Page 41 of Hades

Tears immediately clouded her vision as she carefully reached a hand out to the puppy, trying to see where it was hurt. Relief filled her when the puppy used its nose to nudge her hand weakly, as if he wanted her to pet him. She did with no hesitation, simultaneously checking for injuries.

It looked like it was a Pomeranian, if she had to guess, and its fur was matted. Underneath, she could feel its ribs. The poor thing was extremely malnourished. Gently, she lifted the puppy and was glad when it didn’t whine or yelp. It didn’t seem to be hurt, other than extremely hungry and not taken care of.

“Harley, you probably shouldn’t be picking that thing up.”

He used her real name, which meant he was serious. Still, she ignored him. “It’s a boy. A sweet little boy, Hades. Who would ditch him like this?”

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the poor baby. Her heart ached, and she wanted to get the dog some water and food and a bath as soon as humanly possible.

Hades sighed behind her. “You’re taking that thing home, aren’t you?”

Harley looked back at him with her brows raised. “Of course I am!”

Hades chuckled as he tapped away on his phone. When he finished, he kneeled next to her and peered down at the puppy, who cowered away from him in Harley’s arms. “You’re fuckin’ up our date, lil nigga.”

Harley scoffed. “Hades, please. This is the best date I’ve ever been on. It was meant for us to find this poor little baby.” Her eyes lit up as she thought of something. “Where were you going to take me tonight?”

Hades’s face scrunched up in frustration. “Gotham Grill. I been wanting to check that place out. They’re supposed to have some good prime rib.” He said it longingly, and if the moment hadn’t been so sad for Harley, she might have laughed.

“We’ll name him Gotham, to commemorate our first date.”

Hades grunted. “Whatever. I called an Uber for you already. It’ll be there in a minute. You can’t safely ride with me while holding that mut.”

Harley smiled as she stood, trying to soothe the shaking puppy in her arms. Tilting her head back, she puckered her lips and waited for him to kiss her. He did happily, though she could tell he wasn’t happy about their failed first date.

“Can you stop at the store for me? I’ll send you a list of things I need for him. We can take him to the vet tomorrow, but if he’s micro-chipped, I’m not giving him up, Hades. This might be the only time I give you the go-ahead to raise hell. Whoever ditched this lil guy does not deserve him back. Poor thing.”

Hades wiped her tears as she rambled on and on about this new addition to their little family. Finally, a car pulled up beside them, and before Harley could take a step toward it, Hades stepped to the driver’s window and knocked on it so hard it almost shattered.

Harley watched as the poor old white man cracked his window, and Hades spoke before he could. “Stan?” The man nodded, looking shaken. “Aight, look, this is my girl, and she needs to get back to my house in one piece. If you don’t make that happen, I will find you, and I will shoot you right between the eyes.”

The man paled as Harley stepped forward. “Hades!”

He looked down at her. “What?”

“Stop it. We will be fine.”

Hades looked at her for a moment longer before looking back at Stan. “I ain’t pay for Uber pet, either. I’on even know that lil nigga she’s holding yet. I’m not about to pay extra for him to ride in your shit.”

“I-it’s okay,” Stan choked out.

“Oh, and don’t be driving all crazy, either. You see that lil nigga ain’t doing so good.”

“Gotham, Hades. His name is Gotham!”

Hades blinked down at her and then used his knuckle to run down the puppy’s trembling head. “It is a cool ass name.”

He opened the door for Harley and waited until she was tucked in safely before kissing her lips.

“I’ll send you that list,” she said, already pulling her phone out and tapping away.

Hades shut the door and watched as the car drove away, already knowing it was going to be a long ass night, and he wanted to make sure he had time to talk to Harley about something he’d been thinking about all day.

“Oh,Hades, aren’t they so cute?” Harley gushed as she sat cross-legged on his bed, looking at Pixie and Gotham. The two puppies laid curled up in Pixie’s bed. Gotham had been bathed, fed, and loved on. He was still scared, especially of Hades, but Pixie seemed to take him under her wing, and he was comfortable with her.

Hades grunted as he walked over to her. After all the running around she had him do, he was tired as hell and ready for bed, but he had a mission for the night, and he wanted to make sure he went through with that.

All night and day, he had been thinking about Harley and the nature of their relationship. His nature was to be a tyrant with the people he loved, but Harley brought a speck of fear into hislife. Her presence had him wondering if he continued to be like that would his people tire of him and leave? Inadvertently, she had him questioning whether he was too much like his father.

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