Page 52 of Hades

I was a fool to think this was only ever about him protecting me. The signs have been there since the beginning. He chose to watch me because he wanted to. He refused to let others take his place because he wanted to be the one here for me.

Once I’m in bed, he turns off the light. I can hear him strip out of his pants before he comes to the bed, sliding in on the other side. I turn to face him, the moonlight the only thing illuminating his face.

“Tell me something real,” I whisper.

He turns toward me. “What do you want to know?”

I lick my lips. “What I really want to know is why you would betray your brother.”

He sighs. “Why do you think I did it?”

He is always so guarded. He thinks I’m judging him. He’s lived so long thinking everyone is judging him.

“A few months ago, I would have said it was because you were a dick. Now that I know you? I think there’s more to the story. There was a reason you needed to get yourself kicked out, or maybe it has to do with her? Whatever it was, you had a good reason.”

“You seem so sure,” he murmurs.

“I am. You’re a good man who does bad things. It doesn’t make you bad. It makes you human.”

“She had been trying to get me to sleep with her for months. Always when my brother wasn’t paying attention,” he admits.

“I assume you tried to tell him, but he was blinded by love. Am I right?”

He reaches out, running a finger down my face. “Yeah. So I took the best action I had to save him. I lost everything, but he didn’t marry her or make her his old lady. I’ll call it a win.”

“You are so selfless, and no one even knows.”

“Can’t ruin my badass reputation,” he jokes.

“What was it like being a nomad?” I ask.

“At first, lonely. I missed my brothers. I wanted to go home so many times, but I knew I wouldn’t be welcome. So I set off to explore the states. I even made my way to Alaska through Canada. I would have gone to Hawaii, too, if they had a road to get me there. I spent so much time on the road searching for a place to belong again.”

“You found it here.” I lean closer to him, using his arm as a pillow. He uses his free hand to play with my hair.

“I wasn’t sure, but yeah. I like it here. I hope that when everything is said and done, they still want me to stick around.”

“They will,” I say, knowing Reaper wouldn’t have allowed him in my home if he didn’t trust the man.

“What about you, Princess? Tell me something I don’t know.”

I swallow hard. I opened the door, though, and I’m not ready to close it yet.

“I have a fear of attachment.”

“What is that?”

I love that he asks without judgment.

“I’m not formally diagnosed or anything, but I have trouble making connections with people. Travis has only lasted this long because he doesn’t quit. He decided we were friends and made it so. The girls at the club, well, they are permanent by association, but sometimes I wonder if I left, would they even try to maintain the relationship?”

“They would. Those women love you. You are one of them.”

I smile sadly. “I am Reaper’s sister. I’m not saying that doesn’t give me some sort of an in with them, but I’m not an old lady. Not like them.”

“Do you want to be?”

I let out a small laugh. “Why? Are you offering?”