He rubbed the soap onto my tummy. He used to be infatuated with my tits and ass, but now all he cared about was my pregnant belly. When we were in bed together, he liked having me on top because he liked to stare at my stomach as I bounced up and down. He was clearly excited to be a father, even though he seemed like the kind of man that might not be interested in settling down.
Life had been good these past few weeks, so good that I forgot about reality, forgot that we still had a problem to address. Now that my son would be part of our family in a few months, I had to protect him with my life. That meant Maddox needed to be eliminated…for good. Hades had not mentioned his vengeance once since his birthday. “Hades?”
He lifted his gaze to mine.
“Have you figured out how to take care of him?” I assumed he would know who I was talking about. I hated saying his name; it seemed to give him more power.
Hades stared at me for several heartbeats with his hands still on my belly. “No.”
I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my face. “Well, you need to. I can’t raise a son in a world where he exists.” I knew Hades would do anything for me, and it was ridiculous to be upset with him for not taking care of this problem sooner. If it were that simple, he would’ve done it already. But I wanted this finished so I knew for sure I never had to worry again.
“I’ll take care of it. I promise.”
“I know, but I want him gone now. What’s taking so long?”
His eyes drifted down again, and a loud sigh escaped his lips. He probably didn’t want to talk about it, especially when we were having a nice moment under the water. “It’s complicated. He’s hard to track down. I’ve found a way to lure him out, but he hasn’t shown his face yet. But he will.”
“And you think this will work?”
He nodded. “It’s only a matter of time.”
“And when he does show up, you’ll kill him?”
His hand cupped my cheek. “Yes. I will torture him for what he did to you, for what he did to me. And I will make sure he’s dead and gone.” His hand slowly slid down to my neck. “But don’t worry about him. The only thing you should be worrying about is our son. He’s my problem…not yours.”
23
Hades
My phone lit up on the nightstand with a text message. It was Damien. We need to talk. Ash and I are at the bar.
I glanced at the time and realized it was almost midnight.
Sofia was cuddled into my side, her face in the crook of my neck and her arm at my waist.
I didn’t want to leave my wife, but I knew this was important. I slid out of bed and entered the walk-in closet to put on jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. The watch Sofia gave me was clasped around my wrist, and I put on my boots before I crept across the floor to the door.
Sofia realized I wasn’t there as she reached out her hand to feel me beside her. With her eyes still closed, she continued to feel the sheets until my absence stirred her from sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up in bed, searching for me with squinted eyes. When she realized I was in front of the door, she sighed. “Where are you going?” She ran her fingers through her hair to keep it out of her face.
I came back to the bed and sat on the edge. “I need to meet the guys.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. I gotta go.”
She did the one thing I couldn’t resist. She reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt. She yanked me toward her, bringing our lips together for a kiss.
I loved it when she did that. She’d been doing it since the night we met, and it was a sign of her passion. If killing Maddox weren’t so important, I would sink on top of her and never leave.
I kissed her back and lowered her to the bed. But then my brain took control, and I sat up again. “I’ll be home soon.”
Her eyes filled with disappointment. “I worry when you go out late like this…”
“I’ll be fine, I promise.”
She looked like she wanted to argue with me, but she silenced her disapproval. “Wake me up when you come home.”
“Alright.”
“I mean it. You always say you’ll do it, but you never do.”
That was because I didn’t want to wake her up. “Okay.” I leaned down and gave her a kiss before I got up from the bed and headed to the door.
Leaving my pregnant wife was the hardest thing I ever had to do. She was in bed, begging me not to leave, and she had no idea I would rather be with her than anywhere else in the world. I didn’t want to sneak off in the middle of the night to sit in a bar while women bought me drinks. It reminded me of what my life was like before her…and that wasn’t something I wanted to think about.