Page 6 of Hades

I laughed. “That’s fine. The beer is mine, but I’ll still split the whiskey.”

He laughed, the sound was deep and rich, and for some reason, it relaxed me.

We sat together in silence, drinking and eating. He didn’t push, he was just there with me. Just being.

It was enough.

Chapter Four

Hades

You’d think pacing in the moonlight would calm me the fuck down and if you thought that shit, you’d be wrong. It was late enough that the crickets and frogs drowned out the sound of the highway in the distance. I paced back and forth, wearing out the cement like it had done me wrong, with my teeth clenched so tight my jaw ached. I couldn’t fucking stop thinking about the look in Raven’s eyes when she refused to talk about her past.

I had no right to expect her to give up the details of her past even if I shared mine. It was clear she wasn’t ready to talk about it, but whatever was on that flash drive had her spooked, which had me on edge. I didn’t have all the details, but I knew enough to know that whatever she’d seen had put that haunted look in her eyes. I had to find a way to get her to trust me enough to let me help her.

“Yo,” Falcon called out but I was too lost in my thoughts to respond. “Hades, man, what the fuck is wrong?”

I stopped abruptly and looked up, my brows dipped with concern. “What do you know about Raven’s lost years?” That’s what he called the years they were out of touch, and I didn’t ask because he never looked like he wanted to talk about it.

Falcon watched me closely, hands fisted on his hips like he was trying to figure out why I was asking. His shoulders fell slightly and he nodded. “She got this fucking boyfriend who was a problem and then she got hooked on drugs. We didn’t talk for about three years and then she just showed up in Steel City one day. She’s been here ever since.”

I heard his words, but they didn’t make sense. “Are you sure?” I knew junkies and Raven didn’t have any of the markers of a junkie. There was shame hidden in her eyes but mostly it was fear. It was goddamn trauma.

Falcon frowned at me, rubbing one side of his jaw as he thought about his answer. “Yeah,” he said but I knew him and he wasn’t as sure as he wanted to be.

Fuck. “That doesn’t make sense,” I finally said. I should’ve just told him what happened today and what I’d observed but I didn’t.

“Yeah well, she doesn’t like to talk about it. For obvious reasons.” He shook his head and I saw the guilt written on his face.

“That’s not actually true,” Macy said from the doorway. She flashed a soft, almost apologetic smile.

I hadn’t even heard her come out, which was just another fucking sound of how distracted I was.

Falcon found his voice first. “What do you mean it’s not true?” His voice roared at Macy and she visibly shrank. “Shit, sorry. What do you know?” he asked in a softer voice.

“Look,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t be telling you this since it was shared with me in confidence, but it’s not fair to Raven. After all she’s been through, it’s not right that you think she got tangled up with an asshole and hooked on drugs. It’s not close to the truth.” Tears filled her eyes, but Macy didn’t let them fall. “She survived a living hell,” she whispered as Vandal came out and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “That’s all I’m gonna say, but the story you’ve been told is just that, a story.”

“You can’t just say that shit and leave,” Falcon called out.

“It’s not right, I know. But I can’t betray her.” She stood taller. “I won’t.”

Vandal slid between them, his glare a warning to back off. And then they were gone.

Falcon simmered with anger. His body vibrated with it, and I knew he was moments from snapping. “I need to talk to my sister.” He stormed off and I followed close behind, stopping him before he gripped her bedroom door. “What the fuck, man?”

“You’re too fucking emotional, Falcon. If you go in there angry and demanding answers, she’s just gonna shut down. She might not share anyway, but if you go in there angry, she’ll definitely shut down.”

He was still pissed, his breath heaving while he glared at me. “What the fuck do you know?”

“Nothing about the past,” I admitted but nobody told him about the dead girl at the community center, so I did. “The girl was murdered and it was brutal man. She knows more than she’s saying but that’s it.”

His face reddened and I knew he was about to argue with me. “Fuck,” he roared. “Okay, fine.”

I smiled. “Wow, Viv and TJ finally knocked some sense into you,” I teased.

“Fuck you.” He smiled and leaned against the wall beside the door. “Go.”

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