Chapter 49

49

When Persephone woke the next morning, paper crackled under her hand. Hades was gone but his pillow still bore his crisp scent. He’d left a note.

Angel, I have business tonight. Don’t wait up. When I return, I’ll make it up to you. —Hades

She pressed her lips to the bold strokes that made the ‘M’. He didn’t sign it love, but she felt it all the same.

Persephone flopped dramatically back onto the bed, her hair floofing all around her. Her hands came to her face. She wasn’t sure she actually believed last night really happened. He loved her? But when she shifted, the aches in her body confirmed that yes, the night before had indeed not been just her imagination.

She’d never seen so much in his storm grey eyes before as when he told her he loved her. She’d always seen Hades as the epitome of control before. To the point of stoic and unfeeling.

But she saw the truth now. He felt so much. He was a hurricane in a bottle. Leashed chaos. Just like the city he held so tightly in his fist. Only in their lovemaking did she get a glimpse of it. For a moment, the lid came uncapped and she saw what he couldn’t hide—at his core, he was a singularly emotional being.

When he hated, he hated so virulently he’d tear whole cities apart to exact his revenge. And when he loved…

She grinned, happiness hanging over her with the hazy morning light. Well, noon light, because when she looked at the clock, she saw it was almost twelve. She was tempted to stay in bed, lounging and reliving the delicious moments of last night, but the joy singing through her pulled her to the closet where she tossed on jeans and a t-shirt, then applied minimal makeup. She’d take it easy today, to be ready when Hades returned. I’ll make it up to you.

But then she frowned. She had other things to talk to Hades about when he got back, though. There was still so much she needed to tell him. About Eurydice. About Aphrodite. He’d help her find them, she knew he would. Ajax was no match for her husband.

She sat up and reached for her phone. Only to find it was dead. A few minutes of scrounging around in her purse and she found the charger, then plugged it in.

She pressed the buttons to wake it up but it took a while to be able to use once it was completely dead. And she wouldn’t be able to do anything until Hades got back later anyway, so she decided to go for a walk.

Not that the Shades guarding the doors downstairs looked happy about it when she tried to leave. When she arched an imperious brow at them and asked, “Shall I tell my husband you’re trying to imprison me in my own house?” they were quick enough to move out of the way.

They didn’t look happy, but they parted to let her through.

“Stay away from the perimeter,” they warned.

“I will,” she promised. Easy enough. The grounds were extensive and well-kept, with giant oaks and neatly trimmed green grass. A dark forest surrounding the Estate hid its occupants from the busy world outside.

Persephone couldn’t imagine Hades growing up here, a little boy playing with wooden toys or a rubber ball. Well, she couldn’t imagine Hades as a little boy at all. He seemed so solemn and powerful, sprung fully formed from his father’s head. Born to run Gino Ubeli’s business and grow it to the point where he owned everyone in the city, and through them, everything.

She was too light and happy to dwell on gloomy thoughts for long, though, so she forgot them and browsed around a cluster of rhododendrons. The grounds were quiet, even for the Estate. She found a path and walked leisurely along it as light filtered through the tall oak trees overhead.

About fifteen minutes later, she frowned when she saw a roof peeking out from the huge trunks ahead. The path did twist and turn. Was she already coming back around to the house?

She continued forward curiously. Oh! It wasn’t the house at all. The building was large, though, square and fronted with high columns and stone lions. It was like a structure from Roman antiquity had been transported here.

What was this place? With hushed reverence, she tiptoed to the open door. A few dried leaves had blown in but the marble was cool and gleaming, without a trace of mold or dirt. Someone kept this place clean.

As soon as her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she gasped. Three stone coffins stood in a row. Heart thudding softly, she crept close enough to read the names carved into the marble slabs. Ambrogino Ubeli. Domenica Ubeli. Hades’s father, Gino. And his mother.

She knew the name on the final coffin before she read it. Chiara Ubeli. A weeping angel stood above the tomb, its hands covering its stone face. Forever mourning the atrocities wrought on the girl buried here. By Persephone’s own family—her uncles and mother.

“I’m sorry,” Persephone whispered. She wished she had better words, some sort of prayer. Prayers should be the only words spoken here. She retreated, taking in the three sarcophagi.

Her heart ached, but not for them. No, they were at peace. She hurt for her husband, who’d buried them here and grieved them. He’d only been a teen when he lost them but he grieved them still. Some losses you never got over.

For the first time, she realized just how alone Hades was. He had no one but Charon and his Shades. And now her. No wonder he was so possessive. She’d hang on desperately to those she cared about, too, if everyone who loved her had died.

As she drifted closer to Chiara’s coffin, she frowned at smudges on the edge of the stone lid. The pattern made her glance at the floor, but no, there were no marks there.

Of course not. There was no reason for any marks on the floor, which was well scrubbed and polished until gleaming. The marks on the coffin must have been missed when whoever cleaned this place last came through.

But it nagged at the back of her mind, because the marks almost looked like…like fingerprints—desperate, grabbing fingers along with the spatter on the dark wall. It couldn’t be. But the faded rust color couldn’t be mistaken for anything but what it was.

Blood.

She took a step back.

“You can’t be around here, Mrs. Ubeli,” a Shade’s voice echoed behind her, making her shriek.

“Gods,” she gasped, clutching her chest. She backed away, trembling.

The Shade was young, almost as young as she was, and he looked dreadfully uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Ubeli, but you need to come away now. Your husband wouldn’t like you here.”

Head bowed, she hurried out.

There was plenty of space in the mausoleum for more stone coffins. At least two more. One for Hades...and one for her.

She shivered and shook her head to dispel the morbid thought. Not for a long time, she told herself firmly. After a good, long lifetime of love.

But she hurried across the lawn and didn’t stop until she reached her room. No wonder Hades wanted to keep her here, safe.

When she got back to her room, she immediately went for her phone.

There was a missed call from Hermes. Several new text messages from a few numbers. Hermes’s texts popped up first, in shouty caps: OH MY GODS ARE U OK? WHERE ARE U?

Cradling her phone, she texted rapidly. I’m fine. At the Ubeli Estate.

Her phone blipped immediately with his reply. I was so worried. News reported shooting! What happened?

We’re fine. We were in the back. Didn’t see anything. She paused, deliberating on what to say next. Hades is handling.

After a pause, Persephone watched the dots indicating Hermes was typing. They just kept flashing and flashing until finally Hermes returned: So much going on, but wanna say I’m so fucking sorry for the other day. I woke up remembering everything. I was messed up. Didn’t know what I was doing.

Persephone shook her head as her thumbs flew over the keyboard. Don’t even think about that. It was just an act. To keep Ajax from discovering me. And I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to put you in that position.

Maybe. But I’m glad you didn’t go alone. And then: Have you talked to Hades about it? Wanting to help the girl? You can’t keep it from him.

Persephone’s chest tightened. But no, it would be fine. Hades would understand. He had to. Soon. I’m going to.

Nothing for a second, and then the dots came back and finally Hermes’s next text. Ok. Really glad you’re okay. I’m about to go into a meeting but talk more soon? Come have a spa day with that gorgeous friend of yours?

Persephone typed back a laughing face emoji and: For sure.

Then Persephone moved on to the next message. She didn’t recognize the number but it was a picture message and curious, she clicked on it.

And then screeched and dropped the phone on the bed.

“Aphrodite,” she gasped and reached for the phone again. Persephone brought it close to her face and looked at the picture of her friend.

Aphrodite had been beaten, that was clear. Her face, her beautiful heart shaped face was beaten black and blue. Her left eye was swollen shut and blood from her temple poured down the side of her face. Her head hung back, slack, and Persephone didn’t even know if she was conscious. If she was alive.

There was a message underneath the picture. Call me. If you tell your husband, she dies.

Persephone’s hands were trembling so hard she could barely manage to keep hold as she dialed the number and lifted the phone to her ear.

The phone rang three times before he picked it up. Ajax’s smarmy, self-satisfied voice came over the line. “Are you alone?”

“Yes.” Persephone tried to make her voice cold but she couldn’t quite shake her tremors. “Let me talk to Aphrodite.”

“Oh, so you do know this little cunt. And here she was swearing up and down she had no clue who you were or how that picture of you got on her phone camera. Even after I had my boys work her over.”

Persephone’s eyes sank closed and her body curled in on itself. The picture Aphrodite had taken of her outside the restaurant the first day they met. Of course Ajax had taken Aphrodite’s phone. Persephone put a hand to her forehead.

“What do you want?”

“Five million dollars. Delivered by you personally.”

Persephone let out a strangled noise. “You’re crazy. Where am I supposed to get my hands on?—”

“Well you better figure it out. Aphrodite’s already endured a beating for you. I’d hate to see what would happen next if I really let my men have their way with her. But if you don’t care about her, then I guess?—”

“Stop!” Persephone jumped to her feet and paced the length of the room, looking out the windows as she went. “Fine. I’ll get it but it will take some time. Maybe a few days?—”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?” Persephone squeaked, her voice going high-pitched. “You can’t be serious. That’s impossible!”

“Then I guess your friend doesn’t mean very much to you after all. She’s dead if you don’t get me that money personally. It’s tonight or never. I’ll see you around, Mrs. Ubeli.”

“Tonight then. What time? Where?” Gods, what was she doing?

“Eight o’clock on the dot. Underneath the statue of Atlas in the park.”

“I need proof that they’re alive. Let me talk to Aphrodite.”

“I’ll be seeing you, Persephone.”

The line went dead. Son of a?—

Persephone looked around frantically, needing to do something but not knowing where to start. Hades. She needed Hades. He would know what to do.

She reached for her phone but then froze.

She couldn’t call Hades, even if he had his phone on, which he probably didn’t. He’d been lining up everything for the shipment for months. She couldn’t screw that up.

And if she told Charon, he wouldn’t help her, he’d only try to get in touch with Hades. And he definitely wouldn’t let her go to the meet.

She huffed out a breath. Because she couldn’t do nothing.

Aphrodite was only in this mess because of her. She’d screwed everything up and she had to try to fix it.

“Think. Think.” She looked back down at her phone. Which was when she noticed the other message she hadn’t yet opened. It was from Athena. Quickly, she tapped her thumb on the message so that it popped up.

It was just two words but Persephone knew immediately Athena was talking about Eurydice’s phone: “Cracked it.”

Persephone immediately dialed her.

“Good work. Anything useful?”

“Holding your applause to the end, hmmm? Let me see here…the last thing here is a text to Orpheus. Saying she’s almost done with moving out. Then a text from a person named Ashley.”

“Ashley? Are you sure?” Persephone thought of the redhead in the concert hall.

“That’s the name. The text reads, Need to meet you. Orchid House, 1 pm. That’s it.”

Ashley couldn’t have texted her that. She was dead by then. Persephone explained this to Athena.

“Then whoever has Ashley’s phone knew her well enough to unlock the password and send it. Or this is the first case of ghost texting ever.”

“Ajax.”

“All roads lead to this guy. It’s kinda getting boring.” Persephone could hear Athena reach into a bag and eat a handful of chips.

“Athena, listen. Ajax has Aphrodite…my friend.”

“The dancer that Hermes won’t shut up about?”

“Yes. She’s probably with Eurydice. We need to get them out. But first I have to find them.”

There was a short silence on the other end. “Well, I might be able to help with that.”

“What? What did you find?” Hope rose in Persephone. “You know where they are?”

“Not completely. I got a partial address.” Athena gave her the cross streets. “It’s somewhere close to that intersection.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Now that Persephone knew where Ajax was holding the girls, she didn’t have to wait for the meet up in the park where he would undoubtedly try to double-cross her. He had no incentive to actually bring the girls and she knew it was a trap.

But if she could surprise him…

“What are you thinking about doing?” Athena’s voice came over the phone. Persephone had forgotten she was still on the line. “Because you better not even think about leaving me behind,” Athena continued.

Persephone’s eyes fell shut. Was she really considering doing this? By herself? Or well, with Athena, but it wasn’t like either of them were master spies. Or trained mobsters. Ajax was ruthless and he’d surrounded himself with the sort of men who’d happily beat up a woman, and worse.

It would be dangerous and Hades would be furious with her. But he’d be gone all night and Aphrodite and Eurydice didn’t have that kind of time.

So Persephone made the decision that needed to be made. “Okay, Athena, I need you to pick me up. The park by Roman road—as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting.”

“Ok. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we’re doing this! It’s so exciting!” That was one word for it. But Athena hung up before Persephone could caution her about her enthusiasm.

Then Persephone laid back down on the bed. There was one last phone call to make.

She reached underneath the mattress and pulled out the card that she’d thought about throwing away so many times. She still wasn’t sure if she was glad she still had it or not.

Dialing the number, even now she didn’t know if she was making a mistake. She prayed she wasn’t. She prayed her gambles tonight would pay off and when Hades eventually learned all she’d done…some part of him would be proud, even if he’d be furious at her for how she went about it.

“Yeah,” answered Pete the cop, sounding supremely bored.

Persephone bristled. “You’re only interested if there’s a big bust to be made, right? Well, listen up because I’ve got one that will make headlines. But you need to do exactly what I say.”