Timber (Hades Book 4)

by Tate James

  Deliberately, I held his gaze as I retracted my tongue, swallowing his load, then licked my lips.

  His expression was well worth it. He probably could have come again, just from how dirty I’d made that whole thing.

  Exhausted, I rolled onto my back, collapsing into a boneless heap, but Cass smirked and stood up, still pumping his own dick.

  “Angel...” he purred. “Do you mind?”

  I grinned and watched with heavy-lidded eyes as he came all over my tits, painting them with his seed.

  “Fucking hell,” Lucas muttered dropping back into his chair with his cheeks pink and his breathing labored. “What did you do, old man, pop a Viagra or something?”

  Cass barked a loud laugh as he crossed over to the bathroom and grabbed a stack of washcloths.

  “Don’t be jealous, Gumdrop,” he replied, smirking. “It’s just experience over youth.”

  Zed grunted. “Hell yeah.” From his nearly passed-out position, he raised his closed hand and fist-bumped Cass. Ugh, some days I prayed for them to go back to bickering instead of teaming up.

  Then again... they did so well as a team. All three of them.

  I’d be walking funny for days, no doubt about it.

  43

  Just in case there was any potential that I wasn’t going to be walking like John Wayne the next morning, the guys took turns waking me up all fucking night to fuck.

  Okay, in fairness, I initiated at least fifty percent of those. But who in their right mind would say no to a lazy, half-asleep dirty spoon? Or... double spoon... as it might have been on several occasions when my first spoon wasn’t subtle enough.

  It was well past midday when I finally migrated to the shower, only to end up pinned to the wall by Lucas’s relentless anaconda. He’d definitely felt the need to prove the benefits of youth, and I was amazed he had anything left in the tank.

  “Hey, babe?” he murmured in my ear as he pounded me into the wet tiles. “Can I...”

  I gave a low chuckle as my wet breasts slid against his hard chest. I knew exactly what he wanted. “Yes,” I replied with a groan, “but give me a few days to recover from this weekend.”

  He grinned, then kissed me deeply as he picked up the pace. We both came together, the hot water beating down uselessly beside us as we continued kissing.

  “Awesome,” he whispered a few moments later, dragging me back under the water to rinse off.

  When I eventually made it into clothes and out to the living room, where room service had just been delivered, I was ready for a nap.

  The guys had set up our food at the circular dining table, and I gingerly lowered myself into my seat with a wince.

  “You alright there, Dare?” Zed asked with a wicked glint in his eye.

  I flipped him off and snatched up one of the coffee mugs. “Fuck you,” I muttered before taking a gulp of the already cooling coffee.

  Zed grinned. “Again? Damn. Alright, I won’t say no.” He pushed his chair out from the table and patted his lap in teasing invitation.

  I glowered. “Remind me why I tolerate your shit?”

  “Because you love me.” He pulled me out of my seat and perched me carefully on his lap, dropping the jokes. “And I love you, Hayden Darling Timber. Always have, always will.”

  “Blah blah, till death do we part,” Lucas added, shooting me a grin. “Zed gets all sappy after blowing his load too many times. You’d better let him sit out the rest of the weekend.”

  Wrinkling my nose, I sipped my coffee and snuggled into Zed’s warm embrace. “I’d better sit myself out too,” I admitted. “But Zed and I don’t mind watching if you and Cass wanna continue without us.”

  Zed shook with silent laughter, burying his face in my hair and grinning against my neck. Lucas looked confused for a moment, then tilted his head at Cass with a shrug.

  “Fuck off, Gumdrop,” Cass snarled, his breakfast burrito halfway to his mouth. “My asshole is off limits.”

  Lucas cracked up, ribbing Cass about being insecure while Zed hugged me tighter and kissed my neck softly.

  “Don’t act like you’d be into that,” Zed murmured in my ear. “We all know you would need to be the filling in that sandwich.”

  Lucas must have heard him because he gave me a loved-up smile. “Sandwiches without meat are just bread, and that doesn’t sound appetizing. Besides, you’re my favorite kind of filling, babe.”

  Cass scoffed. “Says the kid who’s never tried anything else.”

  “You offering, big man?” Lucas shot back, then frowned like his quick wit had spoken before his brain. He shook his head. “Actually, I take that back. I’m more than happy with what I’ve got, thanks.”

  “This conversation got strange fast,” I commented, gulping my coffee. “And we need to get home. I’m anticipating some kind of fallout from last night’s strike, and I still haven’t come up with a solid plan for the next name on the list.”

  Cass sighed. “Back to reality already?”

  I grinned, nodding. “Yup. We need to plot three more executions, and I promised Diana I’d kill her parents for her.”

  Lucas gave me a lopsided smile. “Some might find that an odd thing to promise an eight-year-old, but from you to her? Cutest fucking thing ever.”

  “They sound like they deserve it. She gave me her home address; I just need to make the trip to get it done. In the meantime, I don’t think Nadia minds playing foster grandma to both her and Zoya.”

  Cass scrubbed a hand over his beard. “Nadia loves Zoya already. I think she sees her as the Russian daughter she never had.”

  It reminded me of when he told me how Nadia had been gifted the Fabergé Egg by her one true love, a Russian thief. I needed to get that whole truth of what happened out of her one day, but while I had no doubt it would be an incredible one, I already knew how it ended. She never married the thief, her love. Her husband had died, her daughter been murdered, and now her grandson was a gangster. Nadia’s tale wouldn’t be a romance. It’d be a bittersweet love story with no true happily ever after.

  “Seph seems to be happy helping out, too,” Lucas noted. “Which is kinda... you know... un-Seph-like?”

  I snickered. “She’s changed a lot in the last month. I didn’t ever think I’d say this, but Rex has been a good influence on her. And I spent years keeping her away from him for fear that he was just like our father, a sleazy, immoral, opportunistic fuck.”

  Zed hummed in agreement, his hands linked around my waist and his face resting on my shoulder. “Rex has been a pleasant surprise, that’s for sure—not to mention that kid of his who saved Nadia the other night.”

  “Shelby,” Cass grunted. “Nadia probably had shit handled herself, but I’m glad he was there to back her up.”

  Lucas’s phone beeped on the table, and he picked it up to check the message. His brows hitched, and he tapped out a quick response before looking over at me. “Speaking of retaliation for last night, someone shot up the KJ-Fit in south Shadow Grove this morning.”

  My mood instantly soured. “Was anyone hurt?”

  Lucas shook his head. “Doesn’t sound like it. Steele just said Kody was pissed and out for blood.”

  “Tell him to get in fucking line,” I murmured. Zed was already pulling his phone from his pocket to check in with Archer, and I gave Lucas a curious look. “When did you and Steele become friends?”

  His answering look was flat. “Maybe the other night while you were sucking these two off beside Wayne’s bleeding, bullet-riddled body and I needed to stop him checking in on you?”

  I tilted my head, grinning. “Fair call.”

  “Asked Archer if anyone in his crew got hurt in the shooting,” Zed told me with a huff of laughter. “He told me not to fucking insult him.”

  Cass chuckled. “Sounds like him.”

  Chase was a fucking idiot for thinking he could go after my allies like that, but then again, he was probably more interested in being a pest and fucking up our businesses t
han actually killing anyone. It left me feeling uneasy, though.

  “We need to get home,” I said again, but made no move to get out of Zed’s lap. I was so comfy there. These moments sitting around with the three of them, eating, drinking, or smoking, they were my favorites. Okay, second favorites. But in moments like these I could see us all being together forever, even as farfetched as that seemed.

  I snagged a pancake from the table, and the sunlight through the windows flashed across my ring, reminding me I still wore it.

  “Mm, we need to sort this out,” I commented, then took a mouthful of pancake and waved my finger in Zed’s face.

  He dropped his phone back to the table and returned his hands to my waist. “Sort what out?”

  I shifted to scowl at him. “You know what. You agreed to give this back to its owner today, so...” I put the rest of my pancake in my mouth and wiggled the gorgeous ring from my finger. “Do it.”

  The command was a bit muffled around my full mouth, but he knew what I was saying.

  With a sigh, he took the ring from me and held it up, twisting it in the light. “I saw this ring, Dare, and I knew it was made for you. There is probably no more perfect ring on this planet for a woman like you.”

  “You’re right about that,” Lucas agreed.

  Cass said nothing. Just stared at me across the table.

  “Zed,” I murmured. “You agreed.” And if he kept pushing, I’d probably cave and keep it because it was already paining me to have it off my finger.

  Zed sighed again, nodding. “Alright.” Taking my hand in his, he slid the ring back onto my finger. “Done.”

  I frowned, confused. Then Cass started laughing his low, husky laugh.

  “Sneaky fuck,” he muttered. “You bought it in Red’s name, didn’t you?”

  I whipped my head around to stare at Zed, who looked way too fucking smug for his own good. “Zayden De Rosa, you wanna tell me you didn’t steal this?”

  “Bought and paid for, boss. Paperwork is all in your name too, so consider the rightful owner back in possession.” He closed my fingers and kissed the ring. “So quit your bitching about it.”

  Snorting a laugh, I elbowed him in the ribs. Conflicting emotions flooded through me as I gazed down at my hand, though.

  “It’s not a proposal,” Zed added softly, and I caught Cass muttering something under his breath about what finger the ring was on. “But we did fairly publicly announce our engagement in front of Chase last night. Might be worth maintaining the ruse until he’s dealt with.”

  Lucas snickered. “Sure, Zed. The ruse. You’re so full of shit.”

  Zed flipped him off but kept his gaze locked on mine, waiting for me to reply. He was right, though. Him calling me his fiancée in front of Chase had pushed more buttons than I’d achieved since the moment that sick fuck had walked back into our lives. I’d thought he might burst a blood vessel, he was so worked up. And we could keep playing that up. An impulsive, irrational Chase would be so much easier to trap than a clear-thinking one.

  “My opinion of marriage hasn’t changed, Zed,” I told him sternly. “Especially now.” I tipped my head toward the other two vital ingredients in our recipe.

  Zed kissed my lips gently. “It’s just a ring, Dare.”

  I sighed, knowing he’d already won this battle. He’d won it the second he chose the most perfect-for-me ring ever created. So I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, but deep down, all four of us knew he was lying.

  It wasn’t just a ring. It was so much more, and that was something we’d need to work through. Together.

  44

  Lucas ended up chatting some more with Steele on the way home from our hotel stay and got the full lowdown. The gym had been closed for some renovation work, so only Kody, Steele, and Archer had been there when the shooting happened. Madison Kate had been hanging out with Seph, which was lucky.

  No one had been shot, but the gym was messed up and Archer had a decent cut on his ass from when he’d slipped on broken glass. Of course, he’d never have told Zed that himself. Fucking tough guy.

  Monday morning, Lucas came with me back into Cloudcroft to visit the bank. I needed to pay for Seph’s car before the owner changed his mind and doubled the price again. It was already way over value, but... I couldn’t put a price on the pride in my sister’s eyes when she talked about that car she’d put so much work into.

  Obviously, I couldn’t make amends for five shitty years by buying her things. But her birthday was only a few months away, so... whatever.

  “Why do we need to go into the bank to get cash out?” Lucas asked as we parked in the lot across from my primary bank. I had vaults in loads of banks, in loads of cities, and even in other countries. That was just smart, in my line of business. But this one was the first I’d used and still the most accessible. I had it on good authority that I wasn’t the only less-than-legal customer at this bank, but that worked for me. The employees didn’t ask stupid fucking questions about fake IDs.

  Grinning at Lucas, I slid my sunglasses on, and we got out of the Porsche. All four of us had stayed up way too late again the night before. So much for giving my cunt a break. Maybe she’d just get used to the constant traffic, instead. I, for one, was willing to give that a try.

  “Because,” I replied, leaning into him as his arm looped around my waist, “I’m not the kind of moron who keeps all her dirty money and valuables inside her house, you know, just in case it gets set on fire or the whole building gets blown up.”

  Lucas winced. “Yeah, good point. When you put it like that... smart move using banks.”

  “Don’t worry; I covered my bases on bank robberies too. This isn’t my only stash.” I sighed quickly. “That was one of the very few good things I learned from my father. He used to lecture me on the importance of splitting up assets. His rule was to never store anything more than you’re willing to lose in each location. If one was lost, would it ruin you? If so, don’t leave so much in that place. It makes you vulnerable.”

  Lucas nodded, understanding. “What about investments? Shares and shit? Digital wealth.”

  I smiled. “That’s all done with Copper Wolf money.” I shot him a wink and reached into my purse for the key to my bank vault as we approached the main entrance.

  I needed to fish around a bit to find the damn key, so I was distracted as someone held the door open from the other side for us to enter. My manners not totally lacking, I glanced up to give the tall, suited man a nod of thanks before continuing into the old-school bank.

  My high heels clicked on the marble floor as I took all of four steps inside, then froze and whirled around.

  “What?” Lucas asked, alarmed.

  My gaze darted around, searching for the man who’d just held the door open. “That man,” I said, not clearly articulating my wild thoughts. “Where’d he go?”

  He’d held the door open, which meant he was probably leaving. I rushed back outside, searching the street. It’d barely been fifteen seconds, and he was a big guy. He couldn’t have disappeared so quickly.

  “Hayden, what’s wrong?” Lucas asked, clearly concerned about my erratic behavior.

  I shook my head, frustrated. “The guy who held the door open. Did you see where he went? He was huge; he can’t have just fucking vanished.” And yet the street outside the bank in both directions was totally vacant.

  Lucas frowned. “I don’t even remember what he looked like.”

  I threw my hands up with frustration. “He was like... Cass’s size—six-foot-five, easy—and broad across the chest. Wearing a sharp suit and carrying a briefcase.”

  Describing him was somewhat pointless, though. He was well and truly in the wind. Who fucking was this guy? That was officially the fourth time I’d seen him, and every interaction seemed stranger than the last. He hadn’t truly caught my attention until the gala, though. When I’d spotted him and joked about Chase needing security... Chase had been confused.

 
Which meant that mysterious dude who’d stood back and let me punch Chase in the face over dinner... wasn’t working for him. So... who was he working for? Why did our paths keep fucking crossing?

  I pulled my phone out and dialed Dallas, tapping my foot on the pavement as I waited for him to answer. When he did, I could hear a toddler throwing a tantrum in the background.

  “Bad time?” I asked, a bit rhetorically.

  “For you, Hades? Never. What’s up?” Dallas laughed nervously, then tried to ineffectively shush his screaming son.

  I cringed. “Sorry, I’ll make it quick. I’m at Guardian Bank in Cloudcroft and just saw someone I thought I recognized. But he disappeared before I could verify. Any chance you can pull some security footage and get me a freeze frame to confirm?”

  Dallas huffed. “From the Guardian Bank? No chance. They’re tighter than Fort Knox. You could ask me to break into the Pentagon, and it’d be easier than them.”

  I groaned. “Figured you’d say that.”

  “I’ll pull cameras from all the surrounding stores, though. Maybe your guy will show on one of those as he’s coming or going. Who am I looking for?”

  “Good fucking question,” I muttered. But still, I gave him my vague description of the guy. Somehow, despite his size, he was as nondescript as they came. Which only made me more suspicious because what better way to fade into the background?

  Dallas assured me he’d do his best, and I ended the call. Lucas arched a brow at me in question, and I blew out a frustrated sigh. “I dunno,” I told him. “That guy keeps showing up, and it’s making me suspicious as hell. I thought he was working for Chase, but now I’m not convinced.”

  Lucas tilted his head. “Could he be from the Guild?”