Page 28 of Hades

“Raven,” he called again, brows dipped in a blend of worry and confusion.

I blinked a few times, shaking my head to clear the fog. I looked at Hades and yeah there was lust and attraction, but the set of his body was tense and angry. “What is it?” I knew it was something and I trusted him enough not to lie to me.

His shoulders fell as if relieved to be rid of that weight so quickly. “We’re moving to another safe house.”

Those five words turned my blood cold. My breaths came in short, harsh pants I couldn’t control. “What,” I shrieked. “Why?”

He took a few steps forward, his brows dipped in disappointment and worry. “This location is fucking compromised. I don’t know how the fuck it happened or who did, yet. All I know is that it is.”

“How can we be so sure?” My hands shook as they went to the hem of my shirt, gathering the fabric in my palm and twisting hard enough to sting my knuckles.

“A few of our guys spotted some Russians heading this way. Reports of them stopping at the truck stop asking questions about vacation homes on the lake.”

My eyes went wide and my heart rate kicked up another notch. “Holy shit. That’s super specific, Hades.”

He cut a glare my way and nodded. “Yeah. It’s too fucking specific.” His jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached, and I could almost hear the gears twisting in his head. “We need to pack up and get the fuck outta here ASAP.”

I nodded absently, knowing now was not the time for conversation. Now was the time for action so I moved on shaky legs back to the room I just left and yanked my meager belongings from the closet and the dresser and shoved them back into the backpack and duffel that fit it all. It took ten minutes to pack my shit, double check the room and head back to the living room where I waited for Hades.

“Ready?” His dark brows were knitted into a dark frown that only made him look more devastatingly gorgeous, which was not something I should’ve been focusing on.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Should we empty the fridge?”

His lips kicked up into a lopsided grin. “Nah, the prospects will take care of it soon.” He opened the door and stepped out first, scanning the area for safety before we headed to my car because a motorcycle would be too conspicuous.

I climbed into the passenger seat, fastened my seatbelt and gazed out the window as we drove. The woods became the highway before it turned into a lonely dirt road that wound around a steep hill or maybe it was a mountain. It was a mostly silent drive, which let me get lost in my thoughts, wondering if this shit would ever end. Viktor had hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars, he could search for me until I took my last breath. Living the rest of my days on the run or in hiding sounded like its own version of hell. I wondered if I should just run off and risk it on my own. That would be safer for everyone else, anyway.

As I thought about Viktor’s resources and his uncanny ability to find people’s deepest, darkest hiding spaces, another thought occurred to me, and I turned to Hades because I needed to watch him as he processed the question and responded.

“You think there’s a mole in the MC?”

The muscles in his jaw snapped tight enough that the outline was visible and his nostrils flared angrily. His hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He didn’t verbalize his answer, but my body language expertise told me he agreed.

That was a small comfort, I guess, but it still left me unsettled.

It didn’t make a lick of sense. The Steel Demons MC were the most loyal group of people I’d ever met. Not even Viktor’s men were actually loyal to him. They were well paid, loyal to the salary and bonuses he offered but I knew if someone offered even a dollar more, they’d double-cross him in a heartbeat. But the Steel Demons? They weren’t like that. “That doesn’t make sense but it’s the only fucking thing that makes sense.” I hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but my brain was too full.

Hades was still quiet. Still angry. Still thinking.

I wished like hell I knew what he was thinking about. Was his mind filled with trying to figure out how Viktor’s men knew where we were or was he busy regretting last night? This wasn’t how I wanted to spend my morning after what happened last night. We hadn’t even had a chance to talk about what we did. Was Hades okay with everything? Did he regret it? I sure as hell didn’t, but now I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking getting involved with me was a big mistake.

***

After thirty minutes of driving in relative silence I spoke. “How far until we get there?” This was the longest drive of my life and my anxiety threatened to explode out of me.

He said nothing for a long, long time and just when I thought he wouldn’t answer, he finally did. “About forty miles. It’s a spot just over the county line. We’ll be safe there. It’s a different jurisdiction but so far away from civilization that not even the law will know we’re there.”

I let out a sarcastic half-laugh. “That’s what you all said about the place we just left.”

He reached out and his touch startled me and in the next second, it comforted me. “You’re safe, Raven. We’re together and I won’t let shit happen to you.”

“What about if there’s a mole?”

“No one other than Diesel, Rocky, and your brother know where I’m taking you. We’re gonna keep it that way. Don’t worry.”

Don’t worry. I’d heard those words too many fucking times in my life. “Oh okay,” I said. “If you insist, I won’t worry.” Yeah, I turned the sarcasm up to twenty.

“Good,” he replied, ignoring my snarky tone. “I appreciate it.”