Текст книги "Atlas"

Автор книги: Alyne Roberts

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XX

Atlas

I snuck out of the room while Stella slept. Her temperature had returned to normal but she was still exhausted and weak. I had spent the last twenty-four hours forcing her to eat and drink. Most of our time was spent in comfortable silence, but I could almost hear her thoughts.

I isolated her. Stripped away what little she had left. I had never seen her break down in sorrow and loneliness before. But here, in her weakest moments, I saw the pain shine through. Not only was the pain surprising, but so was my reaction to it. I was angry. Angry that Ace wasn't here to fix this. Pissed that I had to witness her breaking.

I should never have touched her. Before, holding back was a struggle and now it would be near impossible. It was a mistake that could cost us the mission. When I saw her, I couldn't think straight. It took heading to the city for me to able to see clearly. Sometimes just being in the same isolated house was too much to be able to concentrate. I needed distance and couldn't let that happen again.

In my office, I searched through the footage I got from visiting my dad in the city. With a new determination, I looked for a new face. He must have someone new to be his right-hand man dealing with trafficking the women. I had compiled a group of men who were new by the time Sal and Tony joined me.

"There's a buzz in the family," Tony said. "A general unease that something is up."

"And there is," I said, looking up from the computer.

"Rumors are spreading," Sal added. "Some are saying you want out. Others think the old man is stepping down for you to take over. Either way, change is in the air."

"There will be change, boys," I told them. "We are getting ready for war. The final phase is falling into place so we best be ready."

"We are armed and ready," Tony assured me.

"Our guys are ready," Sal said.

We spent weeks quietly spreading the word about the darker part of the "family business." As expected, many didn't agree. My father may still have been the boss, but I was the one with the real following. We had an arsenal stocked and ready for just about anything.

"And the girl?" Tony asked.

"What about her?" I asked, glaring up at him. "She lives for now."

We spent the day going over plans and backup plans. We weren't planning to simply kidnap a young woman here. We were going to war with the boss. In the last decade, no one had tried to overthrow the head of the family in Chicago. My grandfather had ruled before my dad, and I was to take over after him.

I looked up at the painting of Atlas on my wall. He led the war against the Gods and paid for his mistake for eternity. Would I end up like my namesake? Was I leading us all into a trap, only to be defeated? Lives would be lost without a doubt. The only question was how many, and who would stand when the smoke cleared?

"Atlas," I heard in the doorway. I looked up to see Stella standing there, looking much better than the night before. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know where anyone was," she said, trailing off at the end when she realized she was interrupting something serious.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her, standing up.

"Better, thank you," she said, looking at the floor. She was nervous, scared, and uneasy around me.

Coming around from behind my desk, I walked toward her. I kept walking as she backed up, hitting the wall behind her.

"I need you to stay in your room until I come get you," I told her. "Tony, take her to her room, please."

Her eyes went wide as Tony came for her. When he grabbed her upper arm, her eyes met mine. Her bright, blue eyes sparkled with fury as she glared at me. I watched calmly as he dragged her away. It was for her own good but she wouldn't see it that way. I was treating her like a prisoner, like a pet.

"She is your weak spot," Sal pointed out.

I didn't answer as I came back to my seat. He stared at me with a knowing look.

"Everyone has a weakness," he continued. "You just need to know to arm them before your enemies find them."

I looked back up at the painting. Gods didn't have a weakness. That’s what made them Gods. Heroes were human, had faults, and were able to be defeated. Titans were strong and brave, but conquered. It was then that I realized my father had named me after the Titan doomed to eternal punishment. He named me after the one who would always be beneath him. Maybe it was time history was changed.

"There's no reason anyone would think she is here and alive, right?" I asked him.

"No. The missing person report circulated the news for a few days before losing steam. With only that Liddy girl, she was quickly forgotten."

That was a shame because Stella was someone that people should miss. She should have a family member on the news every day, begging and pleading for her safe return. There should be a worried boyfriend searching the ends of the earth looking for her. A big brother should be kicking ass for answers. Stella should not have disappeared so silently.

Sal and I continued to go through the people involved. We had a running list of the men working the trafficking business. We were able to figure out the port in Miami he was shipping from and the trucking company used to move the girls around the country. I was embarrassed and enraged that it had taken this long to figure out what was going on right under our noses.

Tony came back in and took his seat. "She's feeling much better. Even put up a fight."

I laughed. There was a fire left in her after all.

"I gave her food but she threw the plate at me," he said, wiping at the small cut on his forehead.

"What did you do to her?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't have taken the blow nicely. I clenched my fists, ready for a fight.

"Tied her ass up," he told me, hands up in surrender. "You can deal with the little devil. She's all yours."

We worked well into the night. It was almost winter and I was expected back in the city any day now. I couldn't go back yet. I couldn't leave Stella here unattended and couldn't leave business unfinished. We had reached the point of no return. Everything Ace and I worked for the last few years was finally coming to its epic conclusion. I wished he was here to see it. I only hoped I did him right. I kept his sister out of their hands and would end their reign of terror. Maybe I would find the girl he had been searching for all this time.

At the time, I couldn't understand how Ace was willing to risk everything for a girl he barely knew. He risked his job, his life, and ultimately his family's life, to find her. The girl could be dead by now for all we knew, but the circumstances called for an end. Were we fighting for all women, or the one he loved? I tried to think if it was Stella, how far would I go to save her from that life? Was me keeping her here any better?

I knew without a doubt that it was. I never forced her and knew damn well she wanted me just as badly as I wanted her. Her attraction was written all her face and body. I tied her up, but would never have taken her if she had been unwilling. She may have fought how she felt for me, but she never fought me.

Thinking of Stella, picturing her tied to the bed had me walking down the hall to her room. Since the moment I had brought her here, seeing her restrained was my favorite. I would have left her tied up all the time if I had thought it would have gained her cooperation. I loved any woman tied up, but Stella brought out a beast in me that I didn't know existed. I knew I was fucked up, more violent than one should be, but she brought out a stronger monster.

I pulled open the bedroom door and found her on the bed. Her arms were spread, tied to the headboard. Her dark hair covered half of her face while she slept. A thin sheet covered most of her body, the rest peaking though to tease me. My restraint was being tested, but I was never one to hold back.

Walking to the foot of her bed, I noticed her chest rising and falling quickly. Little pants passed her wet lips. In her tank top, I could see the sweat glistening on her chest. One bare leg stretched out, snaking out from under the sheet. I could see her pale skin up to her hip to her thin panties. I clenched my fists thinking about Tony holding her down like this and tying her up.

I stepped closer to her, running a finger up her exposed leg. A moan escaped her lips, even with her eyes closed. She was dreaming but not one her usual nightmares. Her back subtly lifted off the mattress, and I noticed how flushed her cheeks were. Who was she dreaming about? Who was making her moan when she could imagine anyone she wanted?

Stella moaned again and pulled on the ropes holding her wrists. Her breathing was labored and coming faster. I knew that sound, she was close and I instantly hardened at the sound. I wondered briefly if she would come while I watched her. Was I about to watch her fall her apart? In a moment of weakness, I ran my hand slowly but lightly over her stomach, pulling some of the sheet away. Her body arched into my touch and she whimpered.

I should leave this room. This was supposed to be one place she had a little sense of privacy. I promised I would keep away and never touch her again. Stella was my poison and greatest battle. Watching her while her body climbed higher and higher wouldn't be right. I wouldn't be able to walk away if I stayed any longer.

When did I ever do the right thing? History proved one thing; this girl was my weakness.

XXI

Stella

Every part of me was hot. I could feel myself melting, or evaporating; I couldn't tell which anymore. My skin tingled and buzzed with sensation. I was hot. Too hot but not from a fever this time. I was burning and my breathing was hard. I needed relief but I couldn't move. I was powerless against him, I always was. My nipples brushed the thin sheet, shooting bursts of pleasure through my body. I could feel the wetness pooling between my legs. The bed was damp under me and I rubbed my thighs together to relieve the building pressure.

It wasn't enough. It was never enough. I was so close, dangling over the edge but unable to fall over. I was chasing that burst of ecstasy. My surroundings were hazy but I sensed him. I could feel his touch and smell his cologne. I couldn't see him but I could feel what he was doing to my body. He was playing me like I was his instrument. My body begged for more as the waves of electricity rolled through me.

I was so close, I could feel myself rocking on the brink. I could hear my own panting as I gasped for air and begged for release. I tugged at the ropes and felt the pain biting into the raw skin. The pain intensified my awareness and a moan rumbled from my chest. Almost there. So close.

I arched my back and prepared to be dragged under, but it didn't happen. I felt the sweat collecting on my skin, and I was dripping between my legs. I was almost there as my dream started to dissolve. I whined and willed myself to stay asleep just a little longer. Just a few more seconds and I would be done. Please.

Reality trickled slowly in. I felt him before I even opened my eyes. I was shaking and panting when I forced my eyelids open. Atlas was leaning against the dresser at the foot of the bed. His sleeves were rolled up to show the muscles flexing in his arms that were crossed against his chest. His eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them and my skin tingled.

"Atlas," I gasped, my heart pounding louder.

"Close, weren't you?" he asked, his voice low but smooth. Just the sound sent goosebumps over my skin. So low and deep, promising the darkest of pleasure and pain.

He stepped forward, calm and composed compared to my buzz and trembling. Steady and controlled, he walked over to the side of bed. I clenched my thighs together, my need only growing more now that I was awake. I pulled and struggled against the rope, wanting my hands free. The need to run was intense, but I wasn't sure which direction I would run toward.

"Who were you dreaming about, Little Star?" Atlas asked, leaning over me.

"No one," I panted.

"Don't lie to me," he said, trailing one finger up my bare leg. He stopped and squeezed my knee, waiting for my answer.

"Please," I begged. I needed him to leave, or stay. I wasn't sure anymore.

"Please what?" Atlas whispered, his lips close to my ear. "You want to come?"

I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from telling him the truth. A dark smile spread on Atlas's face and I realized I didn't need to tell him the truth. He knew. The sheet was quickly torn away, leaving me exposed and cooling my overheated skin. I gasped as the cool air touched my skin, feeling like a caress with my senses heightened.

"You want to know my first mistake?" Atlas asked me as he took in the sight of my body.

"Yes," I whispered, unaware he made many mistakes.

"Tying you up when you first got here. I could almost forget how badly I wanted you in that club until I saw you like this," he said, sweeping his hand over me.

I pulled against the ropes again and watched as his dark eyes flared. He liked it. Atlas started to unbutton his shirt and I squirmed under his intense stare.

"My second mistake was kissing you in the bathroom," he continued as he worked the buttons free.

Everywhere he looked, I could feel it, like it was a physical touch. My tank top was riding up, exposing my stomach and my breast felt heavy under the thin material. I needed to be touched, and soon.

"The third mistake was fucking you because that is all I can fucking think about since then."

He glared down at me with dark eyes. The intensity of his words and his look made me desperate.

"Who were you dreaming about?" Atlas asked again as he rounded back to the foot of the bed. He waited with one knee propped on the mattress like he would pounce at any moment. My body was begging for him. I arched my back and squirmed, trying to get closer.

"You," I gasped, my face heating with shame and embarrassment.

I didn't have time feel much else because after a growl from Atlas, his hands were at the sides of my panties. His large fingers twisted under around the strings on the side and he pulled, ripping the fragile fabric off my body.

"What did I do to you?" he asked, his words floating between my legs. "You moaned so sweetly. Did I feel good?"

"Yes. Please," I begged, even though I didn't know what I was asking for. I wasn't even sure I could handle what I was asking for.

"Did I lick your wet pussy?" Atlas asked, spreading my legs apart and lowering himself to the bed.

I could only pant as he ran a finger over me, feeling how wet I already was. This was only the first touch and I was already dripping. I could feel a rumble in his chest before I looked down and watched as he lowered his mouth to me. I cried out as his tongue tasted and massaged. I should be pulling away, but I found that I didn't want to.

I dropped my head back and pulled on the ropes. Every stroke was too much, but not enough at the same time. I squeezed my thighs and locked his head between them. That didn't slow Atlas down. He continued to assault me with his tongue until I was sure I would come all over his lips. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and my body tensed, ready.

Atlas stopped. He pulled himself away and I cried out in pain.

"What the fuck?" I yelled. "Why?"

"I'm not done with you yet," he said, crawling over my body.

His lips crashed on mine as I rolled the familiar words around in my head. When would he ever be done with me? My lips moved with his, desperate for more of him. I could taste myself in his mouth as my tongue swept in. I moaned into his mouth and wrapped a leg around his, pulling him closer. I wanted more of Atlas.

With my hands above my head, I couldn't touch him. I fought again and felt Atlas grow harder on my thigh. He was huge, and rock hard. Pulling at the ropes made him flex against me. I should have found it sick, but I pulled harder, loving the reaction I could get from him. With a final growl, he lifted off me and worked his pants off quickly. This time around, I had time to feel and notice things like his body, the way he tasted, and the sounds of our breathing mixed together.

When his shirt hit the floor, I took a second to take in his naked body. He was strong and built to last the worst. His skin was perfect, stretched over tight muscles. As he lowered himself on top of me, I looked up into his face. His eyes were on mine already. I felt a surge of pleasure rush my body at the fire I saw in them. He may have been my weakness, but I was his as well.

I tilted my hips and Atlas pushed fully into me. It was blunt, hard and fast, just like he was. There was no warning, no easing and no softness. I didn't expect anything different. He filled me up, taking over every inch of me and every sensation. Atlas demanded and took every nerve, every inch of skin, every gasp for air.

"I warned you before," he said in my ear. "I will hurt you."

"Do your worst," I rasped.

Those words were like the crack of a whip. I felt the control snap in his muscles and Atlas kept his promise. Raising up on his elbows, he pounded into me. He was deep and hard, and I screamed with every thrust. Sweat covered our skin as the room's temperature turned to sweltering. With a strength I only imagined, Atlas took me. He took me hard with no apology or shame. I accepted it with no fear or regret.

Every time he bottomed out inside me, I cried out his name. My moans pushed him, spurred him on. I expected nothing different from Atlas. He was harsh, commanding, and powerful. I felt it with every stroke. He was everywhere, owning every sensation, smell, and sound. This man moved without restraint, and I got a rush from his loss of control.

I started to clench around him, and I felt it all over. My body was owned by him and racing toward the fire he promised. It hurt, but the pleasure won in the battle. An energy buzzed as Atlas’s eyes burned into mine. Without warning, I was screaming and clenching around him. The wave of pleasure hit so hard and fast, I lost control. I pulled at the ropes as wave after wave hit me and my eyes squeezed shut.

Atlas tensed and pulled out of me, leaving me feeling empty. I opened my eyes to watch him pump his cock twice and then come on my stomach. He groaned lowly as the warm liquid hit my hot skin and I arched into it, wanting to claim it as my own. I watched his face in fascination as it went from tensed to relaxed. When he opened his eyes again, they were a calm dark gray, like the sky after a violent storm.

The room was silent except for our panting. Atlas stared down at me with an unreadable expression. His hair was damp with sweat and I wanted to run my fingers through it. My bound wrists stung when I tried and I winced.

"I should undo those ropes. They make me lose control," Atlas grumbled, tugging on the ropes that held my arms above my head. "But I can't do that now."

I should have been upset, but I felt safe and protected for once. It was a feeling only Atlas had been able to provide for me since I'd been alone in this world. My limbs felt loose and dead. I didn't even mind the heat anymore as I drifted away into nothing. I wanted to fall asleep, but part of my brain was still awake and demanding attention.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked him, unable to see his face as I said the words.

He sighed and climbed over top of me.

"If you can still speak after I'm done with you, then I didn't do a good job."

He wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled the ropes tighter so I couldn't move. I gasped when I felt him hard and pushing against me again. That round, Atlas was successful in shutting me up and turning off my mind. Sweaty and sore, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

XXII

Atlas

Quickly, like I'd done it a hundred times (because I had), I undid the knots holding her in place. Stella moaned and closed her eyes. A power surged through me when I saw the effect I could have on her. I couldn't control her any other time but now, with my dick in her or mouth on her. She was so agreeable and free when we were naked.

Even more powerful was the effect she had on me. There was no use denying that now. I needed to confront it and own up to it. You are only as weak as your secrets. The man always with a plan wasn't sure how to work around my loss of control when Stella was around. Unless I got rid of her, I would need to deal with it.

Knowing the sun was rising on another day, I dressed and left her room. With our time running out, I needed to pull every resource we had. The days following were spent in my office. We called in favors from all over the world and spent obscene amounts of money. The air was thick with the buzz of anticipation. It was like feeling the electricity of lightning before a storm.

Stella spent most of her time in her room or on the deck. At night, I snuck into her room. She never asked any questions, but she never turned me away. As compelled as I was, I would have left if she had asked me to. But she never did. Wordlessly, she opened up to me and let me release my pent up energy on her while she remained tied up. Sometimes it was rough and the marks would spur me on the next day. Other times it was rushed like we couldn't wait a second longer.

The sun going down was a stark contrast to the daylight. Sunlight poured in the windows while we planned war. While we discussed lying, cheating and killing, the sun graced us. It was in the shadows that it all disappeared. Only Stella and I existed in whatever way we wanted to. When darkness came, I pretended the evil wasn't there, and she acted like I wasn't a monster.

Sometimes I wished it wasn't. I wondered if my mom had stayed if I would have turned out differently. Could I have been the person Stella thought she saw inside me? The shitty thing about the past is that we could never change it. We couldn't even change the effects it had on the present or future. We could only look back and wish it were different. Maybe when this was all done and over with, she could find comfort in this one time when she caught a glimpse of someone worthy of her.

Most likely, I would end up one of the bad guys her dad had warned her about. If she had a choice or options, I was sure she would never let me touch her. Stella was raised in the opposite atmosphere I was. She was taught that life was valuable and never to do harm. I was taught how to get away with murder. It was a wonder I ended up with any morals at all.

It was cold the morning I woke Stella up and forced her get dressed quickly. I only gave her a few hours of sleep before I was hauling her out of her warm bed. In a last act of desperation, I had an idea I prayed would pay off. Otherwise, I was risking everything.

"Where are we going?" she asked and she put her arms through the flannel jacket I shoved at her.

"Home," I said, pushing her out of the bedroom.

"Your place?" she asked.

"No. Yours."

Stella's feet froze but I picked her up, carrying her easily to the waiting car. I shut the door and Tony pulled away from the lake house.

"I don't understand," Stella said, her voice shaking with nerves. "You're letting me go?"

"No," I answered bluntly, taking the blindfold Sal handed back to me. "Put this on."

Stella's shoulders sunk and she hung her head while I tied the black fabric over her eyes. The car was silent as we weaved through the dark gravel roads away from the lake. With the cold moving in, the tourists had fled the area, leaving only the crazy locals. Even I should have been back in my plush penthouse, overlooking the city I controlled with violence and fear. Instead, I was taking a trip down memory lane.

After an hour of driving, the car came to a stop.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Stella whispered.

I didn't answer and instead opened my door. Coming around, I helped her out and guided her away from the car. It was still dark enough we would go unnoticed. I still needed to be careful.

"Don't scream," I said in her ear as I pushed her forward. Her entire body was trembling as we stepped through the doorway.

When I pulled away the blindfold, I stepped back and let her take it all in. Stella gasped when her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She spun around, taking in the bare walls of the house she had lived in her entire life. What was once a home was now a cold and vacant house.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked me, turning to face me with tears in her eyes.

"If Ace was last here and left a clue for you, me, or even your dad to follow, we need to find it," I told her. “We can't have anything in the hands of the wrong people.”

I stepped forward and took her shaking hands, pleading wordlessly for her help. Stella pulled away and slowly walked the halls. She ran her fingers down the walls of the hallway to the bedrooms. Some furniture and items still remained since Stella was still the owner of the house. With her missing, the place wasn't sold or emptied completely yet.

"This was his room," she said, pointing to the room with blue walls and a single bed inside.

I walked inside, checking the closet and under the bed for anything hidden. Ace wasn't a novice teenager hiding dirty magazines or drugs. He was a professional, so his hiding spot would be good but I knew what to look for. We learned from the best. When I didn't find anything, I looked around to find Stella was gone.

I found her down the hall in her old room. It looked much like the night she left it. Most of her stuff had been packed and sent across the country. She seemed lost in herself until she heard my footsteps. Giving me a sad look, she motioned for her to follow her to the closet.

"This was my hiding spot," she said, pushing on a loose board on the floor.

Stella pushed on the corner of the board and one end came up, enough for her to pull it away. Underneath was a sizable space, filled with a tiny wooden box and papers. I knelt down and pulled them out. The papers were worn and old but smelled like Stella. I unfolded one, finding a drawing of the house we were standing in.

"You drew these?" I asked, flipping through the rest.

"Yeah," she admitted quietly. "It was a hobby of mine for a while."

"Why hide them?" I asked while staring at a sketch of her mother. I could easily see the resemblance in her and Ace. It was rough and unfinished, but talented and beautiful.

"They aren't that good. I just liked doing them."

I shook my head because she was so wrong. Not one was finished and full of rough lines and harsh shading because she gave up before perfecting them.

"They are good," I told her.

She took them from my hands roughly, one of the papers ripping in the process.

"It doesn't fucking matter because no one will see these. No one will see this woman that I drew from memory," she hissed, thrusting the drawing of her mom in my face and throwing it to the ground.

"No one will know about the lone survivor of the Harlow family who could draw, because what does that matter with the backlash of murder, mob involvement, and crime? Who the fuck cares about me in all this?"

Angry tears streamed down her red face.

"I do." I said as I handed back the corner of paper that fell to the ground. She couldn't give up yet. She needed a reason to keep going just a little longer.

"What is this?" she said, taking it back and looking at it fully. It was then that I noticed the handwriting on it for the first time.

Stella sat on her bed and sorted through the drawings to find one that was not her handwriting. I recognized it immediately as Ace's. Stella silently read it, holding the missing piece to make it whole. Her eyes glistened as she soaked up her brother's words. I wanted to rip it from her hands and read it, but I couldn't take any more from her at that moment.

She flipped through the rest of the drawings and sprawled them out over her bed. Picking out one of a beautiful woman who looked slightly different than the other drawings, she handed it to me.

"He asks we never forget her. Memorize her face and fight for her every day that he can't." Her words were choked at the end.

I took the drawing of the girl. It was the girl from the casino that Ace had fallen in love with. This drawing was finished and detailed down to the reflection in her eyes. This face was innocent and undeserving of what I knew she would have gone through.

"He said that I had to make sure you kept your promise," she said, pulling my eyes away from the pencil marks Ace left behind for us to find.

"What's in the box?" I asked.

Stella opened it, and looked shocked to see what was inside.

"Nothing," she said, revealing the empty box.

I looked outside to find the sky changing to dawn. "We need to go. We have enough."

I pulled Stella off the bed and rushed her to the car. I locked the front door behind me and we pulled away. Ace found the proof he needed and it no longer mattered what that was. I would keep my promise. I would make those fuckers pay. Starting with the people who took his girl and killed his family. I would end with the man who brought me into this world. That was the thing about family. You killed for them and you died for them. I would do them both for Ace.