Текст книги "Atlas"

Автор книги: Alyne Roberts

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

XXX

Atlas

I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. There was a part of me that knew I would never leave this house alive. It was sickly ironic that the same man who brought me into this world would be the one to take me from it. My chest felt heavy. Was this that feeling of loss and devastation I thought I would never feel again?

The ringing in my ears faded and gave way to crying. Sweet and soft crying. Slowly, my senses came back, and I could smell the blood and smoke. My eyes shot open and I saw my father's lifeless eyes looking back at me.

"Stella," I heard Ace grunt.

I shoved the body off my chest and rolled over, my head throbbing from the blows I had taken. Ace pulled himself over to the small girl on the floor. A loud thud came when she dropped the gun to the floor and scrambled away from it and her brother.

She killed him.

"Stella," I called to her, but she didn't seem to hear me or Ace.

I never wanted her to have to do that. She was a good person and had a respect for life that I was never taught. This would eat her alive.

"Little Star," I said gently. Her big, blue eyes snapped to mine. "There you are."

Stella seemed to come back to us, looking around quickly before struggling to stand. Ace was there to pull her up in a second. His large arms wrapped around her small frame so tightly I thought he might break her. Stella pulled back and looked up at the brother who she had thought was dead. Her hand came to his face and the smack echoed in the room.

"Shit!" Ace cursed, holding his cheek.

"I thought you were dead!" she shouted, smacking him repeatedly. "You left me all alone! I needed you!"

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back.

"Easy, Little Star," I said in her ear. "He's already bleeding."

Stella turned on me, punching and hitting my chest. I let her until she collapsed in my arms and I held her up. Her body shook with sobs as I carried her out of the room. Outside, I set her down in the sand and let her cry. Ace came out shortly after, sitting down with his hand wrapped up in a towel.

"How bad?" I asked him.

"Grazed. Need stitches but I have all my fingers."

We sat silently in our guilt and remorse as Stella let out all the pain and fear we both put her through the past several months. We both had a choice to do the right thing. I wasn’t sure how I would have done things differently, but I wished I would have. Anything so Stella wouldn’t be falling apart in my arms over what she had had to do.

We had forced her to make an impossible choice. It was just as hard as the choice for Ace to stay or save the women he knew would die. It was harder than my choice to keep her safe instead of killing her. She could have run. I saw her look back and thought she would. I had hoped she would.

I don't know how long we sat on the beach before Stella went silent in my arms. Her breathing evened out and the shaking finally subsided. I knew Xander and my men were close by, waiting for my signal.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly.

"Not yet," she answered, pulling away from me. I felt cold without her in my arms.

"Stella," I started but she cut me off.

"We have to save them," she said. "The girls."

"We will," I promised. "Let me see you."

I helped her stand and looked over her body carefully. She was dressed in my shirt and I gritted my teeth knowing she was taken right after our night in my bedroom.

"I thought you ran," I said in her ear as I circled around her, looking her over for injuries. She was covered in bruises and blood. I wished she hadn’t killed my father because I would do it over again if I could.

"I thought you gave me up," she confessed.

I grabbed her cheeks and forced her to look at me. "Never."

Ace stood up behind her and shot me a glare before rubbing at some dry blood on her hands. It wasn't hers.

"I thought you were safe," he told her.

"I hate you for putting me thought that right now. I hate myself." She turned and walked to the water, wading in and using the salt water to wash it all away.

Neither one of us had anything to say to make it any better. We both put her through a war she didn't start. She fought and killed for a cause she never had a part in. The blood on her hands might wash away in her eyes but never in her heart.

"Hey guys," Xander called from behind us, approaching cautiously. "Can we wrap this up and get the fuck out of here?"

"Yeah. Go inside," I ordered and turned back for Stella.

"There are girls locked up in the basement," she told us and she joined us in a wet, white shirt. I quickly tore mine off and pulled it over her head.

"Take her to the trucks," I told Ace.

"I don't think so," Stella said, pushing off his hands. "I think I deserve to see those girls brought up alive."

I looked at Ace and dared him to argue with that. I was willing to give her anything she asked for. He looked like he might fight her, but relented and headed inside the house. I followed slowly behind him and my hate only grew with every step. Once I was in the basement, I wished I had been the one to kill my father. He deserved a slow and painful death.

The guys wore masks as they broke locks and pulled young women from the cells. Some went willingly, weak and defeated. Others fought back, not believing we were here to save them. Ace worked his way through every cell and checked each woman's face. He was looking for her. Looking around, I almost hoped she wasn't here.

"Hey," Stella told one of the women who was fighting Xander, "we are helping you."

The woman froze and struggled to push her wild hair out of her face. Stella reached forward and pushed her hair back, looking in her face.

"Liddy?" she whispered. "Oh my God."

Liddy threw her arms around Stella. The two girls held each other tightly while the chaos of getting the women out ensued around them. Their bodies shook with their cries but they didn't let go of each other. Stella rubbed her friend's back and whispered quietly in her ear. When the basement was finally empty, I touched Stella's shoulder.

"We need to leave," I told her.

She nodded and helped Liddy to her feet. When she almost fell over, Ace came up and lifted Liddy in his arms. We climbed the stairs and I looked back at my father's body before leaving the house. Outside, Xander was loading the women in cars and trucks.

"They are coming with us," I told him, indicating Stella and Liddy.

He nodded and signaled the guys to leave. Xander had a house ready for them to get cleaned up and ready to be set free. While planning, I didn't really think I would find anyone else other than Stella, but wanted to be prepared. We had enough men on our side to make sure those girls were taken care of.

In the van, I buckled the girls in the back seat. When we arrived at the airport, my plane was waiting as promised along with an ambulance I had on payroll. Ace got stitches on his hand while the girls were checked out. Stella wouldn't leave Liddy's side as a nurse fussed over them. I leaned against the truck watching a woman carefully check Stella for injuries.

"She's in good shape considering what she went through," the doctor told me. "Dehydrated and some bruising, but nothing too serious."

"And the other one?" I asked. I wasn't sure I wanted to know because I was ready to kill someone already seeing them hurt.

"She wasn't so lucky," he said with a sad voice.

We were loaded on the private plane where the girls passed out quickly. I sat in my seat and gripped my glass of whiskey so hard I thought it might shatter. I couldn't even go to Stella because I was afraid I would hurt her in my rage. I itched to break something. The blood shed today wasn't nearly enough.

"I didn't find her," Ace whispered with a raspy voice. "All of this, and I didn't get her back."

"We saved some," I told him. "It's not over."

Ace looked back at this sister and then to me. "She should hate me."

"She should hate us both."

XXXI

Stella

Death was a bitch. I was shaped by it, changed from it, and sick of it. I watched too many die and one at my own hands. It was something I could never forget. The way the gun kicked in my hands and the way his body fell limp was engraved in my mind. It would join my nightmares.

I stared at myself in the mirror and didn't recognize the girl looking back at me. Her hair was changed, her face was thin and pale, and her eyes were dull. A part of me died in Miami. I didn't know if I could ever get her back. Maybe she was with the old Liddy.

My best friend lost herself. It was days before I could coax her to eat or drink. It was even longer to get her to talk to me. When she finally spoke, I wished I had never asked. I was saved just in time. I didn't think I could have survived what Liddy had gone through. When I thought about what they had done to her, I felt a little less guilty for pulling the trigger.

Liddy called her parents and made up some excuse about taking a last minute vacation with a boy. She wasn't ready to face them and she didn't want to talk to police. The other women were returned to their homes and some even spoke to the police. I didn't know what Atlas did to keep them from telling them who was to credit for their escape.

There was a certain emptiness I felt. For so long, my life had become fear and hiding. Every moment, I was waiting for the past to catch up to me. Even when Atlas found me, I was fearing what would come for us. Now, it was all over. My parents were forever gone but I still had my brother. No one would ever come for me again. I wasn't sure what do with myself anymore.

"Stella, you need to talk to me eventually," my brother said from the bathroom doorway.

"That may be true, but it doesn't mean it needs to be right now," I said, pushing past him and into the bedroom.

I was still at the lake house in the bedroom I had come to think of as mine. The four walls that were once my prison were now my safety. Not even Atlas dared to enter them. The first night back here, I waited all night for him to come in like he used to, but he never did. Was he giving me space or did he not want to see me?

I was the girl who killed his father. It was my bullet that left a dead body on his chest and covered him in blood. They told me to run but I couldn't. I was too weak to run anymore.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through?" I asked, spinning to face Ace. "I needed you. I stood at our parents' funeral, alone!" I was screaming now but I didn't care. "I was scared, sad and I needed someone. You left me behind!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I watched you. I sent Atlas for you. I thought you were safe."

"But I was hurting." The tears followed my last word.

Ace's arms wrapped around me and I melted into him. It had been too long since I had seen him. When we were younger, his hugs were rare but priceless if I could sneak one out of him.

"He's worried about you," Ace said in my hair.

"He has a funny way of showing it," I said, unable to mask the bitterness in my voice.

Atlas hadn't spoken to me since we returned to the lake house. He returned to the city the next morning for a few days and had avoided me since then. He didn't come to me at night like he used to. I didn't know what I had expected exactly, but the coldness wasn't it.

"He's just pissed and I think he's scared he will snap if he sees you."

"Because I killed his dad."

"No," Ace said quickly, grabbing my face to keep my attention. "For making you kill him. For putting you through that and what they did to you. That's all our fault."

"I don't blame either of you," I said.

"You should have run," he whispered, his blue eyes glistening.

"Dad would have stayed and fought."

Ace nodded, knowing I was right. I couldn't walk away knowing they were in danger. Before that day, I thought Ace was the only child to inherit Dad's courage and morals, but maybe we both did. Maybe I wasn't as weak and scared as I thought I was. As much as what I had done sickened me and would haunt me, I didn't see how this could have ended any other way.

"I love you, Stella," he said and my heart broke at the words.

It had been too long since I had heard those words and my anger melted. I threw my arms around him and held my brother like he had come back from the dead, since he had. He squeezed me and I let go all the tears I had held in since we had returned to the lake house. A throat cleared in the doorway and we broke apart.

"Atlas," I whispered.

Atlas stood in the doorway looking as dangerous as he was. He cooly watched our exchange like he wasn't making my heart race just by being near. Ace gave me a squeeze and left us alone in my room, giving a slight nod to Atlas as he passed.

"Stella. Are you okay?"

"You ask me now? Days later?" I asked, frustrated with how distant and cold he was.

"I had some things to take care of in the city," he answered evenly. He was too calm and collected.

"I'm fine," I told him with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare," he said, coming forward to grab my face. "Don't fucking apologize to me."

"I killed him," I whispered, my heart breaking with the admission.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice cracking. "I never wanted you to have to do that."

His hands dropped from my face and he took a step back, giving us space. I didn't like it. I wanted him close. I wanted him to touch me, wrap me up and tell me nothing would ever hurt me again. Instead, he moved across the room as if he couldn't get far enough.

"In the hallway is a bag," he told me. "It's yours. Inside, you will find your keys to your apartment in San Francisco and everything you need to get on with your life."

"Get on with my life? What are you saying to me right now?"

Atlas rubbed his face roughly before looking me right in the eyes. The coldness made my stomach sink with dread.

"I took you from a new start. I kept my promise and kept you safe. No one will hurt you ever again."

"So, that's it? I just pretend none of this happened?"

"Exactly. You can never speak of anything you heard or saw here. Ever."

"You mean how I killed the leader of the most powerful mob family in Chicago? How we shot a man in the head as revenge for killing my family? What about the man killed for trying to rape me?"

Atlas crossed the room with a quickness of a predator. Large hands grabbed my throat and pinned me to the wall. The thrill of having his hands around my throat again heated my body.

"Never," he growled. "You are safe if you keep your mouth shut."

I nodded and stared back into his eyes. They went dark as he looked at my lips. I thought he would kiss me but he dropped me, pushing away from me.

"You need to leave. Go to California and go to school. It's paid for and you will be safe."

"You want me to leave?"

"That was always the plan, Stella," he said, his voice dripping with resignation. "I kept you safe, even if that meant killing you before my family got to you. It's over now and you have no reason to hide anymore."

My chest hurt thinking about leaving. This house was once a prison. Then it became a place of my own. I felt safe here. I was being thrusted back into the real world. A scary and vast place that I hadn't been a part of since my parents had left it.

"I don't want to leave," I bravely told him.

"Stella. Go. Take Liddy and start over."

Start over? He said it like it was so easy to leave everything behind. My childhood home was gone. My parents were gone. Ace would continue to look for his missing girl. I thought I had actually found something to fill that void, but he was pushing me away.

"There's money and everything is ready for you both. She will need you. This is the life you were meant for before I pulled you into a battle you had no business fighting."

"Sure," I finally said resignedly. "I will leave in the morning."

Atlas slowly came back to me where I stayed leaning against the wall. His hand gripped my chin lightly and tilted my face to his. I could smell his minty breath as he closed the small space between our lips. Our mouths connected and my body instantly reacted. My skin heated and my fingers clung to his jacket. I wanted to crawl inside of him.

Atlas's restraint broke and bit my bottom lip as he sucked it into his mouth. I could taste the cooper of my blood but it didn't scare me. It made my hungry for more. I pressed harder to him, wanting the pain and possession he would give me. But it never came. He pulled away just as quickly as he gave it and left me gasping against the wall.

"There will be a car ready for you both," he told me before walking out of the room.

As always, Atlas had kept his promise. I found my two-bedroom apartment just as I had expected. The bag was filled with money, and my wallet and keys. The book of boudoir photographs that we had once looked at together was also in my bag.

XXXII

Stella

San Francisco was nothing like I thought it would be. When I signed my lease, I thought I would live alone, in fear and paranoia. But here I was with a roommate, eating ice cream on the couch and watching Grey's Anatomy. I was okay.

"This can't be good for us," Liddy said, hitting pause. "We are in our twenties, hot and single. We should be out partying and shit."

"Last time you said that, I ended up tied up," I blurted.

Liddy knew everything that had happened since the last time I had seen her at the club. After a night of too much wine, I had told her everything. I watched as her face went from shock to horror to sadness. It was therapeutic to finally have someone know the truth and all the secrets I had been carrying.

"I need out," she said, standing and taking the blanket with her. I grabbed the carton of ice cream before it hit the floor.

"Liddy, I don't know," I said. I was scared and not too sure I was ready for that yet.

"Stella, it can't be healthy for us to stay locked up like this. Neither of us leave unless we need to. I can't stay locked up with my thoughts like this anymore."

I frowned because I was so focused on myself sometimes. I would never forget what Liddy went through. I was in the cell next to her but was lucky to never have endured the hell that she had. I listened to her any time she needed to cry or talk about it. Sometimes, I was so lost in my own feelings that I didn't consider Liddy's.

"You're right," I agreed. "Let’s go."

"Fucking A," she said, jumping up.

While we got ready like normal women in their twenties, a feeling of normalcy filled me. I didn't think I had ever gotten to be a normal girl before. I couldn't continue to be a ghost of who I was anymore. Atlas set me free so I could take the life I was looking for. What I really got was something better. I had looked pure evil in the eye and had survived. I knew without a doubt someone was looking out for me, and I had my brother.

"Ready, babe?" Liddy asked me from the doorway, looking hot in her little black dress.

"Fuck yeah," I said, grabbing my bag and pulling her from our apartment.

Down on the street, we quickly hailed a cab. I could feel how tense Liddy was. This was her first time out, too. I held her hand, wanting to be strong for her. Liddy needed this more than I did. As much as she told me it wasn't true, she got into that mess because of me. They took her looking for me and knowing Atlas would go to her as soon as he found out I was missing.

There was nothing better than being ushered into a club when the line was down the block. Liddy and I linked arms and walked inside calmly even though I knew we both wanted to jump in excitement. Inside, the lights were flashing and everything was neon and glowing. It was dark except for the black lights and glow sticks, lighting up the club enough to be fun and exciting.

We grabbed our glow necklaces and reached the bar, ordering neon-colored drinks. Liddy smiled widely at me, but it looked forced. Liddy had been more withdrawn since we had moved out here. I knew she had gone through something terrible and I didn't know how to help her. She downed her drink and quickly ordered us another one.

"Let's dance," I shouted to her over the music.

I didn't even let her try to back out. I grabbed her hand and dragged her into the middle of half-naked bodies grinding on each other. I pushed away the memory of how similar this was to several months ago. The roles were reversed with Liddy trying to cheer me up. We could pretend to be normal girls in their twenties for one night.

The music took control of our bodies. The club was dark, with only flashes of bright, colored lights darting around the room. I only saw flashes of faces and body parts as the heat consumed me. For a second, I thought I saw the one face that haunted my dreams. When I opened my eyes and looked again, it was gone.

Atlas didn't come to me at night anymore, but that didn't stop me from seeing him in the darkness. As much as I tried to be angry and hate him, I never could. He pushed me away when he was done with me, but it didn't change what had happened between us in that lake house. Atlas may have ruined my life, but he saved it, too. I just didn't know how to feel about either of those things.

Hands touched my sides and wrapped around to my stomach. I started to pull away when one large hand pushed on my chest and pinned me against a hard body. My heart pounded against the stranger's palm as I tried to pull away. He didn't back away, instead moving his hand to wrap around my throat.

I froze as warm fingers rested over my racing pulse. A familiar panic washed over me. In the flashing, I couldn't see Liddy and I knew screaming wouldn't do any good. The only thing that made me more uneasy than the person holding me was how it was making me feel. I warmed with the excitement and thrill that Atlas once gave me.

I tilted my head back and gave the stranger more access to my neck. Making myself vulnerable and exposed as my body melted into the one behind me. My eyes closed and I let myself hold on to this feeling for just another second. It had been too long and I may never have this again.

The hand tightened on my neck, making it impossible to breathe. Finally realizing what I was doing, I roughly pulled out of his arms. I spun around, stumbling into a random dancer and tried to search out the man. All I could make out were flashes on body parts and faces. No one even noticed me while I frantically spun in a circle, seeking him out. A hand rested on my shoulder causing me to jump.

Liddy's wide eyes looked back at me. She nodded her head toward the club entrance, looking ready to bail. I nodded and took her hand. Maybe neither one of us were ready for this tonight. Too many monsters haunted us. Too many memories lurked in the darkness.

"Sorry," Liddy said once outside. "I just couldn't do it."

"I understand." I couldn't either.

Back at the apartment, we locked up and went to bed. Both of us were lost in our own memories and thoughts. I was stupid on the dance floor. Instead of running or protecting myself, I got pleasure out of the threat. Frustrated with myself I tore off my dress and left it on the floor, climbing naked into bed.

My hands coasted down my stomach and between my legs. I felt the wetness that wouldn't go away since I had been touched on that dance floor. I wanted so badly to feel the way he used to make me feel. I missed the control he took while making me feel safe at the same time. I wanted to feel completely owned again.

My hands moved on their own as I closed my eyes. I let myself drift to the past in my mind. I pictured his hands on my body and pinching my nipples. I spread my legs wide, pushing my fingers deep and letting out a long moan. I added a third finger, needing more. I always needed more.

My muscles clenched around my fingers as I pushed them deeper inside. I was so lost, I could almost smell him and feel his body heat. One hand left my nipple and I wrapped it around my neck. With gentle pressure, I felt myself soaking my hand as it thrust into my body. In my mind, Atlas was doing this to me. With an image of his face and body over mine, I was so close.

I bit my lip to keep from being too loud. I fucked myself hard, chasing that release I desperately needed. I was close and my back started to lift from the mattress. The pressure on my neck intensified. In my haze, it took a second to realize another hand covered my own. My scream was cut off with the tight squeeze and my eyes shot open.

Dark eyes glared down at me and I combusted inside. I felt myself milking my fingers as I stared into the face that I saw every night when I closed my eyes. I came silently and breathlessly. Atlas glared down at me with a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes.

"Bad girl," he growled in my ear, using his own body to push me into the mattress. "You aren't supposed to come without me."

"Atlas?" I gasped, fighting for enough air. "Are you really here?"

"I am," he said in my ear, releasing the tight hold on my airway. "I tried to stay away."

"Why?"

"Because I am dangerous to you."

My heart was pounding so loud, I almost couldn't hear him. I couldn't catch my breath with the shock and the orgasm. Atlas lowered his body between my legs that were already spread for him and a calmness settled over me.

"You saved me," I told him.

"And you ruined me," he said as he wrestled off his jacket and pants. "You destroyed me. Broke down my defense and got inside my walls."

He took his belt and quickly wrapped it around my wrists. Pinning them above my head, he stared down at my naked and waiting body like a man starved.

"No matter how fucking hard I try, I can't get you out. You manage to do the one thing that can't be undone. You have to deal with the consequences of that now, Little Star."

"What am I paying for?" I moaned as I felt his skin on mine again.

"Making me fall in love with you," he bit out before pushing into me.

Atlas wasted no time, thrusting into me rough and hard like he was punishing me. He tasted everywhere he could reach without releasing my hands. His sucked and nibbled on my neck, biting my ear. Every second spent apart was turned into the power he displayed on my willing body.

"You wanted it at the club," he hissed. "You were aching for it."

"Yes, I was. I wanted it to be you," I told him as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Were you thinking about me when you touched yourself?"

"Yes," I shouted, close to another orgasm. "It's always you. I never stopped thinking about you."

"Fuck," he breathed on my skin. "You wrecked me. I can't leave you."

His words were pushing me higher than his relentless thrusts were. He was deeper inside me than ever before and it wasn't just physically.

"Then don't. Keep me. I love you."

I was cut off by my screams and I clamped down around him. Atlas groaned and pumped into me slowly while I fell apart in his arms. Tears streamed down my face and wave after wave of intensity hit me. I felt him pulsing inside me as I slowly spiraled back down. Our sweating and spent bodies clung to each other.

Atlas slowly rose and pulled out of me. Staring down at my face, he pushed the hair out of my eyes.

"I can't let you go."

"You don't need to. I'm yours to keep."