Ultraviolet

Chapter Fourteen: A Case of Deadly Force

That night was stressful on a level I'd never expected. The club was absolutely packed and I could see the line was stretched halfway down the street. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about assholes trying to flirt with me because everyone was too busy trying to enjoy the time they had in the club. I'd notice that every half hour, like clockwork, people would be individually kicked out, and then a new herd of people were let in. Any tiny little thing was an excuse to kick someone out, and I guess they knew that and weren't willing to risk their night over me. That, or maybe there was only one guy in Boston interested in me, and he happened to be a dick about it.

A euphoric wave of relief washed over me as the last person was kicked out and I started cleaning up. I grabbed bottles off tables three at a time, each of my fingers grasping them at the neck as I carried them over to the bins and threw them out. I was holding five at a time when Hadeon burst through the back door, slamming the door behind him.

I had seen him walk in, but the loud noise startled me and I dropped all the bottles of the floor. They crashed dramatically, smashing into a thousand pieces. Hadeon looked to me, only for a split second, before returning his focus back to his path towards the red door opposite the bar. The same door he warned me never to go into.

He knocked, and in the silence that settled over the club I heard the distinct clicking of a locked door being unlocked, and Hadeon walked in. I found the dustpan and broom in the storeroom and started cleaning up the shards of glass. Hadeon returned from the room, his face red as if he had been yelling.

I'd been in the club from before we opened until now, and hadn't seen a single person walk into that room beside Hadeon, but someone had been in that room to unlock the door for him. After I cleared off the tables, Hadeon cleared his throat to grab my attention. When I looked up, his face had returned back to its normal shade but he still seemed angry when he gestured for me to join him.

I pushed the bin into the store room as he followed me, then we walked together out of the club and into the stairway up to the apartment.

"Did you do the job?" I asked. Hadeon looked up at me, confusion settling in his eyes. I added, "You beat someone to a pulp?" and his confusion turned to fear.

"How did you..." He started.

Neither he nor Jessica or Jack had explained what exactly the job was, but I had some idea as I looked down to his hands. The lighting was dim, but the unmistakable dark shade of red that gathered under his fingernails and the pink stain to his cuticles made it clear that someone, clearly not Hadeon, had gotten hurt.

I picked up his hand and held it up to the light, tracing the cuticles of his index finger to point out the stain of blood. He pulled his hand away quickly. His eyes turned to the front, hard and stony.

"I did what I had to do."

I followed him up the stairs, speaking up as he reached out for the doorknob. "I don't think badly of you." He raised his eyebrow, but remained looking forward and away from me. His jaw clenched and my eyes rested on his face. "I don't know what is going on here, but I think I know you. And I don't think you would hurt someone who didn't deserve it, or didn't pose a threat. I'm not going to judge you for doing that."

Hadeon swallowed, still refusing to look at me.

"You don't know what your talking about." He said simply, ignoring me and heading towards the bathroom.

"I think I do." I hummed to myself as I entered my bedroom.

Hadeon didn't speak much, but when he was around me, his expressions were easy to read. When he was around Jess and Jack, his features softened and I could hear the hint of love in his voice. They were his family, and he would do anything to protect them. And even though it was clear whatever his "job" was today, even though it had ended with blood under his nails, he hesitated. He argued against it. Whoever the asshole he beat up was, I know deep in my heart, that what Hadeon did today helped the world, even if it was in a twisted and backwards way. I couldn't explain why, I just knew.