Out Of The Shadows (HADES) (Whiskey Bend MC Series, Book #4)

Demon stopped his truck about half a block from Harper’s house.

The neighborhood was quiet, almost too quiet. Hades got a cold chill in his soul as his eyes took in every detail of his surroundings.

This was the same feeling he’d gotten in the woods tonight when he first noticed the disturbance. He knew this Drake was out there somewhere. When Demon would have opened his door, Hades reached out and grabbed his arm.

Demon glanced at him and frowned. “What is it?” he asked lowly.

“He’s already here, somewhere near the house,” Hades whispered.

“How do you know that?” Aries asked with a frown.

“I can feel him.” Hades said as he looked carefully around the area.

“You can feel him?” Aries asked looking over at Demon. He saw the other man nod, then looked back at Hades.

Hades wasn’t paying attention to the other two men in the truck, instead he was staring at the house where this Harper lived. Part of him was searching for where the killer could be hidden and the other part of him was looking for a way inside without being seen. His trained eyes saw way the place had been constructed and from that, he could see different ways into and out of the house. He could also see places where a grown man could hide and not be seen until it was too late to stop him.

Hades eyes narrowed when he saw a movement from the bushes at the side of the house. The shadows moved slightly and Hades turned to the others. “He’s making his move. Three o’clock and moving toward the backdoor.” He motioned toward the house. “I’m going in through the front window and hopefully, I’ll get to her before he can. You guys stay out here and stop him in case he gets past me.” Hades opened the door and disappeared before they could even move,

Then Demon and Aries moved into place.

Moving stealthy, he crossed her lawn and quickly shimmed up to the second floor balcony. Pausing beside the window, he silently lifted the window and slipped inside.

Moving down the hall, he heard the sounds of the backdoor opening. Ducking into one of the bedrooms, he heard the low growl of a dog. He dropped to his knees and snapped his fingers. The dog crept out of the darkness and came to him. Hades held out his hand and let the dog sniff his fingers before he reached out and petted the animal. Then he moved closer to the bed.

The moonlight from outside lit the small room with a soft glow and as he crept closer to the bed he spotted the woman lying there sleeping, not knowing she was in mortal danger. He heard a footstep start up the stairs. But so did the dog. Hades hushed the animal and reached down to cover the woman’s mouth. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, “Don’t scream, I’m not here to hurt you but there’s someone in your house. If you want to live nod your head.”

~* * * *~

Hope’s eyes flew open when she felt a hand cover her mouth. She thought about struggling but whoever was in her bedroom blocked her moves. When she heard his soft whispered words, her heart began to pound in her chest. She looked up into his eyes and found she couldn’t look away.

He half lifted her out of the bed and pushed her against the wall. Bringing his face closer to hers he whispered again, “Don’t make a sound. No matter what you may hear, do not make a sound. He’s looking for you.”

Hope grabbed his jacket and whispered, “Be careful, he carries a knife.”

He hesitated then nodded before he disappeared into the shadows.

The next thing Hope felt was Chloe’s wet nose as she nudged her further into the corner. Hope slid down the wall and hugged her dog as the tension grew.

She heard the sounds of a struggle outside her bedroom and she pulled Chloe closer to her as big fat tears rolled down her face. She whimpered but didn’t cry out loud. She jumped when she heard the sound of someone being slammed into the wall next to her. A picture fell and struck her in the shoulder and all she could do was hug Chloe a bit harder. Next, she jumped when she heard a gunshot then running footsteps.

A few minutes later, her door opened and a big man came inside her room. The shadows hid his face but she felt he was the same man that awoke her before the trouble began. “Is he gone?” she whispered softly.

“Come on we have to get you to a safe place,” he grumbled.

“But—” Hope began to argue but he wouldn’t have it.

“But nothing woman, you’re coming with me right now.” He growled. “I’m not leaving you behind.” He leaned down and hauled her to her feet. The moment he touched her they both felt a shock, almost like an electrical shock rush through both their bodies. He took a step back his eyes wide. Then he frowned and reached for her again. The shock was still there but this time he ignored it as he swung her into his arms. He called out, “Come dog,” and carried her down the stairs and out of the house.

Hope’s eye widened. Chloe never listened to anyone but her. Who was this man?

~* * * *~

Hades heard the fear in her voice and it made him angry. Not at her, but at the situation she was in. Something about this woman touched his soul in a way nothing had ever done before. And he had yet to see her face in the daylight. Everything inside him called out not to leave her behind and he always listened to that little voice inside him.

When they got out the front door, they found Demon and Aries standing there. Aries was cradling his right arm and both men were mad as hell. “That mother fucker got away. He came out of the house and slashed Aries on his way to the woods.”

Hades nodded and carried Harper over to the truck. Settling her in the backseat, he could finally see her features in the dim light. Her red hair framed her face but what caught him were her deep green haunted eyes. Their eyes locked and something shifted in him. It wasn’t just messing up this killer’s plans like he’d thought to do before. Now he felt this was what he was supposed to do. Protect this woman.

Their moment was shattered when her dog jumped up next to her. She leaned against Hope and watched the men standing around the truck with careful eyes.

“Come on brother, we have to get back,” Demon stated. “Aries need medical attention and she needs to get somewhere safe.”

Hope groaned and leaned toward Hades’ chest. Then suddenly, she was up and pushed further along the back seat. Hades climbed in and sat beside her, wrapping his huge arm around her shoulder. With him on one side and Chloe on the other side, Hope could hardly move.

Moments later, the truck took off down the street.

~* * * *~

Hope closed her eyes and leaned against the man sitting next to her. For the first time in five years, she felt completely safe. She realized she didn’t even know this guy’s name but right now, that little detail didn’t matter. All that mattered was he was here with her. She could feel his strength and know that he wouldn’t let anything or anybody hurt her.

A few minutes later, she felt the truck turn and then they were climbing a hill. She closed her eyes not even caring where they were taking her. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled his scent of fresh air and clean breezes with just a hint of pine. She couldn’t really explain it any other way. Snuggling in a little deeper, she sighed in contentment as the drive wound its way up the hill to the top of the bluff. The fear she’d felt earlier was slowly leaving her but it was something she’d lived with now for five very long years. She knew it would never go away until the man who hunted her was gone. She could never forget what he did to her five years ago, she would carry those scars until the day she died.

The terror she lived with every day since her attack was always present floating around in the back of her mind. Changing her name and place of residence had helped for a little while but he knew where she was now. Would she have to leave here and set up yet another life somewhere new?

She opened her eyes and looked down at the man holding her. Looking up at his face, she found him looking back at her.

When the truck pulled to a stop, Hope was able to pull away from the hold he had on her. She peeked out the window and found herself looking around the compound. There were men coming and going. The main building was huge and was well lit from the inside. There were two rows of bikes in the parking lot. Along with several other vehicles including a police cruiser. Hope sighed with a little relief. Charlie would be able to tell her more about what was going on.

She scooted along the seat when the giant got out of the truck. Chloe jumped down and stayed beside her as the men led the way to the clubhouse. As soon as she stepped through the doorway, she felt the tension in the room. She looked around and saw anger and hostility in their faces and she felt it was directly pointed at her.

The man who’d saved her grabbed her hand and walked her over to the table where an even larger man and the others sat at.

Charlie got up and went to hug her but her savior growled and pushed her behind him.

Charlie frowned and looked at him then turned his head to look at large man at the table.

He narrowed his eyes at the action then shrugged when he met Charlie’s eyes. Looking back at her companion he said, “I see you got the girl, Hades.” He raised a brow at the double meaning.

~* * * *~

Hades nodded at his president. “We did but barely in time. The bastard was just getting into her house when we got there. I got to her first and was waiting for him. I faced him in the hallway but the he got away, he’s carrying a round from my gun in his shoulder but he slashed his way through Aries and took off, using the woods as cover for his escape.”

Lucifer paused then nodded. “Doc can patch him up.” He got to his feet and called everyone to attention. “We need a roving patrol in the woods, I want you to double up so he can’t pick you off one on one, this dumbass used one of the caves to hide in. So we know he’s been here before, otherwise he wouldn’t know about them. He left the kid there to die and he’s been thwarted in his mission. He may come back here if he knows about the caves, not everyone does. He’s also wounded and that makes him even more dangerous. Stay alert because he won’t hesitate to slit your throat if he sees you.”

The men began leaving two by two until there were very few of them left inside.

When the dust settled, Lucifer motioned at the table and offered Hades and Harper a chair. Hades sat down first and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he held her in place when she would have moved away to her own chair.

She turned her head to frown at him.

He smiled and whispered, “Deal with it sweetheart.”

Instead of saying anything, she turned back to stare at the other men at the table. Meeting each of them eye to eye, she finally turned to Charlie. “What happened to the promise you made me five years ago? You said if I came here, changed my name and my life he would never find me.”

“I know I did, and I believed that. Apparently, I was wrong. I’m so sorry,” Charlie admitted.

“Charlie has been filling us in on your story,” Lucifer interjected. “This killer who has called himself Drake has been trying to find you since you left Chicago five years ago.”

Harper nodded. “I wasn’t the only one he attacked five years ago. Three other women died by his hands around that same time. I heard before he left the area seven people altogether were his victims. The night he came after me, he told me I was special to him. He made it almost seem like an honor that he chose me out of all the women in the city.”

“He spoke to you?” Lucifer frowned.

Harper nodded. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she told them, “He broke into my apartment that night. I was sleeping and before he woke me up, he’d crawled into bed with me. He held me down and placed his hand over my mouth. When I woke up, he had a knife to my throat. He whispered in my ear that if I screamed he would kill me straight away. He gagged me at that point and tied me up. I couldn’t escape but I also knew he was going to kill me and that’s when I got pissed. All my life I’ve been helpless, I’ve either been too young to make my own decisions or people have assumed they knew better what I needed. I read his eyes that night and if he was going to kill me, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. I began thrashing around on the bed, screaming as loud as I could. I think I startled him because he tried to stop me but I wasn’t going to be stopped. We wrestled around and the bed banged the wall several times. I could hear my neighbor getting pissed about being woke up. She was an old bitch but I knew if I could make her mad, she would call the police. She finally called the police and although he’d stabbed me three times already and we were both covered in blood when they broke into my apartment I was still alive.” She turned to Caden. “When he appeared in the door to my bedroom the guy got off me and tried to get out the bedroom window. Caden got a shot off but I don’t think it hit him. He and his partner ran after the bastard but he got away. I heard later that Charlie was staying just down the road and when he heard the gunshots he came running out of his room.”

“I saw this guy running down the street,” Charlie took up the story. “His clothes were covered in blood and he was still holding the knife in his hand. His eyes were wide and crazy looking. Before I knew what was going on, I tried to stop him. I shot him. I thought he went down but when I looked toward the area he’d come from then looked back and he was gone.”

“The next thing I knew,” Harper began speaking again. “I was in the hospital fighting for my life. The police stood at my door and the doctors were telling me I was a lucky woman. They told me I was the only one of this killer’s victims that survived.” She paused and swallowed hard. “When I was released I was ready to run.” Looking over at Charlie she admitted, “Charlie told me to settle in a new place under a new name and just keep my head down. When I asked him where would I go, he suggested I come here to Whiskey Bend.”

“Harper, this isn’t your fault,” Charlie assured her. “In fact, we’d assumed he was dead all these years. I truly never thought he’d track you down to this small town.”

Harper narrowed her eyes at him. “My real name is Hope Madden. I am not now, nor have I ever been Harper Mallory. Harper Mallory is the name you chose to call me and I’ve hated it for so long. I’m not going to hide who I really am now. That bastard found me and came after me again. Hiding is no longer an option, so please don’t call me Harper anymore.”

Hades leaned in closer to her. Then he whispered in her ear, “I like the real you. Hope, yeah that suits you better than Harper.”

She leaned back and rested on him. For a moment, his arms hugged her tighter before he released her. “Ok, so now what?”

Lucifer glared at her. “Now we hunt this motherfucker down and end his reign of terror once and for all.”

“And if you can’t find him?” she asked as she trembled.

Hades felt her shaking and held her closer. “We won’t fail. This guy will never get close to you again,” he vowed.

Lucifer glared as he spoke in a quiet but deadly tone, “He won’t get away again, I can promise you that. He came to play on the wrong damn playground this time.”