Chapter Thirteen
The first night back in her bed, she cried herself to sleep. In the morning, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. Mrs. Winterson took one look at her and held open her arms. That broke her all over again and she lost herself in the warm hug.
She sat on the bus and stared blindly out, and all she thought about was Hades.
His kiss, his touch, his smile. They were rare but when he did, his eyes lit up.
Now, she could finally admit to herself that she had been falling for him.
Retreating into her own head, she saw her future stretched out in shades of grey, nothing vibrant or exciting, and knew she couldn’t do this anymore.
Why was she trying to eke out a sustainable living in a city that continually swallowed her up?
No one would miss her, except for Betsy.
Perhaps it was time to leave. Start somewhere new.
Someplace where she could find a man who would love and respect her. Not treat her like a kept woman.
The parts of her heart where Hades had been residing started to wither, and she would learn how to paint him into corners to navigate around.
He wasn’t her lover, or her friend. Nor was he a good man, so time to move on.
She would start researching where to go.
Maybe research jobs and what was out there.
Pleased with her resolve, the day no longer seemed so bleak.
Betsy met her at the timeclock and reached for her hand. “Hey, what’s wrong? Is it your cheek?”
She shook her head. “Hades ... he, um, is done with me.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“He was going to give me a condo, so he could visit me.”
“What? That sounds like he wanted you for a, well, for easy accommodation.”
Cora would’ve laughed if she thought any of this was funny.
“I’m here if you need me,” Betsy told her. “In fact, why don’t you come home with me tonight? We can eat ice cream and watch Kill Bill: Volume 2, because that’s when she kills the asshole.”
“Okay.”
Without Ranelle and her gang, the day was actually nice.
It was the first time in a long time that she didn’t dread her rounds.
At the end of the day, she and Betsy punched out and walked to the employee parking area.
A scraping sound caught their attention, and suddenly, Steven Harold appeared from the shadows.
So focused on him, they didn’t see his accomplice until Ranelle hit Betsy over the head with a bat.
“No!” she cried, intending to go to Betsy’s crumpled form. Steven yanked on her arm and spun her around.
“Do whatever you want with me, but leave Betsy alone,” she cried.
“Oh, I will, bitch,” he snarled. Then his fist came fast and hard, and she lost consciousness.
****
Here he was, drinking bourbon over a woman. Something he swore he’d never do. How did she sneak into all his waking thoughts? Wrap her tendrils around him so tightly that just the thought of losing her was driving him crazy? Driving him to drink.
Damn her!
He offered her the condo to make sure she stayed safe. Imagining her in that hovel of a room got under his skin. He wanted to give her everything that she’d ever need. Wanted to dress her in silk and drape priceless jewels over her beautiful body.
She thought he meant to keep her as a sidepiece, and yes, but his exclusively.
Perhaps she wanted faithfulness. He could do that.
Maybe she desired independence. That’s why he wanted to support her.
To dream big and let her pursue it. So, why the fuck had he opened his mouth and spouted the shit he said?
He wanted her in the condo so he could get her used to the idea of being with him forever.
Wait. Forever? When the fuck had he started to associate her with forever? He wasn’t a forever kind of man. Women were a dime a dozen. He could have any female with the snap of his fingers. Any, apparently, except the one he really wanted. So, what made her different?
Sure, the sex was amazing.
Her beauty unquestionable.
The trust in her eyes ... damn. That was it.
She didn’t want his money, or his status.
Had no desire to change him. Accepted him in all his cold-hearted glory.
All of it rolled together until he finally admitted he wanted to keep her.
To stamp his proprietorship on her, and put hers on him.
She had no idea that he was devoted to her.
When that happened, he had no idea, but it didn’t really matter.
He had to swallow his damn pride and go crawling back, because letting her go was out of the question.
“We have a mutual enemy, Mr. Sinclair.”
Hades turned his chair around, schooling his surprise. He was the last person he expected to show up on his doorstep. “Nolan Rennick.”
“You’ve heard of me.”
“Who hasn’t?”
Nolan Rennick was a businessman who had a Midas touch.
Very few knew he was also a cold-blooded killer, and he liked it that way.
Some whispered he was a serial killer, feeding his hunger for blood on men and women who hurt innocents.
While they were both monsters, they rarely moved in the same circles.
Rennick was high class, and Hades was the king of LA’s underworld.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Rennick?”
“I need to know where I can find the Voclain Famille.”
Hades frowned. “If I knew that they’d already be dead.”
“I know you work with Maxence Chevalier,” Nolan remarked, “and I also know Chevalier is part of The Lemaire.”
How the hell does he know that? Hades thought.
“Why do you need to know where to find them?”
Nolan’s mouth twisted. “They killed someone very important to me. I’m going to make them all pay.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know where their headquarters are,” Hades replied, then held up a finger. “But, I will put some ears to the street.”
Unblinking, Nolan stared at him with icy, pale blue eyes, and Hades freely admitted that stare was very unsettling. From the inner pocket of his suit jacket, he withdrew a card and held it out. Hades took it, seeing only a phone number and nothing else.
“I’ve had men scourging the city but can’t find the rats. If your luck is any better, use this number.”
“Boss, I’ve got something you need to see.” Acheron marched into the office and interrupted the little tête-à-tête. He frowned as he spotted Nolan. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware we had a visitor.”
“I was just leaving,” Nolan announced. He left just as silently as he had appeared.
“Why was Rennick here?” Acheron asked. “I didn’t know about any meeting.”
“There wasn’t. I want you to assign a few men to look for the Voclain’s center of operations.”
“Will do.” Acheron held out a tablet. “You have to take a look at this. Detective O’Connell came through with CCTV footage.”
Hades hit the play button. Even though it was evening, the feed showed Steven Harold walking into a building in Chinatown.
Draped over his shoulder was a female and from the brilliant fire color of her hair, he knew it was Cora.
Right behind them was that fucking bitch who had bruised her face.
Murderous rage filled him, and he vowed that he’d burn both of them and send them to hell.
“Get the Bugatti,” he ordered. “We’re going hunting.”
Moments later, with him behind the wheel, they sped down the freeway.
The only thought in his head was to save Cora.
If something happened to her, he’d burn the city down.
Located north of Downtown Los Angeles, he maneuvered quickly through traffic, sometimes even driving along the shoulder.
People honked at him, but he didn’t fucking care.
When he finally hit the exit, Acheron directed him to the right building. Hades parked and looked at his lieutenant.
“If you get a chance to get Cora out, do it.”
“Yes, Boss.”
The building where Steven entered was above a shop that sold Chinese items like jade pendants and good-luck kitties with moving arms. Next to the place was a door that hid a set of stairs.
Hades and Acheron kept to the shadows and quietly crept up, guns drawn.
When they got to the top, there was only one door.
They each screwed a suppressor on the end of their weapons and stood on either side of the door.
Hades counted down and then he kicked the door open, immediately retreating back to the outside for cover.
Two shots rang out and Hades heard a cry as he ducked low to enter the room, firing back in quick succession.
Cora had both wrists zip-tied together. Acheron joined him, and fired over the woman’s head. When she fell back Acheron moved quickly and punched her in the face. When she fell unconscious, he grabbed the nine mil in her hand.
Steven fired again and again, until the idiot ran out of bullets. Hades stood, his own gun leveled on the man. He didn’t spare a glance at Cora because he needed to make sure the asshole didn’t pull out a hidden weapon.
“Acheron, get Cora out of here.”
A knife blade clicked open and sliced through her restraint. As Acheron led her out of the room, he handed Ranelle’s gun to him. Hades felt Cora’s searching gaze, but he didn’t take his focus off Steven.
“Hey, man, this is all a misunderstanding.”
“Tell that to the three women you killed.”
Steven stared at him and then broke into a smile. “What can I say? After the first one, I got a taste for killing bitches.”
Hades made his way over to Steven’s accomplice, the woman named Ranelle.
“You should’ve never touched what belongs to me,” he said.
He used the woman’s gun and fired it. The bullet landed in Steven’s sternum.
He fell back, staring up at the ceiling in shock.
Blood gurgled up from his mouth and spilled down his chin.
Hades wiped off his prints and placed the weapon back into the woman’s hand.
Then he picked up Steven’s gun, loaded a bullet and shot her in the head.
He repeated the process of wiping his prints and then pressed the empty gun back in Steven’s hand.
The last thing he did was pick up his and Acheron’s casings.
Steven was still alive, but fading fast.
“You know, you’re definitely not a nice guy.”
The life in Steven Harold’s eyes faded. Hades turned and left the room, closing the door on a would-be serial killer. No one would ever remember his name.
Acheron held open the back door to the sedan.
“Call Detective O’Connell, make sure he knows what evidence to find.”
His lieutenant nodded his understanding.
Hades slid into the back seat, and immediately pulled Cora into his arms. A sob escaped her and he held her as she cried through the storm.
“I didn’t mean a damn thing I said,” he murmured into her hair. “I threw a fucking tantrum, and I’m sorry. That is what happens when a narcissist doesn’t get his way, and I hurt you. When in fact, I think I might be falling in love you.”
Cora pulled back to study his face, eyes wide.
“That very first night, you snuck into my heart and became everything I never knew I needed. You’re my light.
You made me think of something other than myself, and you are the one thing I can’t live without.
I will never do that to you again. If you’ve lost feelings for me, I understand, and I will accept—”
She placed a finger over his lips. “I love you, too, but I’m going to need a lot more groveling.”
He searched fer face, and then a smile stretched under her finger. She removed it and kissed him. Hades closed his eyes, thankful she was giving him a second chance.
When she pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“I don’t know how you can love someone as unlovable as me, but I will grovel every day for the rest of our lives,” he promised.
“Please don’t hurt me again.”
“Never, my love. That man was a damn fool.”