Page 87 of Hades’ Revenge

“Not like that at all.” Didn’t he know that only happened when I met him? “Fate is only meant for you and I.”

“I want to believe that.” He stroked my cheek. “Why did you run from me?”

“I wasn’t running from you.” I stretched up on my toes and kissed his cheek. “I wanted to get away from the situation. There were a lot of revelations exposed in your suite. Plenty to unpack.”

“I’m sorry you had to learn the truth that way.”

“I have questions.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” His smirk was enough to weaken my knees. “But this time, little minnow, I want the answer to my question first.”

“What’s your question?” I lost myself in his passionate stare. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

“Did you mean it when you said you should have listened to my initial warning? Do you believe you should have run from me the first time I told you to?”

“Oh.” That was a tougher question than I had anticipated, but not for the reasons he might expect.

“Well?” The gentleness in his touch when he tucked my hair behind my ear warmed my soul. “Have I been wrong about us from the beginning?”

“No, but I might have been.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Hades

Finding myself in such a vulnerable position was unchartered territory for me. Maybe I had misjudged the situation when I came after Capri. Perhaps she was too young and it was wrong for me to expect her to follow me back to Greece so we could explore a future together.

Atticus and Zeus joined us in front of a small bakery that was closed for the evening.

“Hades, I’d feel better if you weren’t out here exposed to certain elements.” Atticus glanced across the street where we had parked. “Let’s get in the car.”

“Give us a minute,” I said, because I wasn’t sure if Capri would be returning back to the hotel with us. I needed to understand what she meant when she said she was wrong about us.

Atticus nodded as he and Zeus headed to the corner and waited. I didn’t expect them to go as far as the car. Not after what had happened between Leo and me. They were both on edge and took their obligation to protect me seriously.

My only concern was the woman standing in front of me, appearing more conflicted than I would have liked. We hadn’t had a moment’s peace since returning to the city. I should have demanded she stayed in Greece with me. I should have forced Leo to come to me. Then, I would have held all the cards.

“What were you wrong about?” I asked Capri. “Do you regret not leaving when I told you to?”

“I made a mess of things for you.” When she looked down, I realized I had lost the confident girl who trespassed on my property to get answers that she had no business seeking. “I should have left you alone. I’ve blown up your life. I disrupted everything.”

“What?” I lifted her chin and scolded her with my eyes. “I told you to run away from me because I wanted to protect you from me. I didn’t need you to leave because you cause problems for me. I can handle whatever comes my way.”

“You rebuilt your whole life after what happened all those years ago. You were doing just fine without me interfering.”

“You didn’t interfere.” I clasped her hands in mine. “I could have given you the one night you asked for and let you go, but I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked with a sigh.

“I was being selfish.”

“Letting me go would have been so much easier for you.”

“Easier, maybe? But once I had a taste of you, there was no stopping me. There were too many reasons for me to keep going. Your obsession with me turned into mine with you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was my dad who killed Emilio?”

“I didn’t want to shatter the image you had of Leo.” As much as I hated him, I couldn’t destroy her that way.