Ben paced inside Fiona’s apartment. He needed to track down Tommy again, and the only thing he could do was hope that moving Fiona’s stuff would lure him out. If he was honest with himself, Tommy had been an afterthought when he’d shown up there. All he wanted was to keep her safe, and to do that, he needed to make her comfortable, which meant getting her own things from her apartment. Her safety felt like the most important thing in the world to him, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain his actions to Hades. At least, not yet.

There was something about Fiona that drew him, had since the first moment he saw her, and it went beyond the fact that she was mouth-wateringly sexy. There was an edge of darkness to her, one that he presumed came from the torment that her ex had put her through. Or maybe it was the way her eyes belied every small emotion, like she was an open book and the story that lay within was captivating. Whatever it was, he wanted to be near it, near her. He wanted to save her from everything, even himself, if necessary.

Cin had texted him shortly after he’d arrived and advised him that all the furniture belonged to the apartment complex and all Fiona was interested in was her clothing, books, and bath products. The poor woman didn’t even care enough for him to pack her food up. Not that he knew where he was going to put any of this stuff. It wasn’t like his place was big, but if she wanted to stay, he’d find somewhere for it all to live, even if it meant throwing out or donating some of his stuff.

This hardcore protective streak was new to him. Even when he’d had that stupid crush on Aster, he hadn’t felt like he wanted to shield her from the world, not like he did with Fiona. He pulled her clothes out of drawers and the closet and shoved them into the well-worn bags he’d found, trying not to completely crumple anything, and yet also trying to be expeditious. Most women he knew had mountains of clothes, but not Fiona. She had a few drawers’ worth and some nicer stuff that she’d hung up.

The last drawer he opened contained all her intimates, and he felt like a bit of a perv handling them. It wasn’t like he was going through them or thinking about her wearing them. Or at least, he hadn’t been until he held up a bra that looked more like a shortened bustier with ruffles going along the edge. He quickly shoved it into the bag and tried to push the image of her wearing that out of his head. The last thing he needed was to go back to his place with a hard-on for the woman he was trying to help.

He had already taken a few bags down to his car, and was filling the remaining bags with her books and some photos he’d seen lying around, along with the jewelry that had been sitting on top of the dresser. She might have rented a furnished apartment, but he was pretty sure that kind of thing didn’t include personal touches like that.

All the books were well worn. The corners of the paperback covers were bent. Some had even lost the top layer of the printed cover, so it was just the cream of the paper underneath, and the spines were all creased and wrinkled. He looked around and saw a crappy TV in the corner, but when he went to switch it on, he found that it wasn’t even plugged in, and there was no cable box. The idea that she didn’t have TV was strange to him, especially since he liked leaving his on static as he fell asleep, but he guessed it was to save money, so at least she didn’t have to worry about returning the cable box.

As he hauled the books downstairs and out to his car, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Tommy was here. Watching him. He was surprised that the man hadn’t approached or attacked him yet. The rage that he’d seen the night before didn’t just vanish; it was the kind that festered and grew until it was all-consuming, which was what he guessed had been happening for a while now and why the other man was finally willing to kill the object of his obsession. Probably feeling all “if I can’t have her, no one can,” or something crazy like that.

He shoved the heavy bag into the back seat and went back to do one last check to see if there was anything he’d missed that she might need. There was one photo frame just by the door that he’d missed, but other than that, it was just kitchen wares, cleaning supplies, and food.

When he came back down, he found Tommy leaning against his car. This had been what he’d expected, for the guy to try to intimidate him into backing off. Tommy knew squat about him, though, and Ben couldn’t wait to see the guy’s face when he hit back with all his strength. No one expected him to be as strong as he was, and he always brushed it off, telling them it was a wiry strength, but the truth of it was the fury in him leaking out. Once he died and Hades kicked his soul out and gave it to the furies, he’d be even stronger and faster and able to fly. He couldn’t wait for that. Then he’d be a full fury like Cin instead of stuck in a mortal body that could only do so much.

“Who the fuck are you?” Tommy growled as Ben approached his car.

“I’m Ben, and you are?” he asked, playing dumb.

“I’m the man who’s going to kick your ass if you don’t put all my girl’s things back where you found them.”

“She asked me to get them. Something about wanting to avoid her ex. I guess that’s you?” He knew he shouldn’t provoke the other man, but he honestly couldn’t help himself. The cocky smile fixed on his face wasn’t there by his choice. It had just kind of arrived as he spoke and was now sticking around.

“I’m not her ex; we’re just having some communication issues. Now, go put her stuff back, dickhead.”

Ben looked the other man right in the eyes, and for the most part, he saw the same dead stare as before staring back at him, except this time, the anger was front and center, a full inferno instead of an ember. “No,” he said calmly.

Tommy’s fist flew, and Ben ducked, using his speed and agility to avoid the attack and step to the side. The other man regained his balance after not making contact and turned to stare at him before coming at him like a charging bull. Ben stepped to the side once more and felt like a bad ass, having not been hit yet, as Tommy sailed by, barely catching himself before he faceplanted onto the ground.

A growl of frustration leaked from the man as he spun. Ben reassessed him. He wasn’t as tall or imposing as he had been when Ben had seen him on the balcony. Now he looked more like he had when Ben was tracking him. Athletic. Good looking. Charming. He could see how the man so easily manipulated others; all he had to do was turn on the all-American good ol’ boy act, and people thought he was genuine. The problem was, the only thing genuine about this asshole was his obsession with Fiona and his desire to harm her, and probably others, too, now that Ben thought about it.

Tommy charged again, letting loose a roar of anger, but Ben was getting tired of the charade as he stepped aside once more. He wasn’t about to fight the other man. Not yet. He needed to check in with his aunts and mother first, see if they wanted him brought directly down to Tartarus or if just removing the piece of shit from the face of the earth would be good enough.

He let himself get a little distracted, thinking about what was going to happen to Tommy later, and that arrogance meant that he didn’t see the other man charging from behind. The blow hit him around the middle and drove him to the ground just as Tommy had intended it to, while a fist hit his kidneys over and over again.

Before he was completely crushed under the other man’s weight, Ben shifted to the side and kicked out, nailing Tommy in the shin. Punches rained down on him like hail before a tornado as he tried to protect his head while also looking for an opening.

The other man quickly seemed to slow down as though he was used to a one-hit knockout and not an actual brawl, whereas Ben’s tactic was exactly what he’d employed already, to tire his opponent out and then go after him. When Tommy pulled back to regain his balance before striking out at him once more, Ben took the opening. Two quick jabs to the man’s ribs with all his strength brought Tommy’s face within hitting distance, and he took the advantage, lashing out with a vicious punch that broke the man’s nose. Blood spurted down his face, and though the other man seemed to want to ignore it, he couldn’t, especially not when Ben had almost certainly broken his ribs as well.

He shoved Tommy hard, and the other man rolled off him, one hand clutching his nose while the other gripped his side as he groaned in pain.

“Stay the fuck away from Fiona or next time I won’t walk away, and neither will you.” He ground the words out as he leaned over the man. When he turned around, he found on the ground the photo frame he’d been carrying, the glass insert smashed. He shook it out and got into his car, careful not to hit Tommy as he backed out. Tommy was an asshole, but he needed clearance before he could kill the man, not that he had any doubt he’d get it.