Club 22 (Hades Book 3) Read online

  "De Rosa. I'm going to assume I have some bodies to clean up." Leon didn't look even slightly upset by this prospect, like it was just a normal Tuesday night. Like I’d said, Leon was far from the chilled-out hacker he liked to play on jobs.

  Cass said nothing, not betraying his disguise, and Leon didn't seem to require an answer. The mercenary just touched his fingers to his forehead in a mocking salute to me, then strolled back into the shadows at the side of the street.

  I didn't go after him, knowing full damn well he'd have disappeared already. Those upper-level Guild bastards were slippery as shit.

  Taking a second to calm my racing pulse, I glanced over my shoulder to Cass. Then I pulled my helmet back on and started my bike once more. Suddenly, I wasn't so interested in being out on the streets. I just wanted to get home... to debrief with Cass, Zed, and Lucas.

  Cass followed close as we returned to Zed's fortress at almost double the speed limit the entire way, but no words were exchanged until we got safely back into the garage.

  I pulled my helmet off, hooked it over the handlebars of the Ducati, then strode over to Cass. He'd just taken his own helmet off and knew exactly what I was doing when I unzipped his borrowed jacket and pushed it off his shoulders.

  "I'm fine, Red," he told me in a gruff voice. "Not even a scratch on me."

  I released my breath. "Good. How's your shoulder?"

  "Stiff, but fine." His response was clipped, his fingers dragging my own zipper open. "What did that bastard mean about the Circle?"

  I wrinkled my nose. "The Circle. They run the Guild, and I'd seriously rather not be on their radar. The fact that he ambushed us so easily—"

  "I swear to you, Red, that wasn't a set up." Cass's growl was low and threaded with concern, his eyes blazing as he met my gaze.

  I frowned. "That never even crossed my mind, Saint. I trust you. Those fuckers are good enough that he could have had my bike chipped or had eyes on the gate or anything." I rose up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "We're in this together, Grumpy Cat. You’re way past the point of suspicion."

  His strong arms banded around my waist, pulling me into his body as his lips closed over mine in a hard, domineering kiss that left me shaking and flushed with heat.

  "Good," he muttered when he released me. "I have to get back."

  I let my lips tug down in a small pout, and my hands went to the waistband of his borrowed pants. "Right now?"

  He let out a small groan as I flipped his button fly open and slipped my hand inside, cupping his dick. "I could spare a couple more minutes."

  I grinned at my victory. "Good choice, Saint."

  He gave a throaty laugh as I sank to my knees and tugged his pants down enough to free his rapidly thickening erection. "Like there was ever a choice, Angel." His fingers tangled in my hair, controlling my head in a way that flooded my panties. "Now show me that pretty tongue."

  17

  Lucas handed me a coffee the moment I walked into the kitchen the next morning. He kissed me long and hard as I took the coffee from his hand, and I melted into his touch. Fucking hell, he knew how to kiss.

  "Good morning, babe," he murmured after taking his time with my lips. "You still look half-asleep." He combed his fingers through my messy hair and peered into my eyes with a small, concerned frown.

  I gave him a smile back. "I am. Thank you for the coffee." I rose up on my toes and smacked another kiss on his lips, then followed my nose over to the stove where Zed was cooking.

  He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants under his apron, the flimsy strings tied around his bare waist like a tease, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from drooling.

  "Hey you," he murmured when I stopped beside him. On a whim, I wrapped my arm around his waist in a half hug and leaned into his side. He didn't even hesitate a second in swapping his spatula to the other hand and hugging me back. "Did you have a good night?"

  Clearly he knew what I'd been up to all night, so I just gave a small nod, inhaling the delicious aromas of parmesan and chives from the scrambled eggs he was cooking. "Interesting night, that's for sure."

  I reluctantly peeled myself away from him as he moved the frying pan off the heat and scraped the cooked eggs out onto the three waiting plates.

  "How's Grumpy Cat doing with his mission?" Zed arched a brow at me, and I couldn't fight my answering smile. Of fucking course he knew Cass had snuck into his house last night. Nothing got past Zayden De Rosa.

  I gave a small shrug. "We didn't discuss it, but I'm sure he'd tell me if it wasn't going well."

  Lucas placed some freshly buttered Turkish toast on the plates with our eggs, like he and Zed had been working together in harmony to get our breakfast ready. I wonder what else they could work together on...

  Clearing my throat, I pushed thoughts of threesomes aside and took my coffee over to the dining table, which was already set with cutlery and orange juice. I could definitely get used to living with these two, that was for sure.

  "Something else happened last night, though," I told them both. Sitting, I took a sip of my coffee.

  Zed grimaced. "I don't think we need the details."

  I shot him a hard glare, quietly making a mental note that Zed was more than likely never going to be okay sharing. He was too jealous and possessive. It was something I'd need to seriously think about if we ever did take things further.

  "Not what I meant," I replied with an edge of irritation. "Cass and I had a run-in with Leon."

  Zed's brows shot up, his forkful of food frozen halfway to his mouth. "Leon from the mercenary guild?"

  I nodded. "The same. He came to tell us to quit trying to access the Guild servers. Specifically mentioned that Lucas needs to stop searching for answers." I gave my Gumdrop a soft look, and he let out a frustrated groan.

  "Shit, guys," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I wanted to educate myself, so I did some Googling..." He trailed off with a wince. "I didn't think it would be that bad; I didn't hack anything."

  I gave him a small headshake and a smile. "The hacking was probably us. Or Dallas. But maybe just lay off on the Google searches for the time being. They definitely track those things, and the last thing we need is for them to show up and try to recruit you."

  Lucas just gave an easy laugh and shook his head. "They wouldn't have much luck with me; I'd just tell them no."

  Zed and I exchanged a look, knowing full well the Guild wasn't always polite or professional when recruiting new members. I had to hope that Leon had been telling the truth when he said they were done in Shadow Grove.

  "Well, anyway," I continued, smoothing past the subject of Lucas being recruited, "whatever database we touched gained the attention of the Circle."

  Zed almost choked on his food. "Um, what?"

  I nodded, agreeing with that sentiment. "Yeah. So just tell Dallas to be a shitload more careful. He's good, but Leon's better. Dallas needs to cover his ass, or he'll catch a bullet to the brain."

  Zed grimaced. "Understood. I'll speak with him this morning."

  We ate our breakfast in silence for a few moments, and Zed stretched out his legs under the table, letting his ankle rest against mine. I looked up at him from my food, and he met my gaze with an unreadable expression. Fucker just had to stay inside my head constantly. The message was clear, though. He was backing off, not giving up.

  "Hey, I know we've got a bunch of other shit going on," Lucas said after a while, "but I wondered if it would be okay to move my mom home. Now that the guns are all gone..." He gave a shrug. "I just think she might be more willing to talk when she's not in Sunshine Estate. Like, maybe she's worried there's someone listening or something."

  I placed my almost empty coffee mug down and yawned heavily. "I agree. I spoke with Rio yesterday, and he's doing a thorough sweep of the house today to check if the Guild left anything behind. But if it’s all clear, there's no reason why she can't go home." I paused then, looking to Zed for solidarity on the next point I n
eeded to raise. He gave me a slight nod, holding his coffee mug to his lips.

  Lucas didn't miss the exchange, either. He narrowed his eyes at both of us and frowned. "Why do I feel like there's something more?"

  I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair. "I've organized a live-in nurse to stay with Sandra when she gets home. Considering how much she’s deteriorated in the last few weeks and the unknown element with her memory and confusion, her doctor at Sunshine recommended there be someone around-the-clock for assistance."

  Lucas looked slightly taken aback and gave me a confused look. "Oh. I mean, yeah, that makes sense. I just figured..."

  "You figured it'd be you," I murmured when he trailed off. "I think..." I trailed off myself because, shit, how did I tell him what needed to be said without sounding like a controlling bitch?

  "We think it's best for you to stay here a while longer," Zed finished for me, his tone clipped and unemotional. No arguments. "You're still on Chase's radar, and if you get hurt again, Hades will scorch the earth in retaliation."

  I snorted a laugh and rolled my eyes. "Drama queen. But, uh, yeah. Pretty much. Is that okay, Lucas?"

  He frowned at me, not appreciating Zed's weak attempt at humor. "I understand where you're coming from, but don't you think we could have discussed this?"

  I parted my lips to respond, but I had no excuses. He was right, it should have been a conversation, and yet I'd just gone ahead and done it all without ever asking him for what he wanted to do.

  Zed cleared his throat and pushed back from the table. "I'm just going to..." He picked up the empty plates and carried them back to the kitchen as he muttered, "…not be here for this part."

  "Shit," I breathed, giving Lucas a sheepish look. "I'm sorry. You're entirely right; I should have asked what you wanted to do."

  His frown softened slightly. "Come here, Hayden." He indicated for me to come around the table to where he sat, and I did as instructed. When I got within reach, he pulled me into his lap and cupped my face between his hands. "I get it. You do shit without asking anyone's permission because that's what you've always done."

  I bit the edge of my lip, embarrassed. The fact that he was right didn't make me any less of an asshole for totally ignoring his opinion or permission.

  "It's fine," he told me, holding my gaze with a hard look. "But next time you go making decisions that directly impact me, I expect you to at least mention it. Clear?"

  I nodded as much as possible with his hands on my face. "I am sorry. This whole... caring for other people thing, it's new to me. It's always just been me and Zed. And Seph."

  Lucas arched a brow. "I bet you do shit without consulting her too, huh?"

  I groaned because he knew he was right. I never once asked Seph if she was okay with all the safety measures I put in place around her. But how could I? She had no idea where the danger lay, so how could she effectively protect herself? Again, that was on me for not informing her, but it was a choice I was sticking firm on.

  Lucas pulled my face to his, kissing me softly. "I love you, Hayden," he whispered, "but I'm not one of your Wolves. Treat me like an equal, or we're going to have problems."

  This time when he kissed me, it was forceful and dominating, his fingers digging into my skin a whole lot harder than usual—like my Gumdrop was finding his alpha-ness. Shit. Just what I needed, another big-dicked, alpha asshole.

  His hands left my face, shifting my position in his lap to straddle his waist, and his cock swelled underneath me. I quickly amended that mental commentary to huge-dicked, alpha asshole. Apparently, I had a type.

  My hips rolled, grinding into him with need, and he bit my lip as if warning me that he was in control this time, not me. Shit, that was hot.

  He slipped a hand under the waistband of my sweatpants and found my slick cunt in an instant. A small cry left my lips as he slid his fingers inside, fucking me with his hand as I writhed in his lap. His mouth held mine captive, though, his tongue controlling our kiss in a way that set my whole body alight.

  His skillful fingers worked me into a frenzy until I was shaking and panting, then he withdrew. I groaned in protest—I was so fucking close—but he just grasped my waist and lifted me out of his lap.

  "Sorry, babe," he told me with a heated stare, "consider that your punishment for treating me as anything less than your equal." He stood up, not even remotely trying to hide how hard he was. Then he brought his fingers to his lips and licked them, one at a time, while holding my gaze.

  "Lucas—" I breathed, shocked and beyond turned on by him testing limits with me.

  He ran his tongue over his kiss-swollen lower lip and gave me a solid eye-fucking. "I'll finish you off later." And with that, he left the room.

  I stared after him, my lips ajar in stunned disbelief and my pussy throbbing in protest. Then I became aware of Zed watching, and my gaze flicked across to him as I wondered how much he'd seen.

  He gave nothing away, though, just looked me over in a hungry way before snapping back to business-Zed. "We should probably head over to Anarchy," he told me, his voice touched with a rough edge. "The marketing team wants to discuss the next main-event fight."

  I swallowed heavily and nodded. It was all I was capable of. Silently, I made my way back upstairs to the bedroom I'd claimed as my own and transformed myself into Hades, boss bitch. But internally, I was a mess of butterflies. How in the hell had all three of my love interests suddenly grown balls big enough to rival my own?

  18

  The meetings at Anarchy ran smoothly, which was a nice change. The marketing team had put together their top choices for the next matchups, based not only on the contestants’ fighting abilities but also their marketability. They, like my Timberwolves, had sensed there was trouble brewing and had stepped up to work on Copper Wolf’s success. I appreciated the hell out of that, so gave them full approval to run with their matchups.

  Lucas was at Sunshine Estate getting his mom ready to move home, and we'd left one of our trusted Timberwolves with him for security while Zed and I handled work. So no one was around to buffer the conversation when the marketing team left and Zed pinned me with a hot stare.

  "So, little Gumdrop wants to be an equal, huh?" Zed all but purred that question with an amused smile pulling at his lips. We were on the low, velvet couches of the Fun Zone VIP bar, where we always held Anarchy meetings, but we were all alone.

  I rolled my eyes. "Of course you were eavesdropping."

  He shrugged, unapologetic. "It's my house."

  I blew out a long breath, propping the ball of my high-heeled shoe on the edge of the low table as I glared at him. "He's not wrong. I'm so used to just doing things without asking anyone's permission."

  Zed was directly opposite me, his arm draped along the back of the couch and his expression guarded. "Because that's your job. That's what gets shit done and keeps people alive. Lucas needs to understand that... And as much as he might want to be an equal—"

  "I know," I cut him off. "But he's learning. It won't be long before he's giving you a run for your money." I meant it as a casual taunt over Zed's marksmanship and Lucas's seemingly natural talent with guns. But the second it left my lips, my mouth went dry.

  Zed just snorted a laugh and shook his head, seeming to let me off the hook. This time. He stood up and extended a hand to me, which I took. Then he pulled me a whole hell of a lot closer than I’d anticipated, his face dipping down until his lips brushed my ear.

  "No matter how ballsy the Gumdrop gets, he'll never be a real threat. Nothing can ever match what we have, Dare. You damn well know it." He punctuated that statement with a scorching kiss to my neck. Then he stepped away again as Alexi came striding up the stairs with a deep frown on his brow.

  "Boss," my head of security greeted, then gave a nod to Zed as well. "I've got Gen downstairs to see you, but you didn't mention having another meeting?" He asked it like a question, his expression worried. Then his gaze flicked down to where Zed still hel
d my hand captive, and Alexi's brow tightened.

  "Gen's fine," I told him, ignoring the testosterone rolling off them both all of a sudden. "Send her up. And can you also get us some water?"

  Alexi jerked a nod and stalked back downstairs to do as I’d asked. Zed just turned to me with a small smirk on his lips and a knowing look in his eye.

  "Feeling thirsty all of a sudden, huh?"

  I rolled my eyes and tugged my hand free of his. "Shut up, asshole." But I said it with a smile and didn't protest when he sat down beside me as Gen joined us.

  "Hey guys," she greeted with a tight smile. Alexi followed not far behind her and placed a tray of glasses and a pitcher of water down on the table for us. Gen sat on the couch opposite Zed and me and gave Alexi a shy smile when he poured her water.

  "What's happened, Gen?" I asked when Alexi was gone. There was no good reason why my new legal counsel would stop by for an in-person meeting without calling first.

  She grimaced, confirming my suspicion. "Your license applications for Timber have all been rejected by Cloudcroft City Council. Too many objections from neighbors."

  Fury swept through me, but I kept it contained through years of practice. Externally, I just gave a small nod of understanding. "I see. And those neighbors?"

  Gen wrinkled her nose. "All buildings owned by Locked Heart."

  A small, livid breath hissed from between my teeth, and my jaw tightened to the point of painful.

  "I'm working on it, though," she assured me. "But if you have any, you know, less conventional ideas? That might be quicker. I know you want to open Timber in October, but without liquor or gaming licenses..."

  "Understood," I snapped. Without those licenses I'd be asking for trouble with the Cloudcroft PD, and if Chase had been buying up property, then there was a solid chance he'd been buying up law enforcement.