Hades

radar. I’d just slipped on the sweater and was tying my hair back in a ponytail when the door buzzed again and Jake waltzed in, forgetting to knock.

“Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” I snapped. I expected him to be anxious after last night’s escapade, but he looked so unconcerned that I wondered what bargain he’d managed to negotiate overnight.

“Never had a mother,” Jake replied breezily, before waving a dismissive hand at Hanna and Tuck. “Get out.”

“I want them to stay,” I protested.

Jake gave an exaggerated sigh. “Come back in half an hour,” he instructed them in more pleasant tones before turning his attention back to me. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Much better,” I said truthfully.

“So I was right,” Jake crowed. “The solution was staring us in the face.”

“I guess,” I muttered. “What’s going to happen now? Should I be worried?”

“Relax, I’m working on it. My father prides himself on making sound business decisions and right now I’m plugging you as an asset rather than a liability. It’s got him thinking.” Jake looked at me, expecting a response, but I remained silent. “You can thank me anytime you’re ready.”

“Just because I might not have to go back to that infested hole doesn’t mean I’m any less miserable,” I explained.

“That’s a slight exaggeration,” he said flippantly.

“No, it’s not,” I said, annoyed by his attitude. “I may not be in pain anymore, but this place is still my worst nightmare.”

Jake spun around suddenly, his dark eyes on fire. “What’s it going to take with you, Bethany?” he said in a low voice. “It seems nothing I do for you is ever good enough. I’m all out of ideas.”

“What did you expect?”

“A little gratitude wouldn’t go astray.”

“For what? Did you really think rescuing me and then flying me like a kite would change anything? I’m still here and I still want to go home.”

“Get over it,” Jake snarled.

“I’ll never get over it.”

“Well, that proves you’re an idiot because I know for a fact that pretty boy is already over you.”

“He is not!” I retorted hotly. Jake could talk about whatever he wanted and most of the time it didn’t bother me, but Xavier was off-limits. Jake had no right to mention his name let alone presume to know what was happening in his life.

“Shows how little you know.” Jake was taunting me now. “Hormonal teenage boys don’t wait around forever. In fact, they’re short-term thinkers. Didn’t they teach you that in Sex Ed? It’s out of sight, out of mind with them.”

“You don’t know anything about Xavier,” I said, determined not to let him get to me. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What if I told you I get regular updates about life on earth?” Jake smirked. “What if your brother and sister have given up looking for you and Xavier has moved on? He’s with another girl as we speak … the pretty redhead in fact. What’s her name again? I think you know her ….”

I could feel my temper growing. Did Jake honestly think he could trick me into doubting the people I loved? How naive did he think I was?

“I’m telling the truth,” he added. “They’ve accepted they can’t help you. They tried and failed and sadly now they have to move on.”

“Then why are they going to Alabama to try and find a …” I swallowed my words immediately, realizing my mistake seconds too late. I bit my lip and watched as Jake’s brows lowered darkly and his eyes glittered with rage.

“How could you know that?” he said.

I hoped my face didn’t betray me as I tried desperately to repair the damage. “I don’t know. I’m just guessing.”

“You’re a very bad liar,” he observed, approaching with the slow stealth of a panther. “You spoke with total certainty just then. I’m betting you’ve seen them … maybe even communicated with them.”

“No … I haven’t …”

“Tell me the truth! Who showed you how?” Jake swept a crystal vase off a table so it smashed on the floor, scattering long-stemmed roses. I wished he would calm down. I wished he hadn’t dismissed Tuck and Hanna. I didn’t like being alone with him when he was this worked up.

“No one showed me anything. I figured it out by myself.”

“How many times have you done this?”

“Not many. A few.”

“And every time you were with him, right? It’s as if you never left! I should have known you were up to something. I was a fool to trust you!” He raised his hands and clawed at his temples like someone deranged.

“That’s priceless — you talking about trust.” But Jake was no longer listening.

“You’ve been playing me, making me think we were growing closer, trying to keep me in the dark about what was really going on. I thought if I gave you space and treated you like a queen you might forget about him. But you didn’t forget, did you?”

“That’s like asking me to forget who I am.”

“You still think like a schoolgirl. I thought Hades might help you mature a little, but I see now the experience has been wasted on you.”

“It’s an experience I never asked for.”

“You’ve had your last happy reunion — of that you may be sure.” He’d resumed his usual cynical tone, but the threat beneath it was real. I knew I should say something to dispel rather than exacerbate the tension between us.

“Why do we always have to fight?” I ventured. “For once can’t we try to understand each other?”

Jake shook his head and gave a rueful laugh.

“Well played, Bethany. You’re quite the actress, but you can stop now. The game’s up. You had me going for a while, though. I almost believed you were making an effort. I should have known better. I should have left you to rot in the chambers. You’ve put me in a very bad temper.”

“I don’t care,” I said. “Do whatever you like with me, send me back or hand me over to Lucifer.”

“Oh, you misunderstand me. I’m not going to harm a single hair on your head,” Jake leered. “But I will make you sorry you treated me with so little respect.”

The implication behind his words sent chills through me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means travel plans of my own are in order. I think it’s time I saw firsthand what you’re missing so badly.”

ALTHOUGH Jake had been deliberately vague about his intentions I knew him well enough to know he didn’t waste time making idle threats. He was headed to Tennessee to get even with me. I didn’t know what he planned to do once he got there, but I knew he wouldn’t stop until he succeeded. Being passed over for Xavier just when he thought he stood a chance must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow. Anyone else would have accepted it with greater dignity. But exacting revenge was the only thing that was going to satisfy Jake and what better way was there than targeting the people I loved? There was no way Jake’s demonic strength was any match for my powerful siblings and there was little point in him going after Molly. So that just left Xavier. My Achilles’ heel. Exposed and vulnerable. Especially if Jake caught him alone. And that would be easy enough to achieve.

If Xavier was in danger there was no time to waste. I needed to get back to earth and warn him before Jake got there first.

I couldn’t project right away because my mind kept filling with images of Xavier in trouble and the agitation threw my focus. In the end I jumped in the shower and turned the cold water on full blast. The shock of it cleared my head and settled my thoughts long enough for me to focus my energies. The projection happened effortlessly