SWNOVELS Out Of The Shadows (HADES): Chapter 16
Lillian and Ethan were watching the chaos around them. When everything was ready, Hope turned to Jessie and the others, “Who are those men?”
Jessie smiled sadly. “Those are the men Lucifer trained and worked with over the years.” Reaching up she began rubbing her arms. “He hasn’t spoken to many of them in a long time. They all told him if he ever needed them to just pick up the phone and they would be there for him.”
“And they all came didn’t they?” Luna whispered.
Jessie nodded. “He really didn’t know if they would or not. As soon as he heard Boomer’s voice, he knew they would come just like they promised. They all saw him at his worst after the boys were rescued from their captivity and that’s wasn’t pretty.”
“What happened?” Hope asked.
Jessie shook her head. “Lucifer and three other men survived an ambush and were taken hostage by some rebels. They were dragged to a village the rebels held and for four months survived torture and the threat of death every day. When they were rescued, Lucifer couldn’t bear the touch of any human. He struggled with that through months of therapy and because of his PTSD, the Army released him. He came here and started the MC. This is his family farm and he brought his friends here too.”
Hope smiled slightly. “Well, I’m glad he can bear touch again.”
Jessie smiled. “Oh, he couldn’t until Jinx hauled me here. He dumped me on the floor at Lucifer’s feet then turned and walked out. I was the first person Lucifer had touched in over five years. It’s still a struggle for him to reach out and touch someone else but he’s getting better.”
“Charlie,” Lillian called out. “I just remembered something.”
Charlie looked around at the other women and asked, “What is it?”
“The guy’s jacket.”
“His jacket?” Charlie frowned. “What about it?”
“He was wearing a jacket when he grabbed me but the moment we got to the old church, he tore it off and threw it to the ground. He complained the smell of it was making him sick. It did reek horribly and I forgot that until just now.”
“What difference does that make?” Hope asked looking from one to the other and then back at Charlie again.
Lillian opened the blanket someone had wrapped her in when she first got here. Her work uniform was stained and dirty from the smoke and grime but she held out her arm. “Take a whiff.”
Charlie came forward and sniffed her clothing. Making a face, he backed away quickly. He looked around at the women and smiled. “I know where that bastard is.” Then he rushed out of the room heading down the hall toward the room they called Church.
Hope looked at Jessie and the others. “What’s going on?”
“There’s one place in this town that nobody goes too,” Lilian replied. “It’s a series of storage tunnels build into the hills. When this town was born, it used to be a place where dry goods were traded and using the river system a place where people came to, to get supplies for the winter. The tunnels in town were blocked off years ago when they became unstable due to modern conveniences like running water lines and electric cables through the city. Due to underground seepage from the water tables, the tunnels stink really bad with mold and other icky stuff. The locals know enough to stay away from them but your man wouldn’t know about that.”
Hope shuddered. “He’s not my anything.”
Jessie put her arm around Hope’s shoulder and hugged her. “You know she didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know.” Hope smiled as she patted Jessie’s arm.
Luna left for a moment then returned with some clean clothes, a towel and some shampoo. She walked over to Lillian and suggested a shower. Lillian jumped off the chair so fast Luna jumped back. Laughing a bit, she led the other woman down the hall to a bathroom where she could clean up.
The double door of the room known as Church opened up and the men walked down the hall to the kitchen.
Jessie smiled while grabbing the coffee pot. “Get ready ladies, here they come.”
Four men broke away from the group and entered the kitchen. Each one moved over to their own women and wrapped their arms around them.
Lucifer grabbed Jesse up as she smiled. He whispered something in her ear and she giggled.
Aries embraced Luna. She slapped at him as she held a plate in her hand, offering it to him.
Demon strode over to his woman and grinned.
Shiloh handed him a cup of coffee.
Hades wrapped his huge arms around Hope and pulled her close to him. “How you doing baby?” he whispered in her ear.
“I’d be doing so much better if Drake were dead.”
“We know where he is now, it won’t be long,” he assured her.
“Don’t underestimate this guy. What if he doesn’t go back to the tunnels?” she asked.
“Then we’ll hunt his dumb ass down but we’ll still take him out.” He looked out into the main room. “These guys…” He nodded at the men. “Those guys are the best of the best. They won’t stop until they find him.”
She snuggled closer to him and breathed deeply. His scent was the only thing that made her feel happy.
“What are you doing?” Hades asked her with a chuckle.
“Smelling you.”
He raised his brows at her. “Why? Do I smell that bad?”
Hope shook her head. “No you smell that good.”
“I smell good?”
She nodded. “Your scent is… I don’t know what it is about it but it wraps me up and becomes a shield of comfort for me. With you, I know nothing can ever hurt me again. I love the way you smell.”
Hades felt his throat swell a bit. Her words had touched him deep in his soul. This tiny woman was making him a blubbering mess. He hugged her tighter for a moment then looked down at her. Meeting her eyes, he smiled gently. “I know what you’re saying. Holding you makes me whole. I love how you fit me just right.”
“Does that mean I can keep you?”
“You’d better because I’m keeping you.” He leaned down and gently kissed her lips.
Hope groaned and tried to deepen the kiss but Hades pulled away at the last minute. “Sorry little one, we don’t have time for that. But when this is over, you can bet I’ll take whatever you got to give me.”