Page 19 of Hades

My brothers have always paraded their flavor of the week in front of me, but unlike them, I kept my conqueststo myself. If there was a special woman, I would introduce her to my brothers, only for the woman to decide she preferred one of my brothers to me.

Only one woman, Ashley, chose me over all of them.

We dated off and on for a few years. We still have love for each other but we decided that we are better as friends and that’s what we are today, friends. Ashley is a sassy, no nonsense, kick-ass and take names woman.

My brothers and I agreed that she was the perfect cash office manager, and we haven’t been sorry since.

Well, maybe War has been. She loves to mouth off to him.

I have to commend my brother because he takes it in stride and hasn’t lost his temper with her yet.

As I return to my spot behind the bar, Drevi takes his seat at the table, a mile-wide smile on his face as he chats easily with Hayden.

Then, low and behold, here comes more trouble. War and Pyro. They never know how to keep their distance. There are few boundaries they aren’t willing to cross.

“Pyro,” I call, and toss him a shirt I have handy behind the bar. He knows my rules and chooses to ignore them. Well, he did until the day I threw him a shirt that read 'I love Justin Bieber.' But I still have a couple of spares for him because I know my brother. He’s proud of his body and tattoos, and working at the pool was a perfect fit for him to show off both.

War stops at the bar, places a hand on the clean wood surface I just wiped, and asks, “Frank, you met her yet?”

I nod to him, giving nothing away.

“And?” Pyro questions after he pulls the shirt over his head.

I shrug. “I have a pull to her just like you two do. She isn’t like anyone we’ve met. But I can’t say for sure because I onlytalked to her for a minute or two. Daisy called in, so I’m stuck behind the bar until Danny gets here.”

Pyro's smile grows into a wicked smirk. “I think we should go interrupt the date.”

War grins back. “Yes, Drevi wouldn’t think twice, he would do it to us. Even with him being the most shy of us.”

They give me a little wave and head to the table. Forlorn, I pretend to stock the bar, trying not to think of Hayden.

I count the minutes and customers until Danny is due to arrive. In the middle of making a margarita, I hear a commotion, and then my brother raises his voice.

Finishing up the order, I’m about to rush back there when I notice that the longer he yells, the more the flowers on the tables wilt.

Worried for the patrons, I’m rooted in my spot. Do I risk his wrath or do I clear the bar?

When the flowers in the vase pop back to their brilliance, I sigh in relief, glancing around and trying to come up with a story to do damage control but no one seems put off by it. The beauty of holding power like we did was that mortals instinctually look away, putting distance between them and the predator we are.

Before I can move, Alice runs by, and then Hayden storms past me at the bar. Drevi is standing near the table with a look of confusion on his face. Anger rises up.

What the fuck did Drevi do?

Danny finally shows up, so I hand the reins to him and stalk toward my brother. He took a seat across from where Danny stands behind the bar, his face flat on the bartop.

I take up the spot Hayden was in. “Tell me, brother. What happened?”

Drevi sits up, looking like he just kicked a puppy. “I lost mytemper. Alice was rude from the moment Hayden and I sat down. I overlooked that, but then Alice deliberately spilled Hayden’s soup in her lap, and I went off the deep end. If it wasn’t for Hayden pulling me back, I would have killed Alice and all the patrons in the bar. All over soup.” He shakes his head and throws his hands in the air.

In all my years, I have never heard my brother sound as defeated as he does now.

“What did you tell Hayden?”

“What can I tell her? Hi, I’m Death, one of the four horsemen. Don’t worry. I’m a friendly guy that would like nothing more than to get you out of that dress.”

“So that’s why she pissed,” I say, a weak smile tipping my lips. “Do you know what room she’s in?”

“No, but I bet War does. Why?” His eyes narrow on me.

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