Page 71 of Hades

Fuck that. My girls would be perfect like their mama. Protected. Loved. Spoiled rotten by their father who would kill anyone who looked at them wrong.

My hand grasped the back of the chair, pulling it away from the table. I sat facing the hallway and waited for her to return. Cerberus sat next to the doorway, watching me. His dark eyes tracked my every movement. Calculating. Assessing. Deciding whether I was a threat.

“Hey, boy. Think we can call a truce?”

He growled low in his belly. His answer was a solid no.

I blew out a breath and sent Aspen a text asking her how to win over Cerberus.

She answered pretty quickly: Don’t be a dick to him or Lettie.

That wasn’t fucking helpful.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lettie

A week had passed since Brock drank the tea that made him sick. Seven days of him visiting, kissing me, making me come in various places around my house until my legs trembled and my mind went blank. Seven days of my mother’s voice cutting through the haze of pleasure, demanding attention like a petulant child. Seven days of wanting more and being terrified of what more meant.

He’d tried to sneak down the hall twice now to confront her. The first time I’d caught him with his hand on her doorknob, jaw set with that stubborn determination that made my stomach flip. The second time I’d stationed Cerberus outside her door like a sentinel. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to meet her. Well, okay, I didn’t want him to meet her. But it was inevitable. One day I’d have to give in.

Today was not that day.

Today was another party at the clubhouse. My stomach had been twisted in knots since morning, anxiety crawling under my skin like insects burrowing through muscle and sinew. Brock wanted me to stay the night with him. I’d argued that I couldn’t leave Cerberus home alone. He’d tried to insist Cerberus wouldn’t be home alone. I’d quickly reminded him that my mother was lazy and selfish, and Cerberus would starve before she lifted a finger to help him.

So Cerberus was in the truck with me, bouncing over the dirt and gravel as I sped toward the large building. My nerves fluttered inside me until it felt like spiders had embedded themselves under my skin, spinning webs through my veins. My hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough that my knuckles went white, bone pressing against skin. The vial around my neck swung with each bump in the road, a familiar weight that usually grounded me but today only reminded me how exposed I’d be walking into that clubhouse.

Into his world.

Where women like Echo existed. Women who knew him. Who’d touched him. Who thought they had a claim on something that belonged to me.

I climbed out of the truck and released Cerberus to walk by my side. The music was loud, like last time, and I felt that familiar sense of déjà vu as I climbed the steps to the porch. My heart slammed against my ribs. Hard. Fast. Each beat a reminder that I was walking into territory I didn’t fully understand yet. The front door was open. The same prospect stood guard, giving me a nod as I strolled past him.

The moment I walked in, all heads turned in my direction.

Unlike at the diner, the people here didn’t immediately go back to what they were doing, effectively dismissing my presence. Eyes tracked me. Assessed me. Calculated my worth and my threat level. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was me they stared at, or Cerberus. Probably both. A woman with a massive dog. Did they know what I’d done? That I’d poisoned their vice president? Word traveled fast in places like this.

Good. Let them know I wasn’t someone to dismiss.

My eyes searched the room, trying my best to ignore the stares burning into my skin. Zeus was at the bar with the same woman between his legs, and I wondered if he had an old lady. What would that mean for Reggie and Gus? Would Gus have an evil stepmother? Because the woman he was practically wearing didn’t scream maternal to anyone’s imagination. She looked like she’d eat her young if it meant keeping her position. Zeus watched me for a moment before looking across the room.

I followed his gaze and found Brock leaning against the wall, letting Echo trail a finger down his chest.

The world narrowed to that single point of contact. Her finger. His chest. The casual intimacy of it. The way she leaned into him like she had every right. Like I didn’t exist. Like the past week meant nothing.

Heat flooded through me. Not the pleasant kind. This was rage mixed with something darker. Something possessive and violent that made my fingers itch for the vial around my neck. Made me calculate dosages and delivery methods. Made me wonder how long it would take before she realized she was dying.

“Strike three,” I muttered and walked gracefully across the room to stand beside him. Each step measured. Controlled. Even though inside I was screaming.

“But, Hades, she’s not even here yet. We can be back downstairs before she shows up.”

Cerberus growled beside me, loud enough for them both to hear. The sound vibrated through the air, through my bones, matching the fury coiling in my chest. Fear flashed in Brock’s eyes. Good. He should be afraid. He pushed off the wall and tugged me against him, his body warm and solid and mine.

“What did I tell you?” My voice came out softer than I felt. Sweeter. But underneath was steel and poison and the promise of consequences.

“I was explaining to her how things were.”

“She had her hand on you.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue. Acidic. Like the jimsonweed I’d used on him before.