Page 35 of Hades

Before she could respond, he turned and walked toward the stairway, forcing himself not to look back as foreign emotions consumed him.

Unease filled Harley’s heart as she looked around the crowded club. After being cooped up in her sister’s apartment for the last three weeks, being out in a crowd of people didn’t sit right with her.

She looked down at the ring on her finger and knew it was only a matter of time before they were busted, and dread filled her as she thought about the aftermath of this silly outing.

“Would you stop worrying?” Blair shouted as she dropped into the booth next to Harley and slung her arm around her shoulders.

Harley rolled her eyes with a small shake of her head. Blair and Sage didn’t know Hades like she did. Cari had no excuse though. She had known Hades much longer than her and knew what he was capable of, yet she was the ringleader of this grandiose plan.

Harley had learned pretty quickly that Cati was no longer the sheltered and abused little girl. Her sister flourished into a social butterfly, and Major had done his best to keep her contained, per Hades’s orders, but that all came to a crashing halt that night.

“Is she over here being a party pooper?” Cati asked, sitting down on the other side of Harley and breathing heavily. She and Sage, who sat next to Cati, had been living it up on the dance floor and throwing back shots. Harley was the only sober one because she knew this whole night would backfire on them.

“She is,” Blair replied. “That man has her shook.”

Cati grabbed Harley’s hand, rubbing the finger with her ring on it. “We knew he would find us eventually, Lady Bug. It’s about having a bit of fun before that.”

“How can we have fun if he’s about to completely lose it on all of us? And what about Drew?” Harley was paranoid.

Being cast out of the comfort of Hades’s home had her on edge. She’d enjoyed reconnecting with her sister and appreciated her time with Cati, but she hated that it had to be at the expense of whatever she and Hades had been building. Major did his best to create a comfortable environment in their apartment for Harley, but she missed Hades. She didn’t understand how they spent such an intimate night together, only for him to turn around and throw her away.

“Hey,” Cati said, “when have I ever let anything happen to you?”

Harley’s heart dropped. That was a loaded question, but the answer was still clear as day. With a guilt-ridden heart, she said, “Never.”

“I didn’t ask you that to make you feel bad, Lady Bug. I just want you to lighten up. We will take whatever punishment those men have for us together, okay?”

Harley shrugged. “If you say so.”

Nervous butterflies still fluttered around her stomach. Church with the Obsidian Riders wouldn’t last all that long. That was where Major went, leaving the sisters alone. It was only a matter of time before they were found, and Harley knew it wouldn’t be good. Another small part of her wondered if she would get to see Hades finally because of this…

“Shots!” Sage cried, brushing her wild curls out of her face. Cati grinned and wiggled in her seat happily. Harley was happy her friends and Cati got along so well, though it was a given. She always praised her sister to her friends, and Cati knew all about Sage and Blair before they finally met a few days ago over dinner at Cati’s house. It felt like her world was complete. Well, most of it. There was a self-proclaimed devil-shaped hole in the middle of her heart where Hades had visited fleetingly.

Harley watched her sister and best friends interacting. Blair with her long, sleek black weave and blue mini dress. Sage with her two-piece boho inspired outfit with tapestry designs and her bouncy curls, and Cati with her short, edgy cut and black one-piece.

Though Sage rarely went out or spent money on anything other than items necessary for her survival, she knew how to have a good time, and Harley knew Cati appreciated that. They were both free spirits, and in no time, their threesome had become a foursome. She wished she could have more fun and turn up with them, but it seemed she was the only one leery of what they were doing. Sneaking around and waiting to get caught felt wrong to her, and something in her gut just wouldn’t allow her to drink. She felt she needed to stay alert.

Before she could try to refuse the notion of taking the shots Sage and Blair were busy pouring up, the entrance of their section suddenly became crowded. In the middle of the sea of men piling into their entrance was Drew.

Harley stilled, grabbing onto her sister’s thigh. Cati looked at her, trying to hand her a shot glass, but when she saw her sister’s stricken face, she stilled. “What’s wrong?” Cati’s eyes followed Harley’s gaze, and her brows pulled in. “Lady Bug, who is that?”

“Drew.” She whispered the word, but Cati still caught on, and she immediately stiffened.

Falling in line and killing the good time, Sage and Blair froze, catching sight of Drew, a man they never truly liked.

The partygoers in the club continued to enjoy themselves all around the section Harley sat in, but for her, time had stood still. She knew coming there that night had been a bad idea. She should have put up more of a fight. Now, she felt the manic gaze of Drew on her, and she questioned her discernment. She had been so sure Drew would never harm her, but by the look in her eyes, she wasn’t sure that was fact anymore.

Slowly, he walked toward her while the men he was with blocked the entrance to their section.

Cati stood and positioned her body in front of Harley, which immediately triggered her. She knew her sister’s heart, but there was no way Harley would simply sit back and allow Cati to protect her at the cost of her own safety anymore. Those days were long gone. Quickly, Harley stood up and stood by Cati’s side. “You can’t keep doing that, Cati. Stop putting yourself in harm’s way for my sake.”

Cati side-eyed her while still keeping a careful eye on Drew as she tried to push Harley back down onto the seat of the booth, but she stayed planted in place, refusing to back down.

There was no time for them to bicker, though, because Drew was in front of them, eying Harley and completely ignoring Cati. Before he could speak, Cati made her presence known as she tapped away on her phone. “I dare you to say one word to her. Our men are already on the way.”

Relief flooded Harley, but she still stood there, trembling and praying like hell Drew would leave peacefully.

He smirked and slowly looked at Cati. “Who the fuck are you?”

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