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The door opened a few minutes later, and in entered a tall, dark man. So tall, in fact, that he had to stoop to enter. His shoulders were as wide as the doorframe, his face an inscrutable mask. Or at least it seemed so until he turned facing the light and Blake saw a hideous white scar adorning the right side of his face. It was wide and ran from his brow, down his cheek, and slashed across his lips, finishing somewhere on his chin. The scar also pulled at his upper lip, making it look as if he sneered. Both Blake and Ford shot up from their seats.
“So,” he said in a rich, gravelly voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you here,my lord?”
The title was said more in mockery than anything else. Now that Blake had regained his wits, he could make one conclusion certain. He had never met Hades in his life. He’d never be able to mistake him for anyone else. He’d been in his gambling hell, sure, but as far as he knew, Hades rarely frequented the floors of his establishments. He liked to observe the goings-on from his balcony upstairs, and the shadow he threw onto the floor was usually enough for his customers and workers alike to behave.
“Actually,” Ford said as he moved closer to the man, seemingly unintimidated by his size or menacing mien. “We hoped you’d be able to help us.” He stood close to Hades, almost toe to toe, and had to crane his neck to look at the hell owner’s face.
“Then you’ve made your trip in vain,” Hades answered slowly. “I don’t do favors. And I most certainly do not help people.”
Blake raised his brow. What an interesting statement.
“You might want to make an exception. I wager this would be of interest to you.” A pause. Hades didn’t seem like a patient person. Nevertheless, he barely moved a hair waiting for Ford to speak again. “We are looking for any information regarding the group of criminals called the Shadows,” Ford finally said.
“Isn’t everybody?” Hades answered evenly.
“Are they?” Ford cocked his head to the side. “I’ve heard rumors that they’ve been mucking up your business,” he said carefully.
“Rumors.” Hades scoffed. “Is that what you base all of your investigations on? Rumors?”
“As opposed to what? Visions?” Hades stiffened at that, and Blake glanced at his friend curiously. What the devil was he talking about? What kind of visions? Ford shrugged. “People talk.”
“Until they don’t have tongues, they do,” Hades said darkly. “I don’t know anything about the Shadows. Nobody does. Could be a group of criminals, or could be just one mad soul running around at night with a sword and a dagger, running down anybody who got in his way.”
“So, you’ve never seen one yourself?” Ford asked.
“Nobody’s seen one. That’s why those ‘rumors’ are so unreliable. If nobody saw them, if they—or he—is so elusive, then where’d the rumors come from?” Hades shrugged.
“We have a reason to believe that whoever is looking for these Shadows might be the people who kept Lord Payne prisoner. And since you admit your interest in the group, you are one of our suspects.”
Hades’ cold gaze settled on Payne, making his skin crawl. “Despite what people think of me, I am not a cold-blooded murderer,” he finally said.
“Aren’t you?” Blake raised a brow.
“And I do not torture people for information. I have other, more subtle ways of getting what I need.”
“Like blackmail, extortion?” Ford interjected, but Hades ignored him.
“Unlike the people you are looking for, I do not keep toffs imprisoned either. I am not a fool. It’s a hanging offense, not to mention it would anger my most loyal clientele. But if I did seize a toff, I would sure as hell not let him get away.”
“Then why did you invite us here?” Blake said. “If you don’t believe in either the Shadowsor rumors about them, and if you had nothing to do with my capture, then why talk to us at all?”
Hades turned his opaque eyes on Blake. “Because,” he said slowly. “Your friend, the thief-taker, and his men are snooping around my hell, and I don’t like it. Because people don’t feel safe where thief-takers show up. This place is a haven.”
Blake scoffed and received a burning gaze from Hades.
“This place is a safe haven for people to enjoy sin. This is no place for investigations and no place for thief-takers. Not unless they get themselves a drink and a whore. If people believe that we are responsible for your capture, they will stop coming here. If they believe thief-takers are snooping around, they will be wary of trusting us with their secrets. This is bad for business. And believe it or not, we are not in the business of torturing and killing people. We need people, especially entitled toffs like you. We need your money.”
Blake felt himself bristle. He hadn’t come here to be insulted and sneered at. This was a waste of time. Even if he knew anything, Hades wasn’t about to divulge the information. Ford patted him on the shoulder as if he felt Blake’s darkening mood.
“All right. Let’s assume for a moment that we believe you didn’t send your goons to seize and torture Lord Payne. But he was taken from outside your club. And there is a high probability that it was one or several of your people. Perhaps not per your instruction but acting out of their own accord.”
“My men are criminals. I took them off the streets, cleaned them up, and put them to work. I am not responsible for everything they do outside of those working hours.” Hades turned his curious gaze to Blake. “Besides, if my men did this, you wouldn’t be standing upright before me. I see you’re alive and well. How did you manage that?” His voice turned silky, raising hackles on Blake’s arms, so unpleasant it was like a snake’s hiss.
His words, however, conjured the dark images in his mind. The images of beatings he had endured and things he had to do to survive. Blake pushed the memories down. Now was not the time to dive into his thoughts and nasty recollections.
“I got lucky,” he said simply.
“Indeed.” Hades narrowed his eyes on him, then turned his attention back to Ford. “Keeping an aristocrat imprisoned is a hanging offense. So is harboring a fiend who did it. So if any of my men had anything to do with this, rest assured, justice will be served.”
