Atlas - Roberts Alyne. Страница 28

"I watched you at the funeral," he admitted. "I never saw you cry. Even those nights alone, you never broke down."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Atlas followed me for months. He stalked me, watched me and saw every move I made. I should feel violated, scared and maybe even angry. Somehow knowing that he was somewhere close those dark and lonely nights gave me a sick feeling of comfort. Someone was there.

"I didn't want them to win. I thought that if I never told the police that I saw anything, they would leave me alone," I said. Hearing it out loud, I realized how naive that had been.

"They won't win, Stella. I will make damn sure of it," Atlas said, his voice low and angry. "My father promised he had nothing to do with Ace or your family. He lied to me and will pay for that."

"But he's your father," I said, confused how he could follow in the man's footsteps only to turn his back on him.

"Blood may determine your family, but it doesn't have to be blood shared. It can be blood spilled. Ace died for a reason, and I will finish what he started and make anyone who stood in our way pay."

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.