yeah, but I still don’t wanna lure trouble to our door unless we’re ready and waitin’.”
“I’ll speak to Diesel. He can call in some other brothers. That way if they do follow, we’ll have a welcoming party for them,” Falcon said, sounding way too pleased at the prospect of a fight.
“Okay, brother. You rally the troops I’ll try and lose these assholes and maybe we’ll be there in the morning,” I called out.
There was silence.
“I’ll keep you updated, right?”
“Yeah,” Falcon sighed. “Fucking Russian mobsters, thought the Cartel was bad enough.” He grumbled under his breath for another thirty seconds as if he forgot he was on a phone call. “I’ll let Diesel know.” The call disconnected abruptly, which was exactly Falcon’s style.
“We’re good, Bro. Talk to ya later.” Raven’s sarcastic words cut through the quiet car and a beat later we both laughed.
It wasn’t loud or energetic, but it was real. And it felt damn good to laugh. “It’s refreshing as shit when you’re the take no shit spitfire you usually are. I can’t handle seeing you afraid,” I admitted.
Raven’s grin was wide and teasing. “Does it make you uncomfortable?” She laughed out loud. “Lots of guys are uncomfortable with emotions.”
I shrugged, trying to think of the best way to answer. “I guess some of it is discomfort, but it’s more that it just doesn’t feel right. Like there’s a disturbance in the universe.”
She froze for a long moment, her stare burned a hole in the side of my face and then she burst out laughing.
This time it was a long, body shaking laugh.
She laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.
It was damn good to see tears of joy for once.
Eventually Raven got her laughter under control, but she still clutched her belly. “Oh. My. God.”
“What?” I frowned her way but kept my eyes on the road. And the mirrors.
She looked at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. “You, Mr. Big Bad Biker, are a Star Wars geek! I can’t believe this. Not at all.” She laughed even harder, gripping my shoulder as the laughter overtook her.
My lips twitched, a reluctant smile trying to break free. She was gorgeous when she was light and carefree. “If you know that, it means you’re one too.” That fact was unbelievable.
“I never denied it or pretended to be some big, tough biker.” Her eyes sparkled and I knew if I didn’t look away, we’d run off the road. “I’m just learning so much about you, Hades.”
She was right. This time away from the MC gave us exactly what we needed to see each other beyond our connection to Falcon. She was more than his foul-mouthed sister and I hoped she saw I was more than a badass biker. “Josh,” I said after another moment of silence. “That’s my real name.”
“You don’t seem like a Josh. Actually, I take that back. Josh is definitely a Star Wars geek.” She laughed again and I didn’t even care that it was at my expense. “Josh. I like it, but I’ll still call you Hades because you’re more devilish than geeky.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “I think.”
We fell into a comfortable silence as the sky grew darker and then lighter as the hours passed us by.
The silent ride gave me too much time to think about everything that happened tonight.
I didn’t give a fuck about killing those assholes, but what I cared about most was that Raven had a gun pressed to her head.
She’d already lived through so much shit, as a kid with her and Falcon’s shitty parents.
As a young woman who was plunged into the world of human trafficking. It was a lot.
It was too fucking much for one person to endure, and I worried about how long tonight would stick with her. I hoped she was able to bounce back from this.
“What’s got you thinkin’ so hard you’re grinding your molars?”
“My molars?” I barked out a laugh and flipped my turn signal to turn into a roadside gas station. “You a dentist?”
“No, but I know the names of teeth. Of some teeth,” she added quickly. “Anyway, what’s on your mind?”
“Shit,” I sighed. “There’s a lot on my mind, Raven. Mostly I’m just wondering how you’re holding up. Tonight was a lot, for both of us, and I’m worried about you.”
She smiled softly and stepped from the car, waiting for me.
“So?” I stood in front of her, staring into her eyes because I needed to know the truth.
“So, you’re worried about me.” Then she wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed. “Thank you, Hades. For caring.”
I held her closer and squeezed tighter. “Of course I care. Now, tell me how you’re doing. For real.”
She didn’t break the hug when she looked up with a smile. “This helps. A lot.”
“It’s here whenever you need it.” The truth of how intensely I meant those words scared the shit out of me.