Page 30 of Hades

Raven nodded, nibbling her bottom lip the way she did when she was deep in thought. I watched her as she watched me, noticing the way her pulse raced at the center of her throat and the way her nipples beaded behind her t-shirt. I don’t know how long we sat like that, staring at each other as the rain came down harder until there was a steady stream of rain slamming against the windows and the roof.

That shit came at us from all sides.

“Were you dating that girl in the Army?”

My brows furrowed. “What girl?”

“The one your CO was messin’ with?” She wrapped her arms around her knees as if she needed to protect herself from the answer.

I barked out a laugh and shook my head. “No. Honestly, I didn’t know her all that well. She was a damn good recruit, her daddy was a preacher and hated that she liked girls instead of boys. That was it.”

Confusion marred her pretty face. “And you just risked your military career for a chick you didn’t even know?”

I shrugged. “That’s kind of the whole point of the military. Standing up for people you don’t know and keeping them safe. Even the assholes.” I let out a sigh because I knew Raven wouldn’t be satisfied with a half-answer. “I noticed how uncomfortable she was around him and I heard some of the shit he said to the guys about her. I knew there wasn’t shit to be done about it, not with the way the hierarchy was set up at the time. What the fuck was he gonna do, report himself to his CO?” My hands balled into fists just thinking about the smug prick. “He ain’t so pretty these days.”

She smiled. “You enjoyed beating his ass.”

“I sure as shit didn’t hate it.”

Something in her expression changed, but I couldn’t figure out what. “Do you regret it? That helping someone out cost you everything?”

“It didn’t cost me everything, just the life I thought I would have. The fact that they chose him over me tells me I made the right choice.”

That answer seemed to satisfy her, but she kept watching me as if she was trying to put a puzzle together.

It was my turn to ask a question. “How was it with Viktor for all those years?” The shit that I imagined was fucking my head up and I hoped her life wasn’t quite so bad.

She nibbled her bottom lip again and sat up taller, her gaze never wavered from mine. An exhale rushed between her slightly parted lips and she nodded, as if talking herself into sharing with me. “The simple answer is that it was horrible. I was a prisoner not in charge of my own life or freedom, and I wasn’t attracted to Viktor. That made it all truly terrible. But…” she began slowly, shaking her head and I knew I wouldn’t like what she had to say next. “I had it better than a lot of other girls. He dressed me up in pretty designer clothes and took me with him on his travels, and most of all, Viktor doesn’t share. Ever.”

“You make it sound like you should be grateful.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Do you know how many girls who were with his associates told me I should feel grateful for the clothes and the jewels, for being with him? I hated that shit, it felt really fucking gross.” She reached behind her for a pillow, hugging it to her for comfort. “It was a gilded cage without a doubt, but it was still a fucking cage.”

I nodded as I got to my feet, unable to stand seeing her so shaken. She was on the verge of tears and her body trembled violently, which was un-fucking-bearable. I sat beside her on the bed and held her in my arms while she finally let herself cry. She broke down in loud, soul-shattering sobs that bounced off the walls and windows. “Let it out,” I encouraged her, cradling her head in one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

One fucking eternity later, those sobs turned into sniffles, and I was so fucking grateful I could’ve cried my damn self. “God, that was dramatic.”

I laughed and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I want to murder that asshole, you know that, don’t you?”

She laughed, nodding against my shoulder before pulling back to meet my gaze. “Yeah, I’m sensing that. Believe me, I’ve dreamt about all the ways I could kill him.”

“Yeah?” I swiped away the tears before they dried on her cheeks. “How would you do it?”

“I’d either shoot him in the head point blank or slit his throat so that my face is the last thing he sees when he takes his last breath. I want him to know it was me, his favorite property, that took him out.”

“Damn, that is both dark and hot.” I never knew how much I liked a violent chick, but Raven’s mini rant had me sporting a half-chub.

She grinned up at me. “That’s because you are a dirty, dirty weirdo.”

“And don’t ever forget it, darlin’.”

Her expression turned serious and she held my face between her hands. “I don’t want you to kill him, Hades, unless you absolutely have to. Promise me.”

I couldn’t promise that. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want more people dying trying to protect me.” Another tear slipped down her cheek.

“Who died for you, sweetheart?”