CASS
Two months ago…
Irritation rippled through me as I glanced down at my watch. I'd been lurking around the bar for way too long already, yet she still hadn't emerged from her office. Was she okay in there?
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I shook it away. Of course she was okay. She was Hades, more than fucking capable of handling herself if a bunch of mouthy upstarts wanted to test her dominance.
I glanced at my watch again. Shit. Not even a minute since the last time I checked it.
"Can I get you another drink, Cass?" the pretty, young bartender, Sara, asked me with a heavy bat of her false lashes. She knew she wasn't my type, but it didn't stop her flirting.
I shook my head, declining, then finished the last mouthful of my beer. I'd hung around long enough that I was starting to draw attention, and that sure as fuck wasn't going to do me any favors. And for what? To feed my sick obsession with seeing a woman too guarded, too beautiful, and too damn untouchable to ever be mine.
With a self-disgusted grunt, I slid off my barstool with every intention of leaving the club. Yet, as if on autopilot, my feet carried me toward the narrow staircase that would lead up to the mezzanine level where I knew Hades kept her office. Where I'd caught a flash of her blazing red hair disappear hours ago with a handful of Timberwolf enforcers trailing behind like naughty puppies.
"Boss is in a meeting," the stern-faced, muscle-bound Timberwolf bouncer announced as he stepped in front of me before I reached the first step. "Doesn't wanna be disturbed."
I narrowed my eyes, picturing my fist slamming into this steroid-pumped fucker's face. Vividly imagining the way his cartilage would crunch under my knuckles and the hot, wet spray of blood from his nose. But shit, he was just doing his job. So I rubbed a hand over my jaw, thinking, then gave a small nod of understanding.
"I'll swing back later, then." Even though I really shouldn't. I had no good reason to request a face-to-face with Hades. None. Except that I just wanted to see her. It felt like I hadn't seen her in weeks, even though we'd interacted in a professional capacity plenty. It was different under the eyes of rivals, though. I couldn't just watch her like I'd grown so addicted to doing—not with that punk-ass bitch Skate watching my every move.
Reluctantly, I forced myself to turn away, but the bouncer called out again.
"Hold up, Reaper." His gruff voice made me pause and tilt my head back toward him. His finger was to his ear, holding his radio earpiece in place as he listened to something. Then he raised the microphone attached to the wire and muttered a few words into it before flicking his gaze up to mine. "Boss said to send you up. She just finished her meeting."
This was undoubtedly a bad idea, but I just brushed past him and started up the stairs, nonetheless. Fuck me, I needed to turn around, walk out of the damn club, and call up a sure thing to fuck away all this godforsaken tension. But no. No, I just had to torture myself further.
The Timberwolf enforcers passed me in the short corridor that housed the administration offices, and none of their gazes were friendly. Hell, they were downright hostile, but it didn't faze me in the least. There was only one person in the state who intimidated me, and it was none of these testosterone-soaked bastards.
A second after I passed them, they were gone from my mind as I spotted the door to Hades’s office slightly ajar. Goddamn if my pulse didn't kick up a gear.
Still, I kept my expression neutral and my posture relaxed. No matter how badly I wanted to do filthy things to the woman in that office, she was still a threat. I'd seen what she was capable of when pushed and knew better than to underestimate her. So I paused and tapped politely at her door to announce myself.
Her eyes swept up slowly, clearly having already known I was there before I knocked, and her gaze was as unreadable as ever when it met mine.
"Cass," she said in that hard-edged voice of hers. I ached to hear her speak to me without the carefully built fortress guarding her every fucking thought. "I didn't know we had a meeting planned."
Neither did I, and yet here I am.
I just gave a casual shrug and took a few more steps into the office, glancing around for her shadow. "Where's Zed at?"
Her brow twitched with something faintly resembling irritation. "Did you come here to see me or him? My time is money, Cassiel, and you're wasting it."
Not exactly the response I'd quietly been hoping for, given I'd just sat at the fucking bar amidst a crowd of Gatsby-styled drinkers, desperate to get my fix of my worst obsession. But also not unexpected. I folded my arms over my chest, wishing like hell she'd check me out like her bartender had been a few minutes ago.
"I was in the area taking care of business," I lied. "Figured I'd stop by and tell you the boys at Rex’s are expecting Seph's car tomorrow. They'll get it fixed up and dropped back to you before school on Monday morning."
Yes, I could have told her this by text message. But then I wouldn't have a fresh image of her in my mind while cramming my dick down some random gang whore's throat later. I knew how fucked up that was, but so what? I never claimed to be a fucking choir boy.
"Is that all?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. I liked to lie to myself and pretend she was too young for me, but it was the weakest of lies. It only took one look into her eyes to see she'd dealt with more in her twenty-three years than most seasoned mob bosses would see their entire lives. She'd dived headfirst into the gauntlet of fire and come out harder than titanium.
I searched my brain for another excuse for why I was there, any excuse, but came up blank. Fuck. Now she was staring at me even harder, and it was making sweat form on my spine. How? How could she have that effect on me?
"Yeah," I muttered, still with nothing to fucking say but bluffing like a poker champ, "some prick tried to slash the tires on Zed's Ferrari on my way in. I scared him off, but he had that Wraith look about him." I gave a shrug. "Maybe look into it. Skate's been acting shadier than usual."
Hades continued to stare at me for a long moment, her eyes still totally unreadable as her fingernails tapped a rhythm on the side of her crystal tumbler. I hadn't even noticed when I'd walked in, but there was barely a mouthful left in her glass and the bottle sitting on her desk was less than half full. Was she drunk?
"Cass, why do I get the feeling those aren't the reasons you came in here tonight?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. A faint smile touched her scarlet lips, and my chest tightened. She wasn't drunk—her gaze was far too steady and clear—but shit, she was probably on her way.
Desperate not to let my thoughts play out over my expression, I swiped a hand over my face and broke eye contact with her. This had been a bad fucking idea. But she almost always had Zed lurking somewhere nearby, unknowingly keeping me in check and reminding me that she already had someone. Someone with a hell of a lot less damage than me. I hadn't realized how fucking tempting it would be to make a move when we were alone.
"I should head out," I muttered, not answering her question. But I didn't leave.
She pushed her chair back from the desk and stood, making me freeze to the spot. Fucking hell, she was gorgeous. Her tight jeans hugged her legs in a way that made me envious of the goddamn denim. I was jealous of fabric. Christ, I needed an intervention.