He turned his eyes back to me. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No. You can head home, and I’ll give you updates when I receive them.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. When we finish this, I’ll leave.”
“Don’t you have a business to run?” Not that I considered it to be much of a business.
He was quiet for a long time as he considered my question. He grabbed the fork off the plate and took another bite. “I thought about what my brother said… Maybe it’s time to move on.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not naïve. I know our father was an asshole. When I heard that Maddox had taken you, I was devastated. I’d only met you a couple of times, and I already cared about you. Knowing what Maddox was doing to you…made me sick to my stomach. It made me realize that I was no different from him, that I was a huge asshole. I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”
“Who do you want to be?” I whispered.
“Not sure yet.”
“Will you work with Hades?”
“No. I want to do my own thing. I think I might be a pimp.”
I laughed because I assumed it was a joke.
“I’m serious. It’s basically what I was doing before, but now I’d work with girls who want to work. And I could protect them as a boss.”
It was still an unconventional career choice, but at least he wouldn’t be hurting anybody.
“I love women, sex, titties. You could say it’s my passion in life.” He shrugged slightly. “I’d rather do that than deal drugs.”
It wasn’t the most respectable line of work, but I could get on board with it. “That’ll make Hades happy.”
“He’d be really happy if he were still single. He’d want to use my services all the time.”
I wasn’t oblivious to Hades’s behavior before we were married; it never bothered me. But now I was a bit jealous thinking about everyone who came before me. His sex life used to be a lot more adventurous. Now, he was tied down, committed to one woman. I wondered if he ever got bored. “Where are you staying?”
“In a hotel.”
“You wanna stay here?” I asked. “We have a lot of extra bedrooms.”
“Yeah, I can tell. This place is a mansion. A little big for just two people.”
“Three.”
His eyes glanced down at my stomach, an eyebrow raised.
“My mother lives with us,” I explained.
The accusation disappeared from his eyes. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
After being violated by Maddox, I never felt safe anymore, especially with my husband gone. Knowing he was still out there made it impossible to sleep at night. Until he was dead and buried in the ground, I would never drop my guard. “If you don’t mind…”
His eyes showed his sympathy. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
9
Hades
When I opened my eyes, I saw the white ceiling above my head. Everything in the room was the same color—plain, boring white. The monitor next to the bed beeped as it kept track of my heart and blood pressure. The tube had been taken out of my throat once the surgeries were done, and I could finally breathe on my own. I was on a morphine drip, so I actually felt pretty good.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, maybe a couple weeks. I’d been unconscious most of the time, so I really had no idea. Damien told me how hurt Sofia was when I refused to see her, but she didn’t understand that I was doing her a favor.
It would kill her to see me like this.
“How are you doin’, man?” Damien’s voice came from beside me.
I turned my head toward him. “I’m on morphine, so pretty damn well.”
He pulled the chair closer to the bedside and rested his arms on the rail. “I talked to the doctors. They relieved the pressure in your skull so the swelling could go down. They repaired your punctured spleen, and they fixed the fracture in your leg. You’ve got a couple bone bruises, but those will heal.”
“I hate to imagine what I look like right now.”
“Yeah…you look like shit.”
I smiled slightly, because the drugs took the edge off. “Fuck you, asshole.”
Damien rested his hand on my arm and gave me a slight pat. “I can tell you’re doing better.”
“That’s the morphine talking.”
“You’ve been on it for a couple weeks now, and you were never in this good of a mood.”
I couldn’t even remember the last few weeks. “How long have I been in here?”
“Over two weeks.”
“How’s Sofia?”
“Eager to see you.”
I faced forward so I wouldn’t have to meet his look.
“Ash is staying with her.”
“He is?” I asked, slightly surprised. “I’m out of the picture, and he tries to steal my woman?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think anyone could steal her from you.”
“It was nice of him to keep an eye on her.”
“Yeah. He seems pretty fond of Sofia. And he must be fond of you too.”
“I’m surprised he’s taken so much time off of work.”
He shrugged. “You’re more important, I guess.”
“The doctors say when I can get out of here?”
“In another week or so.”
What kind of shape would I be in when I walked out of here? Would I be able to walk? Would I be able to take care of myself? I hadn’t actually seen myself in the mirror, so I had no idea what I looked like.
“I know it’s not my place, but I think you should let Sofia come down here.”
“You just said I look like shit.”
“I know, but she’s your wife. You need her, and honestly, she needs you too.”
After everything she’d been through, she was probably disturbed, broken. I was the only person who could be there for her. I didn’t want to hear the details of her suffering, but it was my job to put her back together. “I’m not sure if I can handle it…”
Damien bowed his head. “I can’t even imagine.”
Maybe that was the real reason I didn’t want to see her. My physical injuries would heal, but her emotional scars would haunt us both for life. Every time I thought about it, I was riddled with guilt. I should’ve done something sooner; I should’ve protected my wife. I didn’t have the balls to look her in the eye, not when I felt so worthless.
“But you should be together.”
I missed her, I missed holding her hand, I missed looking at her beautiful face.
“Can I go ahead and call her?”
“I don’t want her to see me like this.”
“I’m sure she feels the same way.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket. “But you’re husband and wife… You belong together.”
I sat up in bed and waited for her to walk inside. My heart was pounding like a drum, and my stomach was tight with unease. I was nervous—nervous I would look at her and burst into tears.