I checked the time on her messages, then nodded. "Yeah, only ten minutes ago." Biting my lip, I texted my sister back and assured her I was fine and that I had lost my phone earlier in the day.
Her response made me snort a laugh.
Seph: Oh. Cool. Fuck, I was worried and shit. Can you make that garlic and pepper steak thing for dinner? I'm so hungry.
I showed it to Zed, and he just rolled his eyes.
"I love that kid, but goddamn, she doesn't know how good you are to her." He gave me a pointed look, and I shrugged. It was an old disagreement between us that I had never told Seph about our father trying to sell her off as a thirteen-year-old sex slave.
Ignoring his look, I checked my other messages and inwardly groaned.
Wild Card: Hayden, wtf? Jo messaged and said not to come to work tonight. Then Seph said 7th burned down?! What's going on? Are you okay?
There were several more messages after that, getting increasingly worried as he'd gotten no replies from me, so I quickly tapped out a response.
Hades: I'm fine. Sorry, lost my phone this morning and just replaced it.
I wasn't good at the soothing thing, so after sending that and rereading it, I awkwardly sent some heart emojis too. That would surely soften up my blunt reply, right?
Wild Card: Can I see you?
Flipping down the mirror in the sun visor, I cringed at my reflection.
Hades: Not tonight, I've got a lot going on...
Ugh, it sounded like a brush-off even to me, and I knew that wasn't what I’d meant. Biting my lip, I quickly tried to fix it. I liked Lucas, and the last thing I wanted to do was turn him off because my social skills were lacking. But he simply couldn't see me all messed up like I was.
Hades: Saturday?
He wouldn't be working, so it was just a question of finding somewhere to go where we wouldn't be seen... that was, if I was still alive in two days’ time. Who fucking knew what tomorrow would bring.
Wild Card: Done.
Then the little bubble showed he was still typing, so I waited to see what else he would say.
Wild Card: I know you're probably dealing with police and insurance and everything, but... call me when you get home tonight? I just have this bad feeling.
He ended it with a worried emoji face, and my chest tightened. He was right to be worried, but I didn't want to admit that. Not to him. Not when he was my escape from my life as Hades.
Hades: I'll try.
I had no idea whether I would or not, but it seemed like a simple enough request. Maybe. Depended how long I managed to stay awake once I got into my sleep shirt.
"Everything okay with Seph?" Zed asked when I put my phone down, and I blinked at him a couple of times.
"Yeah, she's... you saw. I was just replying to... uh..." I trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward as hell admitting I was on casual texting terms with an eighteen-year-old stripper in my employment. But then how many times had Zed fucked the girls at Club 22?
So, screw it. A little taste of his own medicine for once. "Lucas," I finally finished. "He heard that 7th burned down and was worried."
Zed did a noticeable double-take. "The new stripper? That's... you're still fucking him?"
Amusement rippled through me at his response. "Yeah, why not? I figured I'd take a page out of your book, Zed."
Instead of finding my comment funny, though, he just scowled and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Not the response I’d expected, but whatever. Maybe my humor needed some work.
32
Rather than just dropping me off at the door, Zed insisted on coming upstairs with me. He claimed he wanted to be sure I didn't pass out in the elevator, but once he was inside, I realized he probably just wanted to witness Seph's dramatics when she saw the state I was in.
Bastard.
By the time my sister stopped freaking out, she'd made me strip out of my new clothes and show her every single injury. She then scolded me profusely for being "dumb enough" not to notice a gas leak until it was almost too late.
I loved her. I really did. I'd killed for her many times over and would continue to do so forever... but fuck me, sometimes I wanted to smother her with a pillow.
By the time I'd changed into a pair of shorts and my sleep shirt, Zed had finished cooking dinner for us all, and Seph reluctantly quit lecturing me in favor of batting her lashes at him.
I rolled my eyes at her antics, knowing full well she was being a brat and not actually interested in my second.
"Thank you for cooking," I told him, sweeping my hair up into a high ponytail as I joined them both at the dining table.
Zed turned to look over at me, then froze with a weird look on his face.
I frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," he replied with a smirk, turning his attention back to the food he was serving up for each of us.
I sat down beside him and eyed the perfectly cooked steak with my mouth watering. He was still giving me a weird look, though, so I glared at him.
"What?" I asked again. "I thought I was the one with head trauma, not you."
He snickered softly, reaching for a bottle of wine he'd pulled from my Vintec, and poured himself a glass. Just one, for him.
"Rude," I scowled. "Where's mine?"
He arched a brow, then took a long sip before replying. "You have head trauma. No alcohol."
I made a disgusted sound and snagged the glass out of his fingers. "Asshole."
He waited until I had a full mouthful before muttering, "Nice T-shirt, by the way."
I choked on the damn wine. Coughing, I peered down at my favorite sleep shirt and instantly remembered where it'd come from. Yep. It was Zed's signed Blink-182 T-shirt that he'd "lost" about eight years ago and I'd sworn I had no idea where it was.
Oops.
"Oh my god, you guys," Seph groaned, "get a room or something. All the eye-fucking is putting me off my food." She gave a dramatic fake gagging noise, then smirked as she chewed a mouthful of steak.
Had I mentioned recently how I'd like to smother her?
She must have sensed the murdery vibes rolling off me, too, because she quickly changed the subject and asked Zed about what would happen next with 7th Circle and how long it'd take us to rebuild.
I was quietly glad for the shift of focus and just concentrated on eating my food without really participating in the conversation. By the time I finished my meal—which was delicious—I was damn near asleep on the table.
"Okay, bedtime," Zed told me in a firm voice, nudging me with his knee. I was too drained to argue, just nodded and let him support half my weight on the way to my bedroom.
Seph snickered behind us. "Don't fuck too loudly, you guys; I have school in the morning and need my beauty rest."
Zed just chuckled and helped me into my epic-sized bed. "Hey, Dare?" he asked in a whisper after pulling my blanket up. I quietly loved that he was using my nickname more and more these days... even though I'd never admit it to him.
"Mmm, what?" I mumbled, my eyes already closed.
"Why does Seph think we're sleeping together?"
My lids pinged open. "Because she's a sexually frustrated eighteen-year-old virgin and reads too many romance novels."
He grinned down at me, smug as all fuck. "Uh-huh."