Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
The front doors have been blasted open and hang off the hinges. I stare at them for a long moment. That had to be noisy, but that doesn’t mean a damn thing. There’s a lot of soundproofing that went into the construction of this place. The club keeps late hours, and no one wants the music or activities to disturb the rest of the house’s occupants. I move to the nearest couch and run my fingers over the torn fabric. “They shot the place up.”
“Yes.” Hades still hasn’t moved from his spot near the door. I can’t read his expression as he surveys this place that has been so important to him for so long. The attack on the greenhouse was a private attack, meant to go straight to the very heart of him. This is a direct fucking challenge.
I turn as Thanatos hurries up. Half his face is covered in blood, and he’s limping, but he doesn’t seem to be otherwise seriously injured. He glances at Hades and must see the same thing I do, because he turns back to me to give his report. “They came through just as we were locking up after the cleaners left. Bashed me over the head and then locked Hypnos in the office. They wore masks and didn’t speak, and they were in and out before I could get my feet.”
We suspected they were professionals. This proves it. They knew our schedule. It’s not exactly something we hide, but to have things narrowed down to that tight window, they had to have been watching us for some time. More, they didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know what to make of that. I want to appreciate that I have no one to mourn, but it feels particularly sinister. Intentional in a way that raises the small hairs on the back of my neck.
I step closer to Thanatos and lower my voice. “How badly are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Even as he speaks, he weaves a little, and I have to jump forward to catch him before he slams to the floor. He clears his throat and blinks at me. “I’m mostly fine.”
I guide him over to the nearest couch and try not to notice just how destroyed it is. This is the same couch Eurydice sat on when she challenged me… Was that only a couple days ago? It feels like another life. Impossible to look at the space and not picture the harm that would come to her if she’d been here when they attacked.
The lower city isn’t nearly as safe as we want it to be.
I send a quick text summoning the doctor we have on staff. Hades still hasn’t moved. Worry tightens the muscles along my spine. He’s been more sensitive since Persephone got pregnant. It’s understandable, but it makes him unpredictable. That’s dangerous. The Hades I grew up with would never strike out without reason. But this man, the one who feels that his wife and unborn children are threatened? I don’t know what he’ll do.
After making sure that Thanatos won’t fall right off the couch, I stand and move to Hades’s side. “We’ll find them.”
He exhales, slow and steady and perfectly controlled. That’s scarier than if he’d cursed and thrown things. He doesn’t look at me as he speaks. “I want them on their knees before me. You have two days, Charon. Otherwise I’m going hunting on my own.”
I jerk back. “You can’t. We need you here.” I hesitate, but I don’t like the empty look in his eyes. “Persephone needs you here.”
“Don’t tell me what my wife needs. Two days.” He turns and walks back through the door, closing it softly behind him. The click sounds unnaturally loud in the silence he leaves in his wake.
We are so fucked.
I turn to Thanatos to see the exact same realization dawning on his handsome face. He drops his head against the back of the couch and whistles. “This is bad.”
“Really bad,” I agree. “Where is your sibling?”
“Guarding the door.”
I head across the club to the front doors, pausing to look again at how they’ve been blown off the hinges. How the fuck did they manage that? Worse, the hinges themselves are warped, which means we won’t be able to close the doors until we replace them. Considering they were custom made, I don’t think that’s going to happen quickly.
Hades’s club is out of business.
The number of people who would’ve noticed the attack on the greenhouse is minuscule. We were able to get the glass doors replaced pretty quickly, so Matthew’s customers might have recognized the upgrade, but not the reason for it. They won’t know what happened upstairs. No one except Matthew and Hades go up to the greenhouse itself. It’s not open to the public. Plenty of people know Hades spends time there, but they’re all very good at respecting the fact that it’s a private place.