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“Do you know what he is saying?” I whisper.
Hades shakes his head slowly. “No. They’re speaking a Slavic language, I think. Maybe Ukrainian or Russian.”
He hisses in a breath as the man bucks at the woman, a move meant to intimidate her. It works, because she takes a step back, dropping her head and holding up her hands defensively.
Just like that, Hades stalks toward the couple. I am not surprised in the least, but I still follow on his heels, my heart pounding.
I really don’t want him to beat the man to a pulp the way he did to that stranger back in Valencia. Maybe someone should intercede, stop the man from hurting the woman… but that’s a far cry from the energy that Hades is carrying as he approaches them.
Mayhem and violence are bleeding off of him, falling behind him in crackling waves. His expression is stiff and full of malevolence. Shoulders flattened, he storms up the beach, making it all but impossible to stop him.
I run, catching his hand and tugging on it.
“Hades…”
He freezes, turning his glare on me. When he speaks, his voice is gone to gravel and his teeth clenched. “Let go of me.”
“I’m not going to let go until you take a deep breath.” I grip his hand, beseeching him. “Please, Hades. You’ve got to take a beat.”
Hades stares at me, violence crackling in his very bearing. “Let. Me. GO!”
I’ve never heard Hades raise his voice before. My heart pounds, my mouth goes dry as the Sahara on a hot day. I flinch.
I know that this man has the strength to hurt me. Hell, Hades could easily kill me with his bare hands if he felt compelled to do so.
But I don’t let go of his hand. “Think about what you’re doing,” I tell him, trying to keep my voice from wavering. “One deep breath in is all I am asking…”
Against his will, Hades drags in a deep breath, his angry gaze still pinning me in place. The breath loosens his shoulders a fraction and he draws himself upright to his full, imposing, impossibly tall height.
His fists don’t unclench, though.
“Let me go, lass.”
I release him, having done what I could to mitigate whatever damage he might cause. Ahead of us, the young man takes note of Hades and I with mild interest. As soon as I let Hades go, the young man’s face grows red.
He barks something at the woman, who throws a look over her shoulder at us. She pales and hurries the two little girls toward the car.
The young man is rounding the vehicle with a sneer curling his lips. He looks at Hades, his expression spiteful as he climbs in the car.
Hades starts to jog. “Hey!”
The doors creak closed. The woman arranges the little girls on her lap and throws another harried look at Hades. Her expression says that she’s very worried about the stranger jogging straight for their car. She locks the doors, all the blood draining from her face.
“You’re scaring her!” I call to Hades. “Please, come back!”
I stop at the edge of the parking lot, my heart in my throat, my voice sounding panicky.
There is a grinding mechanical sound as the man tries to start the car. Hades reaches the vehicle just as the young man manages to turn the engine over. He throws an angry look at Hades and puts the car in drive.
Hades, running up to the passenger side window, watches as the young man begins to pull the car away. In a fit of I suppose frustration and anger, Hades moves back, winds up, and throws a punch at the car.
He manages to hit the back window, his solid fist smashing into it, the safety glass cracking into a million tiny pieces and leaning inward with a shattering sound. But it doesn’t break; it’s not meant to.
The girl gives a shriek. The guy yells something at Hades and steps on the gas. In a second, their tires squealing, they are hauling ass out of the parking lot.
Hades stands, watching them go, his breathing ragged. I trail after him into the parking lot.
His knuckles are scraped and bloodied on one hand. He doesn’t seem to notice, though. His eyes are fixed on the car, watching it drive away, tracing it across the highway until it disappears around a curve.
