7th Circle (Hades Book 1) Read online

  Cass was used to my shit by now, though. He'd only been in charge of the Reapers for a year and a half, but he'd been Zane's second for years prior to that. Why the fuck he'd been content to second that slimy piece of shit, I'd never know, but suffice it to say Cass had sat through plenty of unpleasant meetings with me and my boys.

  He didn't speak as I rounded the desk and hooked my designer handbag over the back of the chair before sitting down. My favorite gun, a Desert Eagle, was not even vaguely concealed in an underarm holster, but just for good measure, I took my blazer off. Underneath I wore just a thin, red silk camisole, black lace bra, and a gun. Sexy dangerous was my whole vibe... especially when I knew I'd be seeing Cass.

  I badly needed to get over my crush on him. It was making me look foolish, and that was something I didn't have time for in my day.

  "Cassiel, you look like shit," I told him, my voice like cold steel. "Rough night?"

  He glared. That was new. No one glared at me. Not if they valued their balls—and their lives.

  "You could say that," he rumbled, his ink-covered fingers drumming a pattern on the arm of his chair as he stared. As fast as the glare had come, it'd cooled down to a simple stare, and I was kind of disappointed. He was backing down from this fight, and it made me sigh internally.

  Some days I seriously hated the reputation I'd built for myself. It made men afraid of me, which didn't work wonders when a girl just wanted some rough aggression from a lover every now and then.

  "Cops were sniffing around Anarchy last night," Cass informed me when I said nothing, giving nothing away. If he thought I was going to address the awkward situation from last night, or the fact that he had a sex tape of Lucas and I, well, he would be waiting a while. I never showed my cards.

  Except, of course, when I'd had one too many drinks and made a move on a man who held zero interest for me as a woman. Stupid, stupid mistake. One that would never be repeated.

  "Nothing new," I replied, voice ice-cold and clipped. "The police presence in Shadow Grove has been a pain in all our asses ever since that mess at Madison Kate's wedding. Why'd this require a face-to-face meeting?"

  Cass let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a frustrated sigh, and he ran a hand over his short beard. I hated beards on guys, but fucking hell, Cass made it look good.

  "Because two of my guys got picked up after leaving the fight." There was an edge of accusation in his voice that got my hackles up.

  I quirked one brow, my gaze steady. "And that's my problem, how? I allow your boys to sell product in my venues for a cut of profit, but we're not partners, Cassiel. The safety of your low-level street dealers has nothing to do with me."

  His glare darkened. "You and I both know the heat is on you right now, Hades. If my boys get picked up, it's an attempt to gather intel on your organization."

  If he was trying to piss me off, he was succeeding. Holding his eye contact, I raised my glass and took a sip. Then I licked my scarlet lips and was rewarded by Cass's gaze darting to my mouth ever so quickly.

  Then again, he was probably just remembering that awkward-as-fuck kiss from last night when I’d totally misread the situation for the first time in my life.

  "They can try all they like, Cass; the Timberwolves are airtight right now. I trust your boys were clean when they were picked up?" Because there was no way in hell they were leaving a fight at Anarchy with excess stock.

  Straight up, people in Shadow Grove liked to party. Only an idiot would try to run a clean venue with no drugs; it just wasn't happening. Either I worked with the street gangs to ensure clean products in my venues and got a cut of the profit, or I risked dirty, cut-rate drugs being distributed under my nose.

  I was many things, but an idiot wasn't one of them.

  Cass made a rumbling sound that was way too close to a growl for a human man. It did all kinds of delicious things to my insides, but none of them showed on my face. I hoped.

  "They were supposedly found with a bag of angel dust." He all but spat the words, and my spine stiffened with shock. "Before you shoot first and ask questions later, my guys do not deal that shit. It was clearly a plant."

  I hadn't even realized my hand had moved to the butt of my gun until Cass's eyes gave it a cautious look. He was right to be nervous. If I found out anyone was dealing angel dust in my venues—hell, in my entire damn city—I'd paint my walls with their blood. No, it wasn’t the worst drug on the market but my personal history with PCP made me issue a blanket ban on the sale of it within my territory.

  "You took one hell of a risk bringing me this information, Cassiel," I told him in a deathly cold voice. He knew. He fucking knew my stance on that drug and what I'd do if I caught it back in circulation within the tri-state area. If he'd been anyone else, I’d already have issued a punishment for him and his gang.

  His scarred brow rose a millimeter, and his dark eyes held mine. "I know. But I also know that information needed to come from me and not some ladder-climbing shit trying to gain favor with the big bad Hades."

  I drew a deep breath through my nose, my lips tight, with fury vibrating through my whole damn body. Someone deliberately planted angel dust—PCP—on the Reaper punks? That was too specific to be a coincidence.

  "Why should I believe you, Cass?" I asked instead of voicing my dark fears and suspicions. "There could be good money in dealing angel dust to an untapped market. I bet Zane thought about it."

  There were only a few things that I wouldn't permit within my territory, and disobedience garnered an instant death sentence if I found out about it. Child sex trafficking was one. Dealing PCP was another.

  Cass shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, but to his credit he didn't break eye contact with me. I had always appreciated his balls of steel, compared to his skeevy predecessor’s tin foil ones.

  "I think you know me better than that, Hades." His voice was low and careful, and my brows rose in surprise at the subtle subtext.

  Against my better judgment, the corners of my mouth tugged into an echo of a smile. "Are you seriously playing that card right now, Cass? You're that suicidal?" Because fuck me, if he really thought he could manipulate my crush to get his gang out of trouble I really might shoot him.

  He blew out a long breath, leaning forward to rest his hands on my desk. Damn, he had nice hands, inked-up and strong with prominent veins. Why was that so damn sexy on guys?

  "I'm not playing shit; you know I'm better than that. The Reapers aren't dealing angel dust, not now, not ever. You're a good enough judge of character to know I'm not bullshitting you over this." His tone was earnest, with a tight edge of frustration. "Someone is gunning for your throne, though, and you need to be prepared."

  From anyone else, that'd sound a whole lot like a threat. But not from Cass.

  I pursed my lips, thinking over this new information. More and more over the past year, Shadow Grove PD had been growing their force with transfers and new recruits. It was no surprise, too, given the sheer volume of bloodshed the city had seen. But I'd fully expected the heat to cool off when the excitement died down, and it hadn't.

  If anything, it was getting worse.

  "Well then, thank you for informing me." I paused, then added, "Did this really require a blackmail threat, though?" Because I sure as fuck hadn't forgotten the sex tape he'd sent me this morning.

  The corner of his mouth tugged up in a half smile. Most people probably wouldn't even know that was what it was meant to be, but I'd spent enough time around the grumpy fuck to know a smile when I saw one. Rare as they were.

  "I thought you might need a little convincing for a face-to-face," he confessed, "rather than just sending Zed to deal with me."

  My traitorous heart actually liked that he'd blackmailed me into seeing him in person. Surely that meant... something.

  "You could have given this information to Zed," I countered with a shrug. "I trust that you've already wiped the camera footage and deleted the copy on your phone." It wasn'
t a question, because he had no choice here.

  He dipped his head in acknowledgement, sat back in his chair once more, and swiped a hand over his half shaved head. Tattoos continued all the way up his exposed scalp, like he'd run out of skin space anywhere else, and goddamn, it was a good look on him.

  "So, who was he?" the big guy rumbled like he hated himself for even asking. "Random hookup?"

  It was said so casually, but the sharp way he watched me from under heavy lids made me suspicious. Or paranoid. Or... pissed off.

  "None of your business, Cass. You made it pretty clear that we're business associates and nothing more, so I'm certainly not going to chitchat about the incredible dick I got last night." I quirked a brow at him, then knocked back the rest of my whiskey in one mouthful.

  The warm burn of it distracted me enough that I didn't show the flash of panic on my face. But what the fuck was I thinking opening that line of conversation? What happened to pretending nothing had happened?

  Cass let out a husky sound that was his version of a laugh. "Cut the bullshit, Hades; I saw the tape. He came in about three minutes. If that's your idea of incredible dick, then you need to get out more."

  Shock rippled through me at his sass, and for a hot second I was rendered speechless. Since when was Cass comfortable enough to talk to me with such casual disrespect? Oh right, since I’d shown him my cards in making my interest known. Idiot.

  Clearing my throat, I stood up from my chair and placed my hands on my desk, fingers splayed as I leaned forward. It'd offer a hell of a view down my red silk camisole, and if Cass were interested, he'd get a close-up view of the sexy black bra I wore beneath.

  "Some might argue that it takes a talented man to make a woman come that quickly," I informed him in a voice dripping with sex and sarcasm. "You watched the tape, Cassiel; I'm sure you know exactly how hard he made me come."

  His eyes narrowed, but they didn't leave my face. Disappointment rippled through me that he hadn't taken the bait to check out my tits, so I straightened up with a sigh.

  "You're dismissed."

  Cass clenched his jaw so hard his cheek twitched, but he slowly got to his feet. The sexy fucker towered over me, even in my stiletto heels, but we both knew who was the bigger threat in the room. Spoiler alert: It wasn't him.

  "Next time you try to blackmail me, Cass, I won't be so forgiving."

  He paused with his hand on the doorknob, turning slightly to give me an amused look. "Next time you try to make me jealous, pick a guy who can make you sleep through your messages the next day." With a pointed look, he gave me a sarcastic two-finger salute, then exited my office with a swagger.

  Motherfucker. Yeah, he’d won that one.

  I stood there seething for several minutes, then pulled my phone out of my bag. Ignoring all my unread messages and missed calls, I sent one of my own.

  Hades: I'll be home in half an hour.

  I followed it with my address, then turned my phone off. Fuck dealing with street gangs and stripper cat fights like I normally did on a Sunday. I was taking the afternoon off.

  6

  It took me longer to get home than I'd anticipated. Traffic had been heavy and I'd left my motorcycle at 7th Circle, so I couldn't just nip between cars like I usually did.

  So when my elevator doors opened to my floor, I found Lucas already waiting outside my apartment door.

  "You're here," I commented, completely unnecessarily. Obviously, he was; he was right in front of me, leaning against the wall like he'd just been posing for GQ or something.

  His brow rose slightly, and a smile touched his full lips. "I'm not an idiot, Hayden."

  My pulse quickened. Fuck. "Don't call me that," I reprimanded, but it lacked heat. There was something about hearing my first name on his lips that I liked way too damn much.

  "Sorry," he replied with a smirk, sounding anything but. Fucking hell. His blatant disregard for danger around me was such a turn on.

  Holding his gaze, I swiped my magnetic key over the lock on my door, then pressed my thumb to the biometric screen that lit up. It took two seconds to analyze my print, then it flashed green and the door clicked open.

  "That's very secure," he murmured as I stepped inside and held the door open for him to follow.

  I raised one brow, letting a tiny smile touch my scarlet lips. "Sort of necessary when you're me." Even though I'd never invited anyone home—until today—it would have been supremely foolish of me to have an easily picked lock on the door. As it was, the biometric scanner was also linked to an alarm system that only Seph and I had access to. No one could enter our space without one of us allowing them.

  The door closed with a nudge from my red-soled stiletto, the locks reactivating instantly.

  "So, what made you change your mind?" Lucas asked, taking a couple of steps into my home and letting his gaze sweep around the room. The slight raise to his brows and the widening of his eyes told me he was impressed by what he saw. My home was a huge open-plan apartment with double-height ceilings and craploads of floor-to-ceiling windows with soft gauze curtains draping all over the place.

  I brushed past him, closer than I needed to, stripped my black blazer off, and dropped it over the back of a chair on my way to the kitchen. "Your first shift at 7th is Tuesday?" I asked, ignoring his question. There was no way in hell I was opening up my personal life to this total stranger with the angelic face and godlike dick. Okay, no more than I already was by letting him into my home.

  Crap. I was going to live to regret this decision, I could already tell. A huge, old ass-biting was just looming on the horizon, waving at me like a bastard.

  I unclipped my shoulder holster and placed it on my counter along with my heavy handgun, then rolled my shoulders to ease some tightness.

  "Uh-huh," he replied, casually propping a hip against my kitchen counter as I pulled a bottle of wine from the temperature-controlled wine fridge underneath. It was barely past noon, but I really felt like day drinking was acceptable in my line of work, especially to cure the hangover still plaguing my brain and loosen the knot of tension Cass had managed to tighten up again.

  "Good," I murmured, pulling two glasses out, then pausing. "Do you drink Barolo?"

  His intense green eyes flicked down at the bottle in my hand, then he gave a small shrug. "I've never tried it," he admitted.

  I hesitated only a second longer, then poured a glass of the rich red wine for each of us. "If you don't like it, I have pretty much anything else." I slid his glass over to him, and his fingers brushed mine when he took it.

  Such a small, innocent gesture, yet it sent a shockwave through me and made my breath catch. Maybe I was just hormonal or something, but I'd never craved someone as badly as I did Lucas. Not even my crush on Cass could compare to the fire building inside me with every smile and glance from this stranger.

  He held my gaze as he raised the glass to his face and smelled the wine before taking a sip. His tongue dragged across his plump lower lip, and I watched like some kind of sex-starved freak, groaning inwardly when he made a hum of approval.

  "I like it," he told me. "Tastes like cherries or something?"

  Cute. He had a good palate. I just took a long drink from my own glass and licked my lips to savor the taste. It really did have subtle cherry and black plum notes, and it was one of my favorite wines out of northern Italy. The winery was owned by my favorite aunt, Demi, and her wife Stacey. They always talked about retiring there one day, but so far the both of them were far too married to their work.

  "So, I'm guessing you told me to meet you here for a reason?" Lucas prodded, curiosity burning in his emerald eyes. "When you stopped replying earlier, I thought I'd pushed too hard."

  Nope. Just hard enough, pretty boy.

  I couldn't just ignore his questions all afternoon; that would lead to a fairly awkward sort of encounter. So I took another sip of wine and drummed my fingernails on the marble countertop. He deserved a small amount of truth from me, esp
ecially as it concerned him.

  "I had a meeting with... an associate." Yeah, I kept that vague. It was bad enough Zed had witnessed Cass rejecting me; I sure as fuck wasn't filling Lucas in on the whole sorry story. "He owns Scruffy Murphy's bar."

  Lucas's brow creased slightly. "The bar we were at last night?"

  I gave a small nod. "The very same." I bit my lip, inwardly cringing. "Turns out there was a security camera in the storeroom."

  His eyes widened. He immediately understood what I was saying—that our whole encounter had been taped.

  "He deleted the footage before his staff saw it," I told him before panic could set in. "But it's certainly not ideal."

  Lucas didn't immediately respond, taking another sip of his wine as he watched the way my fingernails tapped an anxious tune on the stone counter. Then he reached out and placed his hand over mine, stopping me.

  Also damn near stopping my heart. How the fuck was he affecting me so hard? This wasn't a sappy vampire romance novel.

  "I'm going to guess the guy who helpfully deleted the tape was also the one you intended to make jealous in the first place," he said softly, not accusing but...

  "I didn't know there was a camera in there, Lucas," I snapped, pulling my hand free of his and reaching for my wine simply for something to do. "I'm not that much of an asshole."

  "That's not what I said, Hayden, and I think you know it." He gave a casual shrug, not even slightly worried about pissing me off. Such a turn-on. Anyone else would have been basically licking my shoes at that mere hint that I was irritated.

  Cass flashed across my mind, quickly followed by Zed. Okay, maybe not everyone else. But Zed had known me long enough to read when he was in real danger, and Cass... was Cass.

  "That was a Reaper-owned club, wasn't it?" He sounded so casual, but there was a thread of fishing in his voice.

  I cocked a brow. "And here I thought you were totally ignorant of Shadow Grove gangs, Lucas."