Текст книги "Atlas"

Автор книги: Alyne Roberts

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

XXVIII

Atlas

A full day went by without sign of her. My frustration and anger grew with every passing hour. Stella was smart, but I wasn't sure if she was smart enough to hide from me forever. My anger and hate for her festered. The things I would do to her when I found her couldn't even be described.

Sal and Tony watched the apartment in San Francisco she thought she would move to, but she didn't go there. Her friend Liddy seemed to have vanished with news reports filling the airwaves looking for her. Amazing what a difference having a family makes. Someone was looking for her. No one, but me, looked for Stella.

After searching the remains of her home that burned to the ground, I walked into the lake house. I smelled like smoke and was covered in ash. No bodies were found inside. The official reports said the house was empty but I had to know for myself. I only trusted myself and a few other men to give me accurate information.

When I shut the front door behind me, I felt something was wrong. My instincts told me something was off and I wasn't alone. Grabbing my gun from my holster, I quietly stalked down the hall. The light in the living room was on, confirming my suspicion. I pulled my weapon close and disarmed the safety, ready for whatever waited in that room.

I stepped into the living room, every muscle tense and alert. Quickly scanning the room, I found two glasses of whiskey on the bar. Frost still coated the outside of the glass. As I stared in confusion and shock, I let my guard down. A crack sounded as pain split across my face starting at my nose. My vision went dark just long enough for my gun to be kicked from my hand.

I stumbled back but righted myself quickly. Opening my eyes, I saw something I never thought I would ever see again. My own gun pointed at my face, ready to fire. My vision was spotted from the break in my nose but I knew who held it.

"You sorry mother fucker," he growled. "You made me one fucking promise and you couldn't even keep it."

"Ace?" I whispered.

There he stood, well and very alive. Very angry. The vein in his neck was throbbing as his finger twitched on the trigger. His blue eyes, much like his sister's, were clouded over in a murderous rage.

"I thought you were dead," I offered lamely. I honestly didn't have a back-up plan for resurrections.

"Yes. More than we could say for Stella," he hissed.

"I didn't," I said, raising my hands in defense. "I didn't hurt her."

"No. You didn't save her."

I couldn't speak. I couldn't fight. My best friend and partner stood before me in the flesh. Someone I thought was dead and gone forever. I mourned his death. I fought for his revenge and honored him.

"She ran," I said, anger coming back to me when I remembered the girl I tried to save.

"Did she really?" Ace asked, coming closer with the gun. "You just can't possibly fathom that you failed, can you?"

My own anger started to rise. He made me think he was dead. He thrusted the burden of keeping his stubborn sister alive. Best friend or not, I was fucking livid.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Imagine my surprise," he started, lifting a glass to his lips and taking a sip. "I'm watching your dear old dad's place and I see a very familiar girl passing through."

My stomach sank.

"She has black, short hair but I would know her from miles away."

Silence hung over our heads while I tried to catch up. Stella was in my bedroom and then she was gone. This place was locked up, but I had let my guard down. All this time, I thought she had played me.

"You were supposed to protect her," Ace roared, coming at me with his fists again.

I let him hit me because I deserved it.

"I asked you to keep her alive, not fuck her and then let her end up in their hands you sick son of a bitch."

I swung back out of instinct and he fell off me. A smirk grew on his face as we stared at each other panting.

"She's in Miami?" I asked. My voice was hollow as I tried to gather my thoughts.

"Yeah," he said sadly. "They have her and her friend Liddy there."

"You didn't get her out?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Oh yeah. I just went in there alone against thirty or so armed guards. No big deal."

I sighed and rubbed my face, forgetting that he pounded into it. I pulled my hands away finding blood in them. I deserved it and more.

"You promised," he whispered. The words were heavy and hung in the air.

"I thought she ran," I told him.

"She was taken," he said. "How the fuck was she alone that someone could get her?"

I couldn't answer. I didn't have one good enough.

"You should have kept your dick out of it," he growled, pointing the gun at me again.

"Are you going to kill me or what?" I asked.

"We are going to get her back and then I will deal with you. Xander is watching the place so I know she’s still there," he said.

"Xander? He knows you’re still alive?"

"Yeah," he said with a bitter laugh. "I sent him up here to check on you. I was shocked to hear you had a pretty girl on your arm."

"I was trying to protect her," I explained.

"Why?" he asked. "Because you are a man of your word or because she deserved to live?"

"Both."

Ace sighed and slid the glass of whisky to me. I took it and quickly downed it, needing something to numb the turmoil I was feeling. Knowing Stella hadn't run from me redirected some of my anger. Now I was just furious she was taken.

"Well, let’s go," I said, starting to stand.

"Not so fast," Ace said. "I'm waiting for backup."

"You want me to wait?"

Ace stood, coming to his full height and strength. I stood too, ready to defend myself now that I had something to fight for. I saw the anger and darkness in him, too. Blood would be spilled for every second Stella suffered. I knew then we would save her. The only question was how much would we lose doing it?

"Yes. While you were busy shacking up with my baby sister, I was making connections and getting men on our side," he said, coming to stand chest to chest with me. "We will get her back, and we are taking them down for good."

He was talking about my dad. The man who brought me into this world and taught me everything I knew. We would need to kill him and most of the leaders in the family. I was next in line and would rule the criminal underworld of Chicago. It was a day we had dreamed of, but I honestly thought would never happen.

"You ready for that brother?" Ace asked me. His look was challenging but trusting.

"Ready."

The next few hours went by fast. Sal and Tony showed and were more than ready to join the fight. We pulled every connection we had to get more men on our side. The lake house soon filled with criminals and ready to fight. Xander waited in Miami, watching my dad's compound for any sign of Stella. Weapons were loaded and packed up. Plans and back-up plans were made.

In the cellar, I pulled the bottle my father sent back as a gift. At the time, I didn't trust it. I sure as hell didn't now. I grabbed the bottle and shoved it in my bag. When I turned, Ace stood there watching me.

"Ready?" I asked, trying to push past him.

"Are you?"

"I will keep my promise, Ace. No matter what," I said.

After several tense seconds, Ace nodded and followed me up the steps. The boss had all his people close so no one would see the flock of armed men leaving my little lake house and boarding my private jet. He might suspect I would come looking for him, but he would never imagine how many I managed to turn against him or how quickly we could form a small army against him.

As much as Ace's death had torn things apart, it was a genius idea. With the invisibility of death, Ace was able to move without being watched. He found members spread across the country and revealed the dark secret only the top people knew about. Even if they were not against the selling of innocent women, they were pissed about being cut out of the profits. Ace had collected a lot of important resources that my father could never defeat.

The darkness concealed our convoy leaving the airport in Miami. We parked at a nearby pier and walked the rest of the way to the beach house so we wouldn't be seen by the guards. The sun was rising on the ocean's horizon while we hunkered behind the sand banks. The house looked still and almost relaxing if a person didn't know any better. Only we knew of the dungeon full of girls that hid under the house. Every man going in knew Stella's face and her safety was key. My fingers stretched and clenched around my gun.

"Atlas?"

I turned to look at Ace from where he kneeled, watching the house.

"I know you let her in," he said. "Get her back and keep her."

"I will," I promised. "And I'm giving her her brother back."

After that, the signal was made and I snuck down the sand hill. Approaching the house, I found one guard. He didn't even see me coming before I took him from behind and slit his throat. The limp body fell to the ground and I stepped over it. The next two were just as easy before I reached the window. I waved to my men watching before slipping inside.

The house was small compared to my dad's normal mansions. I tiptoed down the halls until I heard his voice. It was deep and it used to sound powerful and controlled to me. Now it just sounded sick and evil. Father was a word reserved for men like Officer Harlow. Men who loved and protected their children. Men who taught them to fight and to know right from wrong. This piece of shit was nothing but a sperm donor who knocked up a beautiful woman. He only took that spawn she created to be his assistant and help spread his evil.

As I stepped into the kitchen, he sat by himself. The man we all feared and respected was clipping his fingernails in his last moments of life. His eyes widened when he saw me and he reached for his gun. Only I was faster and had the barrel to his temple already.

"Atlas," he hissed.

"Pops," I said with a smirk. "I thought I would drop by for a visit."

His wide eyes and loud swallow told me he knew I wasn't here for a chat. Most parents would be thrilled to see their only child at their doorstep just to see them. My father knew better. He knew that I was here for one reason.

"I brought whiskey," I said, holding up the bottle.

I grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and slammed them down on the table. Using my knife, I cut the wax seal and was met with the hiss of air. I smirked at my old man as I poured two glasses and pushed one over to him.

"Should we make a toast?" I asked, taking a seat across from him. The shocked look on his face brought me great pleasure.

"To what?" he asked cautiously.

"To new leadership. New beginnings."

XXIX

Stella

At some point, I stopped worrying about what would happen to me. I wasn’t really sure when that had happened, but I knew that it did. Now, when I heard the cries and someone praying to live, I hoped they would. I wanted them free more than anything. More than I wanted my own freedom. These other women were someone's daughters, or wives, or even mothers.

I was no one. I was an orphan old enough to take care of myself. I was a number and name in a database no one looked at. I used to be a daughter and sister. I would never be a wife or mother. No one missed me and I felt lucky for that. When I heard the girl crying on the other side of the wall, my heart broke for her family because she couldn’t be any older than me. Someone missed her and was worried sick over her disappearance.

Without light, we didn't know how long we'd been held. Atlas would know I was missing by now, but I wasn’t sure he cared. He could have allowed this to happen from the beginning. Maybe he used me to find my brother's killer, then sold me off to the highest bidder. Was all that shit about trying to find my brother's lover a ploy to earn my trust? In this dark and damp place, I trusted no one.

"Hey," I whispered when the crying next door didn't stop. "You're going to get yourself killed."

She sniffled and tried to stop. I hoped she could because the weakest were always dragged upstairs. As much as these dark cells sucked, I was sure upstairs was not any better. Those girls never returned. Maybe they didn't know what I knew. They didn't know those girls were killed or sold off to a worse future.

"I want to go home," the girl next door cried.

"I know," I said, trying to sound calm and soothing. "But you need to be quiet. They’re punishing the ones that are loud."

She was quiet enough that I could hear the thuds upstairs. I could hear muffled voices and footsteps above my head. I was scared for the rest of us. The sound of footsteps came, making the dread grow. It was never me, but one of the others. That was worse for me. When my door opened and the dark shadow came for me, I felt relief.

I was pulled up and unchained from the wall. It was me this time and not one of the others. I went without fight as some sick man pushed me up the steps. They didn't even bother to blindfold me, so I knew this would be bad.

Bright sunlight met me when the door opened. I squinted and was momentarily blinded. I was used to darkness. I was pushed forward and my feet blindly carried me. I was ready for the end. I wasn't ready for what I would actually walk in to.

"There she is," a deep voice announced. It was familiar and set every nerve on end. I heard the voice my first day here. He rang with power and force, much like another monster I knew. My memory flashed to when I was first in Atlas’s basement. This was the same deep voice that ordered Atlas to kill me.

"She's sold of course," he continued. "Shipping to Spain in the morning."

"Is that so?" another voice asked, causing my head to rise.

Atlas.

He sat with an older man who looked much like him. He was leaning back in the chair like he didn't have a care in the world. Was it so easy to see me, still in his shirt and ready to be sent to the highest bidder? His dark eyes roamed my body, taking in the blood and bruises I endured both here and with him.

"How much?" he asked and I shivered at hearing his voice again.

"Too much for you," the man answered. "You already had it. For free."

Atlas's hands clenched and I recognized the anger in that move. He was pissed. I looked between the two men. I noted the way their noses bent, although Atlas's was bruised. This man had to be his father, their looks and mean glares were too similar for them to not to be related.

"And you took her," Atlas said. "I wasn't finished with her yet."

"You were supposed to kill her," his dad said, slamming his fist down on the table. I flinched but Atlas stayed still.

"I thought I would make her suffer a little longer. She's a fighter, but I like it when they scream," he said, a sick grin taking over his face and my stomach rolled. I thought he kept me around because he didn't want to kill me. He was only keeping me so he could fuck me?

"You lied to me," his dad said, standing and coming for me.

I trembled and watched his boots come closer. No one would save me and I knew it.

"It didn't matter," Atlas said. "She was gone."

The man came to stand next to me and roughly shoved me down to my knees. I hissed but stopped myself from crying. That would only make them hurt me more. I didn't know how long I had been here, but long enough to learn that.

"And now she will really be gone. Her buyer doesn't keep them around for too long before he breaks them in half."

I fell forward, gagging and crying. This was really happening. The man who dragged me up here kicked me in the back so I would shut up while his boss laughed manically.

"Touch her again and I will kill you."

My head shot up at the threatening voice. The familiarity tugged deep in my heart and I was sure I was hallucinating. The tears cleared and I was finally able to focus on the newcomer.

"Ace?" I whispered.

"Hang in there," he said only to me.

His gun was pointed at Atlas's dad while time seemed to have stopped. I briefly wondered if I was going into shock, or maybe I was already dead. I glanced around, half expecting my parents to come out as well.

"Mr. Harlow. It's good to see you alive, son." I could tell in the tightness of his voice, he was in fact not happy.

"I'm sure, Mr. Omega. I see you met my baby sister."

"Let's cut the bullshit," Atlas interrupted. "We are taking the girl and any others you have. You're done here."

His dad laughed and my skin scrawled with the sound. It was hollow and haunting.

"You aren't leaving here alive," he told them. "And neither is your little plaything anymore. Kill her."

I looked up into Atlas's eyes as the other man stepped forward. Most of the time, Atlas was locked away inside. The only thing I ever saw when I looked in his eyes were lust and anger. For the first time, I saw fear and panic. I felt the cold metal at the back of my head as the boss stepped away to avoid the blood spray. My eyes closed. I couldn't see the only people I had left as they witnessed the very thing they'd fought so hard to avoid.

A gun shot rang out and I fell to the hard floor. When I heard another shot, my eyes flew open. The first thing I saw was blood, but it wasn't mine. The red pool was coming from the guard who was supposed to have killed me. As I scrambled back, I saw Ace holding his bleeding hand. Atlas was on his back while his dad pinned him down with a gun to his chest.

"I will kill you myself, Atlas."

"No you won't because I will kill you first."

His dad laughed again before looking back at Ace in warning.

"Anyone moves and I will pull this trigger."

We were at a standstill. The atmosphere with thick with humidity, tension, and death. I could smell the blood I was covered in. Closing my eyes, I fought to calm my breathing. Now was not the time to slip into the past and lose it. Ace was bleeding, Atlas was unarmed and it seemed no one would leave this room alive.

Fighting back the panic, I spotted the gun covered in blood. I could probably reach it if I was quick enough. If I wasn't fast enough, he could shoot Atlas. I glanced up at my brother and he shook his head once. His eyes said 'don't fucking move'.

"Your men are all dead," Ace said. "No is coming to help you and we aren't leaving without Stella. Make this easy for yourself. Get up and walk away."

"And what the fuck will you do about it?"

"I will kill you," my voice cut through the silence.

I slowly pushed myself up to stand, keeping the gun aimed right at the man who had caused this shit storm. His eyes danced in amusement and my blood boiled.

"You don't think I will do it?" I asked, feeling patronized. I was sick of feeling weak and victimized.

"I know you won't," he said, sounding fully convinced. "You want a man's death on your conscious? You want that to haunt you?"

"This is all your fault," I said. I didn't know who I was trying to convince more, myself or Mr. Omega. "All this time, I blamed Atlas for ripping apart my family and my life. But it's you that I should hate."

"Stella, run," Atlas hissed at me. I ignored him, knowing if I looked at him I would obey. I always gave in to him.

"Who do you think brought your brother into a life of crime? I wasn't the one who tied you up and kept you locked away, using you for your pussy."

Ace started to move and Atlas got in a punch to his dad's face before the butt of the gun hit his face. When the barrel pressed to Atlas's temple, everyone froze again. Ace looked livid and Atlas spat blood.

"Run, Stella," my brother ordered, still glaring at his former boss who currently held Atlas down.

"I can't," I whispered.

"Stella," Atlas barked. "You don't want to be like us. Run while you can and never look back. Don't be a monster."

Would that make me a monster? I wished my dad was here. He would save me or know what I should do. I remembered the day he told me sometimes good people had to do bad things to save the ones they loved. I even told Atlas that once. I'd seen him kill two men for me even if he said it was for his own benefit.

I looked behind me and saw the open doorway. I could run fast. I would be free forever. My hands shook as I lowered the gun just a little bit before one last bang echoed in the room.