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“So, this man we are supposed to meet. What’s his story?” I ask.
Hades raises an eyebrow. He picks up the two cups of coffee and carries them over to the empty table. I follow him, casting a dubious glance at the young family.
But Hades just sits down so I do too. He passes me a steaming cup of coffee, the taste of which is exactly as rich and nutty as this entire tiny room smells.
“I dinnae really know anything about him, other than that I have worked with him before,” Hades rumbles.
I nod, sipping my coffee. The warmth of it combined with the sunshine outside feels right in some way I can’t put my finger on.
“The coffee is good.”
He angles a vague smirk at me. “The best cup I’ve had in the city. It’s too bad that no one seems to know about it.”
I’m facing away from the family now, but I am still aware of them. A whispered argument breaks out between the man and woman, though I can’t understand what it is about.
“At least there isn’t a line to get a cup of coffee,” I say, trying to keep the conversation going. I’m distracted, though. Hades purses his lips and shifts his gaze behind me, his eyes narrowing.
There is a loud bang, followed by the boy’s soft whimper. I turn around and look at the family just as the man stands straight up, a menacing scowl fixed on the little boy.
His mother intercedes, putting a hand on the man and whispering plaintively. I lick my lips nervously and glance at Hades.
His coffee sits on the table, forgotten. He rises slowly from his seat, his gaze riveted on the man, his fists bunching.
The man yells something at the little boy, who bursts into tears. When he makes a move towards his son, his wife lurches from her seat.
Hades grimaces and yanks me out of my seat, pushing me behind him. The husband rears up, his hand rising as if to hit the wife.
Instantaneously, Hades surges forward and grabs the man’s hand. He twists it in a way that makes a distinct crunching sound.
The man struggles, shifting his murderous gaze to Hades, and lets loose a bellow right in his face. The guy is big, but Hades is bigger; besides that, I think Hades is taking up all the air in the room right now, absolutely radiating hatred for this stranger he doesn’t know.
Hades hits the guy right in the solar plexus without letting the man’s hand go. The stranger howls and makes a halfhearted attempt to scratch at Hades’ face with his free hand.
Hades doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he uses his strength to find a pressure point near the man’s wrist.
“Fuck off, ye fucking bully,” Hades grits out.
In seconds, he manages to twist the bully’s arm at a painful looking angle and back the bully up a full step. The mother is sobbing, her son clutching at her skirts.
My heart thumps against my ribs as I watch Hades continue to twist the man’s arm. There is a shout and the man’s step falters.
The stranger goes down onto his knees, a look of shock and rage on his face. He bleats out a curse and tries to get away.
Hades releases him, squares off, and punches him right in the nose. Blood spurts from his face but that doesn’t deter Hades.
Hades punches him again and again, kneeing the stranger in the stomach, stomping on his ribs. I hear the sound of bone splintering as Hades punches him in the face again.
The mother wails and backs into the corner, clutching at her visibly distraught son.
I flatten myself against the wall. My eyes are on my captor.
This unhinged side of Hades, the one who is currently beating a total stranger to a pulp?
It scares me more than anything else he’s done or said.
Hades, for his part, looks as though he could potentially kill the man shouting incoherently at his feet. When he stomps on the man again, I shudder.
“Hades—” I try. I realize that I’m trembling all over as I reach out a shaky hand towards him.
