Page 2 of Hades

She loved it when her clients depended on her. It made her feel like she was doing her job.

Harley squeezed her hand. “I would stay longer, but Ms. Leah here managed to snag the same birthday as my best friend. Call me if you need anything, though, okay? The doctors and nurses here are more than capable of taking care of you, but if you need me, I’ll be here.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Wade said. “Enjoy your night.”

“You too. I know it’s hard, but try to sleep. Get her on a schedule like we talked about.” Harley waved and then exited the room, feeling fulfilled for the day.

Shayla was her last client set to give birth this month, and her calendar was clear, as long as those babies stayed in their places all warm and cozy, for the next couple of months. She needed to get some more patients to fill in the gap so she didn’t have as much downtime. For now, all she had to do was keep up with her patients checkups, charts, and birthing plans—all things she loved to do anyway.

When she got to the nursing station, she scrubbed her hands before going toward her locker and grabbing her purse and duffel bag. She had already told her best friend, Blair, that she might have to miss her birthday celebration. When the birthing center called and let her know that Shayla had been admitted, she called Blair right away to give her a heads up. Luckily, her best friends were really understanding of her job, but she knew they both, especially Blair, would be glad she could make it.

Once her phone was in hand, she realized she had a bunch of missed calls and texts from her ex-boyfriend, Drew. They had dated for five years, but she broke it off with him a year ago because he couldn’t stay faithful. He ran the streets and, apparently, was a big deal. Harley wouldn’t know because she really stayed to herself, but he found the need to remind her every chance he got since they broke up that any woman would be happy to be on his arm. The issue was, most womenhadbeen on his arm. She didn’t want a man that was for everyone. He taught her that.

He was her first boyfriend and the first and only man she had sex with. She lost her virginity late in life, and she hated that she allowed Drew, of all people, to take something so precious of hers. Now, he thought she belonged to him and wouldn’tleave her alone. He popped up on her whenever he felt like it, and when she went to get a restraining order on him, the police laughed at her. Apparently, Drew had them on lock. Luckily, she never really thought he would hurt her. She just wanted him to leave her alone.

With a sigh, she ignored all the calls and texts from him and dialed Blair’s number as she walked through the halls and toward the elevator.

“Did that girl have that baby?” Blair asked, causing Harley to giggle.

“Yes, Shalya had her baby. I’m going home quick to change, and then I’ll be there.”

“She’s coming!” Blair shouted, no doubt to their other best friend, Sage, causing Harley to pull the phone away from her ear as she stepped onto the elevator.

When she put it back, she heard Blair say, “We’re pre-gaming at my house. Come here when you’re ready.”

Harley’s face scrunched up. “Pre-gaming to go to dinner?”

Blair was thebougiestofbougie, and she had booked a table at Prime & Ember months ago for this occasion. It was the fanciest steakhouse in Ellwood, and only the elite could get reservations, or people with a lot of money. Blair made a good income as a wedding planner, but she was neither considered one of the elites or rolling in cash. How she got those reservations, Harley didn’t want to know.

Blair snorted. “Duh, Lady Bug. Bring your ass.”

The line disconnected as Harley smiled fondly at the nickname.

She had met Blair and Sage ten years ago when she started working at a hospital as part of the admin staff. She was working her way through school, and Blair and Sage were doing the same thing. They all worked the same shift but for differentdepartments. Sage and Blair had been best friends since high school, and Harley still didn’t understand how.

They were completely opposite of each other, and Harley landed somewhere right in the middle of them. Where Blair loved a life of luxury, sometimes living beyond her means, Sage lived a minimalistic life. In fact, her sole job was a podcast dedicated to living a minimalistic life. Ironically, the podcast made good money, but she rarely spent it. She lived in an apartment and didn’t even own a microwave. Her savings was massive, though, and she always said she would spend it when the right time came. Harley didn’t believe therewouldbe a right time, but it wasn’t her money, and she didn’t make it a habit of counting other people’s pockets, so she minded her business.

Harley, on the other hand, lived a quiet life. She had lost touch with her family years ago, and until Blair and Sage entered her life, she had been somewhat of a loner. She still considered herself an introvert, but her two best friends could pull her out of that any time, because for them, she would do whatever to make them smile.

When she got off the elevator, her face frowned up at the sound of elevated voices. She rounded the corner and froze at the sight of a large and imposing man shouting at Kat, the receptionist. He wasn’t large as in fat. He was large as in muscular and intimidating. The tattoos peeking out from his black leather jacket and up his neck toward the side of his head made him look even more menacing. But that voice. Oh, that voice. It had so much bass it rattled the surrounding area.

Harley spotted a clearly pregnant and in labor woman walk in with who looked to be her mother. She breathed deeply and looked terrified by the scene in the lobby area. Harley’s heart constricted. This was not how any mother should feel walking into the place she would birth her child.

Quickly, Harley moved to grab one of the wheelchairs off to the side and brought it to the woman. “Here, honey. Sit. I’ll get you checked in.”

After the woman sat, her mother pushed her timidly to the front of the desk. The man glared at her, and Harley glared at him as she moved behind the desk and woke up one of the computers, doing her best to ignore Kat, who seemed to tremble next to her.

As quickly as she could, she paged a nurse and then entered the woman into the system after asking for her name, secretly thanking God for her previous reception work when she was in high school and her admin work at a hospital following that. Though she wasn’t familiar with this system, she knew enough to get the poor girl checked in.

A nurse came quickly and whisked them away, and Harley turned her gaze on the man, who had been shouting about Tiffany, one of the midwives that worked at this birthing center from time to time. As midwives, they could bounce around from birthing centers and homes, depending on their clients’ needs, and they all knew each other.

“Sir, what seems to be the problem?”

His glare turned on her, and his tone turned calm but deadly as he spoke, keeping eye contact the entire time. “All I know is someone better either find me Tiffany or find me someone else who can deliver my sister’s baby. That Tiffany bitch isn’t answering the phone, and I?—”

“Sir!” Kat cried out in horror. Harley didn’t blame her. She had never seen someone so enraged before, and to call a woman a bitch just because she wasn’t answering her phone on his demand… Harley was appalled.

“Get me Tiffany!” he barked, causing them both to jump.

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