Page 27 of Hades

“Is it your day off?” Harlee asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah. Where is everyone?” I ask, looking around.

“Tara is at the bookstore, and Lainey is at Dynasty, I think,” Natalie says.

“I keep meaning to go to Dynasty. I want a tattoo,” Harlee muses.

“What kind of ink would you get?” I ask, only slightly afraid of her answer. You never know what will come out of her mouth.

She shrugs. “Probably something for my mom.”

Natalie and I share a look before turning back to Harlee.

“That would be really sweet. I’m sure Midnight would love to draw something up for you,” Natalie says softly.

I nod. “I’m sure he would get you in right away. Bypass the books.”

“Maybe. I’ll talk to him the next time I see him. Enough about me, though, I want to talk about you,” Harlee says as I sit down on one of the stools.

“Me? What did I do?”

Harlee rolls her eyes. “You didn’t do shit. Or at least, not that you’ve admitted to. I want to know how it’s going with tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Say that a little louder. I’d love for Bullet to hear you,” I say, my heart racing.

“You’re stalling,” Natalie says.

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re my sister. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

Natalie rolls her eyes. “I am your sister, and I am on your side. I just want to know if you guys have finally set down your swords yet.”

“What she means is, we want to know if you guys have fucked the hate out of each other yet,” Harlee says bluntly.

“Must you be so crass?” Natalie asks.

Harlee smirks. “I can’t help it.”

Both women turn to look at me, and I can’t help but shift in my chair.

“No, we haven’t fucked. We barely tolerate each other.”

It’s not quite a lie. The man still drives me mad. He doesn’t tell me we are low on anything until it’s already gone. This morning I found one of his hairs on my leg after drying off from my shower that transferred off of a towel when I washed it.

“Oh please, you didn’t look like you were at each other’s throats when you walked in,” Natalie says.

Sighing, I think about everything we’ve talked about. How we connected, granted briefly, before we left my place. How at the hospital he keeps his distance, but I know he has my back, God forbid I need it. Things have changed, I just don’t know what it means.

“We’ve reached some sort of truce,” I hedge.

“What’s he like? When he’s not brooding,” Harlee asks.

“I don’t know. He’s just a guy.” I shrug.

“Yeah, but what’s his story? I mean, the man was a nomad. That has to say something,” Harlee presses.

“He has a brother, right?” Natalie asks quietly.

Harlee whistles. “Damn. There’s two of them? I would love to be in the middle of that. Oh, it would be even better if he were a twin.”