13. Hades

Chapter 13

Hades

L istening to Markov drone on and on about what he didn't enjoy regarding the recent development was grating on my fucking nerves.

But I sat there with my stoic expression in place, acted like I was paying attention, and tried not to curl my lip in disgust that he conducted this business meeting at a fucking strip club, of all places.

We were in one of the back VIP rooms at the salacious strip joint Markov owned. I'd had to tell the women to get out because none of the other men were paying attention with all the half-naked asses on display.

These men might be criminals, using this recent development to launder their money, but this was still business. And business made money, so I let Markov call the shots… to an extent.

We should do this in a fucking office, not with tits and ass being shoved in our faces. I looked at Markov and Ivan as they kept talking about why they didn't like a particular aspect of the building.

The third Russian was too busy staring out the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass that overlooked the main floor of the strip club. It was clear the only thing on his mind was pussy.

Cronus Enterprises was the legitimate side of the business. That was what Zachariah and Michael had handled. The legal shit that had them front and center in the public eye. Me? I was just the piece-of-shit fake brother and son who had never been good enough to help run the "family business".

I had been given the seedy side of work. Money laundering, drug and illicit gun trafficking, and a host of other despicable things that no one else in our circles would have the stomach for.

And so I made a shell company. Cerberus Corp.

But things were different now. With Zachariah rotting in the ground, and Michael on his deathbed, I was in charge. I was Cronus Enterprise's.

I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, done with this shit. "Markov, does it really matter how big the square footage is for each room?" I finally said, unable to keep my annoyance down.

The three of them turned their attention to me. I knew who these men were—and not just because they were linked to the Bratva.

They were the type of males who were used to getting their way, and if they didn't, they shot bullets through skulls.

They were the type of people I worked with. The twisted underworld of humanity that I was most comfortable with. Because I'm just as dark and deprived as they are.

"Excuse me?" Ivan was the one to speak as he looked between me and his boss.

Markov slowly grinned, but it was far from pleasant.

I'd been working directly and only with Markov for months now, going over every detail of the development, discussing the illegal aspects. This project was nothing more than a shell company.

The other men that came with Markov? His lap dogs.

So I didn't even bother addressing or acknowledging Ivan. I stared at Markov and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to respond.

"Even if it's a hole in the fucking wall, you know we'll take care of your assets. And isn't that the entire point? Making more money and ensuring you don't lose any?"

That was all Markov cared about. That was all his bosses were worried about.

I wanted out of this fucking meeting. I wanted to get home to see Persephone.

Over the last few weeks, I'd been so busy with work I'd hardly seen my girl. I wasn't even counting sneaking into her room at night and watching her sleep.

But it wasn't just that reason that kept me away. She was messing with my head, making me second-guess what I really had planned for her. The more I saw her, thought about her, and listened to her sweet, sassy mouth snap back at me, the more I realized I didn't want to hurt her. Not like that. Not like I'd planned.

Breaking her until there was nothing left now made my gut wrench and my heart race.

And it fucking pissed me off.

So I made myself busy by taking these fucking meetings. I should have passed this bullshit off to someone beneath me. I thought it would have helped clear my head, but she was always on my mind. Being away from her made me think of Bunny even more.

All I could think about was when she talked back to me the last time I'd picked her up from school.

I'd wanted to bend her over the hood of my car, flip up the little, plaid skirt of her uniform, pull those cotton panties aside, and fuck her in front of everybody.

She'd be so tight, so snug, around my thick cock. I'd feel like she'd be strangling me. I nearly groaned at that image.

Markov was silent, watching me. He was used to people doing what he said with no questions. But my ass, my business, was on the line as well.

He knew I was the right man for this or he wouldn't have come to me. So I leaned back, grabbed my whiskey, and brought it to my mouth as I continued to stare at him. The room became tense as the men sitting on either side of him shifted uneasily.

Maybe they expected him to pull out that gun he had in the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Let him. I had one as well.

And then he tossed his head back and chuckled at the same time he slapped his knee, like what I'd just said was the funniest thing.

The men on either side of him relaxed slightly, but they still watched their Pakhan uneasily, waiting for a bomb to drop.

"You're right, Hades. You know best about these matters." He leaned back and held his hands out, palms up. "I like things to be aesthetically pleasing. What can I say…" He glanced at his two soldiers, grinning. "I like things my way." He laughed again.

No shit, motherfucker.

He started speaking to his soldiers in Russian as he leaned over the table again and looked at the blueprints I'd spread out.

Although I understood what he said perfectly, I didn't pay him any attention as he spoke to his men. The feeling of my phone vibrating in my pocket had me reaching in and grabbing it.

I saw Bruno's number flash across the screen, and instantly, I straightened. I had him on watch duty for my girl.

I didn't trust her safety one hundred percent with anyone but myself, but because I couldn't be there at all times, Bruno was the next best thing to protect her.

"Yeah."

"Boss. I just wanted to check in. She's left the house and went to a house party."

The beautiful brat . "Who's house party?" Although, I knew the answer even before I asked. Even if she'd done well to stay away from Trevor Wilcox, they were bound to run into each other.

I had enough people working for me in that school to let me know that she'd been focused on assignments and making new friends with some of the other girls there.

Her phone records also showed she hadn't been texting or calling him.

She probably thought I was being an overbearing asshole, and yeah, that stab of jealousy was bright and hot inside of me. But this was about more than that. Persephone didn't know the people who made up this world… the people who were closest to her.

If she knew the type of man Trevor's father was and the shit that I knew Trevor had done himself, she'd stay far away from him.

Scaring the hell out of her wasn't my intention. But maybe I should have just told her that Trevor Wilcox had a record an arm's length long for sexual misconduct and harassment and even a rape accusation that had gotten pushed under the rug thanks to Daddy Dearest.

Money and connections bought you a brand-new life and a clean slate.

"The little asshole's house. One of her girlfriends picked her up. I'm sitting in front of the house now. It's pretty packed, and I can't see her since she's gone inside. Do you want me to go in and bring her out?"

I rubbed my eyes and exhaled. It would be easy to have Bruno go in and haul that pretty ass of hers out, take her back to the house, and lock her in her room.

Nah. I wanted to be the one to do that. If she was going to get punished, I was, again, going to be the one to do it.

My cock jerked the very thought.

My little Bunny had this push and pull with me. It was a power struggle. Didn't she know I was at the top?

Didn't she understand, when it came to who was the dominant one, she'd never top me?

If not… she'd find out soon enough.

Persephone needed a good dose of discipline.

"No. I'm forty-five minutes away. I'm coming now. Stay there and watch her. If anything changes, call me right away."

I disconnected the phone and slipped it back in my pocket as I stood. Markov and his men glanced up.

"I have to cut the meeting short."

Markov pushed the blueprints away. "Fine with me. I was tiring of looking at these."

His accent grew thicker as he snapped his fingers. A second later, the VIP door opened, and three women sauntered in.

They turned the music on. Markov leaned back again, threw his arms over the back of the couch, spread his legs slightly, and grinned as one girl came over to him and started giving him a lap dance.

And that was my cue to get the fuck out of here and go get my girl.