3. Hades
Three
Hades
“Here you go, sweetie,” I told Bri as I gave her a strawberry sucker from my candy jar.
“Be careful next time, but definitely come back and see me for another sucker.” Bri’s mom, Ally, gave me a soft smile as she picked up her daughter.
“If her fever spikes, give her Children’s Motrin, but if that doesn’t help it go down, call me or go to the ER. I suggest Briarwood.”
“Thank you, Dr. Morningstar.”
“Of course. Bye, sweets. Let me know if you need anything.”
When they both leave my clinic, I latch the door.
It was time for Dr. Haven Morningstar to leave, and Hades to come out and enjoy her Friday night.
I loved being a doctor, but with the Primal Predators on our territory, it made it harder for me to see some of my patients because they were terrified.
If I could, I would destroy Luke Callahan, but unfortunately, my father made a deal with the devil, and now we were paying for it.
I cleaned my clinic before locking up and walking to my Camaro.
My father wanted to see me for a moment before I went to the Tipsy Throttle tonight.
I wasn’t one to have too many hookups, but it was a rough week and I wanted to drown myself in a beautiful woman.
After my father talked to me, I was positive my attitude would shift.
After my shower, I lotioned my skin with my Nivea vanilla lotion, letting it absorb before slipping into my tight, red leather pants.
I’d worn these many times without panties because I hated thongs, and my ass looked phenomenal without a panty line.
I pulled on a black halter top and laced the front.
After my tits were adjusted, I added a gold shimmer oil on my exposed skin, admiring the way the gold color melted into the dark warmth of my skin.
I fixed my red butterfly locs, adding in a few gold cuffs to various sections. The red and gold added an extra layer to my persona that separated Hades from Dr. Haven Morningstar. I loved being a doctor, but I needed to separate my lives so they wouldn’t collide.
DAD
Be careful tonight
ME
Aren’t I always careful?
DAD
I’m serious. Luke and his people are out.
ME
Why do you let him control you? You know I can shoot. End whatever deal you have.
DAD
I promised your parents I would keep you safe.
Axel was my dad’s best friend. They grew up in Crestview and went through hell together.
My mom helped create the Devils, and everyone said she would hold my dad back from his dreams of having his MC.
Little did they know my mom was a badass bitch.
When my parents were killed by a drunk driver when I was ten, Axel took me in.
It never mattered to him if we were blood or not.
I was his daughter, and he was my dad. Axel promised my dad he would protect me and keep me safe.
Years later, he was keeping his promise—even if it meant making deals with shitty men.
We were one hell of a duo, but I loved the old man.
Axel believed I would be kidnapped and sold if he pissed Luke off, but I was my mother’s daughter and I didn’t take any shit from anyone.
Hell, I lived in a town that was overrun by men who thought a woman’s body was theirs for the taking.
They learned quickly what would happen if I ever caught them.
My dad was being manipulated and coerced to protect me, but I refused to sit around and watch innocent women get hurt.
Let’s just say there were a lot of knives buried inside tiny dicks around here.
Luke got annoyed and threatened my father, but Luke was trash beneath my Doc Martens.
He was lucky I couldn’t kill him yet, but one day my blade would be in his dick and a bullet in his skull.
ME
Dad, I love you, but you protecting me is getting innocent women killed.
DAD
Haven, I saw pictures of what he would do to you. Please understand.
ME
I’ll just kill him
Realistically, I could attempt to kill him, but then I would have a bigger target on my back.
The only thing I wanted on my back were claw marks from a woman I took home tonight.
I was a Devil, but only by blood. The whole blood in blood out thing?
It didn’t count when my parents created the club.
I chose to leave Crestview and go to Athens to attend the University of Georgia.
My parents raised a genius and I wanted to be a doctor.
My father supported my medical school dreams when I was sixteen.
It was hard taking care of myself when I was alone in Athens and then in Atlanta.
Axel was amazing, financing me through my degrees until I returned home to open my clinic.
He was a proud father when I graduated with honors at twenty-two from medical school.
With his own turmoil happening in Crestview, he was the best father I could ask for.
I knew he was protecting me. He still saw a little girl, not the thirty-year-old woman I was.
We didn’t have allies because of the Vipers.
Cinder Bourgeois made us pariahs because my father had a falling out with his best friend, Diesel, who happened to be Cinder’s father—not biological, but blood didn’t matter.
My dad woke up covered in Diesel’s blood with a knife in his hand.
Cinder could’ve killed my dad, but instead she banned anyone from Crestview from stepping foot onto Briarwood territory, and vice versa.
It was the reason I couldn’t kill Luke. I didn’t have the support or the help.
I could make it look like an accident, but then I would have to get him alone.
He would brag about bedding the ice princess lesbian, but if he was found with a knife in his dick and his arteries cut, then they would know it was me.
If I could find people to help me, Luke wouldn’t be an issue, but I needed allies instead of enemies.
Until then, I would pretend my life wasn’t a trainwreck.
Tipsy Throttle was my favorite dive bar in Crestview.
It was little known, which meant it wasn’t nearly as busy as the mainstream bar up the road.
The best part was I could walk to it. I enjoyed going out, but I wanted to sit in peace and enjoy a beer without having drunk college students screaming and causing a scene.
Would I be able to find a woman to go home with here?
Probably not, but at least I would have a delightful night.
And if I met someone, it was time well spent.
I smiled at the security guard as they checked my ID and checked me for weapons, before pushing the heavy mahogany doors open and walking towards the bar.
One thing about a small dive bar was the local drunks. Jericho was harmless, but he didn’t understand boundaries. Every time I came here, he was sitting in the same spot, eight bottles in, saying inappropriate shit.
“Come on, baby, meet me in the bathroom,” Jericho slurred.
I looked at the bartender, smiling sweetly before leaning over. She casually slid a knife over my way and I grabbed it, stabbing the wood right next to his hand. “I will stab this through your dick. Keep your greasy hands to yourself or Crestview will lose one more drunk.”
He grumbled something under his breath and went back to his bottle of beer. I looked at the bartender, and she gave me a shot of whiskey before handing me a whiskey sour. After spending thirty minutes here, I concluded I wouldn’t be going home with anyone and I’d spend the night with my vibrator.
Until she walked in.
She owned the room without saying a word, drenched in tight leather that hugged her body in all the right places.
The leather jacket she wore clung to her perfectly, accentuating her curves.
The light pink corset top left little to the imagination, making me salivate.
Her breasts were full and on the edge of a scandal, but hey, I wouldn’t complain for a better view.
The corset top stopped just above her belly button, exposing her stomach beneath.
She was real, dripping with confidence, and she wasn’t hiding a damn thing. Fuck, I was no better than a man.
She pulled her jacket off, turning to hang it on the hook.
I knew she didn’t have to make a show, but it was like she knew I was watching her.
Sweet baby Jesus. Her ass was sensational, and her thong was peeking through.
She was walking temptation clad in skin-tight leather, and she was the woman I was taking home tonight.