Hades

by Crystal Dawn

  “Hello, this is Gemma.”

  “This is Kenton. The victim has been identified as Glinda Simmons, 85, from Maine.”

  “Do you have any relatives listed?” Doc asked.

  “Yes, two granddaughters. Nancy Lewis from Maine, and Lizzy Arnoth from Kentucky.”

  “You have no idea how much that helps. What is cause of death?”

  “Her heart just gave out, so it was ruled as natural causes.”

  “Thanks, Captain.”

  “You have a good day and let me know if you need anything else.” A click sounded as he hung up. Doc hung up and put her phone away.

  “Does that mean what I think it means?” Hades asked.

  “Yes, both Nancy and Lizzie were spying to save their grandma, but she’s been dead a week or more.”

  Doc pulled out her phone again and sighed heavily. “I guess I’d best call Sierra or Cher. There’s no need to do background checks now that we know who our spies are.”

  She dialed Sierra first. The phone rang then there was a click as the call was forward via satellite through Cher’s security agency. It was the best way to get through to anyone at Olympus. There was another lag and then someone picked up.

  “Hello, this is Sierra.”

  “Hey, girl, what’s up?” Doc asked with a smile. She loved her sisters, all of them.

  “Not much on this end which is nice for a change. Are you about to change that?”

  “I’m about to help you. Nancy and Lizzie are both your spies and they share the grandma you are looking for. We found her but she died over a week ago. She was Glinda Simmons from Maine.”

  “That’s too bad that she died. They both must love her a lot to risk so much for her. I’ll get right on things on our end.”

  “Sorry for the bad news. We still haven’t tracked down our god, we have two more locations they may have moved him to, then we’re out of clues. We’ll be back soon, regardless.”

  “Can’t wait to see you.”

  “Same here.” The click sounded announcing they disconnect so Doc hung up.

  “It sure doesn’t seem like those two could be related,” Dione said. They seemed to have little in common, but they had had a grandma they both loved at the least.

  “Sierra will take care of the situation,” Doc assured them. She leaned back her seat getting comfortable for the trip never intending to fall asleep.

  Too charming, that’s what Carl was as he escorted her into the fine dining establishment. She still wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go or what she was doing here. Soft music played in the background and candles were lit on every table. Drinks appeared without even being ordered. They were the pretty kind with fruit, flowers, and paper umbrellas. The fruit was held together with colorful little plastic swords.

  “What’s this?” Doc pointed at the drink sitting in front of her.

  “A Tequila Sunrise, you’ll love it.”

  She sipped a little through the straw. He was right, she did love it. He ordered for her, something no one had done since she was a child. The food came, it was superb and perfectly cooked. Charming, yes he was but funny too. Once the meal was done, he took her dancing. It was just one more thing he excelled at. She knew she was being wooed by the company, but it seemed like he was wooing her too.

  When he took her home, he gave her a tender kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, if that will work for you?” he whispered in her ear. She nodded, unable to speak which was rare for her. He was perfect, maybe too perfect and she felt a little overwhelmed.

  “Sugar, wake up. I could use a little help here,” Hades said.

  He had a little trouble finding the exact house but she helped him and now they were there. It wasn’t like the last house, this was a huge old farmhouse just a bit outside of town. There were outbuildings behind it and even a large old barn that was on its last leg. Doc hated to see that because there weren’t many old barns like that left. She had a fondness for old buildings and historic places. The for sale sign out front gave them the excuse they needed to stop and look around.

  “It looks deserted. Maybe it was just a possible place to buy or rent?” Doc wondered.

  “We should try to get inside before we leave,” Hades said. They walked around the house and there was a big old padlock on the back door. Hades pulled down hard and it gave way. He moved the lock and opened the door. The house smelled musty and as if it had been closed for a long time or maybe they had a water leak. It was off the list, there was no doubt it was empty.

  “No gods here,” Hades said as they returned to the SUV. “All we seem to do is waste time.”

  “Just one more location to check out,” Dione observed cheerfully.

  “Is it too early for lunch? I had a lot of exercise last night,” Aaron said with a chuckle.

  “I could use a bite too, of food that is,” Zot added.

  “If the younglings are hungry, well, I’ll admit I wouldn’t mind stopping either,” Erebus chimed in.

  “What of you Dione? Didn’t you get a work out too?” Hades asked amused.

  “Oh, yeah. Better in the bedroom than in the training room.”

  “All right, then. We’ll find a place to get lunch at,” Doc agreed with a chuckle. They were easier to handle when they were kept busy during the night in their rooms, not at a bar. That was good to know. They spotted a seafood restaurant that all the gods wanted to try. It looked like it was going to be the catch of the day. Gods had to eat a lot and often.

  They headed to the last location in Springfield with all of their hopes pinned on this last place. Hades once again insisted on driving and Doc rode shotgun. She put the destination in the GPS and they headed that way. Disappointment seemed to fill the air as they all began to worry if they would find a captured god at all. Doc had known at the start of the mission that there was a good chance no recovery would be made, still she hoped for the best. The trip seemed longer because of the silence. She wondered how the other missions fared, hopefully better than theirs had so far.

  She fell asleep and again her mind returned to Carl. These dreams were snippets of dates, things he had said, promises he had made. It ran through her mind so fast, it almost made her dizzy.

  “Doc, we’re at Springfield,” Hades voice broke through. She shook her head clearing the confusion from her dreams. Years had passed and Carl Riddle wasn’t someone she should be thinking of. He was on their list for the most wanted Origin executives. What would Hades say if he found out about her past?

  Nearly two hours later with the address in the GPS, they made their way to the right side of town. They were past all the subdivisions and at the outskirts of town when they turned down a small road they would never have found without the GPS. It was a dead end road with a handful of houses on it. The house they were targeting was all the way at the end. It looked like a candidate for the town’s haunted house. The shutters were pulled closed and the doors boarded up. The grass was uncut and knee high, while the flower beds were full of weeds without a flower to be seen.

  “It looks kind of scary,” Doc whispered to Hades. He reached out grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he promised. She had to admit she liked the sound of that.

  They parked a little ways from the house so they could approach without being seen even though the house looked abandoned. All six of them left the SUV to approach the house from different directions. She and Hades approached from the back door.

  “I smell something rotting,” Doc said her nose wrinkling as she whispered.

  “Me too, I didn’t want to upset you until I could figure out what it was. I have a bad feeling it’s human or god.”

  “What the hell are they doing leaving bodies in their wake?”

  “It’s like things have completely broken down. It should make them easier to catch.”

  “I’m not sure it’s doing anything but making them more dangerous.”

  Hades pulled the boards off the back door
and opened it. They stepped inside the smell was nearly overpowering. It made them move forward slowly instead of rushing in. Hades caught a scent that made fear roll through him.

  “Run!” Hades said as he pushed Doc out ahead of him. He sent a quick mental message he could only hope his guys received. They were just exiting the house through the back door when the explosion hit throwing them all the way out. It was like a chain reaction of one explosion after another. The house had been booby trapped.

  Doc lay in the tall grass on the cold ground with Hades halfway on top of her. The impact with the ground and the weight on top of her had stunned her but not knocked her out. Her brain was playing catch up trying to sort out what had just occurred. They had all been near or entering the house when it exploded. She needed to get it together and clear her aching head, someone could be hurt and needing her.

  “Hades?” her voice was rough with fear and concern.

  He rolled off her allowing her to get up. “Are you alright, Doc?”

  “I’m a little stunned, but I’m okay. Where are the guys?”

  “We have to go look. I can’t hear them.” Hades looked upset which in turn upset her more. He got up and gave her a hand pulling her off the ground. They moved around finding Zot almost immediately. He was dazed but otherwise seemed unharmed so they continued around the house until they found Aaron. He had been hit by glass since he had been standing by a window. He had turned around so it hit his back. His wounds were not life threatening so they hurried around to the front of the building.

  Erebus had also turned his back to the blast, but he had splinters of wood covering him and one piece large enough to be a concern because it was the size of a stake. Dione was the worst off having been thrown into one of the stone pillars that held up the front porch. He was knocked out and bleeding from a head would. Doc sent Hades for her med kit, Dione would be treated first. She knew that someone would have called emergency crews and it was only a matter of time before firemen and police arrived.

  She kneeled on the ground checking Dione out quickly but thoroughly. She decided they could move him. “We need to get him loaded and get out of here before the cops come.”

  “Zot, Aaron, help me load him into the second seat. Erebus, I need you in the back now. We will go somewhere close by to tend to wounds.” Erebus got in back first then Doc got in the second seat so she could hold Dione’s head in her lap. Zot carefully got in back and pulled the seat into place. He began helping Erebus with the splintered wood he was covered with, avoiding the large piece that Doc would have to remove.

  Aaron rode shotgun leaning forward so the glass wouldn’t be further embedded in his skin. This mission had not been a good one. The only good point had been none of the team had died. Doc was sure that Dione would be okay except for the terrible headache he would have once he woke. As they sped away from what remained of the house, she checked Dione out and cleaned his wounds, the one on his head and some minor splinters and glass.

  They hit the main road just as a fire truck with sirens blaring turned on the road they had just left. They passes a few police cars headed in that direction too. Hades pulled in to a nearby hotel and went in to check in to a room. He asked for rooms with outside access so they wouldn’t have to go in or out through the lobby. The desk clerk didn’t even act surprised or ask why he wanted that. He was just relieved it was that easy and hurried out so they could find their rooms and Doc could help the others heal. They had been lucky none of them had been in the house when the explosions went off. It had been close for Doc and him.

  The rooms were at the far end of the hotel where they would have a maximum amount of privacy. They parked near the door and Hades went to open the door while Aaron, Zot, and Erebus carried Dione in and Doc grabbed her med kit. They settled Dione on a bed and she had Erebus lie down on another one. She started on Erebus, removing his shirt then the small splinters first. It took about half an hour to remove them and clean his back up. Now she looked at the larger piece of wood stuck into him like a stake. It was in his shoulder and not near anything life threatening, but she was sure it would bleed like crazy and it might send him into shock. She had the guys get her towels so the bed wouldn’t be stained because it had to come out and sooner was better then later.

  She placed towels all around his wound then she moved the piece of wood a little, causing him to groan. In the end she grabbed it and just pulled it out. He jerked but he didn’t make a sound this time. She quickly pressed towels down on the wound to staunch the bleeding. She pressed firmly for several minutes then she looked at the wound. She disinfected it wishing she hadn’t had to because she knew how much it must have hurt him. She could feel him tensing, but again, he made no sound.

  Aaron was next and the tiny glass slivers were the hardest to get out and it took over an hour of painstaking work and she wasn’t sure she got all of them. They only had two rooms but Doc went and got them another one because everyone needed a good night’s sleep. The third room was near the other two.

  Now that they were settled in and everyone taken care of, it was time to call in and update Zeus. Hades got out his phone and dialed. After a pause and some clicking sounds, an irritated Zeus answered.

  “What!”

  “I hope we didn’t interrupt anything,” an amused Hades said even though he was sure he had interrupted something.

  “Hades, I’m glad to hear from you. You’re late reporting in. Is everything okay?” Sierra said. Obviously Zeus had put them on speaker but so did Hades.

  “No, things are not okay. The last house we checked out was booby trapped and exploded on us. Dione was injured the worst. He is still out with a head wound. Erebus was staked with a piece of flying wood and Aaron got a back full of shattered glass. We’ve checked into a hotel for the night to see to everyone’s wounds,” Doc replied.

  “Shit!” Zeus exclaimed. “I never thought they would set us up like that. I thought they wanted to capture us, not kill us. It seems the rules have changed.”

  “More than you might think. We smelled dead bodies, I saw more than one before we had to rush out of the house. It’s possible they are killing us rather than keeping us,” Hades said.

  “That certainly changed things even more. We will have to put more teams out there if we hope to recover our people before they are killed,” Zeus said.

  “Once we stabilize everyone, we will catch a flight home. This mission has been hard on all of us,” Doc explained.

  “I can’t wait to see you. You’ll be the first to return. I’m not sure about the progress any of the others have made,” Sierra said.

  “Hopefully, they’ve done better than we have,” Doc replied.

  They said goodbye and hung up. They had done what they needed to as far as the mission went, now it was time to take care of each other. Passion flared anytime she looked at her handsome mate. She was ready to hold him, kiss him, and make love to him, but first they needed to get clean.

  “Come on, Baby, let’s take a shower,” she suggested. She could see the idea appealed to him. He started stripping, revealing his hard muscles and tanned looking skin a little at a time. Her hands itched to touch him, her mouth watered wanting a taste of him.

  “Shouldn’t you be taking something off?”

  She started to remove her clothes now that he was naked. He moved ahead of her into the bathroom to turn on the shower. She followed him in once she was undressed. The view was as good from the rear as it was from the front. His muscles flexed as he shifted on his feet. He had such a great ass, tight but it felt smooth and soft. His legs were muscular, that’s why he could drive into her so hard and fast. She shivered as she remembered just how that felt. She came up to him sliding her arms around his waist. Just touching him felt so good, it was arousing to slide her hands over all that soft, smooth skin that covered his hard muscled body. He leaned back against her as he moaned softly.

  He turned in her arms. “I need you so much. I’ve thought of making love t
o you all day long.”

  She whispered, “I’ve thought of you, too. You’re on my mind and in my heart, always.”

  He dropped his lips to hers, pressing hard and ran his tongue over her lips until hers parted to let him inside. He explored her willing mouth, tasting the sweetness and testing her tongue with his, teasing and tempting her surrender. His mouth dominated hers, demanding submission and promising unimaginable pleasure. She moaned as his hands stroked her offering even more pleasure. Her arms moved to his shoulders where she held on tight. He lifted her up and her legs wrapped around his hips. He stepped into the shower, the water soaked them.

  “Relief first, we’ll get clean later,” Hades suggested and she just nodded. Right now she wanted him so much she would agree to anything he said. She closed her eyes while he took over. He moved his hand between them positioning his long, fat cock at her entrance. It felt good and she was getting wet just imagining how it would feel when he sank into her.

  He moved in slowly but his fingers moved to her clit. He circled it as his cock sank deeper into her. She moaned softly, the pleasure of his filling her combined with that his fingers gave her, almost overwhelming her. He sank all the way in pausing for a moment to allow her sheath to relax and adjust to his large size before he pressed her against the shower wall and began to pound into her. He went so deep, he almost seemed to be part of her. Water sprayed them as it bounced off the walls and came from the ceiling like rain.

  Her body tensed riding the edge of release and her muscles squeezed his cock almost like fingers tightening around him. His fingers pressed firmer and moved faster on her clit as he moved closer to the orgasm that started to take him away. He rolled her little button between two fingers, it had the desired effect. She screamed his name as she writhed in his arms her vaginal muscles clamping down on his rigid needy cock. He roared his release as her muscles milked the cum from his hard staff. Sex between them just got better and better. He jerked under her as her hot pussy continued to clutch at him. They both felt better now that they had relieved some tension.