by Tate James
When we got close to Zed's bedroom door, he wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me inside with him while Lucas and Cass made sounds of protest behind us.
"Not cool, Zeddy Bear," Lucas called out when Zed slammed the door.
Zed just snorted a laugh. "Suck my dick, Gumdrop!"
"Careful," I murmured, grinning as he unbuckled my gun holster for me. "One of those two might take you up on that offer."
He wasn't even remotely worried, I could tell. "Not likely," he replied with a grin. "Come on; sleep with me. I need to feel you in my arms tonight."
His kisses as he stripped me out of my clothes were slow and loving, then he tugged one of his own shirts over my head to sleep in. We were both too exhausted to fuck like rabbits, so we just snuggled until we fell asleep. It was almost like old times when we were nothing more than friends.
Until morning, of course. Then I woke up with Zed's sleep boner crushed against my ass and totally lacked the willpower to ignore it. Surely, there weren't many better ways to wake up than with some epic sleepy sex with a man you were totally in love with?
By the time we made it to the shower to get clean, then dirty again, then finally drag some clothes on, Lucas and Seph had already left for school.
"Morning, Red," Cass rumbled when I looped my arms around his waist from behind. He was at the stove cooking eggs that smelled... less than amazing.
Zed clearly thought so too because his face screwed up like he was being personally insulted. "The fuck did you do to those eggs, asshole?" He reached over and grabbed the frying pan straight off the gas burner.
"Hey," Cass protested, holding his spatula up. "What the hell?"
Zed just wrinkled his nose and dumped the entire contents of the pan into the trash before rinsing it out. "Gross," he muttered. "Make coffee or something. I'll sort out eggs."
Cass gave Zed a long-suffering glare, but when he turned to the coffee machine, I caught a smug grin on his lips.
"Sneaky cat," I whispered, tucking under his arm when he hugged me into his side.
He just winked down at me and set about making us all coffees.
"No calls through the night?" Cass rumbled, passing me the first mug and letting his fingers linger on mine.
I shook my head. "Nothing. I'm going to head over to Wattle Lane this morning, though. No doubt Nadia would have just dealt with shit herself rather than calling me."
Cass huffed in amusement. "Sounds right. I wish I could come with you."
Holding my coffee tight, I rose up on my toes to kiss him. "I know," I murmured. "But you're still dead. Besides, the whole tough-guy, biker look isn't going down real well with these scared kids."
He grunted, but I knew he understood. The whole situation was making me insanely glad I had a handful of women I could semi-trust to help out. But it also highlighted how dick-heavy I'd let the Timberwolves get—something I'd wanted to avoid when I took over. I needed to work on that.
The three of us enjoyed a strangely cozy breakfast together, but I missed Lucas. We weren't complete without him. I really should have gotten up earlier to see him before he left for school, but I'd make up for it. If all things went to plan and Chase didn't start any more shit in the next thirty-six hours, then I'd be finally putting on my show at Club 22. I'd dragged my heels on fulfilling that bet long enough, and we couldn't make any new ones until I'd paid up.
Zed offered to drive me over to Wattle Lane, and as badly as I was itching to take my Ducati out for a drive, I accepted. For one thing, we would need to go to work after checking on the girls. And for another, I didn't want to be alone.
Chase had gotten under my skin, and now I was feeling eyes on me every time I left the safety of Zed's house.
Zed must have had a similar thought, because he walked me all the way to the front door of our safe house. It wasn't something we discussed out loud, but I appreciated the gesture, no matter how unnecessary.
"I'd better wait in the car," he said softly as I pressed the doorbell. "I'm here if you need me, though." His hand pressed into my lower back, bringing my body close as he bent down to kiss me.
The door swung open the moment our lips locked, though, and I reluctantly pulled away to greet Nadia. Except it wasn't Nadia staring up at us with a disgusted look on her cute little face.
"Ew," Diana announced, giving Zed a look like he smelled awful. Then her big, green-eyed gaze shifted to me, and her smile increased in brightness. "Hades! You're back! I knew you would be." She launched herself at me, her arms banding around my waist as her face buried in my stomach.
Startled, I just stood there for a moment as the kid hugged me and Zed struggled not to laugh. Behind Diana, he gave a very pointed look at the girl's now clean hair, then met my eyes with a wide grin.
"You're so fucked," he whispered, then smacked another quick kiss on my lips before retreating to his car. Laughing.
Glowering after him, I tried to peel Diana off my waist. "I'm not huge on the hugs, squirt," I muttered. "Let's get inside. What the fuck were you doing answering the door, anyway?"
No sooner were the words out my mouth than Nadia swatted me around the ears with a tea towel. "Language," she scolded, as if on instinct. Then her eyes widened, and she drew a deep breath through her nose, like she wasn't sure how I'd react to that.
But I just chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, fair enough." I pushed Diana gently in the direction of the living room where I could hear feminine chatter and cartoons playing on the TV. "Go. I need to talk to Nadia."
Diana gave an exaggerated huff but did as she was told, leaving me to peer at Nadia.
"Is it just me," I said, quiet enough that we couldn't be overheard, "or does that fucking kid look like she could be related to me?"
Nadia scoffed, glancing in Diana's direction. The kid's shiny copper hair was unmissable amongst the other girls. "Not all redheads are related, Hades. Goodness me, did you fail high school science?"
Rolling my eyes, I followed her to the kitchen, where Maxine was washing up the dishes with Hannah. They were talking and laughing together like old friends, and the whole room—the whole house—had a drastically different energy than when I'd left in the early hours of the morning.
"So, what did I miss?" I asked, taking a seat at the island when Nadia pointed to it.
Gen popped her head up from the dining table where she had her laptop set up. Her hair was messy and her eyes looked tired, but she seemed content. Pleased.
"Boss, you're back." She smiled.
"First things first," Nadia took over. "The poor little girl who wasn't waking up from the drugs, Maria took her into Shadow Grove Memorial. She was worried that it was more the head knock than the drugs keeping her under. Far as I know, they're still treating her this morning."
My brows hitched slightly, but I'd trusted them to make the right calls. "Okay. What else?"
Nadia folded her arms under her breasts. "Most of the girls have been easy to identify. Once they understood we were genuinely trying to help them, they became chatty, even the two who don't speak a lick of English."
"Five of the nine were reported missing by their families and genuinely seem to want to go home. Of course, we will investigate a little further, but it seems like they were kidnapped, not sold." Gen offered, capping her pen and closing the notebook she'd been writing in beside her computer.
Surprise rippled through me, and I tilted my head. "Well shit, that's better than I expected. The girls want to go home?" Nadia nodded. "Well then, let's sort it out sooner rather than later. What about the other four?"
"One is the girl in hospital," Nadia ticked off on her fingers, "then there're the two who don't speak English. One speaks Spanish, which, luckily, Maxine is fluent in, and we were able to learn she comes from Colombia. She was crying for her family, but..." Nadia grimaced, indicating to Gen.
My lawyer screwed up her nose, looking angry. "I investigated the family and did some digging. I'm at least ninety percent sure she was sold by her parents to clear a
bad debt."
Anger filled my veins, and my fist clenched at my side. "How the fuck can any parent do that?" I growled, furious.
Gen shrugged. "Happens more than people realize. Anyway, it looks like the father is mixed up in some shady shit. If we sent her back, they'd likely just sell her again."
I let my breath out on a long exhale. It sucked, but it was sort of what I’d expected. If my father had succeeded in selling Seph off in the auction house, then she’d returned a month later, he wouldn't have blinked twice before collecting a second paycheck.
"The other girl is Russian," Nadia continued, looking more pissed off than I'd ever seen her. "Sounds like she’s been held the longest of all of them."
A flash of understanding hit me. "You speak Russian," I commented.
Nadia gave a short nod. "Da. Her family are all dead. She has no one to return to."
Sympathy for that child rolled through me, and I stubbornly refused to let my mind wander over all the horrific things that could have happened to her while being held for transport. She hadn't been sold to her final owner yet, but that didn't mean her captors would have treated her with any kind of respect.
"Fuck. Alright. And the last one?" Because they'd only told me about eight of the nine so far.
Hannah gave a short chuckle, sharing a glance with Maxine, and I gave them a suspicious look.
Nadia clicked her tongue at them both before turning back to me. "Diana," she said, and somehow I wasn't even slightly surprised. "She won't tell us her surname, where she came from, how long she was captive... anything."
I frowned in confusion. "I don't get it. She speaks just fine and seems confident as hell today. What's the problem?"
This time Nadia herself seemed to be trying to hide a smile. "She said there’s no point in telling us who her family are, because..." Nadia cleared her throat before continuing in a direct quote from Diana, I was going to guess "...because fuck family, they're a bunch of assholes."
My lips parted, but no sound came out. Consider me speechless. And judging by the way Nadia glared at me, and Hannah grinned behind her hand, I was willing to bet Diana had told them I'd been the one to say that originally.
"Well," I said after a painfully long pause. "She's probably not wrong."
Nadia threw her hands in the air and Hannah seemed to shake with silent laughter until Maxine elbowed her.
"Where's Sabine?" I asked, changing the subject away from my appalling influence on impressionable young children.
Maxine pointed toward the living room. "In there, braiding hair. She's having an amazing time."
"Cute," I murmured, then shifted my attention back to Gen. "Let's sort out those five who want to go home. If Maria is happy with their physical health, then we should reunite them as soon as possible."
Gen nodded. "Yes, sir."
"What about the other three?" Nadia asked.
I bit the edge of my thumbnail, thinking, then gave a small sigh. "Nothing, for now. I'll talk it over with Zed and see what we can do for them. Obviously, the Russian girl—"
"Zoya," Nadia offered.
I amended myself. "Obviously Zoya can't be sent back to Russia with no family and, I'm assuming, no money. And I don't feel comfortable sending..."
"Angelina," Maxine supplied.
"...sending Angelina home to a family who knowingly sold her." I gave a small groan, rubbing my eyes. "How old are these girls? Old enough to make their own choices?"
Nadia shrugged. "Depends on the choice."
"Fair point," I whispered. "Let me think on it. I'll come up with some options, but in the meantime..." Shit, I couldn't just ask these women to babysit indefinitely.
Nadia reached out and patted my forearm where I leaned on the counter, though, giving me an understanding smile. "I'll look after them. After all, I have some free time on my hands right now." She gave me a pointed look, and I cringed.
"I'm sorry about your café," I told her sheepishly.
She shrugged. "I'm not. You should see the beautiful renovation you're paying for." Her grin was all Cass, and I couldn't help smiling back.
"Yeah, I deserve that. It’d better be awesome. Anyway, is there anything I can do here before I go into work?" I glanced around at everyone with that question, and they all looked equally confused.
Nadia answered first, though. "We've got this handled, Hades. You get on in to work, but be sure to tell Diana you're leaving. That little girl thinks you walk on bloody water, she does."
I gave a short laugh as I slid off my stool. "Hero worship. She'll get over it when she realizes what a cold bastard I really am."
Hannah chuckled from where she was drying dishes. "Okay, Boss." Then she checked the time and hissed a curse. "Shit, sorry, I should be at work too."
"Go, we've got this," Maxine told her, tugging the towel from her hands.
Nadia nodded. "I'll send you a grocery list to pick up on your way back, Hannah." Then she nudged me through to the living room to say goodbye to Diana.
Luckily for me and my aversion to hugs from people I wasn't sleeping with, Diana was getting her hair braided by Sabine when I got in there. So instead of clinging to me like a spider monkey again, she just pouted and asked if I'd be back later.
Fucking kid was too good at puppy-dog eyes for her own good—or mine—and I found myself agreeing to swing past after work.
Nadia followed me out and waved to Hannah, who was already getting into her car. But then she paused me with a hand on my arm.
"Hades," she murmured. "How's my boy?"
She kept her face neutral, but there was no hiding the deep concern filling her eyes or the slight tremble in her voice.
Guilt flooded through me, hating that we'd made Cass's grandmother think he was dead for even a minute. "He's good," I whispered back. "Made a full recovery already and itching to be resurrected."
She gave a sad smile. "Well, tell him to be patient. Not everyone will be pleased to see him breathing."
With that ominous warning, she stepped back inside the house and closed the door. A moment later, the lock clicked home. Good. Nadia wasn't taking chances.
45
That afternoon I found myself leaving work early just so I could swing past the safe house and visit the girls like I'd promised. Not that I had any intention of joining in on the hair braiding and shit, but I didn't like to break my word.
Zed once again waited in the car, but Diana peered at him through the window, then asked if he was my boyfriend. Ugh, kids were the fucking worst.
We arrived home just a couple of minutes ahead of Lucas and Seph; I'd barely even stripped out of my weapons when I heard the Mustang pull into the garage.
"Dare!" Seph's shout echoed through the house, alarming me. "Dare! Come here! Zed, are you home?"
I raced back through to the garage to where she hovered nervously in the doorway while the garage door rolled back down.
"Seph, what's going on?" I demanded, striding over to the Mustang, where Lucas was climbing out slowly. He winced as he pushed the driver’s door shut and held his ribs like he was in pain. "What the fuck happened?"
A more critical glance at Seph told me she wasn't nervous after all. She was... excited?
Lucas gave me a pained smile. "I'm fine, babe." Even though he was definitely not fine. "I handled it." He sidestepped me and circled to the trunk of the Mustang, then popped it open.
Inside, I found the absolute last thing I’d ever expected Lucas and Seph to bring home from school: a bound and gagged man all squished into the tight trunk space, blood coating half his face as he thrashed and twisted.
"Is that... did you restrain him with your tie?" I asked in disbelief, unsure whether I should be amused or horrified.
"Dare," Seph interrupted, bouncing on her toes with excitement, a huge smile on her face. "Dare, oh my god, you should have seen it! This guy just jumped out of fucking nowhere and, like, tried to strangle Lucas with this rope thing and—"
I stopped l
istening to her high-speed babble, grabbing Lucas's arm and spinning him to face me. Sure enough, there was an angry red line around his throat, and he winced as I touched a gentle finger to the welt. This dead man had tried to garrote my Gumdrop.
"—then Lucas tied him up and chucked him in the trunk, and we drove back here super fast." Seph was still gushing, her smile so wide it had to be hurting her face and her eyes sparkling. "Dare, you should have seen him! Like bam and pow and pop! Lucas is legit such a badass, like, wow."
"Where was your backup?" I asked him quietly, ignoring Seph.
"Huh?" My sister shrugged. "What backup? We don't have any. Besides, we don't need any because Lucas is a total weapon."
Lucas gave a faint smile. "He was across the road," he replied to me. "It was quicker to deal with it myself, and seeing as we were right by my car..." He shrugged, but I understood. Better to stash the bleeding, bound man out of sight before someone went calling the cops.
"Careful," I muttered, smoothing a finger over his bruised cheek, "don't let Zed hear you call it your car."
Lucas snorted as Zed and Cass came into the garage to investigate Seph's yelling.
"Well, that's unexpected," Zed commented, peering into the trunk with us. Then he glanced over at Seph, still grinning from ear to ear. "Seph, head inside."
Her smile disappeared in a flash, replaced by a scowl. "Fuck you, Zed."
"Get inside, Seph," I ordered, my voice sharp with anger. "Or would you actually like to watch me cut this guy's fingers off one by one until he tells us who sent him to kill Lucas today?"
My sister paled, but her eyes flashed with stubborn defiance like she was actually going to call my bluff. Except I wasn't bluffing. Nor was I offering her a choice in the matter. I wasn't going to torture a man in front of my innocent, eighteen-year-old sister.
"Come on, Seph," Lucas said gently, placing a hand on her arm. "I'll show you how to check for broken ribs."
Outrage was clear on her face, and I knew she wanted to stand her ground. But Lucas gently pulled her away from the car, and she sighed as she followed him. Zed, Cass, and I waited in silence until they were back inside the house, closing the door to seal us off.
