Hades and Waylon stand toward the front of the room, with Hades pacing back and forth.

“I want to know how you're going to punish her,” he roars. “You got your woman back, but mine’s gone. I want her punished. This cannot fucking lie.”

Wow…Hades is usually the smoothest Reaper in the gang. But he’s ranting like somebody about to explode.

“She will be,” Waylon assures Hades, his voice grave and serious.

Whoa. As Nitra Mello used to say on Rap Star Wives, Ooohhh! I smell the drama!

Instead of taking orders I crane my head to try to get a better look over all the burly bikers and try to figure out what's going on here.

Someone grabs my elbow, and I turn to find Vampire looming over me. His near-black eyes heat for a moment when our eyes meet. But only for a moment. The flame disappears in an instant, like he snuffed it out.

And I have to fight the urge to cross my arms over my chest and hide myself.

I don’t know why. He just does what he always does when we spark. Looks away like the moment didn’t happen. Like I don’t matter.

But this time, his usual decision to ignore me is accompanied by a head jerking motion.

Duncan appears out of nowhere and takes me by my other elbow, like I’m a football getting handed off. And his expression is way less friendly than usual.

“This isn’t a good time to take orders,” he says, glancing down at my trolley.

He pushes a wad of bills into my hand and leads me toward the door I left open when I came in the room. The money wad isn’t as thick as the ones Waylon’s known for throwing down on dead bodies, but I instinctively sense it will be more than enough to cover the beer and leave me with a good tip.

Fair enough. But after he pushes me out the door, I have to ask, “What happened? Why is Hades so angry?”

Duncan lowers his voice even lower to answer, “He lost Persy. She left on a bus before we could get to her. Now she's in the wind, and Waylon's old lady is the one who helped her escape.”

With that, he closes the door in my face. And I go back to the bar, not knowing for whom to feel sorrier…Persy if Hades ever catches up to her, or the woman who helped her escape.

AMIRA

I'm locked inside the little roadhouse room again. But this time, instead of screaming to be let out, I sit on the room’s bed, with my hands gripped tight in my lap.