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“Didn’t you—how do I put it delicately—entice the thief-taker to deal with it? I got my hands dirty there, too. Do not tell me it was all for naught? Not that I did not appreciate the challenge of snatching a thief-taker’s sister.” He smirked.
“I did. And I am certain he will do his best to solve this issue, but perhaps he is not enough. It is taking too long for my taste.”
“You need someone who walks among the aristocratic crowd.” That wasn’t a question.
Hades nodded nonetheless. “I do.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
“Acquire some information from very influential people.”
William puffed out a cloud of smoke. “Blackmail.”
“Yes. And there is no one better than you in this regard.”
“Then you mistake me for someone else.” William sniffed. “I am the best at stealing.”
Perhaps William was good at stealing, but what he was best at, what paid for his extravagant lifestyle, was something else.
“And that’s exactly what I need. Stealing.” Hades paused. “The information.”
William studied Hades with narrowed eyes for a moment before taking his feet off his desk and leaning toward him. “You are a notorious gaming hell owner. If anyone is good at acquiring information from anyone, it’s you.”
Hades shook his head. “Not Kensington. I have nothing on him.”
William raised his brow. “What makes you think I do?”
Hades steepled his fingers on his chest. “You are his brother.”
There was a beat of silence. William never acknowledged his relation to the pompous duke, although everybody knew it. “And I might be the only shameful secret that knave has. Whatever other disreputable thing he might have done, I am the last person to find that out, precisely because of my relation to him.” He stood and walked over to the door. He put a hand on the doorknob but turned before opening it. “However, I might have somebody who can help. Let me make a few inquiries first. Wouldn’t want to give you false hope.” He tipped his head, opened the door, and disappeared into the hall.
Hades leaned his back against his chair, happy to be alone again, when the door to his office opened, and Grace, his advisor, walked into the room.
“Was that William, who just left your office?” she asked as she advanced farther into the room.
“Yes,” Hades said with a sigh.
Grace floated toward his table and put her hands on the mahogany surface. “What else could you possibly want with that man?”
“I have work to do,” Hades answered shortly.
“Yes, you do. We do. There is a shortage of supplies. The harlots are working in rags, the last box of brandy is about to be opened, and instead of talking numbers with me you are plotting with the bastard.”
Hades raised his eyes heavenward. The last thing he needed was a lecture from Grace. Not that she was wrong, he just wasn’t in the mood.
“Perhaps tomorrow,” he said.
“Hades, one of our partners’ smuggling operations has shut down. Cruel Howard was caught on the night he was supposed to sell us the goods. If things continue proceeding the same way, we shall have no one to buy from. Madame LaSalle’s bawdy house was raided and shut down after we talked to her about expanding our ventures. The king’s men, the Shadows, are working diligently to try and shut everyone down. Soon we’ll have nowhere to get supplies from.”
Hades heaved a sigh. He understood that the king wanted to eliminate potential threats to the throne, but he wouldn’t find it in Hades’ hell or any other brothels. King’s men weren’t the real threat to Hades.
The Shadows were a different story entirely. They fought crime in the dark—crime that usually went unnoticed by Parliament. Many people would call them heroes—vigilantes, if it wasn’t for the methods they used and the rumors that accompanied them. Hades had been warned about them by Beebi long before he ever heard about their existence. She’d said they’d be detriments to his empire, but so far, they hadn’t crossed paths. In the Shadows’ book, Hades wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Madame LaSalle was not doing anything illegal. Why was she raided?”
“They do not need a reason. A suspicion of a crime is enough. The only reason we have not been raided yet is because of our clientele, I am certain. But soon enough, everyone else will be. Everyone around us. You promised me a separate house of pleasure. But if things continue this way, we can forget about expansion.”
“I always deliver on my promises,” Hades said quietly.
