Page 55 of A Worthy Opponent
Two hugs in one day, three if I’m going to count the one in Hook’s bathroom earlier. What the hell is this world coming to?
Meg gives me a brief smile. “Take care of your business, Tink. I expect to hear about itvery soonover drinks.” Then she links her arm through Hercules’s and follows Hades through the parking garage to the elevator.
I barely wait for it to close before I turn to Hook. “Let’s go.” I have to keep moving or I’m going to fall apart. I may be farther from that breaking point than I was thirty minutes ago, but it’s still close enough to taste on the back of my tongue.
For once, Hook doesn’t have a snarky comment to offer. He simply falls into step next to me. We head to the waitingcar and slip into the backseat. Colin’s driving, and he takes one look at our faces and apparently decides that conversation can wait.
Hook leans forward between the seats. “They’ll provide escort.”
A calculated risk—an escort could be translated into us being too weak to protect ourselves—but as long as we’re on Underworld territory, we don’t have the ability to refuse Hades. Especially when it’s a reasonable request.
Still.
The thirty minutes it takes to navigate the traffic back to Hook’s building are some of the tensest in recent memory. It’s everything I can do to keep my eyes forward and not rubberneck around, looking for an attack. I know it’s coming. Peter destroying the majority of my worldly possessions is as much a declaration of war as sending a signed letter. Not knowing when he’ll strike? It’s enough to drive a person mad.
I jump as Hook laces his fingers through mine. He’s not looking at me, his dark gaze intent on the street outside his building. We make it into the parking garage without issue, but he still doesn’t relax. Why should he? Peter infiltratedHades’sparking garage just hours ago.
Hook waits for Colin to shut off the engine. “Sweep the place starting from the ground up. I don’t want anyone in the building who isn’t meant to be here. No girlfriends, no boyfriends, no fuck buddies, no delivery people. No one.”
“Will do.”
He squeezes my hand, and I obey the silent command to follow him out of the car. It’s not until the elevator doors slide silently shut that I realize he kept his body between me and the entrance to the street the entire time. Protecting me. I look at our linked hands and tell myself to release him, but my body isn’t obeying my mind.
Or maybe I just flat out don’t want to.
“This is going to get ugly.”
He finally looks at me. “It was always going to get ugly. The only way to eradicate an infection is to lance the wound and dig it out so it can heal cleanly. Peter is a wound in this territory, and I have to bear the burden of letting him live five years ago.”
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say to that. Hedidlet Peter live and, yes, that’s put a number of people in danger now. But what’s the other option? “You’re not a cold-blooded killer.”
“I wasn’t then.” His smile is empty and cold. “People change.”
The doors open before I can come up with a response to that. We barely make it a single step out before Nigel waylays us. “There’s someone here to see you.”
“Now’s not a good time.” Hook shakes his head, already turning away. “Colin is organizing a sweep. I want everyone who isn’t ours out.”
But Nigel doesn’t budge. His expression is more serious than usual. “It’s Gaeton.” The barest of hesitations. “The Man in Black is dead.”
“What?” The word escapes before I can wrestle control of my mouth. The Man in Black rules—ruled—the largest slice of Carver City. He’s the only one strong enough to manage that much territory without incident, and he’s sure as hell the only one capable of holding both Gaeton and Beast’s leashes. He’s also Isabelle’s father.
Hook touches the small of my back. “Send him up in five minutes.”
I manage to keep my mouth shut until we’re in his room, and then I spin on him. “This is a mess. He’s a cornerstone of Carver City. Knock out that leg and the entire thing topples. If someone gets it in their head to test his untried eldestdaughter—and they will—it could be a domino effect to send usallto war.” The only reason the power structure works in this city is because it’s perfectly balanced. The small internal squabbles and changing of leaders doesn’t make a difference in the overall city because it doesn’t affect the overall territory boundaries, so everyone has approximately the same amount of power. There hasn’t been a territory grab or a war in… I don’t even know. Decades, at least. Since the Man in Black fought and killed the leader of the territory to his eastern border, and brokered with Hades to create the neutral territory in the city center. If someone decides to get greedy now, none of us are safe.
For the first time in a very long time, Hook looks tired. Well and truly exhausted. He scrubs his hands over his face. “We should send Gaeton on his way. We have enough to worry about without getting pulled into whatever the hell is going on in that territory with the old man’s death.” The words seem to bring him no pleasure. He speaks them because it’s the smart thing to do.
Neither of us has been all that good at doing the smart thing.
I cover Hook’s hands with mine and lace my fingers through his. “He’s your friend. He’s my friend, too.” Admitting that someone is my friend gets easier every time I do it. Gaeton may not be on the same level as the ladies in the Underworld, but heisa friend.
“Yes.” The word comes out as a sigh.
I squeeze his hands. “The Man in Black was like a father to him. He’ll be grieving.”
“You’regrieving right now.”
He’s not wrong but focusing on Gaeton’s pain is so much easier than dealing with the fight barreling down on us. I manage a small smile. “Then it sounds like comfort is the name of the game tonight.”
