Timber (Hades Book 4)

by Tate James

  Zed rolled his eyes but reached out to cup my face with his hand. "Thank you," he whispered, pulling me closer and kissing me softly.

  I leaned into his kiss, crazy keyed up and turned on by the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I wanted nothing more than to drag my boys home and work off some steam.

  But... "I suppose I need to go deal with those idiots in my office," I muttered against Zed's lips.

  "Probably," he agreed, releasing me. He swiped a tired hand over his face and started for the exit.

  Lucas snagged my hand before I could follow, though. He tugged me back into his arms, then kissed me until my knees went weak and I needed to hold on to him to stay upright.

  He was in no hurry to let me go, until Zed stomped back over and punched him in the arm.

  "Don't be a shit, Gumdrop," Zed snarled. "Dare has business to do, and it doesn't involve your dick down her throat."

  Lucas quirked a brow. "But could it?"

  I licked my lips and gave a shaking laugh. What was I meant to be doing again?

  "Cass is waiting downstairs," Zed reminded me, and I ruffled my fingers through my hair to try and shake off the heady arousal.

  "Right," I muttered. "Cass downstairs. Disobedient idiots in my office." I peeled myself out of Lucas's grip and headed for the stairs with wobbly steps. Quietly, under my breath, I added, "Game face back on, Hades."

  It was harder than it should have been to shake off the goofy softness that Lucas and Zed had just brought out in me. I quietly loved how they bickered like that. It was no longer done with any real heat or resentment, it was just... friendly bickering.

  Cass was indeed waiting near the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall with water still clinging to his hair and a fresh bruise swelling his cheek.

  "Congratulations," I murmured, inspecting his face. He had small splits in his eyebrow and lip, but someone had already cleaned those up for him. I'd just spent the whole trip down the stairs pulling my Hades face into place; I couldn't drop it now, no matter how badly I wanted to launch into his arms and show him how proud I was of that win.

  He studied me back, his eyes sharp and understanding. In response, he just dipped his head, then followed as I headed down the corridor to the admin office.

  It was a tight squeeze inside already with Archer, Kody, and Steele taking up most of the space opposite my chair. Add Lucas, Zed, and Cass... Yeah, I probably should have told them to come up to VIP lounge instead.

  Whatever, I'd keep it brief.

  "Good fight, D'Ath," I told the sulking, bruised-up man slouched in one of the guest chairs. His response was a narrow-eyed glare, like he wasn't sure if I was mocking him or not. Suspicious fuck. No wonder Cass won the fight. Archer clearly still had anger management issues, and Cass had exploited it.

  "Hades, sir," Kody started to say, ever the fucking peacemaker, "we understand—"

  "Save it," I snapped, folding my hands together on the desk. "I think Cass took care of things well enough on my behalf. In fact, you saved me the trouble of calling you next week."

  My desire for their blood had well and truly faded. Now, I just wanted to move on with my bigger-picture plans.

  "Steele, I'd like your help on a job tomorrow night." I arched a brow at the sharpshooter of their group. The name I intended to tick off my list was known to employ a heavy security team, and I wasn't interested in peaceful talks.

  Kody drew a breath, and I knew the slick fuck was about to try and negotiate a payment for Steele's work.

  "Believe me," I gritted out before he could try to extort a favor, "this is in your best interests." I shifted my attention to Archer. We were friends... sort of. We'd done three seasons of his grandfather's camp together.

  "Who's the target?" he grumbled, still pressing an ice pack to his cheek.

  I gave him a brittle smile in return. "A mutual friend. It would seem the Rainybanks dockmaster has reneged on our arrangement. He's working for Chase and bringing live cargo through the port."

  The silence that followed my announcement was deafening. Then Archer threw his ice pack at the wall in frustration, his eyes flashing with fury.

  "I'm coming too," he snarled.

  I shook my head. "Sorry, this one is mine. Chase owes me multiple debts, and I'm claiming in the flesh of his associates... for now. When I'm done, I'd like you to pay a visit to the new dockmaster and ensure he—or she—is in complete understanding of the agreement. Clear?"

  His teeth ground together so hard I could hear it. But he let out a frustrated breath and nodded. "Clear, sir. Steele will have your back."

  I gave the three of them a tight smile. "Excellent. This will be fun."

  35

  Muted gunshots rang out through the night air as I strode through the endless maze of shipping containers, my head held high and my shoulders squared. Cass was at my back, but bodies were dropping from their hiding places before we even reached them. The combination of Zed, Lucas, and Steele hiding out in elevated positions with sniper rifles was unbeatable. We were untouchable.

  I didn't even try to hide the cruel smile on my lips when I raised my boot and kicked the door to the dockmaster’s office open.

  The paunchy dockmaster, Wayne, was cowering against the far wall, a gun in his hand and his phone to his ear. When I advanced into the room, unconcerned by his trembling gun, he held the phone out to me.

  "He wants to talk to you," he told me, fear-sweat slick on his brow.

  I strode closer, then shot his gun hand. Wayne howled, dropping the gun and phone both, but I scooped the phone up a moment later. Cass and I ignored his screams, and Cass pressed a gun to Wayne's forehead while I brought the phone to my ear.

  "Are you there, Darling?" Chase asked in a low, breathless voice. "You are, aren't you? I hope you know what a turn-on this is. I've got my dick in my hand right now, thinking about how sexy you must look shooting that idiot." He groaned, and bile rose in my throat.

  I didn't reply, just raised my gun and shot Wayne in the knee. Blood splattered across the wall, and he crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony. Chase's heavy breathing prickled my skin, so I tossed the phone onto the desk so I wouldn't need to hear him.

  He could hear us, though. He could hear Wayne as the man begged for his life, sniveling excuses why he'd reneged on our deal. He could hear as I gave the traitor zero mercy, shooting him six more times in nonlethal ways before finally delivering a shot between the eyes.

  The sudden silence as the gunshots faded from the air was startling, and I locked eyes with Cass for a long moment, my own breathing rough. Not in the same way as my perverted nemesis on the phone—I wasn't getting off on the violence. I was just riding the adrenaline high.

  Wetting my lips, I placed my hot gun down on the desk and picked up the phone once more. As expected, Chase was still there. Still listening.

  "Another one bites the dust, Chasey baby," I announced, the cold violence in my voice shocking even me. "Better sleep with one eye open." Then I let myself release an unhinged laugh at my own joke before ending the call.

  Swallowing back the bubbles of laughter, I dropped the phone to the ground, and Cass demolished it under his boot.

  "We need to call Robynne," I murmured, peering down at the bloody mess on the floor. Wayne. Fucking Wayne. This one had been personal because that motherfucker had been taking more-than-generous payouts from me for years.

  Cass nodded, placing his own gun down on the desk, and grasped my waist to pull me close. "It's done, Red." With one hand he tugged on my hair, tipping my head back. "Come back to me now."

  I knew what he meant; I was deep within my cold, hard Hades shell. It was the only way I could kill with such callous disregard for human life. Necessary or not, it was hard to resurface again.

  "I'm fine," I lied.

  He tugged my hair harder, holding my gaze. "Bullshit."

  I glared back. "I'll be fine. Call Robynne for clean up."

  He kept his fingers tangled in my
hair, holding me tight as he pulled his phone out with his other hand. The call to Robynne took all of thirty seconds, then he glanced at the time.

  "She's twenty minutes away," he informed me. "Best we wait so no one else stumbles over our crime scene."

  I laughed, then hissed as he tugged my hair again. "Oh yeah? What do you want to do to kill the time?" As if I didn't already have a fair idea.

  The corners of his lips lifted, and he stroked a hand over my throat and down my front. "I want to bring my Angel back," he murmured, his fingers flicking the button of my jeans open.

  I was still cold enough, hard enough, that I barely even offered Wayne's lifeless corpse a second glance before arching into Cass's touch. His fingers dipped into my panties, and his mouth crashed down on mine, hard and demanding. Cass wanted to snap me back to myself, and he wasn't taking no for an answer. Nor was he waiting until we got home.

  His movements were rough as he pushed his hand further into my pants, his long fingers stroking my throbbing pussy. Then he released me with a growl of frustration.

  "Not like this," he muttered, almost to himself as he gazed down at me with hungry eyes.

  I shrugged lightly. "Fair enough." He'd always been unpredictable when I was like this, but also always distant and uninterested.

  Cass gave a husky laugh, shaking his head. Then he tugged my jeans down further, taking my panties with them.

  "Like this," he corrected, shoving me to sit on the edge of Wayne's messy desk as he sank to his knees in front of me.

  My brows hiked in surprise, and I did nothing to stop him as he tugged my boots off and removed my jeans entirely. Then his huge hands gripped my ass, pulling me tighter toward him as his mouth found my cunt.

  "Oh, shit," I breathed as his tongue penetrated me. My hand went to his head, encouraging him as he draped my leg over his shoulder. Ripples of desire ran through me from head to toe, shaking me to the core as he tongue-fucked me not six feet from a man we'd just killed.

  I squirmed against his mouth, but his grip on my ass held me tight against him—so tight that for a moment I worried he might suffocate on my pussy—but then he popped up for air with his face slick and a sly grin on his face.

  "Fuck, I missed eating this cunt," he confessed, bringing one hand around to toy with me. Holding my gaze, he pushed two fingers into my throbbing center, his tongue darting out to flick my clit. I convulsed, already on the edge of an orgasm.

  "That's it, Angel," he purred as I bucked my hips, silently begging for more. "Fuck yeah, that's beautiful. Come on my face."

  I groaned, wrapping my legs around his head as his mouth attacked my clit. His fingers filled me, fucking me hard as he sucked and bit my clit like it was his favorite food. The orgasm that hit me was hard enough to make me cry out as I shook and clawed at Cass's shoulders, but he was unrelenting. When my climax started to subside, he worked harder. His mouth was bonded to my clit, and he slipped one of his soaking fingers down to my ass, teasing me with a light press.

  "Fuck," I gasped, "Cass—"

  Whatever else I was going to say got cannibalized by my moans as he pushed inside. My feet arched with another intense orgasm, and I writhed all over the desk, collapsing backward as Cass finger fucked my ass and my pussy while his mouth worked over my clit. I turned to a puddle of goo and screamed my release as I locked eyes with Wayne's corpse.

  Fuck. We were messed up.

  I wouldn't change us for the damn world.

  "Look at me," Cass demanded, his fingers still buried inside me.

  Weak from my climax, I pushed back up onto my elbows and peered down at him. His face was slick and his eyes feverish, and I'd never been more in love with him. He wasn't turned off by my compartmentalization; he simply recognized it for what it was. A mask. And Cass never wanted to see anything but the real me.

  "Much better," he murmured. He placed another teasing kiss on my cunt as he withdrew his hand, and I gasped. Those nerves were officially overstimulated, and he damn well knew it.

  Licking my lips to wet them, I sat up and locked eyes with Zed, who was standing in the doorway of Wayne's shitty office.

  "I came down to check what was taking so long," he commented, arching a brow. "Stayed for the show."

  I couldn't fight the grin splitting my face. I didn't feel weird in the least about Zed having watched that. In fact, it was getting me hot and wet all over again.

  "How long until Robynne arrives?" I asked Cass, my eyes still locked on Zed's.

  Cass checked the time and shot me a wicked look. "Ten minutes."

  I tilted my chin at Zed. "Close the door."

  It was about damn time I worked through my physical roadblocks with him, and ten minutes seemed like a good start.

  He did as I told him, then leaned his shoulders against the closed door, watching me cautiously as I pushed myself off the desk. My legs wobbled a bit as I quickly pulled my jeans back on—so I wouldn't be caught with my pants down if Robynne was early—then crossed the room to stand in front of Zed.

  His lids drooped, and he eyed me with extreme suspicion. "Dare... what are you doing?"

  I shot him a smirk and sank to my knees. "You heard Cass; we've got ten minutes."

  Zed's brows hitched as I unbuckled his belt.

  "Nine," Cass rumbled, and I moved a bit quicker.

  Zed breathed sharply as I pulled his rock-hard length from his pants and stroked it. "Dare, this seems—"

  "Like a fucking great idea," Cass cut him off. "Quit complaining, and let her suck your dick, Zeddy Bear."

  Grinning in amusement, I did just that. Zed wasn't exactly complaining, especially once I'd taken him into my mouth, sucking his sensitive tip with determination. His hands moved to my hair, his fingers tangling in the strands like he wanted to grip tighter but was at war with himself.

  I showed him that we were okay by taking him deeper, swallowing his cock, and stroking his balls with my hand.

  "Six minutes," Cass rumbled, sounding close. I cracked my eyes open, finding him with his own dick in hand, stroking it hard while he watched me suck off Zed. I reached out to him, batting his hand away to replace it with mine.

  Smoothly, quickly, I pumped my fist up and down Cass's cock in time with how I bobbed up and down Zed's dick. Then I swapped over, taking Cass into my mouth as my hand tightened around Zed.

  "Fuck," Cass hissed. "Four minutes, Angel; wrap it up."

  I moaned around his tattooed dick, then sucked him just as hard as he'd done on my clit only minutes ago. Grunting, Cass wrapped my hair around his fist, then held me tight as he took over the pace. His cock slammed into my mouth, hitting harder and deeper while my hand furiously worked Zed over.

  Cass came a minute later, holding me tight as his load pumped into my throat, and I swallowed in gulps. Then he released me, and I immediately gravitated back to Zed, my mouth sliding up and down his thick cock for another minute before he filled my mouth with his release.

  When our cleanup crew knocked on the door, the guys both had their dicks tucked away and I was in the process of putting my boots back on. Robynne, the tiny, elderly battle-ax of a woman who owned the cleaning company, eyed me with suspicion. She said nothing, though, just swept her stern gaze over the body and blood splatter all over the room. It was a miracle I'd somehow avoided getting my bare ass right in a patch of blood on the desk, but I'd take the win.

  "Same as last time?" she asked.

  I nodded. "Yes, please. I'll have another for you on Saturday night in Cloudcroft, too."

  One wiry brow twitched, and I saw the curiosity in her beady eyes. "The mayor's gala?"

  I shot her a feral grin. "The very same. Always a pleasure, Robynne."

  She just grunted and turned back to Wayne's corpse, dismissing us from her attention. Cass and Zed followed me outside, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from smiling like a loved-up fool. The only thing that could have made that little session better was Lucas, but he was likely keeping Steele busy.


  "She creeps me the fuck out," Zed muttered, tucking his arm around my waist and kissing my hair.

  Cass gave a low chuckle. "'Cause she could make you disappear and no one would ever find your body? Yeah. Same."

  He had a point.

  36

  I hadn’t forgotten to stop by and see Seph the day after the fight at Anarchy. She’d wanted to show me the car she’d been working on with Rex—the lilac Corvette. It belonged to one of Rex’s customers, but I couldn’t help noticing the way my sister gazed at it with such pride.

  A couple of days after my trip to the docks, I got the call I’d been waiting on from Rex.

  “Two updates for you, Boss,” he grunted down the phone. “The squirrelly killer, Ezekiel. He’s clean, just a nervous little turd because he killed one of my cousins back in the day.”

  I sighed quickly in relief. “Well, that’s one less worry on my mind. What’s your other news?”

  “The Corvette. He’s willing to sell, but he wants double what it’s worth.” Rex sounded less than pleased to be delivering that information, but I just laughed hollowly.

  “Of course he does,” I muttered. “Take it. I’ll send Lucas over with the money on Monday. But Rex? Don’t tell Seph yet. She needs to learn how to drive a shitload better before she gets that car. Understood?” She’d already crashed enough cars I’d bought for her.

  Rex barked a loud laugh. “Understood. I’ll get Linc to give her some lessons.”

  I ended the call and drummed my fingers on the countertop.

  “What’s up?” Lucas asked, leaning on his elbows opposite me. He’d been washing the dishes from breakfast while both Cass and Zed had already disappeared into the gym together.

  I frowned. “Chase,” I muttered. “He’s too quiet. I’m starting to regret blowing his house up because now I’m more paranoid than ever.”

  Lucas hummed thoughtfully, like he was in agreement. “You think he’s planning something?”

  “Oh, I know he is. My guess is that he’ll go after one of the clubs again. Or possibly even Copper Wolf. There’s no way he’s just accepting defeat.” I nibbled the edge of my thumbnail, and Lucas reached over to tug it out of my mouth.