Page 18 of Hades

We’d barely made it five feet before two men—tall, broad, and distinctly Russian—stepped in front of us. Dressed in all black suits, they stared us down.

“Not interested,” Hades said, pulling me to his side to sidestep the men.

“It is good to see you again, Daisy. Boss won’t like the new hair.”

I flinched at his use of the name Viktor had given me and my insides turned cold, but I refused to acknowledge he’d gotten to me. I blinked a few times before frowning. “You must have me mixed up with someone else because my name ain’t Daisy.” When I tried to step around him, the other one stepped in front of me.

Hades yanked me back until I stood behind him. “She said you have the wrong woman. Back up asshole.”

He simply smirked. “I heard her,” he said in a thick accent. “But I am very good with faces, and I never forget a pretty face. Not ever.” His gaze lingered on me with a menacing smirk meant to terrify me.

It worked. That was the moment I knew that everything in my life was about to change.

Hades shoulder-checked them, holding me close until we were on his bike and leaving the parking lot. He kept looking in the mirror behind him, clearly as freaked out as I was.

All I could do was curse the fucking universe for ruining an otherwise good day.

They’d found me.

Chapter Ten

Hades

Those Russian motherfuckers. There was no goddamn doubt in my mind those assholes were sent by Viktor Kozlov. She hid it well, but the way Raven flinched when that asshole called her Daisy had my protective instincts firing on all cylinders. My hands balled into fists, and I was ready to lay both of them out, but they were playing the long game. They wanted to get in her head and make her do something stupid, or worse, reckless.

They were in her head, which meant it was up to me to make sure she didn’t go the stupid or reckless route.

I gripped the handlebars so fucking tight my knuckles were white the whole ride back to the clubhouse. I kept my promise, taking the long way back but not to give Raven more time outside, this time it was to make sure we weren’t being followed.

We weren’t. Thank fuck.

My whole fucking body was wound tight when I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, hitting the brakes a little too hard. I waited with my jaw clenched for Raven to get off the bike, and when she did, I finally let myself relax, but only for a moment. I swung my leg off the bike, carefully removing Raven’s helmet before I grabbed her hand and tugged her inside. To safety.

“That was close,” she finally whispered. She tried for amusement but the way she clutched my hand told me she was still shaken. Good, she should be.

“It was too fucking close,” I growled. My anger and worry mixed together until it was a thick concoction of furious biker. “We’re going to the safe house.” The moment I heard that one fucking word, Daisy, I knew it was true.

“What?” Her eyes went wide with shock as if she couldn’t believe this was the outcome. “That’s not necessary.”

“The fuck it isn’t,” I roared a hell of a lot louder than I needed to. “You do remember what just happened, right?”

She yanked her hand from mine and stepped back like she was just betrayed. “It was one little run-in,” she shot back, but she wrapped both arms around her midsection. Betrayed by her own body.

“Yeah?” I stepped close, leaned down until we were face to face. “And your blood didn’t run cold when he called you Daisy?”

She flinched again and I fucking hated myself for it, but yeah, I was trying to prove a point. “Of course I did!” She shoved at my chest. “But that doesn’t mean we need to let them scare me into hiding!”

“Raven,” I growled low enough that only she could hear me, even though I felt the eyes of some of my brothers and their old ladies watching us.

“Hades,” she growled back, somehow injecting annoyance into that one sound.

“This isn’t up for discussion. You agreed, remember?” I smiled but it wasn’t a real smile, it was just acknowledgement that I had her cornered.

“Yeah, of course I fuckin’ remember, but that’s because I was operating under the mistaken assumption that you’d be reasonable.” She crossed her arms as if she needed to put some distance between us.

“This is me being reasonable.” I smacked my palm against my chest. “If I wasn’t, you’d be tossed over my shoulder kicking and screaming while I whisked you away.”

Her eyes darkened and goddammit, my cock noticed and he liked that look. A lot. Down boy. “I am not a piece of property to be moved around.”