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The others saw it as a courting gift, a way of balancing the scales. It helped that I was already developing a reputation in the Underworld and most of them liked me. Nine years later, and they still gravitate to me, but there’s a healthy dose of fear mixed in. I’m one small step down from Hades in their eyes, and they treat me with every respect and courtesy.

Hercules is quiet for a long moment, obviously processing. “It doesn’t seem like enough.”

I jerk away and sit up. “What?” Did he seriously just say that?

Hades isn’t looking at me now. He’s got a strange expression on his face, as if Hercules has done something delightful. “He hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade, little Hercules.”

I freeze. “Hades, you didn’t.”

Now he turns that look in my direction. “The terms were clear, love. If he attempted to come back to Carver City, I would ensure it never happened again.”

I remember that, of course. But no one crosses Hades. Surely Declan wasn’t stupid enough to try. I open my mouth to ask, but reconsider. Does it really matter? Hades’s hands aren’t clean. They haven’t been for the entirety of the time I’ve known him. They won’t be in the future either. Will knowing that he killed my ex make a difference?

Yes. Yes, it would.

“Did he come back?”

He doesn’t blink. “Yes.”

I can’t breathe. “When?”

“A week after he left. He attempted to slide back into his old role.” His eyes give me nothing. “He couldn’t get to me, so he blamed you for the broken bargain. I ensured he ceased to be a threat.”

That sounds like Declan. Even after all these years, I remember his rage. When we were first together, I was naive enough to think it was sexy. A man with emotions. I didn’t realize how toxic he was until it was far too late and I’d signed my life away. Declan never loved me. He loved that I loved him and he found me useful. Having me be the reason Hades turned on him must have driven him mad. Funny that I never stopped to consider it until now. I was too busy forcefully shucking off my innocence, shedding it like a skin that no longer fit. Declan was like all the other things in my past—something I wanted to leave behind and never think of again.

“You killed him.” Hercules still has that strange expression on his face, as if he can’t decide whether he’s horrified or not.

“I’ll do anything to protect those I love, little Hercules.” Hades doesn’t look away from my face. “Anything.”

“I get it,” Hercules says slowly. Now he’s looking at me, too, his expression contemplative. “Some people are worth protecting, no matter the cost.”

If I were a different person, I’d be running screaming from the room right now. Hades is a dangerous man and I knew that from the moment I met him. This information about Declan might be new, but it’s not surprising. For the first time, I’m realizing that Hercules is just as dangerous in a different way. He won’t play out a revenge scheme over the space of years, a spider in his web waiting for the unwary fly to come to him. No, Hercules will charge forth to do what he thinks is necessary with no thought to himself. He wouldn’t have waited for Declan to break the rules. He would have chased the man down and ensured he never got a chance to try.

I shouldn’t find that so sexy, either of these scenarios, but I’ve long since given up the concept of should.

Still, I can’t quite believe this is real. I take each of their hands and look down at them. “You mean it when you say you want this with us. Truly?”

“Yes.” Hercules doesn’t hesitate.

Hades lets me see him, lets me see exactly what he’s thinking for the first time in a long time. He planned this, yes, but he has his own reservations despite wanting this just as much as I’m afraid to. “Yes,” he says. He drags his thumb over my palm. “The question remains—do you?”

I laugh. I can’t help it. “It’s going to blow up in our faces.”

“No, it won’t.” Hercules sits up, and I’d have to be dead not to appreciate the way the muscles in his stomach flex when he does. “Come on, Meg. Let’s give it a shot.”

There’s really only one answer. There’s been only one answer from the moment I sat in that restaurant and Hades told me he wanted me to fuck a waiter. I look at Hercules and then Hades. Are they holding their breath the same way I am? I can’t be sure. I finally nod. “Yes. Let’s do this.”

Chapter 23

Hercules

I kiss Meg. It seems only right after her agreement. She barely lets me sink into the taste of her when she pushes me back to the bed. “Hades?”