Atlas - Roberts Alyne. Страница 20

"What the fuck are you doing?" Atlas growled at him, lowering the gun. "You know better than barging in like that. Asshole."

"We have company," he said gravely. "Now."

"Who?"

"Xander. I rushed in before Tony and him to warn you," Sal said, glancing behind him.

Another face appeared in the doorway. He looked like Atlas a little, with dark hair and eyes. He smiled as he took us in, me sitting on the floor with a red face.

"Dude, didn't you know you had a chick with you," he said with a wink to me.

"Get out," Atlas barked.

Sal pushed the stranger back and closed the door. Atlas quickly locked it behind them. I could feel the rage rolling off him and it scared me. I wanted out of this room but I didn't know what dangers lurked outside the door. Atlas paced the room while I slowly stood up and backed up against the wall.

Atlas turned and glared at me. I wished I was invisible because when he looked at me like that, I feared for my life. If I could rewind to several minutes ago, his eyes would make me hot and want to do things I shouldn't.

"Stella," he whispered, coming at me in long strides. He put his hands on both of my shoulders, pressing me to the wall. "I told you not to let me touch you. Do you ever do what you're told?"

"Not often," I admitted quietly.

"Well, you're life depends on you doing what you're told tonight."

XIV

Atlas

I was a planner. Every plan had a back-up plan, exit plan, and even back-up exit plan. I never let a detail get overlooked. It was how I was raised, or trained, and how I operated. There was a plan to prevent anyone from finding out I had the Harlow girl alive. If anyone was about to discover her, I would make sure she wasn't alive to be found.

Xander's surprise visit could ruin this plan. As my cousin, he had loyalty to my dad and his own dad. I didn't know whose side he would stand on if a war broke out. I didn't know his involvement or what he knew. I could find out, or I could dispose of Stella now, eliminating the risk.

I gripped my gun and looked down into her terrified eyes. Moments ago they were passionate and ready for whatever I could give her. Sal saved her from getting exactly that. There was so much I needed from her still. And there was still the promise I made to Ace. I should at least try to make this work before I put a bullet between her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Stella, I need you to look at some photos," I told her.

"What photos?" she asked with a shaky voice.

I pulled her over to the computer and opened a folder of photos, flipping through them for her. Ace and I had spent months collecting these photos and evidence.

"Tell me if any of these men were the shooter."

Tears welled in her eyes and she swayed on her feet. I put an arm around waist to hold her upright.

"This is very important, Little Star," I said in her ear. "Stay with me. Don't you dare fucking shut down now."

"No. He's not there," she choked out.

I sighed, both relieved and disappointed that Stella didn't recognize any of the guys I showed her. Although I was able to eliminate about a dozen men I thought may have been involved, there were tons more who could be. These were just the guys who went missing in the past few months. If you left behind a witness, you were in a world of trouble. A smart man would disappear on his own or one of us would make it happen.

With everyone denying that we had anything to do with the Harlow killings, there was no one I could interrogate. Chances were that very few knew the real truth. If they knew what was good for them, they would make sure that I never found out either. Taking out Ace was a grave mistake on my father's part if he ordered it. And if a bigger and darker secret was lurking in the darkness, everyone would go down.

In this life, we had few real rules. Spilling blood wasn't a crime, but sometimes it was as necessary as taking out the trash. Lies were a weapon and a defense. The only people you feared or respected were those above you on the family tree. Within the family, you protected your own. As the boss’s son, I was practically a prince. I was in the inner circle, or I thought I was.

"How did you manage getting away that night?" I asked. If anyone saw her, he should have killed her then. You never leave a witness behind.

"When I saw," she paused and swallowed. "I went across the hall to the laundry room. I climbed on the dryer and up into the attic above until he left."

Sneaky. Smart. She would do just fine tonight. I was risking exposing what I was doing to Xander but it was the best option we had. Since he already saw her, I couldn’t just hide her away and lock her up. We would need to be creative. This was one of those moments I wished Ace was here.

"Me too," she whispered. I didn't realize I said that out loud.

"Did he have the power to get you to follow directions?" I asked, earning a small smile from her.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Shower, get dressed and meet in the living room," I told her. "You are not Stella tonight. Be anyone else you want to be, but not the girl I was supposed to have killed."

Her eyes widened but she nodded. I waved her off, needing a moment alone to regain my control. Between the surprise visitor and her, I was losing it.

"Oh, and Stella," I called as she reached for the doorknob. "Don't try anything stupid or I will kill you. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," she whispered and hurried through the door.

I ran my fingers through my hair and grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair. Time to work. I found Sal and Tony with my cousin in the living room. Tony was mixing a drink at the bar and the sliding doors were open to the patio. Xander smiled widely when he saw me.

"Atlas," he said, coming at me to shake hands. "Sorry to interrupt you and the little hottie. I thought you were alone up here."

I laughed and smiled like I wasn't on edge. "I'm never alone," I quipped with a cocky smirk.

"When I heard the boys here were on the way to your lake house, I demanded to hitch a ride back with them," he said. "It's been too long."

"Too long," I agreed. It had been a while since I trusted anyone. "Did Sal give you the tour? There's an amazing wine cellar downstairs."

"I forgot the tour," Sal jumped in. "In fact, there's a bourbon about a hundred years old we should get for tonight."

"I heard Bourbon," Xander said, standing. "Lead the way, Sal."

Sal led Xander out of the room and I hoped the bourbon really existed. Xander was a laid back guy but he was raised in the family as I was. He wasn't stupid.

"What the fuck?" I hissed when they were out of ear-shot.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," Tony said. "We couldn't push anymore without him getting suspicious."

"You couldn't have called?"

"He wanted to surprise you," he said quietly. "We didn't feel secure using the phones to call you. What are you gonna do about Stella? And what the fuck did they walk into?"

"I have a plan," I said just as Stella walked into the room.