Page 55 of Hades’ Revenge

“Don’t start.”

“Romero has requested you meet with him tomorrow,” he said. “It might not be a bad idea.”

“He’s probably wondering what I’m doing in his town after all these years.” I couldn’t blame him. “He’s looking for reassurance that I’m not here to do a job that could interfere with his business.”

“That makes sense.”

“Set it up,” I said. “I’ll meet with him.”

“If you’re certain.”

“I’m going to be in the city for a few more days.” I couldn’t leave Capri here with the Lazaro family circling like a pack of wolves looking for their next victim. “It’s been too long since I’ve been away.”

“You stayed away for good reasons.”

“That was before.” I ran my finger around the rim of my glass. “Maybe it’s time to make new alliances.”

I had to reclaim my reputation. Leo had gotten away with destroying my character for far too long. Men like Romero deserved to know the truth, and if it knocked Leo down a notch, that only worked to my advantage.

“It’s probably time you ask yourself what you’re really doing here,” Atticus said.

I dropped down in the chair and leaned my head back. As I clutched the glass in my hand, I weighed my options.

Walk away and go back to my club. Forget about Leo and continue living in the world that I had created for myself. Doing an occasional job for prominent people and getting paid really well as I inflated my bank account. Or risk throwing everything away that I had built on a vendetta that I had reconciled years ago.

The answer should have been easy. But if I left all of this behind, where did that leave Capri?

Where does that leave me?

SIXTEEN

Capri

It had been twenty-four hours since I had last spoken to Sebastian. When my father stormed into the hotel lobby after his visit with Sebastian and didn’t say anything to me, I decided it might not have been the right time to state my case. I also didn’t think I should go back to Sebastian’s suite last night.

As I rode the elevator to his floor, I tried not to fill my head with negativity, but no matter how I spun this situation I found myself in, it never ended well.

How were we going to navigate a relationship when there was so much anger and tension between Sebastian and my father? The uphill battle wouldn’t be an easy victory, but something told me to keep fighting. There had to be a reason I had found Sebastian after all this time.

I knocked on the suite door before bending down to fix the buckle on my wedge sandal. When the door swung open, I glanced up, losing my balance and landing on my backside.

Sebastian, looking so put together in a custom black suit, tried to conceal a smirk as he extended his hand for me.

“If it isn’t my little stalker.” He tugged me up from the floor, drawing me into his chest with one swift motion. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

“I got tired of waiting for you to call me.” I wiggled out of his hold. “So I took matters into my own hands.”

“A girl who knows what she wants.” He slid his finger under the strap on my arm and swiped it back onto my shoulder much like he had the first night we met. “I find that incredibly sexy.” Creeping his fingers along my collarbone and to my neck, he traced them across my throat, helping me to abandon all the anxiety I had stored up these past few days.

“Hmm…” I bit the corner of my bottom lip. “Were you ever going to call me?”

“Do you think I would have come all this way and not called you?” He cupped the side of my face and dropped his gaze to my mouth. “I wanted to let things settle between you and your parents.”

“I’m not sure things will ever settle between us.”

“Don’t lose hope.” He touched his lips to mine, barely kissing me but creating enough heat between us that I thought I would combust at any moment. “Everything will work out.”

“How can you be so sure?”