Page 22 of Hades

Travis snorts. “I mean, he probably has more blood on his hands than you do, babe.”

“Don’t take his side. You’re supposed to be my best friend.”

“Why don’t you just fuck him and get it over with? The tension between you two is enough to make me need to go home and rub one out,” he jokes.

“Gross.” I toss a pen at him. “I do not want to fuck him.”

“Oh, come on. All those muscles all sweaty. His strong hands rubbing down your body. Imagine how that tongue would feel between your legs.”

“If you have a crush on him, I can pass along your information. I don’t know if he swings that way, but it’s worth a shot.”

He glares at me. “That’s not my point. I would gladly jump on him if I thought he was interested, but he only has eyes for you.”

“Because my brother told him to. You know what, I’m going home. Fuck you and your charts.”

“That’s right. You go be brave and face your biker man. I’m proud of you,” he says, clapping dramatically.

“Shut up.”

I go to leave, but he calls my name.

“Evelyn…”

I turn back to face him.

“Kill him with kindness. He enjoys your anger, so don’t give it to him. Be nice. Maybe he will lose interest.”

“That’s the advice I needed. Thank you. Love you. Bye.”

I leave him behind to go find my stalker. He’s right where I knew he would be. He doesn’t push his way into employee-only areas, but I know they have Trigger monitoring the cameras, and Hades is always at the closest access point to him.

“Ready to go?” I ask him.

He nods, standing.

I let him follow me out to my car, then I wait for him to get on his bike to follow me. The entire way home, I formulate a plan. Kill him with kindness. I’ll make him dinner, and we can watch television without all the tension.

He tests my patience the second we step through the door.

“You’re out of toothpaste. I meant to tell you this morning.”

Of course I am. He did it on purpose to get a rise out of me, but I take a deep breath.

“No worries. I’ll grab some in a little bit. I’m actually hungry. Do you want to have dinner with me?”

He frowns. “Are you going to put rat poison in it?”

“No. Why would I try to kill you when you’re protecting me?”

He snorts. “Princess, you have threatened to kill me every day since I met you. It’s not a stretch.”

“Well, I’m starting to see the benefits of having you around. Pembrooke hasn’t been much of an issue with you always popping up.”

“He’s a fucking creep. He watches you when you walk away,” he grunts.

“Are you saying you don’t?”

I expect him to deny it, but he only smirks. “Of course I do, but I’m not creepy about it.”