Darkness Embraced (Hades Hangmen 7)

“We’re not wrong, sweetie,” Sia disagreed and tried to give Adelita a small sympat

hetic smile. “I’m sorry. But it was all run by the Quintana family.” She went to stroke Adelita’s arm, but pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Garcia . . . I was his girlfriend. I wasn’t his slave. He told me things . . . He worked for your father. He spoke of you to me on occasion.” She looked sad. “And I accidentally ended up in one of the camps. I saw one of those hellholes with my own two eyes, darlin’. It’s all true.”

“No,” Adelita argued again. “I can’t believe it. I won’t! My father wouldn’t be involved in something like this. He mustn’t know. Someone must be doing it under his nose. Using his name to get ahead.”

“Princess,” I said, impatiently, “They are responsible for this. Our fathers are in this together. I sure as fuck know my old man is capable of this. More than, in fact.”

“My father can’t be.” I heard her voice break. She was freezing in my arms. “I don’t care what anyone says . . . I won’t believe it’s true.”

Silence grew thick in the room, until, “Is . . . is his name Al . . . Alfonso?” A small, whispered voice reached us from the back of the room. Adelita tensed. Phebe looked behind her. At Saffie. Lilah was holding Saffie’s hand, shock on her face, I guessed from the fact she’d spoken. Never saw much of the red-headed kid. But every time I did, she looked like she didn’t know what good looked like. Fuck, from what I knew of her, she hadn’t had anything good happen to her until she came here. Kid had been to Hades and back, and returned a fucking walking shadow.

Saffie came to stand beside Phebe, nervous eyes darting all around the room. I heard a creak from behind me. When I looked back, Lil’ Ash was beside AK, his eyes fixed on the timid kid. He was rocking from side to side like he was gonna take her from the room if given half a chance, just to get her out from all these people. AK kept his hand on Ash’s shoulder, keeping the prospect in place.

Phebe wrapped her arm around her daughter. Saffie looked at Adelita with huge, tortured eyes. “Is . . . his name . . . Alfonso?” she asked again, slightly louder this time.

“Yes,” Adelita said, voice trembling.

Saffie swallowed and held up her chin. “He . . .” She looked to Phebe and Phebe smiled. Her mother nodded her head in encouragement for whatever her daughter was about to say. Saffie dropped her eyes and whispered, “He . . . took me.” I felt Adelita’s sharp inhale of breath and felt my own stomach plummet. Because I’d never heard this shit. Never heard much of Saffie’s life outside of knowing she was a cult kid first, then was taken by Meister to sell to Garcia. Saffie’s voice broke but she pushed through. “When he came to . . . visit, he would . . . he would be given me . . . he would always ask for . . . me.”

A pained sob flew from Adelita’s mouth and her hand covered her lips. She backed into me until she couldn’t move anymore. My heart was racing at what this kid was saying. I could see how much it was killing Saffie to say it. Fuck. It was killing Adelita to hear it. A kid. Saffie was a scared fucked-up kid.

Adelita shook her head, but Saffie said, “He had . . . had a birthmark, here,” she pointed to her neck. Her hand dropped and impossibly, her face lost even more color. “I . . . I was never given the potion . . . the potion they always gave us when men came. He said he wanted . . . me to be present and awake.” Her breath hitched. “He said . . . he wanted me to remember him.” She visibly shook, and I thought the kid was gonna pass out. “And I did. I always . . . will always remember the devil’s . . . mark on his neck.”

“That’s enough.” AK pushed through us all and looked to me. “She isn’t saying anything all else.” He next faced Adelita. “What the fuck more proof do you need?”

Adelita’s breathing was shallow. She was deathly still in my arms. I didn’t think she was gonna speak again. But then she said, “She . . . she doesn’t need to say anything else.” Adelita looked to Saffie, who was clutching Phebe again, looking as exhausted as if she’d just ran a fucking marathon. “Thank you . . .” Adelita held herself together. I was fucking proud of her. “Thank you . . . for telling me this . . .”

“Saffie,” Saffie offered and gave Adelita a weak smile.

“Saffie.” Adelita noticed all eyes were on her. She turned to me, and my chest fucking cracked. She gave me a shaky smile, then chin high, said, “I am ready to go back to the room now, Tanner. I believe I was never meant to have left under your president’s order, yes?” I wanted to bring her to me, fucking crash her to my chest, but I knew if I did, she would fall apart. And that would humiliate her. Adelita had her father’s pride. A pride I would never break in front of my brothers. In front of anyone.

Taking her hand, I turned and pushed through everyone. “I’m taking her to my room,” I told Styx as I passed the prez. I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say about it. I knew Adelita was a few minutes away from breaking, if the shaking of her hand was anything to go by. As we reached the hallway I heard the quickening of her breath. I pushed through my door, pulled her inside and flicked the lock.

When I turned, it was to see Adelita’s face and body crumble. In seconds, I had her in my arms, keeping her from dropping to the floor. Adelita was shaking with racking sobs. Her hand came out and held onto my shirt, but her hands were trembling so much they slipped from me. Scooping her up in my arms, I took her to my bed and laid her down. I kept my arms around her as she broke apart. I kissed her head. I fucking kissed every part of her I could. My shirt grew wet with her tears, but I didn’t give a shit. Adelita had every right to cry. She’d just found out her papa was not only a fucking trafficker, but liked to fuck kids too.

As if she was reading my mind, Adelita lifted her bloodshot eyes to me and asked, “How old is she?” Her voice was raw and hoarse from crying. I knew she meant Saffie.

I tried to think. “Not sure. Fifteen, I think? Somewhere around that age.”

Adelita’s eyes squeezed shut. “And how old was she when she came here?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know, princess.” I sighed. “If you’re asking how old she’d have been when your old man . . .” I left it there. I didn’t need to end that sentence. She knew what he’d done. “Young. She’d have been real fucking young.”

Adelita’s face fell and more tears streamed down her face. “Did you know about the trafficking?” I shook my head. Adelita wiped her eyes. “I don’t know my father,” she whispered and stared across the room at nothing. “I have no idea who I have been living with my whole life, but he is a stranger to me. A demon who has just been discovered residing in a man. A man I love.” She swallowed and rested her head on her bent legs. “She’s a child, Tanner. A child.” Adelita’s bottom lip shook. “He . . .” She winced. “She’s a small child . . . and requested her, he—”

“Stop,” I instructed. I knelt up on the bed and cupped her face. “Stop fucking thinking it right now or else you’re gonna lose your mind.” Adelita’s hands gripped my wrists and her eyes squeezed shut.

“I can’t . . .” she whispered. “I cannot simply erase the thoughts from my mind.” Her head bowed like she had no energy left to keep her head upright. “The look on Saffie’s face . . .” Her shoulders dropped too. My hold on her face seemed to be the only thing keeping her from falling to the bed. “Her mother’s face hearing her daughter had had that experience . . . the mother herself . . . and the blonde who had relations with Garcia.”

Adelita lifted her head and there was a fucking storm brewing in her dark eyes. “I knew him, Tanner. I dined with him at my father’s table. We broke bread and drank wine. I . . .” Adelita’s face flushed with what looked like embarrassment. “I enjoyed his company.” I tensed. “Not like that, baby,” she said quickly. Her eyes lost some of their clouds when she saw my jealousy. “Just . . . in that he seemed like a good man.” She laughed a single laugh. She stared at the monitors I had in the corner of my room. But I knew she wasn’t really looking at anything. “My father was right. You were right.” She turned to me. “When we first met you called me a naïve, privileged princess who knew nothing of

the world. Stuck in my ivory tower built on blow.” Her bottom lip trembled. “And you were right. Only I wasn’t alone in that tower.” Adelita squeezed my wrist like I was her only fucking anchor. “I thought I lived there with knights . . . turns out I was trapped amongst monsters.”

“Baby . . .” I said and made her look at me. When she did, I saw her eyes were bright red and filled with pain. “You’re out of there now.” I felt my heart start to beat faster. “You’re out, and I guarantee you something now. You ain’t ever going back.”

Adelita’s eyes widened and I swallowed. Like a pussy, nerves started buzzing through me. Clearing my throat, I said, “You’re out of the hacienda. I’m out of the Klan . . .” Adelita’s hands were strong as they held my wrists. “We’re here, princess. We’re fucking here. Finally.”

“Tanner,” she whispered and her face flooded with tears. Adelita glanced down, but when she lifted her head, she had a smile on her face. “We’re here.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I knew we still had to talk through why the fuck she’d been getting married to that cunt, but right now, I didn’t care. I had my woman back in my arms after too fucking long.

Pulling Adelita toward me, I kissed her. At first, she tasted of tears, but when she kissed me back, I tasted her. That addictive taste only Adelita ever had. I tightened my grip on her cheeks and pushed my tongue into her mouth. Adelita moaned and her tongue fought against mine. My hands moved through her damp hair, then down her back, tracing every fucking curve of her body. Finding the bottom of her dress, I lifted it slowly, until I stopped at her tits. Breaking from Adelita’s mouth, I looked at her flushed face, then glanced down. My cock hardened in my jeans as I saw her long legs, her pussy and the underside of her big tits. Two years. Two fucking years since I’d fucked her.

Adelita reached down and covered my hands. Her eyes locked on mine, and she started lifting her dress, guiding my hands over her tits until she brought it over her head. Her long hair fell over one shoulder. I’d never seen her look more perfect. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered, running my thumb down her cheek and around her lips. Adelita caught my hand with hers and held it to her lips. Closing her eyes, she kissed my palm. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t fucking believe that we were here. When she opened her eyes, she lifted my shirt over my head. Adelita took a deep breath after she’d thrown the shirt to the floor and ran her hand down my chest. Her hand tracked south to my jeans and my cock almost punched through the zipper. Adelita snapped the button, then drew the zipper down. She pushed my jeans down and it was all I could fucking do not to push her to the mattress and sink inside her.