Page 10 of Hades

Raven managed a small smile. “Sorry to rope you into this.”

I leaned forward and bumped her shoulder with mine. “You didn’t rope me into anything. I volunteered. Remember?” I’d do it again, no matter how this all turned out. She deserved to have somebody fight for her. This time it would be me.

Her full lips pulled to one side, her eyes lit with amusement as she asked, “What the hell were you thinking?”

I shrugged, smiling around my beer. “Hero complex, I guess.”

She tossed her head back, long neck on full display as laughter spilled from her lips. She turned to me with a slow, conspiratorial grin. “You might end up regretting that.”

“Doubtful.” I stared back at her, probably for a beat too long before I got my shit together and let out a sigh. “You might get sick of me first.” Raven and I weren’t exactly close. She was the sister of my best friend and that was about it, despite her starring role in my dreams and my jack-off sessions.

“Maybe.” She nibbled her bottom lip, something she did when she wasn’t sure if the words were a truth disguised with a joke. “But we’re stuck with each other, so I suppose we ought to make the best of it, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s about time we became friends, don’t you think?”

Her brows shot up. “You want to be my friend, Hades?”

“Better than being your enemy, I think.” I studied her carefully, watching the flicker of emotion in her eyes before she hid it behind that sarcastic grin.

“You never know.”

I opened my mouth to say more but the clubhouse door flew open and Laura appeared with wide eyes that searched the crowd until she found who she was looking for. Raven.

Instantly I was on my feet and on edge. I got to my feet immediately and stood at Raven’s side as she rose, my hand automatically went to her lower back. Her silent support. “What’s wrong?”

Laura didn’t spare me a glance before stopping right in front of Raven with tears in her eyes. “It’s the community center,” she reluctantly pushed out. “It’s been vandalized.” Her voice shook as she spoke. “It was destroyed except the building is still standing.” Tears streaked her cheeks and then finally, a sob escaped. “It’s a mess.”

Raven’s body went completely rigid beneath my hand. Her body had gone ice cold. “What? What do you mean destroyed? Who?” She shook her head, body trembling violently now because she knew who. Same as I did.

“No idea,” Laura sighed. “Cops are crawling all over the place. Asking questions.” She studied Raven. “I heard about Katya today. I’m so sorry, Raven.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She shook her head, swiped away her tears. “Did the cameras catch anything?”

Laura hit her with a dumbfounded look. “No idea. The cops are handling that.” She waved her hand dismissively and sighed. “What are all those people who rely on the center going to do?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Raven’s voice was quiet. Quieter than I’d ever seen her, which gave me a glimpse into the woman she’d been for three years.

I took a step forward and sighed. “You need to stay away from the community center for a while.”

She folded her arms, ready to fight.

I wasn’t in a fighting mood. “I’m not asking. If I need to have Hawk tell you, I will.”

Her jaw clenched but eventually she nodded before turning back to Raven. “Is everything all right? What’s going on?”

“A lot,” Raven answered. “Shit’s about to get crazy. Again. And this time, it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t do that,” I growled in her ear. “You of all people know this is what we do. You’re in trouble and we’re here to stand between you and those assholes.” I gave her a gentle push. “Let’s go.”

She frowned, her dark brows dipped angrily. “Where are we going?”

“To see if Slate can catch a glimpse of who fucked up the community center.” Everything I knew about Kozlov said he hired professionals to do his dirty work, which meant hitmen, mercenaries, and assassins, so whoever broke into the community center probably managed to avoid the cameras, but she needed a distraction.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she muttered, more to herself than to me.

The fact that she let me guide her told me exactly how rattled she was and I hated to see her so messed up, but it meant she would listen to me. I hoped.

I headed towards Slate’s office and motioned for Raven to come with me.