Page 47 of Hades

“Yeah?”

“Slate found something, I think. We need to meet in the office.” Sniper’s words were clipped and his boots moved before his words were finished.

The snick of the door closing made my breath hitch. “Raven,” he began but stopped abruptly.

“It’s okay. You should go.” I couldn’t look at him, not yet. If I did, I might start bawling and that wouldn’t be fair to Hades.

“We’re not done with this conversation.”

I hated that his stupid deep, commanding voice still affected me when it didn’t matter. I squeezed my knees together until my pussy tingled and held my breath for ten full seconds. “If you say so.”

“I do.”

I closed my eyes and listened until Hades was gone, and only then did I let my body sag with relief. I knew how things would play out with my brother so I vowed that I would slowly get used to the idea of not having Hades.

But first I had to mentally prepare myself to come face to face with the man who bought me and kept me like a possession for three long years. I wasn’t ready to see Viktor again and I probably would never be ready, but to keep these people safe, people who had become my family, I would do my best.

I’d try.

And if all else failed, at least the only person who got hurt in all this would be me. Macy and Peyton and Harper, my nephew TJ, and all the kids would be safe. Falcon would be safe. Hades would be safe.

It wouldn’t be forever safety, but they wouldn’t get hurt because of me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hades

It took a week, but our plan was finally in motion. I didn’t like it one fucking bit, but it was the best path forward according to Diesel and Rocky, so I went with it. Raven needed to reach out to Viktor to set the trap, but I hated every fucking letter she typed. They’d gone back and forth over a couple of days with her playing the role of the repentant pet, which was nothing like the woman I knew.

The woman I loved.

But it had to be done to set the trap. She reached out to set up a meeting and while nothing had been settled—yet—he was eager to get her back under his control, which meant he would act first and fast. We were counting on that which was why we, mostly Slate, decided to route the emails through an IP address that would send them to one of our vacant properties.

“Are we sure this is the right thing to do?” I asked for at least the twentieth time this evening. My nerves were shot and I knew it was because I was too invested in the outcome.

Dagger nodded, giving me a sympathetic look while he gripped my shoulder. “Yeah, man. This is the right plan.” He sighed and shook his head. “Or it’s the right starter plan.” His smile was crooked but still full of sympathy, which I kind of fucking hated.

I looked around the second bedroom where Dagger and I waited for the men we knew would show up sooner or later. “They left us hanging last night, why would they show up tonight?” Maybe they were watching us and knew we were here.

“Because Viktor is hungry as fuck to get his girl back, though it seems like she’s your girl.” He smirked but there was no heat or judgment in his eyes. “Falcon know yet?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not sure there’s anything to know, anymore.” Since we got back to the clubhouse Raven had been distant. I wasn’t sure if it was because she’d decided we were a bad idea, or whether she just didn’t want to do anything before I spoke with her brother.

He laughed. “That means there’s definitely something going on and you’re at the part where shit just got complicated.”

“I don’t know.” My head fell forward and a heavy sigh escaped. “I think I fucked up and right now I don’t have the space in my head to think about it.” I had to fix it, but first I had to make sure she made it out of this shit with Viktor alive.

“If you say so. As the guy who has your back tonight, I’m happy to focus on the job at hand. But as a guy who’s recently been through the wringer known as falling in love, let me tell you that it’s never over when you first think it is. Not if it’s real.”

I wanted it to be real, so fucking bad she was all I’d thought about for the past week. Day and night, Raven was on my mind. When I woke up, it was her smiling face I saw. When I fell asleep, it was her with her eyes shut and her head tossed back with passion. She was everywhere and she hadn’t spoken to me since she told me to leave her room. “I’m not sure what it is or what it was.”

“A sure sign that it’s not over. Better tell Falcon before he finds out another way.”

I nodded and held my hand up to quiet him when I heard Slate’s voice in my ear. “Two black sedans just slow rolled up to the curb. Eyes up, people.”

“Got it,” Maverick said from where he and Hollywood waited in the living room.

“Ready and waiting,” Rocky said from the main bedroom where he and Gio waited, locked and loaded if necessary.