Page 83 of Hades

“Aren’t you a little young to be holding those?” Tara quips.

Harlee rolls her eyes. “Please, like you didn’t drink when you were my age.”

I hold out my cup of tea. “Vodka.”

Natalie eyes me with concern but doesn’t say anything as Harlee adds some liquor to my glass. When she’s done, I bring it to my lips and take a sip.

“Fun fact, whatever tea Lainey made goes well with vodka,” I tell them.

“Good to know. Here, have a lemon curd cookie,” Lainey says as she slides the cookie my way.

“Thank you.”

She nods as I take a bite. I can’t help but sigh as the flavors hit my tongue.

“This is good.”

“I’m glad.” Lainey smiles.

“So…I think we should kill Dansworth,” Tara says randomly.

“Tara,” Kaitlyn warns.

Tara shakes her head. “No, I’ve known Evelyn the longest and know she’s not the type to be coddled. She’s a woman of action, and I think we should take matters into our own hands.”

“It’s not a bad idea. He wouldn’t expect a woman to take him out,” Harlee muses as she takes a bite of one of the treats.

Tara nods. “Exactly and imagine if it was Natalie. He wouldn’t see it coming.”

Natalie’s face reddens. “I can’t kill a man.”

Tara rolls her eyes. “Please, I’ve seen you fight my man. You train every day and are a badass. You could do it. Or one of us could.”

“I’m sure Kaitlyn and Evelyn know several ways to kill from growing up in clubs and with Evelyn’s medical background. Hell, even I do,” Harlee adds.

She’s not wrong, but still.

“I took an oath to try and save everyone,” I remind them.

“The oath doesn’t mean shit right now, does it?” Harlee challenges.

“Guys, I don’t think we should be talking about this. The guys would be pissed if they heard us,” Lainey says quietly as she rubs her pregnant belly.

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them,” Tara says.

“Girls, while I love that you are trying to rally around my daughter, let’s keep the shadows from touching us and let the men handle the death,” a new voice says.

I spin so fast that tea goes over the side of my cup and onto my hand and legs.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” I ask, tears forming in my eyes once again.

She walks over and sits next to me, pulling me into her arms as Natalie takes my cup from me.

“Your brother called,” she says as she squeezes me tight.

“Reaper told you I needed you?” I smile at the thoughtfulness.

“I would love to give your brother all the credit, but I can’t. He told me it was Hades’ idea,” she says against my hair.