Lover (Betrothed 3)

He sighed loudly, like he didn’t agree with that statement at all. “It’s his birthday on Thursday. That’s why I’m calling, just so you know. He’s not big on celebrating his birthday, so I know he would never tell you.”

He was right. It never came up, and I never asked. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“My best advice is don’t make it a big deal. He doesn’t like a lot of attention.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. Probably because his family is dead and his brother hates him. Well, he used to hate him.”

My hand moved to my stomach. “Well, he has a family now.”

21

Hades

It was loud in the club. Bass from the music vibrated from the speakers, and nearly naked ladies passed around glasses of booze.

Damien and I sat in our private booth, leather seats with a black table. We had glasses of scotch, but various drinks were piling up from admirers. Damien accepted the glasses with a wink in their direction. But I just ignored mine.

It was the perfect place for our conversation, because nobody could eavesdrop. It was so fucking loud. Damien kept several feet between us, treating me like he was the one who was pissed. He didn’t try to rectify our relationship. He seemed to have let it go. “Maddox is hurting. We’ve sabotaged most of his distributors, and his drugs are disappearing from the streets. It’s only a matter of time before that fucker shows his face.”

“And I wonder how he’ll do that.”

Damien grabbed an extra drink sitting at the end of the table. “With a normal person, I’d say he’d threaten us. But with this psychopath, he’ll probably throw you a parade or some shit. Fucking weirdo. I would assume he’s gay for you except for the fact…” He looked away, clearly embarrassed by what he’d just said. “Never mind.”

He’d shoved his foot in his mouth, but I let it go. “You’re probably right. He’ll call me.”

“I’ve been trying to track him down, and I think he’s in the city.”

“What makes you think that?”

“It’s what the guys on the streets are telling me. But you never know, that information could be bullshit. With other guys, they’re pretty straightforward. But Maddox reminds me of a fucking clown. He’s always putting on a show. You never know what’s real and what’s not.”

I couldn’t wait until he was dead.

Damien watched a pretty girl walk by before he turned his gaze back to me. “I heard the good news.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What good news?”

Two women approached our table. Both brunettes and both familiar. The first one on the left addressed us. “Hey, Hades.” She gave me a flirtatious wave. Her eyes shifted back to Damien. “Hey.”

It took me a second to recognize them. We’d been on a double date before. Or a double fuck…that was more accurate. They were both nice girls, so I was nice back. “How are things?”

“Good.” The first brunette turned her eyes back on me. “A little cold for my liking, but I’ll survive. You two look like you’re having a heated conversation. We’ll swing by later.” She winked and walked away with her friend.

I forgot about them the second they were gone. “What good news?”

Damien’s eyes watched them for a long time, his mind in the gutter and far away from this conversation. When they disappeared into the bathroom, he finally paid attention to me. “That the kid belongs to you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How did you know that?”

Damien rested his fingers on his glass as he considered a response. “Ash told me.”

I’d mentioned it in passing to him the other day. Since they worked together, that was plausible.

“Well, I’m happy for you.”

I gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. I wanted to say more, but I was still so livid with him. When hatred grew to indifference, that meant the relationship was beyond saving. Right now, I just hated him…and I couldn’t stop. I blamed him for everything.

“You’ll be a good father.”

“Are we done here?” I didn’t want to have these kinds of conversations anymore. It was a conversation between friends, not adversaries.

Damien couldn’t stop the hurt from entering his face. “Only business, huh?”

“Yes. Business only.”

Damien looked like he was going to slam the glass down and shatter it. Rage filled his eyes, and he writhed in silence. Then he stood up abruptly, prepared to depart. “I’m done apologizing to you. I’m sorry about what happened. But you need to take responsibility for what happened too. If you really wanted to settle down and have a quiet life, you should’ve left. But you didn’t. Don’t put that shit on me.”

I should have gone home, but Damien’s final words continued to echo in my mind. The loud music muffled my thoughts but didn’t silence them altogether. My hand was wrapped around the glass, and I stared at the contents, unsure what drink I was on. Alone, I sat in the bar like I had no one to go home to.