Anarchy (Hades Book 2)

by Tate James

  Lucas gave a confused frown but shrugged. "Sure, cool. Thanks. Is everything okay, though?" He turned back to me with concern on his face.

  I nodded. "Fine. Just tightening up security at the clubs."

  Zed handed me a mug of coffee, his fingers brushing mine as I took it and his stare way too damn intense for this time of morning.

  Lucas noticed it too. His gaze bounced between the two of us a couple of times before a small smile tugged his lips. He grabbed a coffee mug out of the cupboard and helped himself to the fresh pot before turning back to face us both.

  "Everything okay with you guys? You both seem... tense." The smirk on his lips said he knew perfectly fucking well what was causing that tension, even if he hadn't witnessed the show I gave Zed last night.

  Zed leaned back against the cabinets, cool as a cucumber as he sipped his coffee. "I'm fine. How about you, Dare?"

  My answering smile was brittle and severely lacking in sincerity. "Better than fine."

  Lucas snorted a laugh and shook his head. "You guys need to fuck so bad it's painful."

  Zed choked on the sip of coffee he'd just taken, and my eyes bugged out as I glared at Lucas.

  "What?" He shrugged. "It's pretty obvious."

  "I'm going to get changed," I announced, making a speedy exit from the kitchen, despite the fact that I'd literally just showered and changed after my workout. I wasn't fast enough, though, and I heard Zed's response to Lucas.

  "You're officially the most secure teenager I've ever fucking met, Wilder. Or are you just not concerned about losing your woman to another man?"

  I paused, wanting to hear Lucas's reply.

  He didn't disappoint either. In fact, he laughed. "I won't lose her to you, Zed. She already loves you and has since before I met her, so there's nothing to be insecure about. Hayden has room in her heart for both of us and for the grumpy old man snoring upstairs. Either get on board or get out, but I'm locked in for the whole damn ride."

  A rush of warmth flooded my chest hearing that, and I hurried upstairs before he caught me listening outside the kitchen. Lucas was delivering on everything he’d promised me and more. He really was my lighthouse in the raging storm of my bloody, violent, fucked up life.

  It was about damn time I reciprocated, and I knew how I could start: by working out what the hell was going on with his mom and the riddle wrapped in the mystery of her past.

  39

  The week passed in a blur as I buried myself in strengthening our security around both Zed's house and all the Copper Wolf businesses. I needed to change insurance companies for everything and thoroughly investigate all our external contracts to find anywhere else Chase might have wiggled his way in.

  Cass spent most of his time either doing Reaper business or training for his fight, so it was a pleasant surprise when he showed up at my office on Friday afternoon.

  "Grumpy Cat," I greeted him with a grin, sitting back in my chair. "This is unexpected. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

  He gave an easy shrug. "Not for a few hours. Thought I'd come pick you up."

  Zed had driven me to Copper Wolf earlier in the day, seeing as we both had shit to do here. But he'd left to sort out final details for the fight night tonight, so I did need a ride back.

  "That's very thoughtful of you," I commented, my eyes narrowed with suspicion.

  "I'm a thoughtful guy," he replied, coming around my desk and leaning down into my personal space. "Besides, I wanted to give you something."

  I grinned, my gaze flicking to the glass door of my office and the employees at their desks on the other side. "Here? It's probably not the most professional move. How about in the bathroom?"

  Cass gave an exasperated headshake. "Not what I was talking about, Red." Then he paused, looking thoughtful. "But now that you mention it..."

  "No, now I want to know what you came to give me if you weren't talking about a quick afternoon orgasm." I tilted my face back, smiling up at him. Fuck me, I was so into Cassiel Saint it was sickening.

  He glanced up at the door like he was checking for anyone watching, then ducked his head down to kiss me deeply.

  "Come on; it's downstairs." His gruff voice was next-level sexy after kissing me like that, and I was sorely tempted to fuck him in the elevator. "You done here?"

  I nodded. "Yep, sure am."

  He straightened up, waiting by the door as I logged off my computer and shut it down. I grabbed my tailored blazer from the back of my chair and threaded my arms in while Cass watched me with hungry eyes, then I slung my purse over my shoulder.

  "Let's go," I told him, and he held the door open for me.

  "Have a great weekend, boss!" Hannah called out from her desk across from Macy's. Her smile was wide as she gazed up at Cass and I. "Good luck at your fight tonight, Mr. Saint."

  Cass just grunted a noise because his talkativeness didn't extend to anyone outside my little crew. So I gave her a nod in response, making up for his lack of manners.

  "Are you coming to the fight, Hannah?"

  She shook her head and gave a small laugh. "No, I'm not a fan. Johnny and I have history, and I'd rather stay well clear."

  I tilted my head, curious, but didn't push for the story. Hopefully, one day she'd feel comfortable enough to volunteer it and let me deal with Johnny Rock should he need it. "Fair enough." I flashed a smile at Macy too. "Don't work too late."

  She just arched a brow at me as if to say Don't tell me what to do and continued with her work.

  I started toward the elevators but paused when I realized Cass wasn't following me. He was frowning down at Hannah, who looked like a startled possum staring up at him.

  "Bad history?" he asked in a low, dangerous rumble.

  She jerked a nod and licked her lips. "You could call it that. I have a restraining order against him."

  I wasn't shocked. The flicker of anxiety when she'd mentioned history had hinted enough. Cass just grunted another sound, then ran a hand over his beard.

  "Noted." That was it. Then he stalked across the carpet to where I waited and pressed the elevator call button.

  I kept my mouth shut until we were alone in the elevator, then turned to him with narrowed eyes. "What was that all about?"

  He quirked his scarred brow. "What?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Nothing." I had a feeling I already knew what he was planning anyway. "Parking level, huh?" I indicated to the level he'd selected, and he shot me a dark, mischievous look back.

  "I can't decide," he muttered, his gaze burning a hot path over my body as he inspected me from top to toe, "if I prefer you in skirts or pants."

  I was wearing a pair of tight black jeans with my replacement Louboutins that I knew made my legs and ass look incredible. But I still gave him a short laugh and propped a hand on my hip. "I'd think that was an easy decision, Saint. Only skirts give you easy access."

  He hooked his thumb through my belt loop and tugged me closer so he could palm my ass through the jeans. "That's true," he agreed, kissing my neck and making my breath quicken. The elevator dinged to announce we'd reached the parking floor, and the doors slid open behind me. "But pants mean you can ride a motorcycle without flashing your sexy ass to the whole world."

  He gave me a nudge, pushing me out into the parking garage, and I stopped short when I spotted the second bike parked beside his Harley.

  My eyes shifted to him, and he dangled a familiar Ducati key from his finger. "I told you it was yours, Red. 'Bout damn time I got around to giving it to you."

  I couldn't fight the smile on my face as I took a closer look at the bike and ran my hand over the smooth leather seat and glossy red paintwork.

  "This is a Superlegerra V4," I murmured, caressing the handlebar, then flicking my attention back to Cass. "They only made five hundred of these."

  He gave a shrug. "Yeah, but the red matches the soles of your shoes. And it goes fucking fast."

  I snickered at his clueless act. He knew more about bikes than I did, a
nd I knew a lot. This wasn't the most expensive Ducati in the world, but it would have been goddamn hard to get his hands on. And he was right, it was fast.

  "This is more than thoughtful, Saint," I commented, still touching the bike. It was a thing of beauty; I could hardly believe I'd told him to shove this gift up his ass a few weeks earlier.

  He came closer, holding out the key—which wasn't an actual key so much as an electronic fob—for me to take. "Does that mean you'll keep it? It's not really my style."

  I looked over at his black-and-chrome Harley Davidson and was inclined to agree. "I guess it'd be rude not to," I murmured, snagging the key from his finger. Then I launched myself into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist as I kissed him half to death.

  "I'll take that as a thank you," he growled when I pulled back, breathless and hot with arousal. His huge hands gripped my ass, holding me against him effortlessly, and I wanted nothing more than to strip my jeans off and show him just how thankful I was feeling.

  Instead, I raised a brow and wriggled out of his grip. "For the record, Saint, I could have bought this for myself."

  As I turned away, he gripped my hips, pressing his hot body against my back, and teasingly bit the side of my neck. "That's not how a gift works, Red. Besides, I bought the only one available for sale, so no. You couldn't." He stepped back, then smacked me on the ass. Hard. "Now get on. I wanna get the whole visual."

  I grinned, tucking the key into my pocket. I pulled the strap on my handbag loose to loop over my body, then unhooked the helmet from the handlebar. "Yes, sir."

  Tugging the helmet on over my loose hair, I swung my leg over the sleek machine and situated my ass in place with a wiggle.

  Cass let out a pained groan, biting his knuckle as he watched me get comfortable, then scrubbed his hand over his face. "Shit. I'm gonna walk into the fight with a raging hard-on now."

  I laughed under my full-face helmet and pressed the ignition button. As the bike roared to life between my legs, I shivered with excitement. Oh. Hell yes. I was keeping this baby for sure.

  "Race me home, and I'll take care of that for you," I told him, then peeled out of the parking garage before he could even get on his own bike.

  I was just teasing, though, and waited at the top of the ramp for him to catch up. After all, it was no fun racing him if I had such a sizable advantage in the first place. I wanted all the glory when I whupped his ass, and that meant giving him a fair start.

  He caught up a few seconds later, and we gunned our engines at the same time, tearing out into the street and dodging traffic to get to the highway.

  Unsurprisingly, my new baby left Cass way in her dust when we hit the open roads heading back to Shadow Grove. I made it back to Zed's house with enough time to park, strip out of my clothes, and put my shoes back on before Cass rolled in on his Harley.

  When he found me waiting with my butt propped against the seat of my bike and not a stitch of clothing covering my flesh, he almost dropped his whole damn motorcycle. He recovered it well, though, hopping off and tossing his helmet aside as he advanced on me like a wild animal.

  Then he proceeded to fuck me like said wild animal over the seat of my bike with my matching red-soled shoes still on my feet. In fairness, it gave me the extra height needed so he could fuck me standing up, his fingers curled around my hipbones and his pants around his knees.

  It was goddamn delicious.

  I came with little to no effort, my pussy already throbbing and wet from the exhilaration of the race, and Cass joined me in climax only a few moments later.

  "I guess you like the bike, then?" he commented with a husky laugh as he pulled his jeans back up and I gathered up my hastily tossed-aside clothes.

  Rising up on my toes, I kissed him deeply and smiled. "I love it. But if you're late to your fight, I will castrate you. Go. I'll meet you there when I've cleaned up."

  He looked indecisive as hell, but I hardened my stare and he reluctantly made his way back to his bike. "Fine," he growled. "But Zed can take his stupid rule and jump off a damn cliff tonight. When I win this, I'm fucking you until you can't walk. Clear?"

  A deep shiver of excitement ran through me, and my nipples hardened. "Clear," I replied. "I'm all yours, sir." Then I smirked, unable to keep from teasing him. "If you win, of course."

  He scowled at me but roared back out of the garage again a moment later.

  I checked the time on my phone in the bundle of clothes and weapons in my arms and muttered a curse at how late it already was. Knowing how many eyes would be on me tonight—big fights always pulled a mixed bag of criminals and shady individuals—I needed to ensure my Hades mask was firmly in place, a task that was proving to be harder every damn day.

  I gave myself a long mental pep talk in the shower, and when I got out, I looked in the mirror and groaned. All I saw staring back at me was a well-fucked woman with rosy cheeks, puffy lips, and bruised bite marks on her throat. All I saw... was happiness.

  That wouldn't do at all. Luckily, I knew exactly what would put my head back in the right gear.

  I quickly dressed in a simple but elegant black evening gown, then added a thigh sheath full of knives, which would be on full display with the split in my dress, and opted to leave my Desert Eagle at home for the first time in five years.

  The lack of weapons sent more of a message than if I were armed to the teeth because it showed that I wasn't afraid of anyone in attendance tonight. The knives? Well, they were just sexy as hell.

  When I was satisfied with my appearance, the only thing left was to regain that hardness in my eyes and in my posture. I needed to shrug off the warm, fuzzy, sexed-up glow of Cass’s and Lucas's affections and coat myself in cool metal once more.

  So as I made my way down to Zed's garage, heading for the Audi thanks to my dress, I pulled my phone out and pressed the contact us button on the Locked Heart Enterprises website.

  The phone rang twice, then clicked and redirected, just as I'd predicted.

  A moment later, he answered.

  "Darling, how unexpected." His voice was a low purr, so fucking familiar, and it set my skin crawling. Perfect.

  "Chase, sweetheart," I drawled back. He'd caught me off guard last time, but I was prepared now. I knew who I was dealing with, and he wouldn't get to me so easily again. My acting skills had improved dramatically since his "death" five years before. "I take it you received the good news today?"

  He gave a soft click of his tongue, and smug triumph rolled through me. I'd spent the week overturning his shell company's decision on my insurance claims and eventually managed to get a judge in the state court to rule in my favor. It was really his own fault; if he hadn't helpfully informed the FBI that we had personal history, I'd have never been able to prove bias in the claim rejection. Gen had seriously earned herself the bonus I'd wired through to her Cayman account this afternoon.

  "You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you Darling?" he replied, sounding almost impressed. "This is more fun than I anticipated."

  I gave a soft laugh, letting him hear how unbothered I was by his creepy-ass bullshit. "You're out of your league, Chase. Slink back into the shadows where you belong."

  He chuckled back at me. "Nah, I've only just gotten started. We're soulmates, Darling. And if I can't have you, no one will." He paused, then gave me exactly what I’d wanted when I placed this call. "Oh, how is Stephanie doing, by the way? I bet she grew up so pretty."

  Cold hatred settled into my bones, and the shift in my personality snapped into place with an almost physical jolt. I ended the call without another word, having achieved what I set out to get. Focus. Determination. Blood-lust.

  Hades was back.

  40

  Zed and Lucas were already at our reserved area directly beside the octagon when I arrived. Some smaller, lower-billed fights had been scheduled before the main event of the night, but I was here for one fight only.

  "Holy shit, Hayden," Lucas exclaimed when I joine
d them, his jaw dropping. The high-profile events at Anarchy were always formal dress for VIP guests—because why the fuck not? So Lucas and Zed were both sharply dressed in suits and Lucas's hair was slicked back with gel, making him look easily in his twenties. The scruff of stubble that he wore on his jaw definitely helped in that department.

  I let a small smile touch my lips in response, but Zed put a hand on Lucas's arm to stop him from reaching out for me.

  "Not here, Wilder," he muttered, the noise of the crowd covering his voice. "Not while she's like that." He nodded toward me, and I met his gaze with cool eyes. He knew where my head was at and he knew that Lucas's affection would make it impossible to keep my mask in place, so he was intervening. And for that I could fucking kiss him.

  Keeping my chin high and my shoulders relaxed, I accepted a glass of Champagne from an Anarchy VIP waitress and took a sip. One of the fighters in the octagon got knocked out as blood splattered out of the cage and spotted the floor at my feet, but I didn't react. Instead, I just swept my gaze toward the far side of the room.

  Chase Lockhart, looking devastatingly handsome with his designer suit and black leather eye patch, met my gaze as he casually sauntered his way down the aisle to where Johnny Rock's supporters had a reserved area.

  He took a glass of Champagne from a server, too, and raised it toward me in a silent toast. The smile on his lips said he thought he'd surprised me, but I just smiled and raised my glass back.

  "Did you know he was going to be here?" Zed muttered, coming to stand at my side slightly behind my right elbow.

  I took another sip of my drink, still locked in a stare-down with my psychopathic, unstable ex. "Yep," I replied. "He might be six steps ahead, but goddamn, he's predictable."

  Zed huffed a quiet laugh as the commentator announced the winner of the fight that had just ended. Someone walked in front of me, breaking my eye contact with Chase, so I took the opportunity to sit down in my reserved seat between Zed and Lucas.