Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
It was nice to be back at the Tuscan Rose. There were other vacant offices, so I could have worked somewhere else and avoided the crime scene, but I actually felt safe while working in the place where Maddox died.
Where I shot him.
It made me feel like the victor, the solution to my own problem. I wished Hades were more thankful for the sacrifice I’d made, but he seemed ambivalent about it. Brainwashed was the best description to explain his behavior. But whatever the cause, it didn’t change the illness.
I thought about Hades often and tried to think of an excuse to see him, but my only reasonable move was to talk about the son we shared. But having the baby with us made it difficult for us to be ourselves. We couldn’t scream at each other because it’d make Andrew cry.
I called Damien as I sat at my desk.
He answered after a couple rings. “It’s been a long time…”
Damien and I had fallen out of touch when I’d moved to Rome. Now that he and Hades weren’t close anymore, he drifted to the outskirts of my thoughts. I’d always thought the two of them would make up, but it’d been so long that seemed impossible now. “I know. Life just got hectic… You know how it is.”
“Life is shitty, if that’s what you mean.”
Ain’t that the truth. “How are things with you?”
He had a soft heart under that hard body because he continued to talk to me even though he really had no reason to. “Hades is trying to push me out of the business, and he thinks I’m a liar…and I haven’t caught any good tail lately. So, things have been better.”
“Why would he want to get rid of you?”
He sighed into the phone. “Because he’s an arrogant bastard who thinks he doesn’t need anyone anymore.” The venom in his voice was unmistakable. Even if Hades apologized, Damien probably wouldn’t give a shit. That bridge had been burned.
“Why does he think you’re a liar?”
“He assumes I collaborated with you to kill Maddox when I promised I wouldn’t get involved.”
My heart sank when I realized I’d caused a greater rift between the two men. “It was me and Ash…”
“Yeah, I figured that out a couple hours later. But he’s so stubborn, he can’t think straight.”
“Did you tell him that?”
His voice came out like ice. “No.”
“Well, you should.”
“Well, I don’t want to. His opinion of me means nothing. I don’t give a damn if he thinks I’m a liar and a cheat. I know I fucked up in the past, but I’ve always been a good friend to him. It’s not my fault he can’t see that.”
Now I wondered if Hades had really lost his mind. Maybe being stuck with Maddox for so long messed with his head. It changed him, traumatized him until he couldn’t handle it anymore. He responded the only way he knew how…by snapping to cope. “Yeah, he’s definitely lost touch.”
“When’s the wedding?”
The question made me feel dead inside. Getting my husband back would be nearly impossible, not to mention marrying him again. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to seduce him anymore. “Hades is being…kind of an asshole.”
“What’s new?”
“He says he doesn’t want to get back together.”
This time, he took a long pause and stopped issuing smartass comments. “Why would he say that?”
“He’s angry with me for leaving. Says he doesn’t love me anymore.” It broke my heart to say those things out loud.
“Not possible.”
I smiled, but my tears also began.
“I’ve never seen a person love anyone the way he loves you.”
I’d taken Hades for granted for so long. He was so loyal and committed to me, showed me love was real. I was afraid of having a marriage like my mother’s, but he gave me so much more. Now that it was gone, I didn’t know how to go on. “I know…but that’s how he feels.”
He was quiet again. “I noticed he was different when we last spoke. Didn’t realize he was that different…”
“Something snapped inside his head. When he left me in Rome, he said he didn’t want to see me again. That it was too hard. Maybe that decision made him realize life would be easier without me.”
“Maybe for someone else…but not him.” The line turned silent as Damien thought to himself. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m so hurt that I don’t want to bother with him. But I love him so much that I can’t just walk away. I want my husband back. I want my family back. So, I’m going to try to change his mind.”
“Good luck with that. Maddox may be gone, but there’s a new villain in town.”
I didn’t follow his logic. “Who?”
He sighed into the phone. “Hades…god of the underworld.”
21
Hades
I produced the highest yield of crystal of my career. I handed it off to our distributors then told my cooks to get back to work. With Maddox out of the picture and my power unrivaled, I intended to eliminate all other competition and kill anyone that got in my way.