The bull took an abrupt turn, presenting Baden with her back, revealing the small iridescent wings that fluttered from the slits in her pink tank top.

A beautiful woman, no question...but she didn’t compare with Katarina.

The cheers died down as Taliyah leaped off the bull and landed directly in front of him.

“I hear you’ve got something to ask me,” she said. “I’m going to let you buy me a drink. Or twelve. Yeah, definitely twelve. Our business needs to be concluded by the time the last shot is down the hatch. Clear?” She marched to the bar, her hips swaying. A mating dance. One that caused no reaction in his body.

His hands fisted as he followed behind her.

She ordered fifteen shots, and he tossed a gold coin at the bartender. Torin had made him a lot of money over the years.

“So? Start talking.” She emptied one glass, then another.

“Give me your panties.”

She’d just thrown back the fifth shot and choked on the liquid. After catching her breath, she laughed and said, “Wow. Ask nicely much? Dude. You planning on wearing them or something?”

“No.” He offered no explanation.

Her amusement subsided, her eyelids slitting.

When someone bumped into her from behind, she turned so quickly Baden almost couldn’t track her motions, slamming her fist into the offender’s stomach. “No?” she said to Baden, not missing a beat. “That’s all I get?”

Get in on the action! The leash on Destruction frayed a bit, and Baden found himself grabbing the gasping man by the throat and lifting him off his feet.

“Continue with him or with me,” Taliyah said, “but not both. I’m almost done—”

The time limit on his conversation. Right. He released the male without killing him. “Hades is—”

“Hades! That’s right.” She licked the rim of a glass to catch a stray droplet of liquid. “You’re his bitch now, forced to do his bidding.”

He balked, but again he offered no explanation. The fewer details outsiders knew about him, the better.

Two more shots were emptied. “Hades and I have a wee bit of history.” Another emptied glass, and this time, she trembled, but not with fear. “I’m going to guess he sent you just to mess with me. Well. I’m happy to mess with him right back.” She downed yet another shot then reached under her miniskirt to pull a bright blue thong down her legs. She dangled it in front of Baden’s face. “I’ll give this to you—for a price.”

He almost rolled his eyes. Everyone always had a price. Except the Sent Ones, he realized. And Katarina. She wanted to give.

Must return to her.

“Of course,” he said. “Name it.”

“What do I want, what do I want?” With her free hand, she tapped nails that looked as sharp as daggers against her chin. “Oh, I know! You’ll deliver a message for me. Word for word.”

That wouldn’t end well for him, would it? “We have a deal.”

Grinning, she rose on her tiptoes and whispered her message in his ear. He stiffened, sighed. No, this wouldn’t end well.

“I’ll tell him,” Baden vowed. “Word for word.”

She tossed the panties, and he caught them. Before he could thank her, she finished the last shot, and disappeared in the midst of the crowd.

Better get this over with. He flashed—

Into a bedroom with polished ebony walls and an ivory floor. The antique furniture had birds carved into the wood. There was a plush red rug, and a large canopy bed surrounded by white gauze. Hades sat at the edge, his head resting in his upraised hands.

The blind siren perched on a stool a few feet away, playing a harp and humming. The soothing sounds stroked over Baden’s skin like a caress. A caress he could tolerate.

A sense of compassion struck him, surprising him. Hades—once a boy who’d been locked away and forgotten—had known more suffering than most people could ever fathom. No wonder he longed to kill anyone who posed a threat to his freedom.

The king sensed Baden’s presence and jackknifed to his feet, grabbing a shirt from the nightstand. He yanked the material over his head, hiding a muscled chest tattooed with symbols Baden had never before seen.

“Leave us, Melody.”

Melody. A fitting name.

The girl stood and, counting her steps, headed for the door. She smiled a mocking smile as she passed Baden.

“This hasn’t been a good day.” Threads of anger layered Hades’s voice. “You better have what I sent you to get.”

“I do.” He flung the panties across the room. “I’ve earned my next point.” He now had sixteen in total. Tied with Pandora at last.

Nine of his points were from kills, four from retrievals, and two from nonsense, like the fetching of the panties. But...Baden got it now. The kills took out Lucifer’s major players, those who adversely affected humans. Acquiring the artifacts prevented Lucifer from using them against Hades, while the panties (and other things) amused him. Amusement kept him sane, providing light in a time of doom and gloom.

A slow smile bloomed over Hades’s face as he brought the material to his nose and sniffed. “How did you get them? Tell me quick.”

“I asked. In return, I promised the Harpy I would deliver a message for her.”

Anticipation actually glowed through Hades’s pores, creating a halo-effect around him. “Deliver it.”

Baden closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “You are sexy, delicious and hot, but offer you my V-card? I will not. My panties get wet every time your name is called...but I’m still going to ensure...you are constantly blue-balled.”

A laugh barked from Hades, one born from genuine humor. “Clever little witch.”

The transformation was shocking, as if a wolf on the prowl had just transformed into a dog with a new toy. But that was the magic one woman—the right woman—could wield over a man, wasn’t it? Not that Taliyah was Hades’s one.

But look at his friends. Once feral, now domesticated.

Katarina’s image shimmered inside his head, her features as delicate as a butterfly’s wings, and Baden’s body jerked in response. He cursed. She couldn’t be his one. They were too unevenly matched.

Another curse escaped him.

Mind on the task at hand. “Your son, William,” he said. “He’s hidden the human girl, Gilly, and we’d like to know where he—”