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.