Page 9 of Hades

That put a small smile on my lips, and it gave me the strength I needed to walk inside that office and bare my secrets. I looked at Slate and he nodded before turning to the room.

“Viktor Kozlov is the owner and chief operating officer of Elite Connections, a charitable organization that’s a front for his human trafficking operation. It’s an international network that spans at least twenty countries and it’s hidden behind shell companies for the purposes of money laundering.” Slate shook his head and tapped a button to bring up the file where my photo was.

“What the fuck?” Falcon stood, his eyes wide and wild.

I nodded, averting my gaze as I spoke. “I was nineteen and looking for a job. I met this guy who told me about a job cleaning houses for rich people and I jumped on it, which was a horrible fucking mistake.” I swallowed hard and closed my eyes because I couldn’t bear to look at any of them while I spoke. “I passed out on my first day of work and when I woke up, I was chained to a wall with about nine other girls. There was an… auction but Viktor kept me as his and for three years I never left his side. Well,” I hesitated. “I ran away twice but I never got far until you guys rescued me.”

“What?” My brother flipped out again. “You all knew about this?”

“It was a small rescue operation,” Diesel said, his voice deep and cold. “The information was given to us by a friend and we moved quickly, that’s what matters. The rest was Raven’s story to tell.” His eyes met mine and he gave me a short nod.

I looked up at the photo of me from what felt like a million years ago and sighed. I wasn’t that girl, not anymore. “Katya was a member of a support group I run at the community center, and she gave me this USB. She told me she was being hunted. At first, I thought she had an abusive boyfriend, but she came and spoke to me after a meeting and told me she’d been trafficked. I assumed she escaped an organization similar to the one that took me and they wanted her back. When I looked at the information she gave me, I realized it was the same people who took me. Now, I think they were looking for the information she took.” My hands were damp and cold, and I shoved them in my pockets and finally met the gazes of the men who were now in this with me. “I’m worried they’ll realize I’m here.”

“Why?” The question came from Hades.

“I don’t know, honestly. But knowing what they’re like, they’ll probably check out anyone Katya had been in contact with. I might have changed my appearance but knowing they’re still looking for me… If they see my photo, then they’ll know it’s me… I’m scared.” Admitting it out loud made me nauseous but there was the truth, laid bare.

“I agree,” Diesel’s voice boomed from the back of the room. “We need around-the-clock protection for Raven until Viktor is behind bars or in the ground.”

“I’ll do it.” Hades never took his eyes off me.

“I’ll do it,” Falcon insisted as I knew he would. “She’s my sister.”

“You’re too emotional,” Diesel insisted, his gaze focused on my brother. “Raven won’t listen to you anyway. Hades can handle it. Right?”

He stood, chest puffed out and shoulders broad, taking up as much room as possible. “Damn right I can.” He turned to my brother and said, “If not you, me. I won’t let anything happen to her.” His gaze flicked to mine. “I promise you that.”

I nodded.

“You better not,” Falcon responded, finally giving up the fight.

I knew I was safe with Hades. He saw me as a sister, and he’d protect me like I was his own.

Chapter Six

Hades

I slept for shit last night, thoughts of Raven populated my dreams like she was hired to be the goddamn star. How could I not when I was looking at having her at my side twenty-four-seven for the foreseeable future? It was both a blessing and a curse. As long as she was just around the clubhouse, she was nothing more than Falcon’s kid sister with the big mouth and sharp tongue. But now? Now she was a fucking temptation I couldn’t keep my distance from.

“So,” Raven sighed, dropping down in the empty seat beside me. Her gaze was fixed on the kids, namely her nephew TJ, while they played together and with the MC bulldog, Chopper.

“So?”

“What’s the plan?” she asked without looking my way. “Am I just sticking to you like glue until the end of time?”

My lips twitched freely since she wasn’t looking and I nodded in silent answer to her question. “I don’t have any other instructions, so I guess so.” I took a pull from my beer and nodded slowly. “Right now, they don’t know where you are and that works for us. I assume you just exist on a list of girls who got away from Kozlov or one of his… customers. He wants you back.”

“Of course he does,” she laughed bitterly. “He always said I was his favorite piece of property. Even more than his house in Milan.”

There was no trace of humor in her voice and my blood ran cold. “That bastard.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “He was a cold son of a bitch. But he was also calculating. He could look at a room and size everyone up within a few seconds. He knew exactly where to apply pressure.” There was no awe in her voice, just the facts as she saw them.

I tucked that detail away for later. “Our biggest problem is they might accidentally find you while searching for that goddamn USB.”

She nodded and let out a heavy exhale. “Exactly what I’m worried about.” Eventually she turned away from the kids and Chopper, and watched me closely. “What’s your week look like, then?”

“Busy, but I have a feeling that’s about to change now that I’ve got a pink-haired badass to shadow.”