Copyright T.L Smith 2020

Heartbreak You by T.L Smith

All Rights Reserved

This e-book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the Author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations or places is entirely coincidental.

All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the Author. All songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

Contents

Warning

Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

About the Author

Also by T.L Smith

Warning

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This e-book is intended for adults ONLY. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Cover – Outlined with love

Photographer- Perrywinkle Photography

Edited – Swish Editing

Editor - Ink Machine Editing

Proofread – Lisa Edward

Blurb

Our story didn’t exist, it was broken before it began.

Kisses were covered with lies.

Lies were covered with kisses.

Hate turned into lust.

And lust turned into fantasy.

That’s what we were, a fantasy.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Now it’s time to move on. But how can you when your heart wants to stay stuck in the fantasy?

When even through all the lies and kisses, you still have lust.

Chapter One

Theadora

“Thea.” Lucy’s voice is soft, and I angrily wipe away the tears that are streaming down my face. I don’t know why I’m crying. Now is not the time. I need to move, not sit here, wiping at tears that aren’t deserved. I hear sirens coming closer.

Lucy touches my arm and squeezes. “Thea, I loved him.”

I scrunch my nose up as Lucy lays her head back, slouching on my couch, my hand firmly on her leg holding the blanket in place. I know it’s helping and can’t move it because the pressure is slowing the bleeding, although the blood has seeped up and through my fingers and is now pooling on top of my hand.

“Don’t worry.” I shake my head. 

“I loved Atlas, Thea, not Benji.” She closes her eyes, her face seeming to go ghostly white. “I love him, Thea. And I hate that he loves you,” she states.

As the sirens grow louder, I shudder.

Finally, I hear a knock on my door and yell, “In here.”

The door is pushed open and in walks two EMT. They take over the pressure, and I manage to move away as they assess her. Before too long passes, they have her on a gurney and are wheeling her out of my home.

The next to arrive are two detectives who walk in and immediately look over at Nicholas, who’s still on my floor covered in blood. 

They question me. 

Ask me questions I can’t answer for what seems like hours while they mark out the crime scene in front of me.

Tears stream down my face as the coroner steps in, removes Nicholas’s body, leaving the floor covered in blood and an outline drawn by detectives.

Hours pass, as detectives mark out and take photographs of the crime scene. More detectives arrive, take samples, then leave. This seems to go on forever, but time for me seems to be at a standstill. It’s like watching a slow-motion movie playing out in front of me and not knowing how to stop it. 

Having no idea of time, or even if it’s the same day, I watch as everyone leaves my house after they have finished their investigations. This is when I finally look over at the spot—the place where Nicholas died on my floor—and wonder how I’m meant to get the blood out of the carpet. My eyes then move to my couch, which is smothered in Benji’s blood, and I know I will need to purchase a new one.

After a thorough investigation, the detectives ruled the death of Nicholas was self-defense and Atlas was cleared. The injuries to my sister and Benji were caused by Nicholas, therefore the detectives investigating were happy to close the case. Although they were not happy with Atlas moving the body, Atlas does what Atlas wants so it’s no surprise there.

My hand flies to my mouth at that thought. Benji. Oh gosh, even with what he did to me, I would never wish death on him. 

Ever. 

Benji loved my sister so fiercely it scared me, and I don’t think I can ever find a love like that. 

I had hope for Atlas. That somehow, in some way, even with our rocky start, the ending would be so much better for us.

He gave me false hope.

Then he crushed it. 

And crushed my heart along the way. 

Somehow, I manage to crawl to my bathroom. I have to get to the hospital and check on my sister, but as I look down at my blood-stained clothes I know I have to change.

My hands rip at my clothes, tearing them from my body and dropping them in the corner before I stand in the shower. I let the cold water wash away all the blood, squeezing my eyes shut because I don’t want to see it wash down the drain. 

When I manage to open them, I’m hesitant to look down. Once I get up the nerve, I check, and the water is running clear. I finish washing, then get out and quickly dress before walking to the door to head to the hospital.

When I open my front door, Sydney, Atlas’s assistant is standing there, her hand raised ready to knock. She looks me over, and then quickly rights herself before she glances at me in the eyes. “Atlas has decided your debt has been paid and he no longer requires to see you.” My hand clenches at my side. “You still have your job, though.” She turns to leave. 

“Sydney.” She stops and spins back toward me. 

“Yes?” she questions. 

“Does he hate me?” 

“Yes.” With that one word answer, she turns and slides into her car, the driver taking off without hesitation. I don’t have time to dwell on that little confrontation. Let’s face it, I shouldn’t care if he hates me or not, but for some reason I do. 

Arriving at the hospital, I head straight to Lucy. She needed stitches in her leg and lost a lot of blood, so she will have to stay in for observation for at least a day. When I step into her room, she looks away as I enter. 

“Have you heard anything?” I ask, referring to Benji. 

“What do you care? What do you care, Thea?” Her voice is raised.

“I never wanted this,” I say, shaking my head, my eyes glassy from all the tears I’ve let slip. 

“It’s because of you that this has happened,” she says in a voice that’s so vicious, I have to take a step back in case it somehow grows a hand and slaps me in the face. 

“I’m sorry about your husband,” I tell her in a small voice. 

“I don’t care about that. I get all his money now, so it’s a win for me.”

The doctor enters the room, and he looks to me, asking me if I’m family, before he starts speaking to her. “You’re pregnant.”

My eyes fly open at his words.

Lucy’s eyes go wide as well.

Then, as if she’s possessed, she turns her head slowly, eyebrows slightly slanted as she looks at me. “You should leave because when he gets here, and I tell him I’m pregnant, I need that moment to be between us.”

Slowly, I shake my head as the doctor steps out.

Lucy touches her stomach. “He will want me now, not you,” Lucy spews out. 

“Lucy…” I step forward, but she holds up her hand, halting my progress. 

“Don’t, Lucy me. This baby and I will do great with Atlas as the father.” 

“But he isn’t the dad,” I tell her.

Is she delusional from the blood loss? She’s making no sense.

“Benji was his cousin. So this baby will be the most important thing to him now Benji is dead.” She says ‘dead’ as easy as she breathes, as if her husband’s death hasn’t affected her at all. 

Cousin? Oh, my God. 

How did I not know, and how come he never told me? 

“Lucy...” 

“Get out,” she yells.

When I take a step back, she instantly calms, as if my presence is so bad it gives her anxiety. 

That’s not fair—not fair at all. 

Turning, I head outside and sit by her door with my head on my knees. I don’t know what to do or where to go. 

Reaching for my cell, I call Atlas, but he doesn’t answer. 

I message Atlas, telling him to call me. Again, he doesn’t answer. 

Then I send something I know I will regret later. 

Me: She’s pregnant!

I wait. I don’t know what else to do.

My eyes are heavy as the morning sun rises, and I feel my stomach start to growl. My legs are sore from sitting in the same position. Once my eyes finally open there are a pair of black boots standing in front of me. Looming over me, Atlas looks at me with an intense, fevered stare in those beautiful amber eyes. His face is clenched, his posture is stiff, and that vein I often see throbbing in his neck is pulsating angrily. This is when I realize I can do nothing to change the outcome, and I hate that fact more than I care to admit. 

“Atlas.” I say his name, and his face reddens as I speak.

He looks past me to the room where my sister is lying in her bed. She was sleeping last time I looked in on her. 

“She in there?” he asks, not looking at me. 

“You came for her?” I ask incredulously, somehow managing to stand. 

Looking back at me, he snarls, “Not for you, that’s for sure.” I hiccup unintentionally. “You’ve brought nothing but wrong turns and bad decisions into my life since the minute I let you in. I should have killed you when I had the chance.” 

I step closer to him. “There is still time. Go on, do it. Put a knife to my neck and slice.” I regret the words the moment they leave my mouth, but anger’s taken hold, and his eyes show a flicker of pain before they return to hate. 

“Maybe I will when you least expect it,” he spits out then turns, walking to the door, not looking back.

I stay on the wall, listening in to the conversation. 

“You came. I knew you would.”

“Is it true?” Atlas asks. 

“Is what true?” Lucy states, sounding so much more polite than when she speaks to me. 

“Don’t play with me, Lucy. Today is not the day for your games,” he says, and I imagine he’s running his fingers through his perfectly styled hair.

With my back to the wall, I slide to the floor, not sure if I should leave.

Why do I feel the need to always look out for Lucy, even after everything she’s done? I have no answer to this question, and the only person who can change that is me. 

Standing, I turn and look into the room.

Lucy’s brows bunch together when she sees me. 

“I’m leaving,” I tell her. “And I’m not coming back this time, Lucy.” 

She flicks her hair over her shoulder. “I never wanted you to save me, Thea.”

My eyes shift to Atlas, who’s looking at Lucy, but I speak to him anyway. “I’m giving two weeks’ notice. Thank you for giving me my job back, and…” I trail off as I look to Lucy, who’s glaring at me as if I can’t get away from her fast enough.

Atlas keeps his back to me, not once looking my way. I bite my tongue as I turn and walk away.

Why should I finish what I was going to say when that man doesn’t seem to care? 

Did he ever care, though? 

Or, was he simply a great pretender? 

I feel it was the latter. 

As soon as I arrive home, I walk up to Tina who’s sitting on my doorstep. She glances up at me, and her face instantly falls. 

“I can’t talk now, Tina,” I manage to say. My eyes are heavy, my body is sore, and I’m afraid to walk into my own home. Will I have nightmares? Especially after seeing everything that has happened in there. “Will you stay the night?” I manage to ask.

Tina nods and puts her arm around me as we walk inside. 

I try not to look, I do, I really do, but when Tina lets out a gasp, my eyes instantly go to the spot I know she can see. The blood on the floor, the lines in the shape of a body, my couch splattered in red.

Tina turns to me, with her eyes wide. “You go to bed.” 

For some reason, I go to step toward the blood like it’s calling me, but Tina places her hand out to stop me. “Go to bed! I’ll be there soon.” 

Heading off, I strip out of my clothes and lie in my bed, and that’s when I hear her cleaning. The carpet shampooer is working overtime, the vacuum buzzing away, and I also hear her dragging the couch outside.

Much later, when she crawls into bed beside me, I’m still awake but dozing. Her arm goes over my hip, and that simple movement instantly soothes me. Soon after, we both fall asleep, and I dream of a man with angry, tormented eyes. 

Atlas.

Chapter Two

Theadora

“Okay, tell me. I know this isn’t paint, so no lying about it.” 

“It’s not paint.” I bring the coffee to my lips. 

“Why did you come here?” I ask, confused. I never texted Tina to tell her I needed her, even if I am glad to have her here with me right now. 

“I couldn’t sleep, and when I rang your cell the other night, Atlas answered and said you were asleep and you would be home by yourself since he had to work...” she pauses. “He said it as if he didn’t want you to be alone. I thought it was sweet, but I’m guessing this was before whatever happened here?”

I nod. She rang when I was happy, when I saw a future with Atlas.

“You were sitting out here all night?” I ask.

She shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

“It’s Lucy’s and her husband’s blood. Plus…” I shake my head. “It’s their blood,” I tell her, not able to finish the sentence. 

“Okay, where is Lucy?” 

“Hospital.” 

“Well, at least the bitch didn’t die.” Tina smiles, but I don’t. I can’t bring myself to have any sort of emotion. Because people did die, and my house is now forever tainted to prove it. I look back where the blood was, which I have been avoiding, and see no trace of it. 

“You cleaned it all?” 

“I threw out the rug and the couch, there was no saving them.” The floor looks like there was never any pool of blood or a dead body, but when I look in that area I know otherwise.

“I’m moving,” I tell her. “I gave notice, and I’m leaving this city, Tina. I can’t do this shit any longer.” 

She looks down, her hand twirling the spoon in her coffee, and she’s not answering me. 

“Tina?” 

“Is it because of him or Lucy?” 

“Both,” I reply honestly. 

“Okay, have you thought of not moving, but going on a long-ass break instead?” She shrugs. “You’ve never traveled, and if you sell your house, you can leave all your stuff at mine, so you have something to come back to.” 

“I’ve never thought of traveling.” 

Tina stops stirring her coffee and smiles as she looks up at me. “Now is the time.” 

“Maybe,” I say.

She shakes her head. “No maybes about it.” 

I hear a knock on my door, and Tina gets up before I have a chance to answer it. 

“Nope, nope… not allowed,” I hear her say.

Standing, I walk up behind her to see that Lucy’s at my door and my mouth goes wide at the sight of her. She has on a dress showcasing her legs, one of which is bandaged due to her wound.

“You going to deny a pregnant woman access?” Lucy asks, touching her belly.

Tina laughs, then stops as realization sets in. “Oh, God, you aren’t joking. Fuck me! You will be the worst mother to ever grace this earth. Lucy, give that poor child to someone who will care for it.” Tina crosses her arms over her chest, pushing up her ample breasts.

Lucy hasn’t spotted me yet as she turns her nose up at Tina and replies, “I have Atlas now… he’s going to help me.” She smiles as she says it and I cringe when I hear it.

 “Atlas, the man who loves your sister and not you?” Tina bites back with laughter. “You did always want to be like Theadora. I guess having a man who loves her should do it for you.”

Lucy’s eyes narrow and she looks behind Tina, finally noticing me. “You going to let your friend talk to me this way?” Her eyes pin me to the spot. 

Tina looks back to me when I say nothing, then she glances back at Lucy. “Now, what do you want? Before I kick you out, pregnant and all.” Tina smiles as Lucy looks down at the floor then back to me, ignoring Tina. 

“He asked me to move in with him. To live with him,” she says, smiling. “Thea, I need my baby things, I know you kept them.” 

“Nope, nope, nope, not a chance. Goodbye.” Tina attempts to shut the door, but Lucy stops her, putting her hand between the door and the frame. “I will cut your hand off and not care one iota, just try me,” Tina threatens. 

“Thea, I want my things… the ones you kept.”

I didn’t keep much. Our mother had a box for each of us containing our favorite clothes, and photographs from when we were babies. I kept Lucy’s here at my house. I also kept mine, so when I have my own child one day, I can pass something down even if it is small. 

Spinning around, I walk away, going to my closet and pulling out the box. When I step back out, Tina’s still looking at Lucy, as if she is ready to tackle her. When I go to hand her the box, she shakes her head. “Oh no, I can’t carry that. I’m pregnant.” 

Tina swears under her breath as Lucy starts walking off to a car. I realize immediately whose car it is. She opens the passenger door and waves for me to put it inside, and I stand there shocked. Atlas is sitting in the driver’s seat and doesn’t even look my way. I drop the box on the ground and lean down so I can see him. 

“You carry her box, you piece of shit.” I flip him off, turn, and walk away.

Tina laughs, and when she sees me watching, she quickly covers it up and follows me back inside the house, shutting the door behind us. 

“You know she only did that to rub it in your face, right? She doesn’t want the baby stuff, she just wanted to show you she had him,” Tina says. 

“I hate her,” I say through gritted teeth while pacing back and forth. 

“About time.” She laughs. Reaching for her purse, she kisses my cheek and says, “I’ll be back, stay here.” 

* * *

I spend the rest of the day in bed doing nothing. Tina announces herself when she arrives back and comes straight into my room. In her hand, she’s holding a suitcase and paperwork. 

“Do you plan to tell me why Lucy was with him?” Tina asks. 

“Her husband was Atlas’ cousin.” 

“So, of course, she is using that to her advantage,” Tina says, sitting next to me. “You go to work tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yep.” I nod. 

“And you have given your two weeks’ notice?” 

“Yep,” I reply again, not wanting to talk about any of this shit for longer than necessary. 

“Okay, this is for you.” Tina hands me the paperwork she’s holding. “You have to take it, and don’t try to give it back because its paid for and finalized.” I open one of the envelopes and pull out an airline ticket, followed by a document. Looking up to Tina, her eyes are wide, and she looks hopeful. 

“You shouldn’t have,” I say.

Tina reaches and pulls it out fully. “It’s an around-the-world ticket, stopping in some of the places you’ve always wanted to go.”

For the first time in days, I smile as I start reading. 

“I can’t accept it. At least let me give you some money for it.”

Tina waves her hand. “I got a big contract. Massive actually.” 

My eyes go wide. “Oh my God, how come you never told me?”

Tina’s cheeks go red as she looks down at the floor. 

“Atlas got it for me. I was planning to tell you, but then…” she trails off.

“I get it, but it’s good news for you, right? This is what you wanted. You are an official party planner, making good money now.” I smile. 

“Yes, and now I get to give my best friend a present she truly deserves. Think of this as your combined birthday and Christmas present.” 

“Now, my present will seem like shit next to yours.” I laugh, then lean over and wrap my arm around her, squeezing her body tight and holding her to me. 

“This way you don’t have to sell, you can simply travel. And then when you’re back, you can decide what to do.” 

I nod. There’s money in my bank from Nicholas, which I never touched. And I still don’t know if I should, though it’s not like I can give it back. Plus, I’ve made extra payments on my house which will cover me for a few weeks. And if worse comes to worst, I have savings. 

“Will you see him at work?” I ask, and she shakes her head. 

“No, it’s his assistant I usually deal with.” I nod. “Do you want me to junk punch him next time I see him? I mean the contract is signed for his next event, so it’s not like he can fire me.” Tina smirks. 

“No. Maybe it’s best you don’t, you never know he might give you more contracts.” I laugh again and realize things can only get better.

I hope. 

* * *

I train Marissa for my position, and on my last day, I see Sydney, who hasn’t been in since I’ve been back. She walks into her office, which is next to mine, and doesn’t say hello, not that she ever did before, but this time I don’t even get a glance in my direction. 

“Are you sure you’re done?” Marissa asks as she watches while I start packing up my things. 

“Very much so. But you know you can email me if you need to,” I tell her.

She nods and wipes away tears. “You’re really going. Oh gosh, this is so much for me to take on. No one would ever have thought you would leave. No one. At least not by choice.” 

“Me, too.”

My office door swings open and Sydney steps in. She looks at Marissa who leans in and cuddles me before she walks out, leaving me alone in the room with Sydney. 

“Your sister is a bitch.” Her first words pack a punch, but they are not untrue. “How are you two even related?” I raise an eyebrow and get back to packing my things. “He asked me to pay you out for your holidays and sick leave, plus a bonus.”

My hands stop, clutching the photograph I’ve just picked up as I turn to look at her and say, “No, he didn’t.” He hates me, he thinks this is somehow all my fault—the idiot. 

“No, you’re right. It was me. Take it! You deserve it,” she says with an eye roll. “In case you’re wondering… Lucy isn’t staying at his house as she told you. He’s put her up in an apartment, and she calls me every day asking for his number. Atlas only gave Lucy my number in case she needed anything.” 

“Oh, I bet you love that.” I smile at Sydney while she brushes a hand through her long, black ponytail before she turns and stares full force. Sydney is nothing if not intense.

“If I could get rid of her without being fired, I would have no hesitations.” She turns and starts to walk out. 

“Thank you, Sydney,” I yell out after her.

She waves, not looking back as she heads into her office.

Just as I’m about to leave, a bunch of flowers arrive. They are all white calla lilies with one red rose in the middle. I open the card.

FUCKING UP MY LIFE

Screwing up my nose in disgust, I scrunch up the card into a ball and throw it using extra force into the bin, and then walk out leaving the flowers right where they are. 

Care factor = zero!

No more, Atlas. 

No more, Lucy. 

Just me.

And it’s about time.

Chapter Three

Atlas

The door to my office is flung open, and Sydney is standing there, hand on her hip and a scowl set deep in the lines on her forehead.

“Give her your number. This is unfair and torturous.” Sydney crosses her arms over her chest. “You can’t punish me like this.”

“I can and I will,” I tell her, smiling.

“I should quit.”

“But you won’t,” I tell her, knowing full well she would never leave me. Sydney likes her excessive salary and her lifestyle way too much. I pay her exceptionally better than she would receive anywhere else.

“Well, give her your number. I can’t put up with her one second longer.” She throws her hands up in the air. “Why you brought that sister back is beyond me. The other one is far better.” She scrunches her lips together like she wants to say more but instead turns to leave, stopping at the door. “She left your flowers, threw the note in the bin with exceptional force and is now gone.”

“Gone where?” I bite back.

Sydney spins around to face me, her hand still on the door handle. “She’s left the country. Guess you really fucked that one up, didn’t you?” She walks out, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

Theadora left?

Never would I have guessed she would do that.

She doesn’t even have a passport as far as I know. But I guess I’m wrong if she’s leaving the country.

She left.

I despise her, so it shouldn’t bother me. I hate the way she made me feel something, and I despise what she did.

Benji would be alive today if it weren’t for her. I wouldn’t have lost the only family I cared about. My hands clench into tight fists, the anger boiling over.

How could I have gotten so lost in her fucking eyes that I didn’t see clearly? I always see clearly and know exactly what’s going on in my life.

“Lucy,” I say, calling her apartment—I’m not the least bit surprised when she answers straight away. She’s getting what she wants, after all. Plus, I have security at the front to make sure she doesn’t run. Lucy likes to run and then come back to fuck everything up.

“Atlas, the baby is getting so much bigger,” she coos over the line before even saying hello. Lucy likes to get me to bite, to lure me into her, but I am aware of her devious ways.

“Lucy, why have you been making calls to my clients?”

She goes quiet. Lucy’s deceitful, there is no other way to describe her. She worms her way into your life until she gets what she wants. And it’s always the same two things—attention and money.

If you’re paying attention to her and you have money, you are a winner as far as she is concerned.

Just like Benji.

Fuck, poor Benji.

“I want to find out more about you. Is that so bad?” she whines. “You are going to be the baby’s father, after all.”

No. No, I am not.

I pull the cell away from my face before I say something I shouldn’t.

That baby had a father, and he was someone whom I cared for deeply. Benji was one of the only people left in my life who didn’t use me—that was until the day he met Lucy. Then he fell victim to her conniving, calculating, and cunning ways. How he managed to fall into her trap, knowing full well what kind of woman she is, is completely beyond me. Benji was smarter than that.

“Lucy… Benji is the baby’s father isn’t he?” Silence greets my question. At least, I believe he is the father, but then again who really knows with Lucy.

“Yes, but you will take his place, right?” she asks, her voice hopeful.

“I’m helping you because that baby you are carrying is family, Lucy. You, however, are not.”

“You will change your mind when I have the baby. You will,” she says with determination.

“I’ll never be what you want me to be, Lucy. I see you for who you really are. Now stop contacting my clients, or I will be forced to take further action.” I hang up on her before she can answer and spew out some more shrewd bullshit.

The fucking nerve of that woman. She’s digging, asking for money from people she shouldn’t be discussing anything with. The next person she steals from will kill her. She’s lucky I didn’t, and the only reason for that is because of her sister.

Now, look where that’s gotten me.

My office door is pushed open again, and Sydney walks back in, without knocking as usual.

“They’re all incompetent! Thea trained them, and yet they are still calling her. And when they can’t reach Thea, they call me. What the fuck, Atlas… as if I fucking know the answers.” Sydney places a profit report on my desk, pointing to the figures in the right column—the numbers are all red. “As you can see the daily income was impressive when Thea worked for you, now it’s plummeting.”

“Get the figures back in the black,” I tell her, pushing the paperwork away from me like it’s burning my fingers. I don’t have time to run a clothing business, Theadora was meant to do that, I was supposed to have nothing to do with it.

Chloe and Jesse had no idea how to run that business. They had Thea doing all the work, and well now, Jesse, he’s dead. I let him off, only to have him scheming against me the following week. I couldn’t let that slide, so I took care of business. A bullet to his head, while his wife wept next to him. It was no less than what he deserved, and it’s exactly what he got.

What Chloe doesn’t realize is I did her a favor. Having a man like that in your life isn’t what a marriage should be. Jesse cheated on her any chance he could get.

It’s a Benji and Lucy situation.

How are people so dumb to stay with someone who uses them.

Sydney crosses her arms over her chest as I look up at her.

“You need her back,” she says, her eyebrows raised above her glasses line. “Apologize, then offer her job back. We need her.”

“No,” I tell her firmly.

Sydney is one of the only women in my life who hasn’t used me. And because of that, I have kept her around for so long she seems to think she has a right to talk to me the way she’s doing.

“It’s going to fail then.”

“I don’t need it, I earn enough money without that line.”

Sydney lets a breath go and shakes her head. “You do need it. It makes you good money, and one day, you’ll want Thea to come back to her job. Trust me, when you’re over this… this-is-her-fault shit and start seeing things more clearly, you’ll want her back.”

“Get the fuck out, Sydney, before I damn well fire you.”

Sydney turns and walks out, shutting the door firmly and hopefully not coming back.

I log in to a fake Facebook account I’ve created—I don’t have a personal account—and search for Theadora’s name. She pops up right away. Her profile isn’t private, so I can see her posts easily and have been checking them often. She isn’t someone who posts about her every thought—it seems she posts photographs with some text every once in a while. Or maybe birthday wishes to her best friend and even some workmates. That certainly was the extent of her online presence.

But now, when I check her page, I see pictures of her smiling as she stands in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, and with a flower in her hand as she sits on a gondola in Venice. But the one where her cheeks are full from the smile on her face is the one where she’s standing on the snow in Iceland. That image I save and then log off.

You can not want to be with someone and still want them, can’t you?

Because Theadora fucks with my head, and she isn’t even here.

Blaming her is exhausting, but she is, after all, my easiest target.

Chapter Four

Theadora

My bags are heavy, and I wonder why I bought so much stuff while I was on holidays. I should have packed lighter and got rid of some excess clothing or something, especially when it was just me carrying it all. Walking out into the cold air, I spot Tina straight away. Her car is parked out the front of the airport, she’s waiting and ready for me to arrive. When she sees me, she basically jumps and wraps her arms around me and I her, then she squeezes me tight. So fucking tight, I almost forget to breathe. When she pulls back, a tear is set free, and she swipes at it on her cheek.

“Four weeks! It was only meant to be two,” she says, smiling.

“I fell in love with Iceland and didn’t want to leave,” I tell her, smiling back.

“I saw the photos, it looked amazing.”

“It was. If I could live there, I would.”

Tina shakes her head. “No way, I’d be lost without you.” She hugs me again, and when she pulls back, she goes to reach for my heavy suitcase and struggles. “Fuck, Thea, what did you buy?”

“Things for you, of course,” I tell her as we both lift the suitcase and throw it into the back of her car.

“What do you plan to do now you don’t have a car?” she asks as we get in and she starts the engine and takes off toward my home. I sold my car before I left so I could take as much money as possible. I think I knew I wasn’t coming back after two weeks, so I wanted to be prepared.

“I have a bit of money left. I can buy another, but I don’t think I will. I might just look for a job that’s more local,” I tell her.

“Or start your own business. You know you should.” She smiles as I turn to face her. “You ran that place, and you know all the ins and outs of what to do.”

Actually, she isn’t wrong, and that thought had crossed my mind. But you need money to start up a business, and I’m not sure I have much savings left now.

“Maybe I’ll start small… make it a goal-based.”

“Why?” she asks, turning onto the highway, then glancing at me.

“Because it costs money, and I’ve just gotten back. I am broke after spending so much overseas.”

“Borrow against your house… you know you can do it.”

“I have to be employed for that.”

“Okay, well, I’ll hire you.” I laugh at her words. “What? I’m not joking. I know you work hard, and I could use an extra hand. I have so much work, I can’t keep up. I was planning to hire someone, and you happen to be unemployed…” she smiles as she trails off.

“You don’t want me to work for you,” I tell her while shaking my head. “What if we ended up hating one another?” I shiver. “I couldn’t stand losing you, too.”

“That will never happen because if you annoy me I will tell you, and we will figure it out. I’m not Lucy, Thea,” she says, and I agree with a nod.

“Okay, I will work for you.” I smile.

“Good. You get this week off then you can start. I know jet lag will be a bitch.”

* * *

Tina wasn’t wrong, jet lag was a bitch, and it took me all week to get my sleeping times back to normal. Luckily for me, I ran every day. And some days when I couldn’t sleep, I pushed myself so much that, when I got home, I fell asleep on my couch.

As I’m fixing my black pants, Tina walks in, dressed similarly to myself with long, black pants and a plain-colored button-up shirt that’s tight-fitting but professional.

“Okay, so I didn’t plan this one. But I kind of need you.” She bites her lip. “It’s one of his events.”

Oh, fuck no.

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I’m quitting.”

“But I’ve had two of my servers call in sick, and I’m one bartender down. Please, Thea.” Her hands touch mine and she pulls on them. “I swear, I won’t ask this of you again. I’ll even put you behind the bar so you don’t have to serve.”

“That’s what a bartender does, Tina… serve.”

Tina starts shaking her head. “Not at mine. The bartender mixes and the waiter hands them out and takes them around. The bar has no seating, and it’s just for drinks, no interaction with clients.”

“So he won’t be able to talk to me?”

“Atlas hardly attends any of the events I do for him, so I doubt you will even see him. It will most likely be Sydney.”

“Sydney,” I say, nodding my head. “I can deal with Sydney, just not him.”

Tina nods. “Okay, ready?”

“No.” She puts her arm through mine as we head to her car and get in. She drives to a place I’ve never been. It looks like a small bookstore from the outside. Tina just smiles as she gets out, and I follow her. When we walk into the building, I see it is just that—a bookstore, nothing fancy.

“Do we have the right place?” I ask with my eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

This can’t be her event, can it? I assumed it would be something a bit more high-profile, considering the class of Atlas’s clients.

“Yes, give it a chance.” She walks over to one of the bookcases and pulls a book out halfway. I jump when something behind me starts moving. When I turn to the sound, one of the bookcases is sliding to the side, revealing a set of stairs. “See, this is it.”

I look back to her with wide eyes. “Holy shit,” I say, shaking my head. “This is the event?” I ask, walking toward the stairs. I step down them. A small restaurant appears with a large open area. I spot the bar straight away, at the back in the corner, and see one bartender behind it.

“It’s amazing, right? Atlas designed it.” When I look back to her, it doesn’t slip past me the cringe that appears at the mention of his name.

“Do you talk to him?” She looks away, and I know I’ve gotten my answer.

“I can hate him if you want?” Tina states it more than questions it as I walk over to the bar.

“No, don’t hate him. I’m sure enough people can do that without adding another one.”

Tina laughs. “Yes, you’re probably right.” Tina walks up next to me and nods to the bartender.

“You can see everyone, but for them to see you, they have to look out the back, here. If he comes, there’s a back door behind there.” She nods to a spot behind the bar.

“I’m no bartender,” I tell her.

“That’s fine. It’s mainly champagne and wine, and the occasional whiskey on the rocks. And we all know you know how to pour a glass of wine.” Tina winks.

Before I can say anything, I look to the stairs to see Sydney stepping down. She looks in our direction and makes her way over to us.

“Thea, I have to tell you something,” Tina whispers.

When I turn to look at Tina, Sydney is now close and walks in front of her, sliding her hand around Tina’s waist, and then touching her lips to Tina’s.

At the sight, my eyes… well, they go really fucking wide.

What the fuck?

Tina kisses her back, and Sydney’s hand grasps Tina’s waist as if she’s afraid Tina is about to run off.

How?

When?

What the fuck?

Tina pulls her lips away, which are now pink as she looks to me. She wipes at her lips, and Sydney turns, following her stare, and gives me a disinterested look.

“Nice to see you too, Sydney.” I turn away from her and look at Tina. “You and I obviously need to talk,” I say while shaking my head. I had no idea that she was even interested in women, but then again, her last relationship lasted a month because she said, and I quote, ‘I didn’t like his penis,’ to which I laughed, but maybe she doesn’t like penises at all.

“Yes, but I have to get to work.” Tina leans over and kisses my cheek, then she turns to Sydney, giving her a soft smile before she walks off.

“You’re back,” Sydney says, leaning on the bar—there aren’t any seats, and for that I’m thankful.

“Seems that way,” I say.

“Tina’s been worried about you.” I was reaching for a glass but pause at her words. “I like her,” she states, and I turn to look at Sydney.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Sydney looks away and out to the floor, where waiters have started to circulate as people begin to arrive. Tina stands at the door, letting the right people in once they reach the bottom of the staircase.

“She loves you more than anyone. If you don’t like me, she will find that an issue.” She bites her lip and looks back at me. “I usually wouldn’t care what you think, but she’s different, and I want to be better for her.”

“As long as you aren’t like your employer and a damn fuckwit, I don’t see any problems.” I smile. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get on with work.”

Sydney looks me up and down, as much as she can from standing on the other side of the bar.

“I could give you your old job back.”

“No.”

“The girls want you back. I want you back. You are good at what you do.”

“Thank you, but no.”

Sydney shrugs and goes to walk off, but then she stops. When she speaks, a shiver goes right through me. “Your sister is still at his apartment and trying to get as much as she can from him. Thought you should know.”

Lucy.

I haven’t had a thought about Lucy in over a month. I’ve been happily ignoring the fact that she even exists. But now I’m thinking about her, being happy without her, hurts my heart more than I realized.

Some people can’t be fixed, and Lucy is one of them.

“I didn’t want to know, but thanks for telling me.”

Sydney keeps on walking as the other bartender moves in next to me. He’s younger than me, good looking, with a reassuring smile.

“Hey, name’s Derek.” He offers me his hand, and I take it. “Haven’t seen you at one of Tina’s events before. You new?”

“You could say that.”

He puts on an apron and hands me one. I do the same, wrapping it around my waist.

“I’ve never done this before,” I tell him and when I look up, he’s smirking.

“I figured as much.” I blush at his words. “But it’s okay, it’s not an open bar so it’s you, me, and the waiters. You should be safe.”

“Oh, you met already.” I look up to Tina as she walks over to us.

“You got me a rookie,” Derek says with a great big smirk on his face.

“I did. And this one is my best friend, so you best be on good behavior.” Tina winks at him, then looks to me. “How freaked out are you? I didn’t mean to spring that on you,” she says, staring at me while leaning on the bar, obviously referring to Sydney and her.

“As long as you’re happy, I’m fine. But you have so much explaining to do.”

“What are you explaining?” Derek joins in the conversation.

“None of your business,” Tina snaps at him.

Derek holds up his hands and backs away.

She turns back to me. “Tomorrow, we can have lunch, and I will tell you everything.”

“Deal.”

Tina walks away as the music starts in a low hum around the room. Waiters come up to the bar for drink orders, and Derek turns out to be very patient and helpful.

As the night progresses, it turns out, I’m not bad at pouring drinks, and the company is great all night. Derek’s funny and a good guy to be around. Why couldn’t Lucy fall for someone like him?

“Hey, we need to start packing up,” Derek says, holding a tray of glasses out in front of him. I take it, and when I turn, someone is standing right in front of me, dark boots followed by dark jeans, hands clenched at his sides as my eyes make their way up.

When I finally reach his face, the tray in my hands drops and smashes at our feet.

“Theadora.”

Chapter Five

Theadora

My name on his lips is the last thing I expected to hear. I knew there was a small chance of seeing him, but as the night went on and we started to finish up, I thought I had luck on my side. Guess I was wrong. 

Atlas’s amber eyes bore into mine. I look away and drop to the floor to start cleaning up the glass. 

“It’s where you should have always been. At my feet.” Atlas takes a step back as I clutch a piece of glass in my hand. I stand, my eyes protrude while I flare my nostrils in anger as I look at him.

“Where I should have been is nowhere near you. Ever. And I hope to keep it that way from now on.” I push at his chest, but he captures my wrist. 

Atlas’s eyes flick to my hand where I still hold the piece of glass. “I hope you plan to use that.” He leans in. “Because I have no qualms in cutting your throat the way he cut my cousin’s.”

Gasping at his words, I try to pull my hand free. On the second pull, he finally lets me go. 

“You are an evil man, Atlas Hyde,” I say, stepping back. 

“Wasn’t evil enough not to have my cock in your pussy, now was I?” he snaps back. 

“That was a grave mistake on my part,” I tell him. “And it will never happen again.”

Tina steps over. Her eyes scan mine and then drop to the floor. “Thea, you’re bleeding.” I look down and see the skin on my hand is cut. I was clutching the shard of glass so hard I didn’t even realize it had punctured. Tina goes to grab my hand, but I snatch it back. 

“Am I free to go?” I ask.

She nods, her brows crinkle as she bites her lip. 

“Theadora, always a pleasure,” Atlas says as I step away.

I look back and narrow my eyes at him. Now would be a great time to have magical powers, like those in the fantasy books I read, so I could make his head explode. But unlucky for me, I don’t, or Atlas would be very dead on the floor right now. 

Walking to the back hallway where the bathroom is located, I enter and shut the door. While I’m running my hand under the flowing water, the door opens, and before I can tell whoever it is to get out, Derek pops in and offers me a smile, holding a bandage in his hand. He walks over and takes my hand from under the water and starts cleaning it ever so gently. I take in his profile, his long eyelashes fanning his face, and his lips start to twitch as if he’s fighting a smile. 

“No, you can’t have my babies,” he says, making me freeze. When he looks up at me, I see a gleam in his eyes. Is that playfulness? “Maybe marriage first?” he adds with a wink. 

“I’m not the marriage type,” I tell him.

Derek finishes bandaging up the cut and smiles. “I highly doubt that.” His hand drops back to his side, and I really take a close look at him now. His hair has a tinge of red to it and is cut short, his black T-shirt is tight, showing off his toned body as well as great arms. 

I mean, they aren’t as big as his… 

No. There’s no comparing someone to a psycho. That shit’s not healthy. 

Derek smiles with no shame. It’s something I like about him. 

“What are your plans after?” he asks, his hip now leaning against the sink, his legs crossed at the ankle as he stares at me, waiting for my answer. “I mean, the night is still young. You up for some fun?” He wiggles his eyebrows. 

“Sure,” I say, letting the word fall from my lips so easily and before I can really think about it. 

“I actually thought you would say no. So I guess I have to think of something fun now.” A laugh finds its way up my throat. 

“I’m sure you can think of something,” I say.

He nods. “I can, and I already have.” Derek opens the door, ushering me through. “Do you need anything or you good to bounce?”

“Nope, I’m good.” Derek waits to walk out and catches up to me. As we take the stairs, I don’t look back, because I don’t care if he’s watching my ass. As we get outside and the cold air hits us, Derek walks over to his car and opens the door so I can slide in. He shuts it, and when I turn to look out the window, I see him. 

Atlas is standing by the side of the building, leaning on it, watches me. I turn away quickly and don’t look back when Derek gets in and drives off while I fight the urge to vomit. 

* * *

“Where are we?” I ask. I can hear people but can’t see a thing. He turns his cell’s flashlight on, then pushes back a fence that’s been cut for people to sneak in.

“Are we allowed in there?” I ask. It reads ‘Private Property,’ but Derek just smiles and gestures to the hole in the fence. 

“Yes. Come. Hurry.”

I duck and slip through to the other side. Derek follows me and shines the light on the ground as we walk. As we get farther in, I hear the laughter of others coming closer and the hum of soft music. 

It’s pitch black out here. For a second on the way, I thought perhaps he was planning on killing me when he turned down a dark, dirt road, but of course, my mind was getting ahead of me. I do feel easy around Derek, it’s as if his presence calms me. 

“Wow.” I stop as I see other people chilling on rocks at the edge of a water hole. This place is literally a water hole with rocks around it, and below is the water. A few people are sitting together, snuggled up, swaying to the music while others are shaking their hips and putting drinks to their lips. 

“Cool, hey?” 

“How old are you?” I ask.

Derek shakes his head. “Twenty-three,” he tells me.

He’s closer to Lucy’s age than mine, but only by a few years.

“You going to tell me you’re too old for this?” He climbs over a rock, grabs a beer from a cooler, and sits, patting the spot next to him. I walk over and sit, letting my feet dangle over the edge. If we climbed down a little farther, I could have my feet in the water, but from here we are too high. 

“No, not at all,” I say, answering his question. He hands me a beer, and I put it to my lips, taking a sip. I don’t particularly like the taste of beer, but it’s better than nothing. 

“How’s your hand?” 

“It will heal,” I tell him.

He nods and drinks the rest of his beer fairly quickly then says, “Only one, because I gotta drive you home.” I’m thankful for that.

“I can drive. If you want to drink, that is…”

Derek shakes his head and stands. Lifts the bottom of his black tee and pulls it over his head then lets his pants drop leaving him in only his boxers. “When was the last time you did something unexpected?” he asks.

I smile. If he would have asked me that a few months ago, before I’d met Atlas and then traveled, it would have been hard to answer. But now not so much. 

“Over a week ago, when I got back from Iceland,” I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Okay, then, jump in. Surprise me, blondie.” He puts his hands out to the side and drops backward. I gasp as I watch him fall because his head could have hit a rock or anything on the way down. But when I hear his laughter, I instantly relax. “Blondie, I’m waiting.”

I nod my head, resolute in my crazy decision. Standing, I shimmy my pants off and throw my shirt to the side, so now I’m only in panties and a sports bra. I look down and can hardly see him, due to the moon being not that bright tonight. Looking over my shoulder, there are a few couples in full-on make-out sessions, paying no attention to us at all, so I do what I would never do previously—I jump. 

The cold water assaults my skin, making me squeal before I submerge completely. When I come up for air, Derek is laughing. I see him more clearly now I’m down here. 

“There isn’t anything in this water, is there?” I ask, not being able to feel the bottom. 

“No.” He laughs, then something grips my ankle, and I shriek, making Derek laugh even harder. “That was too easy,” he states.

I splash water at him, making his laugh die down. He looks up to the sky, lays his head back in the water, and starts to float. 

“This place is pretty cool.” 

“Found it a few years back, and it kind of evolved from there.” He looks to me. “Now, some nights are crazy, and it’s good because no one is around to hear us. And some nights…” he looks around, “… are just easy and laid back.” 

“How long have you been bartending?” I ask. 

“It’s not all I do. I’m a builder during the day, but the tips from bartending are excellent and help supplement my wage.” 

“I bet all the ladies love you.” I smile.

As I say the words, a loud noise is heard, and everyone seems to startle into motion and scatter.

“Derek…” 

“Move, move,” he says, pushing me to the edge of the water.

I try to pull myself out, but I slip on the rocks and fall back in. Derek’s already out and pulling on his shirt. He looks back to me and climbs down to help pull me out. When I get out, light is shone on me, and I blink, not able to see. 

“This is private property,” a deep voice states. 

“We were just leaving,” Derek says. 

“You are.” My hands are cuffed, and I’m being pushed forward.

Derek swears next to me as he gets pushed into the back of a cop car. 

“Derek, you said we were allowed,” I hiss. 

“I may have lied.”

I let my head roll back and start shivering on the seat. Fuck, I’m only in my panties and sports bra.

“I’m sorry, Thea. Fuck! Out of all the nights we have come here, this never happens, I swear.” 

“It’s fine,” I bite out. 

It’s not. I’ve never been arrested, and trespassing is not what I want on my rap sheet.

When we arrive at the station, the officer questions us separately. Then tells me to call someone.

I try Tina—because who the fuck else am I meant to call—but she doesn’t answer. 

Then I call Sydney, who happens to answer on the first ring.

“Sydney, it’s me, Thea. Is Tina with you?” 

“Why are you calling from a private number?” she snaps at me. Sydney always seems angry. Always. 

“Is Tina with you?” 

“She’s asleep. What’s wrong?” 

“I’m at the police station, can you come to get me?” 

“What the fuck?” she says into the cell. “Where?”

I tell her, and before she hangs up, I close my eyes knowing she’s going to give me one hell of a lecture for this. “And can you bring some clothes? I seem to have misplaced mine.” 

“I don’t even want to know.” 

“No, no, you don’t,” I say. 

One hour later, Sydney’s still not here, but someone else is.

I look at the police officer. “I’m not going with him.”

Atlas Hyde stands on the other side of the bars, smirking as he watches me.

How could she call him?

Him of all people?

I’m never trusting that bitch again. 

“Miss, you either spend the night or go with him. Your choice. But I won’t be standing here all night while you decide.”

I look up at him. “Anyone but you,” I say. 

“No, just me, Theadora.”

I stand and walk past him, feeling his eyes track my every move and watch my almost-naked body. The officer seems to sigh when I walk out, happy to not have to deal with any more nonsense tonight then he walks off.

“Where are your clothes?” 

“You don’t need to know that.” I hug myself and walk out.

Where the fuck is Sydney?

I really could do with some clothes right now. Luckily for me, it’s not freezing, but the breeze is cool, and it makes me shiver. 

“You’ve got a tattoo.” Atlas looks down at the back of my arm where my Nordic compass is located, it’s a symbol of guidance and protection, and believe me, with Atlas in my life, I need all the damn protection I can get.

Chapter Six

Atlas

White silky skin with a devilish temper, and I want to run my hands all over it. Trace it with my tongue. She eyes me with disdain and turns her head away from me.

“Yes,” she says, answering my question about her tattoo. I never thought she’d get one, she simply doesn’t seem like the type. But then again, I assumed I had a type, until her.

Theadora is anything but my type.

No, she is the type of woman I stay away from.

My cell starts ringing, and Lucy’s name pops up. I press reject and look back to a shivering Theadora.

“I could give you a shirt,” I say while studying her. “But I think I like you better like this,” I tell her with a smirk.

“Fuck you,” she says, turning and walking down the street.

“Do you want to get arrested for indecent exposure, too? I mean, you are practically naked, Theadora.”

She spins around fast, takes a few steps so she’s right in my space, and starts screaming at me. “Why are you here? I didn’t want you here. You would be the last person I would call even if I were dying. Believe me… the… last… person.” Her sky-blue eyes darken.

“You keep telling yourself that lie,” I reply. I reach up and push a lock of blonde hair away from her face, and she bats at my hand. “You love me, and you fucking hate that you do,” I say.

She freezes. She’s like a deer stuck in the headlights of a car that’s heading straight for her.

“Y-You…” she stutters. “You know nothing about how I feel, Atlas.” She shakes her head. “Nothing.” She turns away from me.

“My guess it’s the same way I feel,” I say.

She stops but doesn’t look back.

“Pain on a whole new level. Mixed feelings for someone who doesn’t deserve them.” I step closer, her back still to me. “A person who you despise with every fiber of your being.” I step back, turn, and walk to the car.

Sydney turns up and gets out of her car. Her eyes lock onto mine, then move to Theadora before she leans back into her car, emerging with a blanket, she walks over and offers it to Theadora and then guides her to the passenger side. When she’s safely tucked inside, she doesn’t look my way, simply keeps her eyes down as she waits for Sydney.

“Why did you come?” Sydney asks. “You said you don’t have feelings for her, so why are you here?” she questions again. “Unless you’re lying.”

My eyes snap to hers. “No.”

She crosses her arms over her chest.

I rang Sydney for work, and when she said she had to go out, I asked why. She was reluctant to tell me, but when she did, I smiled.

My good girl in trouble with the police.

Who would have thought?

As I stand there thinking, a guy walks out of the police station and looks around. When he spots Theadora, he heads straight to where she’s sitting in Sydney’s car and knocks on her window. She opens it for him. I can’t make out what they say, but it’s not as heated as when she and I talk.

When he stands, she offers him a small smile, but I can tell it’s forced.

I was in the neighborhood, so I had to come and see it for myself, and I am glad I did. Seeing Theadora locked up is something that will stay with me forever.

“You have to stop,” Sydney says. “You say you don’t care, but you stalk her, and now you show up here. Stop it!” she snaps.

“Do you want to be fired?”

She flicks her hair. “Please, as if you could fire me. That threat is getting really very old.”

“I could, and I can,” I retort back, even though we both know I won’t. She knows how valuable she is to me. When I glance back in Theadora’s direction, she still doesn’t look this way.

“She’s working for Tina?” I ask Sydney.

Sydney rolls her eyes. “Yes.” Sydney looks back to her then to me. “I don’t think you deserve her.” Her words are firm, and I know she believes them. “Did you know her father was a drunk, her mother was an enabler, and her whole life all she’s done is look out for Lucy? It wasn’t until a few years ago that she stopped mothering and saving her. Tina says Theadora did everything for Lucy, even when she shouldn’t have.” Sydney takes a breath. “She even copped the beatings for Lucy when their father was drunk,” she finishes and turns away, walking to the car, leaving me to absorb everything she has just revealed to me.

I watch as the car drives off, my eyes not leaving until they are out of sight. How can someone so perfect fuck my life up as much as she has?

My cell rings again, and this time I answer it, knowing full well who it is.

“Lucy.”

“The baby is kicking. Kicking! Can you believe it?” she gushes.

“Great,” I say, still standing where she was.

“Why don’t you sound excited, Atlas? This is our baby.” I pull the cell away and take a deep breath. How can one be so fucked-up and the other so perfect?

“That isn’t my baby. That is my cousin’s baby who I am helping,” I say, reiterating to her again for about the hundredth time. She never listens, though.

“You know, Benji told me about your dad. You’d make a great dad, just like him.” She throws the thought in my face. My father was a good father only when it served him, and that usually involved power and money.

It’s why he sits in prison now where he belongs.

“Benji didn’t know shit, and stop with this delusion Lucy.”

“I love you,” she screams.

“And I do not love you.” I hang up on her.

Lucy tries to call me back, but I let it go to voicemail, where I know she will leave multiple messages which I will never listen to.

Climbing into my car, I drive home. The whole way there, sky-blue eyes never leave my head.

Even when I know they should.

Chapter Seven

Theadora

“Why did you call him?” I ask Sydney as we drive off.

I feel used.

Humiliated.

Embarrassed.

A shiver wracks through my body, and I pull the blanket closer around me. “How could you,” I say again as my lips quiver with the cold or is it the mortification of being arrested and then having such close contact with him.

“I didn’t call him. Atlas called me when I was heading out, and I may have told him.”

“Oh gosh,” I say, shaking my head. “I was doing better without him anywhere near me. I don’t need him around. At all,” I say.

“I get it, but I have a feeling, even if he says he doesn’t want to be around you and doesn’t even like you, he can’t help himself. Just as he couldn’t help himself before.”

“He broke this. Not me, so he doesn’t get to choose,” I reply, turning my head to the window.

“I take it you don’t have keys to get back inside your house?”

Fuck. Or my cell.

“No.” I left it all in Derek’s car. Which is God only knows where?

“Why did you go out there? You did know it’s private property, right?” Sydney asks.

I ignore her as she starts to slow down at a house I’m not familiar with. When she pulls up, I see Tina’s car parked out the front and look up at the large cream home. It has a wrap-around porch and is quite beautiful. It has a load of old vibes to it, as well as a modern feel.

“Where are we?”

Sydney gets out, and I follow only because I recognize Tina’s car.

“My house.” The front door opens, and Tina comes out, rubbing her eyes, looking at me then to Sydney.

“Thea, what’s wrong?” Tina steps out and comes closer. “Why are you wrapped in a blanket?”

“Can I have my spare key and some clothes?” I ask.

Tina looks to Sydney who’s already walking inside the house, and when she turns back to me she says, “Why didn’t you call me?”

"I did.”

She nods like she understands. “What did you do?”

“I just want to go to bed,” I say.

“Okay, at least let me drive you home.”

“No, it’s fine. If you give me some clothes, I’ll run.”

Tina starts shaking her head. “It’s at least fifteen minutes by car to yours.”

“I need to run,” I tell her.

Tina knows she can’t argue with me. So, she simply nods and waves me inside. I wait at the door and when she returns she’s holding her running clothes. I drop the blanket and start sliding them on. She then hands me her runners, lucky for me we are about the same size. They are a tad loose, but I do the shoelaces up extra tight in hopes I won’t hurt my ankle or get a blister.

“I can drive you,” she offers again.

I fix my hair, tying it back, and shake my head. “No.”

She hands me my spare key. “Sydney said he was there.” Tina’s voice is low.

“Yep,” is all I answer.

“I’ve told her when it comes to you, she isn’t allowed to tell him anything.”

I don’t reply to that because Sydney did the opposite and I can’t ask Tina to not speak about certain subjects around her girlfriend, afraid of what she might say to him.

“Thea, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I lie.

I hate that he rattles me so much. My nerves are shot all to hell, and I can’t seem to stay still. I need to run, to somehow get him out of my system.

I wish I’d never met him.

* * *

The next day, Tina comes over and in her hand are my house keys and cell.

“You got them back?” I ask her, somewhat surprised.

“Yes.” She pushes past me into the house. “Derek filled me in. He feels guilty about everything… as he damn well should.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s too young for you.”

“He isn’t that much younger,” I say, defending him.

“He likes to play, do reckless shit,” she points out. “You don’t. You like…” I know what she was about to say, but she pauses and shakes her head instead.

“Atlas…” I finish for her.

“No, I wasn’t going to say that. But I think your type has changed, don’t you?”

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “He told me I loved him last night,” I confess.

“Do you?” she asks.

I shrug. “I think I could have, even if I didn’t want to,” I answer back. “But I don’t know.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”

“No.” I chuckle. “Sure,” I say with a heavy breath waiting for what might come from her mouth.

“I think no other man has made you feel so many mixed emotions before, and that you are confused. I think you were starting to fall for him, even if you fought it at every step. And I’ve never seen you fall for anyone the way you did for Atlas.”

“He’s just one man,” I say.

“A man you could love, even when you don’t want to.” She huffs, and I look back to her. “If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure he felt the same way.”

“He blames me for what happened.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a dick.” She laughs. We walk into the living room, and she sits opposite me. “Enough about the dick, what about me? Hit me with your questions.”

My eyes go wide, and then I smile. “Okay, well… how did it happen?”

“Sydney asked me out. I may have seen Atlas and let words fly from my mouth that I shouldn’t have.” She bites her lip. “He looked like shit for a few weeks. Sydney said he locked himself in his office.”

“His cousin died,” I point out.

She shrugs. “Yep, but I don’t think that’s the only reason for his downturn.”

I don’t want to know anymore, so I stay quiet, and she changes the subject.

“Have you thought about what I said? About you opening your own online clothing store?”

I have thought about it, last night when I was running.

“Oh, gosh, you’re smiling. You did think about it, right?”

“Just ideas.”

“Do it! You have all the contacts to make it happen for you. You can do it, I have faith in you.”

“Maybe.”

* * *

Derek’s at my door, his hands in his pockets as he looks up at me.

“You probably don’t want to see me…” he says, then continues, “… but I’ve come to apologize. I thought I could impress you. Take you out of your comfort zone. You seemed a bit uptight that night.”

“It’s okay, Derek, I did have fun. Until…” I let the words hang out there.

He smirks. “‘Till we got arrested,” he says, then scratches his head. “Yeah, about that, I’m so, so, sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine. I swear.” I hold up my hands.

“Tina told me I had to do something, or else she’d fire me,” he tells me.

I chuckle at his choice of words and the look of chagrin on his face.

“Of course she did.”

“She mentioned you may need a hand with this business you plan to open, maybe turn one of your rooms into an office? I can help with that.” He smiles. “For free, of course.”

I didn’t think of that, but it would be smart to ask for his help.

“I’ll pay you.”

“I won’t accept.” He smirks. “Look, would you go out to dinner with me? No police involved this time, I swear.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I tell him honestly.

He nods, gives me one of his great smiles, and steps away. “I had to try.” Derek looks behind him. “Until next time, Thea.” He gives me a head nod and walks away. I watch as he slides into his car and drives off.

Going back inside, I call Marissa, and she answers straight away.

“Oh my God, are you coming back? Please… please tell me you are,” she says when I tell her it’s me.

“No, I’m not. But I was hoping you could email me the suppliers email addresses?”

“Umm… okay. Why?” she asks. By the sound of her voice I know she’s baffled.

“I think I may start my own business. Maybe.”

“Thea, oh, God. Yes. That’s such a smart move. You will kill it. Can I work for you when you start hiring?” I laugh. “I’m serious. And did you forget to tell me something?”

I pause and don’t say anything.

“Our boss is your boyfriend?” she whispers. “He was the one at your car that day. Is that why you quit because you don’t want to mix business and pleasure?”

“No.” I cringe.

“Okay, well, he was in, and girl… every girl was drooling over him. I need me one of those… no talking, all brooding types. I bet he is a firecracker in the sack. Does he choke you?”

“Marissa.” My voice goes higher pitched at the end of her name.

“Okay, okay, don’t tell me. Whatever. But I bet his cock is as vicious as that stare he gives anyone but you because I remember the way he looks at you. And girl…” she pauses, “… I want someone to stare at me the same way.”

“You’ll email me the addresses?” I ask, ignoring the remarks regarding Atlas.

“Fine! Yes, of course I will. If I get fired for it, you have to for sure hire me, though.”

“You won’t get fired,” I say. Actually, I have no idea, but I hope she won’t. If she does then I will have to take her on as an employee, I will owe her that much.

“Okay, well, can we meet up soon? We all miss you, and you’ve been gone so long.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, Sydney just walked in and asked for the cell, see you soon, Thea.”

“You are requesting information?” Marissa squeaks, and I close my eyes at Sydney’s booming voice. “Your friend isn’t very quiet about it. Next time, Marissa, shut the door and don’t use the speaker.”

“Yes, Miss.” I hear Marissa say to Sydney.

“Now you… what are you trying to do? Tina mentioned that you will be starting your own business. You want contacts?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well, you can have them when you come for dinner.”

I freeze at her words. “Um… what?”

“You and me, Tina and Atlas. It needs to stop. You two need to talk, and Tina and I can be the mediators between you two.”

“No,” I say. The word falls from my mouth so fast, I can’t believe I even thought about the question.

“No…” she pauses. “Okay then, well, you aren’t getting shit. And trust me, Thea, you want all these contacts, because they like dealing with you and will give you smaller quantities because they trust you. You will have trouble finding suppliers who will do that for you.”

Dammit! She’s right. Some of my old suppliers, I was their first customer and took a chance on them. I’m sure they will do the same for me in return now.

“Atlas agreed to see me?” I ask.

“He will,” she says as if she knows him. I guess she does. But to sit down and have dinner with us? That I’m not so sure about.

“If he agrees.”

“Good, and Marissa will send you the information once we have dinner and not before.” Sydney ends the call abruptly.

I sit on my couch and look to the floor, where the blood once was, and shiver as I stare at the space. To remember what happened that night does nothing good for me. I can’t sit in this living room for long periods, as all I see is the blood that soaked my floor, even though it’s no longer there.

Picking up my cell, I scroll until I see his number. My heart rate picks up, and I delete it.

After this dinner, which I am not even sure will happen, it will be the last time I ever see Atlas. Hopefully. And then I can be free to get on with my life. Free of a love that was growing so strong for a man who doesn’t deserve my attention.

But if he doesn’t, why is it growing?

Love is a fickle bitch.

I will not be like my parents, where love blinded them, and they couldn’t see clearly.

I see very clearly, and I know better.

Or, so I keep telling myself.

Chapter Eight

Lucy

“Lucy.” Atlas says my name, and I smile at this dark and beautiful man.

I love Atlas with everything I am.

“I am not at your beck and call, so stop calling me.”

I call and call because I know he will come eventually. And like now, here he is, standing at our front door. His devilish face is in full view, and I have to hold myself back from stepping up and kissing him.

He isn’t accepting my kisses right now.

But he will.

I know he will, eventually.

I reach out and grab his hand, placing it on my belly.

“She’s kicking,” I tell him. When I look up at him, his eyebrows are pinched as he stares at my belly. “What should we name her?” I ask.

“Her?” he questions. Then as if the spell is broken, he pulls his hand back and shakes his head. “That’s up to you, Lucy. Now, what was so urgent you needed me here?”

“Am I a prisoner?” I ask. My hands rest on my belly, which is getting bigger and bigger. If only it was his child and not his cousin’s.

“No, but you know this,” he tells me.

“So, I can go wherever I want?”

“Yes, Lucy.”

“I want to go back to yours, it’s lonely here all by myself.”

“Make some friends. Call your sister.”

I scrunch my nose up at his words. “What? I don’t want anything to do with Thea, never have,” I spit back at him. “Why you did is beyond me.”

Atlas stares at me, and at first, he doesn’t blink. I offer him a small smile, and he shakes his head as if coming out of some sort of reverie.

“Call your sister and stop being a spoiled brat.” Atlas goes to step away, but I reach for him, grabbing his arm. He stops, and his eyes fall to where my hand is on his arm, then back up to mine. “I didn’t say you could touch me, Lucy. Remove. Your. Hand.”

“But she can touch you?” My hand drops away from his arm.

“Theadora was allowed to,” he tells me. His eyes, almost golden right now. They draw me in but make me mad when they sparkle at the mention of her name.

“Is she still allowed to?” I ask.

“That’s none of your concern. Now, stop calling me. I’m helping you in honor of Benji, nothing more, Lucy. You better start thinking about how you can become a great mother.” His eyes drop to my belly.

“You’ll help me raise her, won’t you?” I ask. “I don’t know how I can do this by myself.”

“Mothers everywhere do it by themselves, and you can too,” he replies.

As he goes to leave, I reach for him again. “You don’t love her, do you?”

I watch him carefully. He flinches at my words and narrows his eyes.

“You do.” I gasp. “Oh my God, you do.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucy. Go to bed, it’s late.”

I let go of him and step back through the door. “I could stop you thinking about her,” I tell him.

“Lucy, you will do no such thing. Stay away from her.”

I twirl a piece of my hair around my fingers. “It could be so easy, just slip something in her drink, and—”

Atlas’s hand is fast as it reaches for me. He goes to grab my neck but stops himself short and grasps my shoulder instead. “Stay the fuck away from her, Lucy, and start thinking like a fucking sister should.” His eyes drop to my baby bump. “You will want Theadora around for her.” He nods to my belly.

“No, I will not. I will have you.”

“I don’t like kids. And one that’s yours, more than likely not.”

“You say you don’t like me, but you’re always protecting me,” I point out.

“The first time was business until I saw her, then I didn’t kill you because upsetting Theadora was not on my agenda.” His eyes narrow. “You live because she does. If she stops living, Lucy, so do you. I will find a good home for that baby, and it will never have to know what a fucked-up mother you are.”

Before I can stop myself, I throw myself at him and lock my lips to his. He can’t talk like that he just doesn’t understand how we are meant to be together.

His hands touch my sides, and I grip around his neck, holding on to him tight. I move my lips and try to gain access but have no luck.

I moan, and he pushes, but I won’t be pushed away that easily. You have to fight for what you love, and Atlas is the man I love and have loved, long before he fell for my sister or even met her.

Why can’t he see we would be so much better together?

“Fuck.” He pushes me off and wipes at his lips. His intense, fevered stare is full of hatred. But I know he’s simply confused. He doesn’t understand what he’s feeling.

“Lucy, Lucy…” He tsks. “That’s the last time you will ever fucking touch me without my permission. Which, I might add, you will never ever get.”

“Did you fuck her?” I ask, tears now streaming down my face. “Did you sleep with Thea?”

“Yes.”

“Why not me?” I cry. “Why not me?” I reiterate.

“Did you love Benji, Lucy, or was all this a ploy?” Atlas asks. His eyebrows are pinched so tightly together, his anger has become palpable with his fists held tightly by his sides.

But maybe if I kiss him again it will disappear, and he will see what he’s missing. I go to step forward, but he holds me back.

“Yes, kind of… I mean, maybe.”

“He loved you, Lucy. Benji’s first love was you.” He points out our mistakes. It was easy to get Benji to do what I wanted, he was the puppet, and I was the master. The only person I have ever had trouble with, in that department, is Atlas as his puppeteer. But soon I will have him under my control. One day very soon.

“He stole because he knew it would make you mad, and you found me, didn’t you?”

“I can’t deal with your type of crazy anymore, Lucy. From now on call Sydney if you need anything… I’m changing my number.”

“She doesn’t love you, you know. Thea told me she was using you.” His feet stop, he spins around, but he doesn’t look at me as I let the words fly from my mouth, “She said how easy it was to manipulate you. I bet she told you I always stole her boyfriends. What you don’t know was… you were Thea’s way of getting back at me. Taking what I wanted. Thea used you, Atlas, but I never will.”

“I fucking hate you all… all you Fitzgerald women.” He mutters profanities and then walks off.

I smile as I shut the door and go into the living room, throwing my feet up on the coffee table.

Thea may have had him.

But I will own him.

I rub my belly and smile.

I’m sorry, Thea, but this time you will not win. Because I already have his heart, and you aren’t allowed in.

Because he is mine.

Chapter Nine

Theadora

It’s been two weeks, and I have managed to start something I wasn’t sure I could actually do on my own. I’m proud of myself. My website is coming together, and shipments of samples are on their way. Marissa was right, the suppliers took a chance on me the same as I took a chance on them, and they cut back their minimum order amount as long as I covered shipping, which I happily agreed to. I’ve worked a few nights with Tina to make sure I have some money supply, and I stay up all night working out how exactly I want my business to run going forward.

I’m loving how it’s shaping up, and looking to the future, I can see it’s going to do well for me.

Sydney ended up letting Marissa give me the details early, as long as I had a dinner booked, which I did, just not right away. I needed room to breathe first. Taking a break away from Atlas is like coming off a ventilator—you wonder if you can still breathe on your own.

“Gosh, I thought you said you ordered small amounts,” Tina says as she walks through the door, carrying a box of sample clothing.

“I did.”

Her eyes bulge. “So, what does a large order mean?”

“Shipping containers,” I tell her, to which she shakes her head.

“Have you worked out what you want to sell?”

“Everyday fashion with some sass.” I smile.

“I mean… that describes you.” She looks me up and down in my acid-washed jeans and halter top. “Is this close to what you were doing?”

“Yes and no. Chloe’s company prices were high-end. She was greedy, and she didn’t care about the product. I care, and I hope to keep prices at the lower-end,” I say, biting my lip while opening the first box which is full of jeans and sweats. I’ve been living in sweats lately, and the only really good ones that are comfortable for around the house—and good enough if I have to pop out to run an errand—cost a fortune. I plan to change all that. I want something that’s comfortable and isn’t embarrassing to leave the house in. Casual chic I call it.

“You’re on a winner with this, and I know you will keep prices down, you are the most non-greedy person I’ve ever met.” I look up at her as I sit on the floor, pulling out all the samples.

“How’s Sydney?” I haven’t seen Sydney since the night she picked me up from the police station, and I’m not sure how much of her I’m ready to see again.

“She’s good. Atlas is throwing her a work birthday party, at the casino in his private room.” I roll my eyes at the mention of his private rooms. I’ve been to one and didn’t like it very much. “And she did ask that I bring you. If you’re comfortable with it… that is.”

“When is it?”

“Two weeks.”

That will mark a month since I’ve seen him.

“Do you want me there?” I ask.

“Only if you’re comfortable. He will be there.”

“Yes, I know. I don’t care. But do you want me there?” She sits on the floor next to me.

“Yes. Her mother is coming, and I’ll be the first girl she’s ever introduced to her. So, yes, I would like you to come, but I understand if you can’t or don’t want to.” She starts folding the clothes I pulled out.

“Of course, I will.”

She looks up, holding a baby pink shirt in her hand. “You will?” she asks cheerfully, and then her voice drops. “What about Atlas?”

“It will be fine. I’m sure he can be civil for one night. I know I can.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

* * *

Two weeks fly by, and in that time, I’ve signed off and decided on my first twenty outfit sets I plan to sell on my website. I’m sticking to a small number of options, so I don’t go overboard or become overloaded, and to ensure they sell.

Derek made me an office, it has a vibrancy in it that Tina helped with, picking bright colors and I love it. Tina let him in my house one day when I was out, and I came home to him shirtless and sweating. I have to say that was a nice sight, but that was as far as it went. I know better, and to be honest, he doesn’t excite me in that way.

Only one man has been able to pull any of that type of emotion from me. And he isn’t someone I want to give them to anymore.

I pull on my red dress—it’s ultra-sexy, stopping at mid-thigh—and I pair it with some black heels.

After checking myself in the mirror, I pick up my clutch and cell and head to the Uber waiting outside. After a short ride, I step out with my blonde hair flowing in long waves down my back as I walk into the casino.

I know which way to go, so I push off in that direction. I know Tina’s already here since she has messaged me five times, asking me if I have arrived. When I get to a very familiar door, a man is standing there with a clipboard. The last time I went through here, I was used to distract another man to lose his money. Tonight, I will not have to do any of those things. Tonight’s about me enjoying myself instead.

“Name,” he snaps, not even looking up.

“Thea.” He looks through the names and shakes his head.

“Not on the list,” he says, then motions for me to step away.

I pull out my cell and go to text Tina, but before I can, someone steps up next to me.

“Theadora,” Atlas says to the doorman. The doorman doesn’t even look at the names, just nods and steps to the side, letting us in. He goes to start walking, but I stay where I am, not wanting to look up at Atlas or even acknowledge his existence. He doesn’t deserve that from me.

Atlas walked out on me, not the other way around.

I thought we were good.

That we were maybe trying for more, but then everything fell apart. It still hurts to think of how he could throw me away so easily.

“Theadora, are you coming, or do you plan to stand there all night and not look at me?” he asks.

I continue to ignore him, looking away. It‘s only when I hear his retreating footsteps that I turn around to enter.

“Name,” the man says again.

“Are you serious? I haven’t moved,” I say in disbelief. “Theadora,” I repeat at his disdainful stare.

The doorman steps to the side to let me in.

What an idiot.

Huffing as I walk past the damn fool, I go inside. It’s different from how it was the last time I was here. Tonight, the room is darker, and the waitresses walk around holding drink trays and are dressed in full clothing, no playing tables are anywhere in sight, only tables with snacks on them. I spot Tina straight away and walk over to her, and she smiles when she sees me. I pull out a small present from my clutch and hand it to Sydney who’s standing close by.

“I don’t do gifts,” is all Sydney says, looking at what I have in my hand as if it’s some kind of poison.

“It’s rude to come to a party without a gift. Take it!” I push it toward her, and she shakes her head. Tina nudges her, and she begrudgingly takes it, smiling back at me.

“Thank you, Thea, I appreciate it,” Sydney says, and I would have believed her if she didn’t push the gift off to Tina.

“This is nice. Is your family here?” I ask Sydney. She nods and looks around until her eyes settle on two people talking to Atlas.

“They love him. He buys them a trip to Paris for Christmas every year. They always hoped I would marry him,” Sydney says, and I watch as Tina’s body tenses. Sydney places a hand on her back, soothing her.

Tina’s eyes flick to where Sydney’s parents are located, and Sydney leans in to whisper in her ear. I look away as they whisper to each other.

Heading to the bar, I order a glass of wine as I plan to not drive home tonight.

“You’re drinking?” I turn to that voice I know so very well. Turning away as my drink is placed in front of me, I wonder if I should answer him or not. Part of me wants to be petty and walk away, but the other knows it’s childish and it is not who I am.

“It looks that way,” I say, bringing the glass to my lips.

“They seem happy,” he says.

I try not to look at Atlas.

He hates me.

I remember that look he had in his eyes when he grabbed Benji and left. It’s not something he will ever forgive me for, and he blames me for what happened even though it’s not my fault—I had no part in it.

“Yep.” I keep my reply short.

Atlas grunts, bringing my attention to him. His face is hard, no emotion showing at all as he stares at me almost looking through me. I try to keep my looks to quick glances and not long, lingering stares. But he’s in my space, and he’s so very close, so close I can smell him, and it makes my stomach clench. The last time I saw him like this where I could smell his skin, I was happy. I liked the way he touched me, how his hands would consume me.

Atlas Hyde had a way of making me think I was a diamond to his roughness. Without using words, just the looks and touches he gave me, told me everything I needed to know.

“How’s Lucy?” I ask, wanting to know. Sydney told me he’s looking after her, and I want to know how she is, despite everything she’s done and is doing to me.

“You want to know how she is?” he asks. His amber eyes, that once stole my every thought, lock on to mine, as if he’s trying to work out if I’m being honest with him or not.

“Yes, how is she?”

Atlas turns to the bartender and taps his fingers on the bar. A drink is put in front of him straight away. I guess being the boss has its perks because they already know what you want.

“Annoying,” is all he replies. My lips fight a smirk at his words—believe me I know how annoying Lucy can be. “And pregnant.”

My lips fall. I never thought Lucy would have children. Or I should say, I had hoped she wouldn’t. Lucy is too selfish, and a child will not change that fact.

“Nice,” is all I can reply. I thought if either of us was to have a child, it would be me. I guess I was wrong. I turn to face him. “Do you still hate me?” Those damn words have left my lips without my consent, but I can’t take it back now. I wait for him to speak, but before he can, Tina walks over, sliding up next to me and smiling.

“Okay, Sydney’s mother didn’t take it very well and is leaving. Sydney asked if I could give her some time to talk to her.” Her eyes flick between us. “What are you two chatting about?” Tina eyes Atlas and then says, “How amazing I am, right?”

“Yep,” I reply, putting my glass to my lips and having a drink. I’m smiling at her when I lower the glass. When I look back at Atlas, he’s watching me. He blinks a few times, and something clears from his eyes, and he looks to Tina.

“I have to go,” he says gruffly, then he walks away.

We watch him, and Tina orders a glass of wine.

“Did you scare him off?” she asks, chuckling.

My eyes continue to watch the direction in which he left. “Maybe,” I reply.

I notice he didn’t answer my question, though. Of course, he didn’t, because he still loathes me.

“Sydney says she bribed you to come to dinner.” Tina chuckles. “I swear that woman can get anything she wants with her words.”

“You may be right.”

“Oh, I know I am.” Tina laughs.

Sydney walks back over and takes the wine glass from Tina’s lips and drinks it all in one go.

“Wasn’t that bad, was it?” Tina asks Sydney, who’s waving at the bartender for another drink.

“They left,” she says.

Tina’s mouth forms a perfect O, and she shakes her head. “I’m sure they will come around.”

“She wants grandbabies, and well…” Sydney waves between them, “… you are unable to give me that.”

“Bullshit! We can have kids.”

My eyes go wide at her words.

Sydney drops the glass in her hand.

Tina reaches for her hands and clasps them in hers. “We can have kids.”

“Really?” Sydney asks in disbelief.

I step back to give them space as Sydney grabs Tina’s face and kisses her hard.

“It’s almost sickening, right?” A voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see Marissa’s brother standing next to me, and he’s smiling. When I lock eyes on him, he smiles even wider and asks me, “You know Sydney?”

“Sebastian, right?” I smile. “Yes, Tina is my best friend. You know Sydney?”

He nods. “Small world, but, yes. I went to university with Sydney. Didn’t realize she was working with Marissa until a few weeks ago,” he answers. “It’s nice to see you again. How are you?”

“Good,” I lie.

“Marissa mentioned she may be working for you soon.”

Tina pulls me into her and hugs me tight and whispers in my ear, “Did I just agree to have a baby?” I chuckle as she pulls away.

“Congrats,” is all I can say to that because she absolutely one hundred percent agreed to have a baby.

I spend the rest of the night talking to Sebastian at the bar. He’s nice, but not my type. I am not even sure I have a type these days. He waits with me for a cab when I leave, and when I think he’s going to ask me out, I tell him thank you and slip away before there’s any chance of that happening.

Chapter Ten

Atlas

Dinner. I agreed to dinner. What the ever-loving fuck was I thinking?

Sydney walks in and looks me up and down. “You’re looking good, boss,” she says, smirking.

“Why did I agree to this again?” I ask.

“Because you owe me dinner. And you have to stay through the whole night.”

“Why?” I pin her with my eyes, but she simply turns, walking out the door.

“Hurry up, we can’t keep them waiting.”

“Them?” I ask, confused. She chuckles as we walk out and get into the waiting car. “Do you plan to ignore me?”

“I’m craving steak. Maybe the most expensive one, since you are paying,” Sydney says, straightening her pencil skirt. Every year I take Sydney out around her birthday to wherever she wants to go. Tonight, she’s chosen a very upmarket steak house. So, I put on a suit, and now here we are.

“You always pick the most expensive thing on the menu on your birthday, then you make me sit through till you finish your dessert.” Every year she does the same thing, orders the most expensive bottle of champagne to add to the cost, not that I care, she’s worth it, but I would never tell her that.

My cell rings and I look down. One of my high-stakes games is happening tonight, and usually I’m there, as well as Sydney. But she lectured me on delegating, and goddamn I couldn’t take another second of her scolding.

So, I fucking delegated.

And now I’m getting hourly updates and checking the cameras on my cell to make sure it’s all going smoothly.

“The game will go fine, it always does,” Sydney says as the car comes to a stop. She knows how hard it is for me to let go. Giving up control is how my father managed to get himself so fucked over. Plus, he became lazy and stopped caring. That will never happen to me. I enjoy what I do, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, even if it’s all illegal.

Sydney gets out first, and I follow. When we enter the very expensive restaurant, the waitress escorts us to our table where two others are already seated.

I stop when her long, blonde hair flicks over her shoulder, and she turns to face me. Theadora doesn’t seem surprised to see me, which leads me to believe she knew about this. I seem to be the only person who’s been kept in the damn dark.

“Atlas.” Sydney’s stopped calling me sir, and I let her.

Maybe that’s a mistake.

I flick my eyes to her, and she moves closer. “It’s my birthday.” She starts walking again, and Tina stands to hug her, then she leans down and kisses Theadora’s cheek before Sydney takes her seat.

Me, well, I still haven’t moved.

All eyes seem to turn back to me, and I manage to make my way over to the table. It’s just my luck that the only space left is sitting opposite the happy couple, and right next to Theadora. I pull the seat out and sit.

“Good to see you again, Atlas,” Tina says as her eyes flick to Theadora next to me.

The waiter steps over, saving us from any more conversation, and all the girls order wine while I get water.

“Thea, how have you been?” Sydney prompts.

I know what she’s doing, and I want no part of it. I had a lapse of judgment last night when I spoke to Theadora. It was the way she looked, and it fucked with my head. If I don’t look at her, I can continue to despise her for what she did, because that’s what she deserves. My cousin is no longer here breathing, and it’s because of her.

“Well, since last night?” she asks, and I fight a smile at her retort. It reminds me of the way she used to speak to me with not a care and no holding back. Unless I was threatening her life, that is. “Good. Busy.”

“How is the business, got it up and running yet?” Sydney asks.

Business?

What business?

The waiter walks back over with the girls’ wine, pausing their conversation before he leaves again.

“Almost. Just a few more loose ends to tie up and I hope for it to be up and running next week.”

“How exciting. I’m so proud of you,” Tina says, and I hear by the tone in her voice that she is. She’s a good friend to Theadora.

“Aren’t you interested in what her business is, Atlas?” Sydney asks.

I turn to look at Theadora for the first time since I sat next to her. Her sky-blue eyes steal my thoughts, but I force them to come back. She isn’t allowed to have that power over me anymore.

“No,” I say, then pick up my water, wishing now I ordered fucking whiskey.

“Did you know I would be here?” Theadora directs at me.

“No. And if I did, I wouldn’t have come.”

She doesn’t seem affected by my words, instead I hear the chair being pushed back as I look away. Tina’s eyes narrow in on me as well as Sydney’s as her voice floats down over us.

“Thank you for the drinks, but I must be going. I’m not comfortable in situations where I’m not welcome.”

I snort at her words.

She has no place to be—Theadora’s a homebody.

Tina and work are all she has.

I feel her eyes on me, and I manage to turn to look at her. Big damn mistake. Because what I see makes me want to pull those lips that have formed a hard line to my own and break them apart and own them. She’s wearing a red skirt that stops mid-thigh, and it’s paired with a silver top. If I were to reach up right now, I could trace the outline of her thighs with my hands and press them open, and I know she would do so willingly.

Theadora loved it whenever I used my mouth on her.

“Goodbye,” she states, then walks out.

I look over at Sydney and see both of the women are glaring at me.

“Go. After. Her.”

“No,” I answer, leaving no room for discussion. “Now order before I decide to do the same as Theadora.”

Sydney opens her menu and shakes her head.

Tina, on the other hand, narrows her stare at me. “She’s learning to stop giving people too many chances. You never know, she may very well start with you. Because she did nothing wrong, except being kidnapped by you,” Tina says.

My eyes flick to Sydney who shrugs as if she can’t help me. I’m angrier that Tina knows what happened. I’ve had people killed for less.

“Maybe you should think about that for a second. You brought her into this world and made her stay. She cut ties with her sister, but you used her sister as leverage. And knowing what a good woman Theadora is, you knew without hesitation that she would help her sister.”

“Are you finished?” I ask.

“She’s seeing someone, and if you don’t pull that stick out of your ass, you may just miss the best thing that has ever happened to you.” Tina looks down at her menu. “I’m hungry, what are we having.”

“The most expensive thing times two on the menu,” Sydney replies.

Chapter Eleven

Theadora

Last night was awkward, so very awkward. I had a feeling Atlas didn’t know about me coming, but when he stood in that restaurant after he saw me, it was confirmed that he definitely had no idea. But that was okay. I turned up, did my part, and luckily for me, I got the contacts earlier.

As I sit with my morning coffee, my cell starts ringing. I look at the private number flashing.

“Hello.”

“Hi, yes, is this Theadora Fitzgerald?”

“Yes.”

“This is Dr. Stand. We have your sister with us, and you were listed as her next of kin for contact.”

“Is she okay?” I ask. I haven’t seen her in a few months. Last time I saw her, she was happy to be pregnant and told me to leave. She wanted Atlas, and I guess she got him.

“It would be best if you could get here as soon as you can.”

“Of course, I’m on my way.” I change out of my pajamas, which I had planned to stay in all day, and call a cab, going straight to the hospital. It doesn’t take me long to find her, and when I do, she is curled up in a ball on the bed.

“Lucy.” She doesn’t move at the sound of my voice. “Lucy… are you okay?”

“I told them not to call you. I want Atlas.”

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” I walk over and see her gripping her belly.

“I don’t want you, I want Atlas. Call Atlas, Thea. He isn’t answering my calls.”

“What makes you think he will answer mine?” I highly doubt he will answer my call, but I do it anyway. Knowing his number off the top of my head, I press call, and he answers on the second ring, my name ringing in my ear at the sound of his voice.

“Theadora.”

“It’s Lucy, she’s—”

“I told her to stop calling. So what? Now you’re trying? How low can you go, Theadora?” His words are harsh, and if he was in front of me right now, I would probably slap him.

“You ignorant asshole, she’s in the hospital.”

“Where?” he asks.

I tell him where, and before he can say anything else, I hang up.

“Lucy, he’s coming,” I tell her, she nods but doesn’t look at me.

“You can go now,” she whispers.

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” I reach for her, but she brushes me away like I am scum.

“I told you… the only person I want is Atlas.”

I sigh and sit on the bed opposite her.

The doctor walks in and tells me everything’s fine, that she’s had Braxton Hicks contractions and she should rest to ensure they go away in case of early-onset labor. Her stomach is way bigger than when I saw her last. She’s roughly six months along, and it won’t be too long until she has a tiny baby to care for. Lucy, my sister, who only looks out for herself will have a baby.

The thought terrifies me.

I am really hoping she will put this baby before her own selfish needs.

But I don’t have much hope when it comes to her.

I’m so lost in thought, I jump when a hand touches my shoulder. When I turn, Atlas is standing there.

“You came for her again?” he asks.

I shrug, and he looks down at me as if he’s trying to work me out.

“You can leave, I’m sure you have someone waiting for you.” He walks over to Lucy before I can ask what he means.

Someone waiting for me.

What does that even mean?

Lucy brightens the minute she sees Atlas and sits up, throwing her arms around his neck. He doesn’t reciprocate, just stands there as she lays her head on his shoulder.

“I was so worried. So worried,” she whines.

She was fine before, just lying there, ignoring me.

“The doctor said I need bed rest and someone to look after me. Can I come to yours now?” she asks.

I watch them in horror, my eyebrows drawn tightly together and my lip raised almost in a sneer as I watch on. Lucy really does think she’s in love with Atlas. And yet, he doesn’t even touch her or show her any inkling that he feels the same way.

I stand and turn, ready to walk out.

“Thank your sister,” Atlas says to Lucy, which makes me stop in the doorway, but I don’t turn around because I know what’s coming.

“She only came to steal you from me, as she’s always done.”

With a heavy sigh, I close my eyes then turn to face them. I look at Lucy, who’s too busy looking up at Atlas with lovey-dovey eyes, and Atlas is staring directly at me.

“I didn’t come to steal him. There’s nothing to steal, Lucy. He is all yours. You can have him.” I smile, turn, and walk out.

I hear her response as I leave the room.

“See, she doesn’t love you. Only I can do that. It’s all about me and my love for you.”

* * *

A letter comes the next day, and I have to sign for it before the courier leaves. When I open it, I see it’s an offer. Chloe’s business could be mine for a fraction of the list price. I know for a fact how much it’s worth, and how much business it takes in every day. The price listed is crazy low.

What is he up to?

I call Sydney.

“You got the letter,” is the first thing she says.

“Ahh, yes… what game is he playing?” I ask. One of the reasons he kidnapped me was because Chloe and Jesse owed him money. And because she couldn’t pay, he took their business. So, I’m very confused.

“No game. He got what he was owed. Now he no longer wants that business.”

“What?” I ask, highly confused.

“Atlas got what he wanted, and he….” She pauses. “Gosh, Thea, be thankful. He is selling it to you for practically nothing. Everything is included. Take it and say thank you.”

“He can’t buy me like this.”

“Atlas isn’t buying you, he’s giving you something he planned to tear down anyway. You love it, and know what to do with it, so sign and pay the amount he’s asking and take the damn business and make it your own.”

“You are so bossy.”

“I know. Now, will you hurry up? Because I do not like working with this many women,” she whines, then hangs up on me.

I call a cab.

Shit! I guess I do need to buy a car again.

It doesn’t take long for the cab to arrive, so I grab my bag, and put the forms onto the passenger side seat and climb in. On the drive over, my leg bounces and I can’t seem to sit still. When we finally come to a stop outside the casino, I pay the driver and get out taking my stuff with me.

I look down, and shit, I was in such a rush I forgot to change. I’m in very short shorts and an oversized sweater with nothing on underneath. My feet are in flip flops, and I’m afraid as I walk in I’m about to be kicked out for dressing so inappropriately. Eyes track and look me up and down, but I keep my head high as I make my way to where I know Atlas is located—in his office.

Last time I was here, I sat in front of his huge double doors and didn’t go inside. This time, Sydney isn’t there to stop me as I walk over to the doors and push them open. I see him sitting behind his desk, cell phone to his ear as he looks up.

His amber eyes look me up and down painfully slow before both hands come to the desk as he puts his cell down carefully.

“Theadora.”

I take a deep breath and step closer, managing to pull the forms from my hand and lay them on his desk. He looks at them, then back to me. “What can I do for you on this rude intrusion?”

“Rude? You call me rude? Why on earth did you do that?” I ask, pointing to the forms on his desk.

“Sydney mentioned you want to run your own business. I was going to close that one down, as I no longer need it, so now it’s yours. Simple!” He doesn’t stand as he talks, just stays exactly where he is. “I perhaps would have expected a thank you,” he says with a smirk.

“Thank you,” I say, but I am shaking my head not meaning it. “Is this what you do, buy people?”

“Clearly, I am not buying you, Theadora. You will be purchasing it for a minuscule amount of its net worth.”

“I don’t want your charity,” I spit.

“It’s anything but charity,” he says, pushing his chair back as he stands. Atlas closes his laptop in front of him, and his eyes flick to the paperwork then back to me. “I made a mistake before, and I am rectifying it.”

“Mistake?” I ask, as I fumble and hesitate in confusion.

“I was angry. Hurt. No one causes both those emotions in me and gets to live, let alone stay in my life.” I understand what he’s saying—he is talking about Benji and how he blames me for what happened to him.

“I had nothing to do with that.” This statement couldn’t be truer, I would have never met Nicholas if it weren’t for Atlas. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s his.

Atlas steps around his desk and comes closer to me. I step back, not wanting his touch nor his presence anywhere near me.

“I know. I didn’t see things clearly,” he says, and something within me shudders.

“Good.” I turn to leave, but his voice stops me.

“I want you, Theadora.”

My heart beats heavily in my chest at his words—I have no idea what’s coming next.

“And I always get what I want.”

Turning back to face him, he’s leaning against the desk, one foot crossed over the other as he assesses me.

“You don’t want me, Atlas, you want the idea of me. You have Lucy. I hope you two are happy together.” I go to open the door, but his hand touches my waist while his other holds the door closed. I jump at the contact, but he doesn’t let go.

“No, I have always wanted you. Just you, Theadora, ever since the moment I saw you. Then, when I had you, I couldn’t seem to get enough,” he says, and my back straightens, and goosebumps fly over my skin. “As I said, I always get what I want.” Atlas turns me with one hand while the other comes up to my throat, pinning me to the door while his lips descend on mine.

It takes my breath away, literally.

The impact is so potent that I open my mouth instantly, and he takes that opening as an invitation and kisses me harder, his body now pressed against mine. And then I’m kissing him back, my hands trailing down his body until I reach his belt buckle, his hands applying a little extra pressure as I go. Then as I bite his lip, my hand cups his cock and squeezes. He pulls away, his lip falling between my teeth, his hand staying on my throat as he looks down at where my hand is.

“Remove your hands from my body, Atlas,” I say, squeezing him just that little bit harder.

Atlas drops his hands, but when he does, he lets them fall over my body, outside and over the swell of my breasts. His hands roam as they fall until they drop from my body at my waist, and then back to his sides.

“Don’t ever touch me again without my permission,” I say, then let go of his cock and push him away. I open the door with shaky hands, stepping out. I manage to get a few steps away before I turn back to him, he’s smiling as he watches me leave.

Fuck, did I just entice a mad man?

I think, I possibly did.

My fingers touch my lips in the elevator.

I have to shake him off.

I don’t want Atlas Hyde.

I am better off without him, that fact I know for sure.

So why is my whole body on fire from his touch?

Chapter Twelve

Theadora

“Sydney said you didn’t sign it,” Tina states, stepping into my house without knocking. I’m on my couch, my throw blanket over my legs and a glass of wine in my hand to stop my fingers from constantly touching my lips, from where his lips touched mine, scorching them.

“She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut,” I say, biting back. 

“I like it when you’re mean, you need to do it more often.” She pushes my legs out of the way, they fall to the floor taking the throw blanket with them then she takes the seat next to me. “Give me that wine.” She removes it from my hand and takes a large sip.

I look at her. “Do you love Sydney?”

“I think I might. Is that weird? I’ve never been with a girl until Sydney. But I like the way I feel around her, I like the person I am with her. Plus, the sex…” she fans herself, “… it’s the best I’ve ever had.” 

“Atlas was the best I’ve ever had,” I say on a grumble.

Tina chuckles. “Oh, I have no doubt about that, not at all.” 

“He kissed me.” My fingers go back to my lips now she’s taken my wine glass away, and touch the smoldering skin. “I was falling for him before—” 

“Before he turned into an ass.” Tina chuckles. 

“Yep,” I reply.

She passes my wine back as a knock is heard on my door. I stand to answer it as Tina flicks on the television. When I pull open the door, the last person I expect to see is standing on the other side. 

“Lucy,” I say, looking down at her round belly, which she is holding protectively. She looks at me but doesn’t speak. “Lucy, why are you here?” Confusion shows in my tone as I grimace and narrow my eyes on her.

“I came to talk.” She forces herself past me, pushing my body to one side.

Tina is standing in the hallway, her arms are crossed over her chest while she stares at Lucy incredulously.

“Tell your friend to leave. Her negativity isn’t good for me, especially with the baby.” Lucy holds her belly and then proceeds to rub it like she cares, and it has me confused.

I look at Tina who shakes her head.

“Thea,” Lucy whines, looking at Tina. 

“I’m not going anywhere, you evil spawn,” Tina replies. 

“Fine, at least give me space to speak to Thea alone.” 

“Only if she wants to speak to you.”

Spinning around, I look at Tina who appears like she’s ready to tackle Lucy, pregnant or not, to the floor.

“It’s fine. I’ll be fine,” I tell Tina. 

“I have to get us dinner anyway. I’ll be back.” Tina walks past and brushes her arm along my shoulder then steps out the door.

Folding my arms across my chest I wait, but Lucy doesn’t say anything more, so I ask, “Why are you here, Lucy? Every time I’ve seen you, you’ve asked me to leave.” 

She looks down at the floor then back up to me. “You can’t really blame me, Thea. You were stealing my man.”

I shake my head. “You were married! Have you forgotten that?” I ask. “Benji loved you.” 

“Benji made me rich, that is all.”

“How can we be so different?” I ask in disbelief. “You’re so cold, so thoughtless of other people and their feelings, and honestly, you only care about yourself. We were raised the same way, Lucy… what the hell is wrong with you?” 

Her hands drop to her sides, and she clenches them. “You were always the special one to Dad, but in those moments when he went crazy, he loved me more. He saw through your bullshit and loved me more. Then Mom went and killed him and herself in the accident. She stole Dad away from me just like you are trying to with Atlas. You’re just like our mother.” 

“He was a drunk. He was an alcoholic, Lucy,” I say while shaking my head. He killed our mother when he was drunk and driving.

Yes, my mother let Dad do whatever he wanted—she simply never told Dad no. I didn’t like that fact about her when I was growing up. He would simply brush his knuckles along her cheek, and she was putty in his hand—that whole situation was insane. 

“He loved me the most.” She stomps her foot down on the floor hard. “And now Atlas will, too. I need you to leave… leave and never come back. Let me be happy with Atlas and our baby.”

“The baby isn’t his, Lucy,” I remind her.

Her eyebrows pinch together in some sort of cynical stare. “Just leave! He will forget about you.” 

“I wouldn’t even be in his life if it weren’t for you, Lucy. You stole from Atlas, and he came after me for your money. Or, have you conveniently forgotten about that?” 

“I did it to gain his attention.”

“Well, you got it.” 

Lucy bites her lip, and I know she’s trying to hold herself back from saying something she might regret, but then again would she even care. 

“Don’t you want me to be happy?” 

“No, you can’t play that card. Ever since our parents died, I’ve done everything for you. Every. Damn. Thing. I didn’t go to university because instead, I got a job to help pay for your future. For you, Lucy. Because you couldn’t stop spending, and you didn’t stop for one minute to realize things weren’t free.” 

“So, you blame me?”

“I blame you for nothing but me enabling you, just like Mom did with Dad,” I say, my back straightening. “It stops now, Lucy. You can’t come in here rubbing your belly in hopes I will leave. I will not leave, and you can’t make me. I love you, but I will not enable you nor will I come running from now on unless it’s absolutely necessary. You are my sister, and I have to stop being your mother… now, if you will excuse me, I have a dinner planned with my friend.”

Lucy turns her nose up at me as Tina walks back in the door. 

“You’ll stay away from him, though? That’s all I ask. It’s all I will ever ask again.” 

“I can’t promise that, Lucy. He seems to keep popping up in my life, no matter what I do.” 

“I can change his love for you and make it mine.”

Lucy’s words shock me.

His love for me.

Atlas doesn’t love, he possesses. Nothing more. 

“You need to leave, Lucy. Just go,” Tina says. “You are a sad excuse for a human and quite lucky to have Thea in your life at all. Yet you use and abuse her kindness. But unlike Thea, I don’t give two shits about you, so get the fuck out of here and take your delusional thoughts with you.” 

“Fuck you,” Lucy says then looks to me. “Are you going to let her speak to me like this?”

I throw my hands up in the air in complete and utter dismay. Tina has every right to speak to Lucy like that. After all, she knows exactly who she is and what she has done. 

“Did you ever think Atlas wants her because she isn’t a crazy bitch, unlike you, which you can’t seem to help.” Lucy pushes past Tina and walks to the door. Gripping it, she swings it open, then walks out, slamming it shut behind her. 

“Aren’t you glad that crazy character trait skipped you?” Tina laughs while walking into the kitchen to begin dishing out the food. 

Crazy?

Well, I was crazy to ever get involved with Atlas Hyde.

So, maybe, Lucy and I aren’t so different after all.

* * *

The following week the same courier comes to the door, and the same thing is handed over to me—a contract for the business as well as a note. 

Theadora, 

Accept this deed of sale if you wish to keep the employees currently working for your old company employed. Otherwise, they will all be unemployed when I wind up the business. This isn’t anything but a smart business deal on both our ends. You enjoy this type of enterprise while I do not. Accept my offer, and please meet me for dinner tonight. 

A. 

I don’t plan on having dinner with Atlas, but the contract? I am going to sign it.

All those women out of work is simply unacceptable to me. They work hard, I know they do, so I have no choice. I sign the form and transfer the required amount to Atlas as described in the deed of sale, then send him a message letting him know it’s done.

He replies straight away. 

Atlas: You can give me the contract tonight.

Nope. No way.

Picking up my cell, I call Tina and fill her in on what’s happened. Then I ask, “Can you go instead? I don’t want to have dinner with Atlas.”

“Na, sorry, that’s your job. Go! He’s been asking about you.” 

“Probably because of Lucy.” 

“Nope, he’s been asking about you. There is a difference, believe me.”

We finish our conversation, and I hang up spending the rest of the day sorting out my life. I can move everything I have built until now into the business I’ve just purchased, incorporate it all together so it’s solely mine. I always wanted to change certain aspects of Chloe’s company, and now I will be able to do whatever I want with no one telling me otherwise. The only problem is, if I fail, it will all fall back on me, and that thought terrifies me. 

I walk into my room and look at the dresses that are hanging in my closet. Taking each one out, I place them in a box and get changed into something that’s mine. The dress I have chosen is a burnt orange and is held up by the thinnest of spaghetti straps. A pair of spikey black heels finish off the look. My hair is hanging in a loose braid over one shoulder, and I have applied minimal makeup.

As soon as I walk outside, ready to catch the cab I ordered, I notice a car already there, with a driver waiting at the back door. “Miss Fitzgerald… sir asked that I collect you.”

I go to the app on my cell and cancel my ride as I walk down to the car. When I slide in, the driver shuts the door and drives me to the restaurant. Even though the restaurant is close to my house, I have never been here before, and I’ve been meaning to try it out. Every time I walk past, it always looks so busy and tonight is no exception.

“Please, miss, can I carry that for you?” the driver asks, trying to take the box I am holding, but I keep hold of it and simply thank him and walk away.

As I step inside, I look across at the walls which are made entirely of one-way glass. The tables have a marble effect surface, and the white wrap-around chairs are all occupied with formally dressed people. There is a bar on the left side with a selection of bottles in front of a mirrored background which is illuminated in silver. Above the tables hangs one giant chandelier with many dangling crystal beads which is spread over the entire ceiling of the room. The floor is gray carpet which looks brand new, and all I can think is, How do they keep it so clean. This place is simply stunning, and so far out of my league it’s not funny.

A few people look at me as I stand there scanning the area for him. I finally spot Atlas, and, of course, he has a seat right at the back with no other tables around him while everyone else is closer together.

I walk straight over to him. Atlas stands once I get close enough, and I push the box into his chest. He looks at it, pulling his brows together. 

“What’s this, Theadora?” 

“Your dresses. I’m sure Lucy or whoever you are fucking will enjoy them tremendously. I, on the other hand, cannot be bought, Mr. Hyde.” I smile at him—actually it’s more like a sneer. I turn to leave, but he reaches out and catches my wrist with one hand while the other holds onto the box which he has to juggle. 

“Our dinner is coming. Sit and eat, Theadora.”

I look where he nods as the waiter walks over holding two plates of delicious-looking food.

“I ordered your favorite. Sit, please.”

Please?

He said please.

Atlas places the box on the floor and lets go of me, pulling the seat out as he goes. “I want to apologize…” he starts.

Dammit! I didn’t plan on staying, I wanted to prove a point, but as always, I’m pulled to him in ways I can’t explain. Plus, right now, I’m hungry. That’s the real reason I decide to stay, well, that’s what I tell myself anyway. So, I sit, and he pushes the chair in and heads around the other side of the table. 

“For what?” I ask as I start to eat. The steak is amazingly tender and mouth-wateringly delicious. 

“For how I treated you. It was wrong of me. I was hurt, and you were the easiest one to blame. You were the closest to me, and I lashed out.” 

“I did nothing wrong. You did all of this to me, Atlas. You kidnapped me. You pulled me into your world without my consent.” I place the knife and fork down, losing my appetite.

Atlas lifts his drink and takes a sip. “Do you want me, Theadora?” 

“No,” I answer what I believe is honest, but the word feels so sour on my lips. 

“You no longer want my lips to touch your body, my hands to roam along your velvety skin?” he asks. I push my legs together to try and ease the ache that’s starting to build. “I bet you are wet underneath that dress.”

He’s not wrong, but surely that’s simply a reaction to being around an attractive man. After all, I’m not blind. 

“No, and I don’t want you to buy me anything. The very last thing I accept from you will be the business, which I have sent you payment for. So no more, Atlas, there’s no need for us to be in each other’s lives.” I take a deep breath then exhale. “Your life is not something I want to be a part of. I’m not Lucy. I am not like any of your other women. I don’t care for your life or your luxuries. So please, Atlas, leave me alone and don’t ever contact me again.” I stand, pushing the chair back fast, leaving him sitting there watching my retreating back. 

My hands shake the whole way out, and my heart doesn’t stop pounding until I reach my house and crawl into my bed.

Safe at last.

Chapter Thirteen

Atlas

My fingers strum on the table as I watch her leave. Once she’s out of view, my eyes find the box, and I wave at the waiter to take it away. As he takes it out to my driver, I wonder what on earth I plan to do about Theadora Fitzgerald.

I want her, that much is obvious to me, despite the fact that she drives me up the wall, and makes me question everything in my life.

I still want her.

If I’m truthful, I have always wanted her.

My cell rings, and I see Lucy’s name on the screen. I’ve managed to ignore her all week, and trust me, she calls every single damn day, sometimes more than once. She’s getting antsy and a nuisance.

She paid a visit to Theadora last week, and I haven’t been able to take a call from her since then. She’s making it more and more difficult for Theadora and me.

Sydney calls straight after Lucy’s call rings out. “Your father has asked that you visit him tomorrow,” Sydney states as I walk out of the restaurant.

A woman stops at the doorway, her eyes roam me, and I know what she wants. The way she bites her lip makes her intentions clear.

“His visit isn’t due,” I say. I make sure to see my father every six months, and that visit isn’t due for at least another month.

The woman brushes her hand over the top of her cleavage as she eyes me and I watch her. I am a man after all. She steps in my direction as Sydney continues to talk, “I know this, and you know this, but he was insistent that you come.”

“Hello, handsome…” The woman’s now standing in front of me, one hand on her hip as the other reaches up to touch my jacket. “You want to get out of here?”

“Who’s that?” Sydney asks. “Weren’t you having dinner with Thea?”

“Yes,” I answer, but the woman in front of me thinks I’m talking to her and takes that opportunity to press herself against me.

She has some balls, that’s for sure.

“That does not sound like Thea.” Sydney’s voice has become sharp, and I can tell there is malice by the tone.

“Your place or mine?” she asks.

“Oh, you are a one hundred percent dick.” Then I hear Sydney hang up and smile at her choice of words.

I grab hold of the redhead in front of me and pull her hand away from me. “Goodnight,” I say, turning and leaving her standing there. She’s not the one I want. Maybe if she were blonde and not so compliant then maybe.

But she’s not who I want.

No, she won’t do. What I want is a little blonde who has an ass I could bite for days, and tits I could fuck for weeks, and sass that drives me insanely crazy.

No, she isn’t my little blonde bombshell.

* * *

My father is the same man he was before he went into prison. He’s in charge as much in here as he was when he was free. His fellow inmates nod as he strides past them, walking into the visitation room to sit in front of me. When he’s settled, he puts his hands in front of us on the table and offers me a smile.

“I’m glad to see you, son.”

“What do you want?” I ask, not wanting to play any of his twisted games. He was always good at them, except with me. I always saw right through them. Guess it’s a perk of being raised by him.

“Oh, come on…” he lifts his hand and rubs his jaw, “… can’t a father just want to see his son more than twice a year?”

“Usually, yes… but you are no regular father, now are you, Cole,” I say, using his first name—a request he made when I was growing up. He didn’t want to be seen to have any weaknesses, and as far as he was concerned, I was one of them.

“I heard about you.”

“You are checking up on me?” I ask, shaking my head.

He rubs his jaw and glances around the room. “You should know better than to parade a woman around more than once,” he whispers. My back straightens, and he looks at me with some sort of sense of pride which gets my back up instantly. “Get rid of her before someone does it for you,” he snaps, then he sits back straight as if he didn’t just throw a threat right at my feet.

“She’s pregnant, and it isn’t mine. The woman was Benji’s,” I say, referring to Lucy.

Cole shakes his head. “I know all about her. No. She’s no issue, and don’t try to lie. Do you want to jeopardize everything you have built?” he asks through gritted teeth. “You have everything I wanted and more, don’t fuck this up over one woman. I made that mistake with your mother and look how that turned out.”

“My mother?” I ask.

He never talks about her.

To me, she’s a ghost.

“Yes, she was an issue that was resolved.”

Everything inside me goes still at his words.

“What did you do?” He smiles, says nothing, but I know straight away. “You told me she left.”

“Oh, she did leave, just not the way you thought.”

“You killed my mother?”

“Keep your voice down.”

“You killed her? My mother?” I ask in disbelief. I don’t remember her, but that’s not the point. He had no right to take her from me.

“She was becoming a distraction I couldn’t afford to have.”

“You’re an asshole. If you ever threaten those around me again, I will have you fucking killed.” I stand, and he reaches for my arm.

“Blonde, pretty little thing, isn’t she? Has she worked out what kind of man you are? How you used to kill at the drop of a hat? How you have a dark side… much darker than mine. I named you Atlas for a reason… I wanted you to have the world, to hold it up in your very own hands.”

“But, you’re a greedy fucker and would have killed me to get everything I have.” He smirks and doesn’t deny it as he drops my hand. “And stay the fuck away from her.”

“No can do. You work better without a distraction, and I plan to remove that distraction from you. Because, one day, I will get out of here, and you need to keep growing. You still have the world to conquer, Atlas, and a pretty little blonde will only get in the damn way.” He stands. “It’s already done. Soon your distraction will be gone, and you can become the man I want you to be, the man I should have become.”

He turns, walking away without another word.

Chapter Fourteen

Theadora

Going into work for the first time since I left has me nervous. I used to always be the first one to arrive, but today, I’m meant to be meeting Sydney to hand over the keys and finalize everything. I spot Marissa as soon as I walk in, and her eyes go wide as she runs over, throwing her arms around my body as soon as she reaches me.

“You really did it?” she asks. I smirk as she pulls away. “I’m so excited.”

I look past her to my old office and head off in that direction. When I push the door open, I find Atlas is inside with Sydney standing next to him while he’s signing forms.

They both look up, he stops, puts his pen down, and offers me a small smile.

“We are just finishing up a few things,” Sydney says, then looks at a seat. “Sit.”

Taking note of the room, I walk over and sit. The office hasn’t changed much since I left. The only thing that’s different is it’s not littered with all my knick-knacks anymore.

Looking back to where they are both standing, I see him watching me. He doesn’t even move his intense stare when Sydney says his name.

“We are done here, right?” Atlas asks.

She nods.

“You can leave now, Sydney. Go back to the office.”

She packs her paperwork into a neat pile and makes her way to the door, not even bothering to look at me when she leaves.

Atlas relaxes back in his chair, smirking at me.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

“Do you not want the keys?”

“Yes.”

He rocks back and forth in the director-style chair. “Well, I came to give them to you, of course.” He stands, pushing the seat out of the way. “You could, at least, say thank you.”

“Thank you,” I force out along with an obliging smile.

“Lucy came to see you recently… what did she want?” he asks.

I look at the keys that I know are for this office, as he bounces them up and down in his hand.

“She wants you, but my guess is, you’re well aware of that.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“That she can have you.” I smile, but it’s more like a smirk.

Atlas steps closer, the keys continuing to bounce in his hand like they’re on a trampoline.

“Am I yours to giveaway?”

I balk at his words. “No, of course not.”

“So, our time together… that meant nothing to you?”

“It’s in the past,” I tell him. “We have both moved on. We aren’t meant to work, and it’s best we go our separate ways.”

“Separate ways,” he mumbles my words back to me. “I prefer to go your way. What do you say, Theadora? How about I throw you over my shoulder for old times’ sake and make you remember all the good times we had, and those I can make you have in the future?” He steps closer, the keys still bouncing as he watches me carefully. If he takes one more step, he will be touching me he’s that close.

Atlas Hyde sure does things to my body I didn’t even know were possible. He’s made me feel things, and it isn’t just my body he has an effect on. No, it’s every fiber of my being.

Granted, he’s the best fuck I’ve ever had, but he was also starting to become way more than that to me.

“I can see you’re thinking about it.”

“I’m thinking of the best way to tell you to fuck off nicely, so you will leave and give me those keys you seem to be holding onto so tightly.” I nod at them now in his closed fist.

“With one click of that lock, I could have my head between your legs.” Atlas smirks.

“Benji is dead because of me… isn’t that what you said?”

Atlas’s eyes glass, something passes over them as he opens his hand, the keys now visible.

“This is your fault,” I echo his words back to him.

“I didn’t mean those words. I have come to realize you were right. It’s not your fault.”

“You should have realized that to begin with,” I reply. “Now, it’s too late. I was willing to give you a chance, but now, now I see you for who you really are, and I don’t want to take a chance on someone who could flip that fast on me again. So no, Atlas, you cannot go between my legs because you’re not welcome there. Now, please leave.”

Atlas reaches out, and I flinch. His brows pinch together like he didn’t expect that reaction from me, and then he drops the keys into my hand. When he does, he reaches up and brushes a stray piece of hair away from my face and behind my ear. “A love so cold and broken isn’t meant to last, it’s meant to destroy,” he says, and my breath hitches. He leans down, his mouth near my ear. “I like to destroy pretty things, and you, my dear, are the prettiest thing ever.”

His words send a shiver through my body.

Not just for the last part that he whispered but from those first words.

Love.

Is that what we had?

I don’t think we were quite there, but we were close. We could have fallen deeply in love. Of this, I have no doubt. But our road took us in different directions, and it didn’t lead me back to him. Instead, it swerved and hit a fucking tree.

I reach up and touch his face. He’s shocked by my action, but doesn’t pull away as I run my thumb over his lips and wish like hell I could kiss them. But that would be wrong, and falling back down that dark, drunk on him road will not end well, especially for me.

“Goodbye, Atlas.” I drop my hand standing and step back.

He closes his eyes for a split second, and I see the pain etched in the lines on his face then he shakes his head. “The paperwork is on the desk. It’s all yours.” Atlas looks at the keys in my hand and walks out. After he leaves, I manage to release a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding and the anxiety along with it.

“That was your boyfriend, right?” Marissa asks. “I heard he gave this to you for some ridiculous price. Girl, you must have some sort of magical pussy.” Marissa laughs.

I don’t.

Her laughter quickly dies on her lips.

“Should we do an announcement now it’s done?” She looks at me. “It is done now, right?”

“It’s done,” I manage to say.

I just don’t know what I am referring to.

* * *

The day is chaotic, literally. Everything has changed, and nothing’s in order. How they are managing to send out any damn orders is beyond me. Most are late, some are on backorder, and there are so many complaints I don’t know where to start. It’s as if everyone who works here stopped caring. I stay back most of the night after everyone is gone. I can’t let this place down now it’s mine. I plan to make this company amazing. Customer service will be our top priority, our number one concern.

When Chloe owned it, it was all about income and nothing else.

Yes, I want to make money, but I also need to run a tight ship. And I let the girls know that today—no slacking whatsoever will be tolerated. This must work, and I know how to make it succeed, I will need to put a lot of work in, but that’s what I’m good at.

Tina ends up stopping by, and I let her in only because she brings me food. I simply cannot afford the time for chit-chat. She looks around, smiles, and talks while I look around at what I have to change and fix.

“You got this! You do,” she reassures as I walk her to the door. “Now, you need to get a car. You sure I can’t take you home?” she asks.

“No, I’ll call a cab. I might go car shopping next week. I’ll have to see how things go.” I shrug. Catching a cab isn’t killing my bank account, but I should probably get a car, especially since some nights I know I will be staying late like I am right now.

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here this late by yourself.”

“It’s safe, I’m safe. Everything is locked up tight. I promise,” I reassure her.

The only problem is last time I thought I was safe here, Atlas’s men kidnapped me. But now I’m more observant and less trusting. So, I lock the door after I watch her get into her car and head back to my office.

I work until my cell dings at almost midnight. My eyes are sore, and I know I have to come back and do it all again tomorrow.

Maybe I should get a bed set up in one of the back rooms.

I smile as I shut down my computer and close my office. I’ve left a note for Marissa on her desk of what I expect her to do tomorrow in case I need to sleep a little later. Which will be highly probable by the time I get home, shower, and finally get to sleep. I envy those people whose heads hit the pillow, and they’re out like a light.

I hear a honk and know the cab has arrived, so I walk out and lock the front door. When I turn to make my way to the cab, someone stands in front of me blocking my view, and all I see is a black shirt.

“Miss.” That one word is all he says before something is placed over my mouth, and I struggle. My fingers claw at his hand holding the cloth covering my mouth. I kick at what I can reach which isn’t much, but I do hear him swear at one point. However, soon my eyes become heavy, and my body starts to slump.

Fuck.

Not again.

Chapter Fifteen

Theadora

My head is pounding, and my mouth is dry. I lick my lips and lift my hand to touch my face.

How can I make that pain go away?

And what the fuck happened?

Oh, shit!

No, not again.

I look around the room I am located in. My body registers the bed I am resting on, which is large, and my fingers slide over the silk sheets. The bed has four posts, and I’m so relieved when I realize I’m not tied to any of them. I sit up, my head pounding even more with each movement. As I slide off the bed, my feet hit the dark wood floor, and the coolness makes me move faster. I see a set of large double doors and walk toward them.

My body feels heavy as I reach the doors. Grabbing the handle, I turn it, but it doesn’t move, and something inside of me tightens with fear. I try again with no luck. Pushing my shoulder on it, I shove in the hopes it will budge, move just the slightest, but nothing happens. Someone has locked me in this room.

My hand bangs on the door, and I scream. I scream so loudly I hope someone, anyone, will hear me and let me out. I scream for a good ten minutes, but it’s not long before I can’t stand the pain in my head and I stop, sliding down the door and collapsing onto the floor with my head falling between my legs.

I stay in that position for what feels like forever until the door behind me is pushed, and I scramble on my hands and knees away from it, looking up as someone walks in. Dark shoes are all I see at first as I manage to stand unsteadily. When my gaze finally makes its way to the person’s face, I don’t recognize him. In his hand he’s holding a tray of food, and he walks past me to go to the bed, placing the tray on the nightstand before he turns to look at me. I run straight for the door, and just as I think I might be able to make it, a hand grabs hold of my waist pulling me back.

“Not so fast, miss.”

That voice, it’s the same one as before. I shiver.

He lets me go, steps away, and then heads back to the door. “Eat! It will do you good.”

“Why am I here?” I yell.

He doesn’t answer, just looks down and closes the door with a loud thump. I hear the lock click, and I collapse on the floor.

This is all his fault.

I know it is.

Atlas.

My life was normal until he came into it. Now, it’s completely fucked up.

I storm over to the bed and see food as well as a drink. I flick the tray so it sprays everywhere, then fall back on the floor.

The night’s almost over and the sun is starting to rise, so I grab a blanket and walk over to the door, laying in front of it and closing my tired eyes. If someone comes, I don’t want to be asleep when they do, so my best bet is to lie against the door so when it opens, I wake up as well.

* * *

Food comes again interrupting my sleep, but this time it’s someone else who guards the door, stopping me from being able to escape. I don’t eat that food either. I stay where I am at the door, only moving once to find the bathroom.

The room I am in is large, and the en suite isn’t just a toilet, it contains a free-standing claw bath, a walk-in shower with multiple heads and a large vanity area. I see different liquids and sprays I could use to take a shower, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to take a chance that they will walk in on me.

I want to leave.

I have work.

What do they plan to do with me anyway?

Who has me?

And why are they keeping me locked in this room?

When night rolls around again, the same guy who brought me two meals and calls me ‘miss’ walks in carrying a bag. He drops it on the floor in front of me and offers me a small smile then he walks back out.

“How long am I meant to be here? And more importantly, why?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer.

So I run at him and jump on his back.

He chuckles as I pull at his hair and try to stop him from going any farther. He maneuvers me so I’m now in front of him and my legs touch the floor.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I cannot answer those questions.” He pauses and looks down at me, my fingers are on his chest, and my nails are digging in. “Are you done?” he asks, and that’s when I notice blood on my fingertips and on his shirt from where my nails must have dug into his skin.

“I want to get out. I have places I need to be. People who will search for me.”

He simply nods his head and walks out the door.

Goddammit! I walk over to the bed and crawl into a ball. What am I meant to do? This room is a fortress with no way to escape. The windows are strong, I know because earlier I tried to throw a chair across the room at one. It didn’t even scratch, actually it didn’t even move. I even tried throwing myself at it.

Hard.

Nothing happened but pain in my shoulder.

I lay on the floor again. Fuck them! I am not using that bed. Who knows whose bed that is. The last thing I want to do is be compliant—I want out of here.

As I roll over, music blasts through the room. It’s slow music but so loud. It echoes all through the room, and I feel the vibration through the floor.

Closing my eyes, I listen—it’s a song about a love that can’t be broken.

My eyes fly open, and when they do, I stare up at very familiar amber eyes smiling down at me, amusement shining in their depths.

“You,” I spit.

Of course, it’s him.

I suspected as much, and part of me hoped it would be him because if someone else was kidnapping me, I know I would be in for a world of hurt.

“Me.” He smirks as he offers me his hand, and I brush it away while shaking my head.

“You plan to make this a reoccurring thing?” I ask, sitting up.

The music is still playing, but because we’re close, I can hear everything he’s saying perfectly clearly.

“I had to do what I had to do to get your attention.”

Those words just make me angrier.

How dare he use that as an excuse.

I stand, and he stays where he is. He’s so close to me now. I move and reach for the water next to the bed I was sipping on and throw it in his face. He doesn’t react at all. It’s almost as if he was expecting me to do it. Atlas lifts his hand and wipes at his face, his nose ring shifting with the movement. He reaches for his shirt, which is now soaked, and lifts it over his head, revealing his toned, ink-covered body.

I look away.

I can’t be distracted by all that again.

He’s not playing fair.

His looks aren’t fair.

“Why are you avoiding eye contact, Theadora?”

I snap, “Why are you always kidnapping me, Atlas?” As I say the words, I turn to face him, which is a big mistake, as he’s closer now and half-naked.

“I just can’t seem to help myself. I like to take things that aren’t mine, and I want to keep them.” His finger strokes down my cheek leaving a fiery blaze behind.

“I’m not a possession for you to keep,” I say, swatting his hand away.

“What a possession you would be.” Atlas smirks and steps away now. He walks into the closet, presses a button, and I watch in horror as another door opens revealing clothes.

How did I not see that before? I guess I haven’t really looked around much, too busy trying to make sure no one walks in when I’m not expecting them.

Atlas reaches for another shirt and jeans, then walks back out, and the door closes behind him. “Dinner will be here soon. I bet you’re hungry since you haven’t eaten since yesterday,” he says, then his hands go to his pants, and he drops them.

I look away while he continues to speak, “Which is stupid. If someone gives you food, you should eat it. You had no idea who kidnapped you, you might have needed your stamina.”

“Fuck you,” I reply, looking back to him.

“I can… if you wish? Just let me shower first, unless you care to join me?” Atlas raises one eyebrow.

“No. No way.” I shake my head. “I would rather die a thousand deaths than let you touch me again.”

Something passes in his eyes, but it‘s gone as quick as it came.

“That could always be arranged,” he states, walking into the bathroom and not shutting the door. Everything in here is open, so I can see him as he steps into the shower cubicle.

I step over to the door and try it.

Dammit!

Nope, still locked.

Sliding down, I place my head between my knees.

Is this what he does for a living. Kidnap women?

No wonder he’s still single.

But then again, what’s my excuse?

He stays in the shower for a long time, but I want answers. I shouldn’t be here. Standing, I head toward the bathroom and walk in. His hands are in his hair, his toned body on full display as he washes his hair. Atlas turns and locks eyes with me, then his hand leaves his hair and slides down his body until it reaches his cock, which is rock hard.

“Stop!” I say, my eyes trained in on him, and it’s not on his eyes. No, they are where his hand is currently massaging, up and down, but he’s not looking away from me.

“If you don’t stop, I will come in there and cut it off,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Will you use your mouth?” he asks. “I mean, the last mouth I had around me was yours. I’m happy to take it any way I can.”

My eyes flick to his hand, and he pumps harder and faster. At first, my thought is to get in there with him, but I shake my head and walk out. It takes every last drop of my willpower to walk away from him, to not step into that shower and let him touch me because I know he could make me feel good.

Walking over, I sit on the bed instead of the floor, crossing my legs as I wait for him to come out. Atlas takes his time, and when he finally appears, water is dripping down his naked body, running in rivulets over the bumps and crevices and straight down to that V. There’s no towel in sight as he steps over to where I’m seated on the bed and stands in front of me while I’m still watching those damn beads of water.

“Why am I here, Atlas?”

His face contorts, and at first, I think he’s going to tell me, but he turns and walks back to his secret closet. When the door reopens, he looks back at me.

“I have things in here for you, too.”

“Where are we?” I ask.

“The island.”

Of course.

“So why keep me locked in a room, knowing I can’t escape even if I wanted to?”

“It amuses me. Besides, this way I know where you are at all times.” He pulls out a dress and holds it up, then says, “Join me for dinner, you must be starving.”

“No,” I reply, shaking my head.

“Don’t be that girl, Theadora.” Atlas steps over, offering me the dress. When I don’t reach for it, he places it neatly in my lap.

I let the dress sit there, refusing to acknowledge its existence. “I don’t plan to eat with you. I don’t plan to do anything with you,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

Atlas heads back into the closet and comes out with a pair of jeans. “Have it your way then. Goodnight, Theadora.” He slides his jeans on and walks out the door, his shirt in hand, leaving me sitting on his bed wondering how I can kill him and get away with it when he comes back in.

I look at his closet then walk over to it.

Now, if only I could find a match, I’d burn it all down and take great pleasure in doing so.

Chapter Sixteen

Atlas

Theadora will be the death of me, of that I am sure.

Garry, my driver, is standing at my door waiting for me as I pull on my shirt. “How did she take it?” he asks.

“What do you think?” I shake my head and take a deep breath.

He laughs and follows me down the hall. During months when the island’s not in use, I come out here to relax. I didn’t just buy the island as a business venture, I purchased it because it’s a place where I can be myself, rest, and chill where no one can find me.

“I think she’s interesting that’s for sure,” Garry says, and I can only nod at his words.

Theadora is remarkably interesting.

From the way she cares so deeply—it’s as if she can’t help herself, even concern is shown for Lucy who doesn’t give two shits about her sister—to how devoted she is to anything and everything she puts her mind to.

“Sydney’s been calling. She knows you have taken her.”

Of course, she does.

Sydney was tasked with erasing any surveillance footage, and even though I instructed her not to check the footage, I know she would have watched it. There is no way Sydney would have been able to stop herself.

“She’s been calling and asked, I mean requested, that you call her back straight away.”

Garry hands me my cell.

Sydney doesn’t come out here much, she isn’t a fan of the island and has requested in the past that her presence here be limited.

“I can’t believe what you’ve done,” she hisses. I hear Tina’s laughter in the background as she continues to berate me, “You are making me lie! Lie to the women I love, Atlas,” she whisper-yells.

“Who’s that?” I hear Tina ask.

“Atlas,” Sydney replies sweetly.

Then I hear the rustle of the cell before Tina’s voice blasts out, “What have you done with my best friend, Atlas? And don’t have Sydney lie to me again. I know Thea, and the last thing she would do is skip work even for a day, especially when she’s only just gotten that place back. She would never intentionally leave. Her business means too much to her! So, tell me now, Atlas. What… have… you… done… with… her?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I rush out as I walk into the kitchen and point at what I want sent up to Theadora’s room. The staff nod and busy themselves then scamper away—they can tell I am in a mood. I grab at the food in front of me and eat as Tina continues to berate me, “You’re a shit liar, and you are not going about this the right way if you want to win her back. Thea likes honesty and companionship, someone who cares. Do you even understand her at all?”

“I’m trying to.”

“Good! Bring her back and do it the right way like they do in the movies. Win her over by caring for her. Don’t fucking kidnap her. Really, Atlas, do you have any idea? You are a terrible person, and the problem is you are proving that to Thea by keeping her there with you.” I hear her rumble off several cusses before Sydney comes back on the line. “I didn’t tell her.”

“I know,” I reply.

Tina knows Theadora better than anyone. She would know she didn’t go in to work, and I guess it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

“Lucy has been calling. You need to cut your losses with that one. She is going to cause nothing but trouble for you.”

“You handle her,” I tell Sydney while shaking my head.

“Atlas, you really don’t want me to handle her! Because I do not like that bitch. So, you do it before things become remarkably worse at my hand.”

Sydney hangs up on me.

I grin at her boldness, it’s one of the reasons I hired Sydney to begin with. She was the first woman I employed in my empire, and I’m glad I did. She doesn’t mince words, and she’s never been sexually interested, for obvious reasons. Sydney’s never found me the least bit attractive, which helps considerably, and she’s in my business for all the right reasons.

I would never let her go, she’s invaluable to me, and so I pay her handsomely. But also I make sure she’s happy because sometimes money isn’t everything, and I can tell with Sydney she needs to be stimulated as well as rewarded. For this reason, we get along, and she has never been afraid to call me out on decisions or dress me down when needed. I don’t always like it, actually sometimes I detest her, but I put up with it because she is irreplaceable. No matter even if I wanted, I would never be able to replace Sydney in my business dealings. So, I keep her happy no matter the cost to me financially or personally.

“Just got word someone broke into Theadora’s house.” I turn at Garry’s voice. “He’s on his way here now.”

* * *

One of my father’s men sits in front of me, shitty prison tattoos cover his skin, and he’s missing several teeth. My father would have paid him next to nothing to go after what’s mine.

“Let me go! Your father won’t be happy about this,” he says.

Really? As if I care what my father thinks or says.

“You think I care what he thinks?”

My cell rings which is perfectly timed. My father’s voice booms out, “Atlas.”

“Father.” I reach for my knife and step closer to the man who’s shackled to the ceiling by his wrists. We’re far enough away from Theadora that she won’t hear him scream. “I got your present.”

‘Present?” he asks. I can tell by the tone in his voice he’s confused.

“Pinchy… that’s the name he goes by? Really, Father?” I say with a shake of my head. “Pinchy?” I laugh, but it’s dry and full of disdain. “You’ve gotten worse with old age.”

“That woman needs to go. She’s a distraction for you that I don’t need you to have.”

“You have no idea what I need.”

He takes a deep steadying breath into the cell. “I know better than anyone because I have been there. But unlike my father, I’m showing you the right ways. You don’t need her, Atlas. So, stop getting in the way and let me rid you of your burden.”

“If anything happens to her, I will find a way to kill you, Father. Jail or no jail, no matter what.”

He hangs up on me, and I look up at Pinchy. The asshole is smirking at me as if he’s just won some sort of game.

“You have nothing to be gloating about,” I tell him.

Pinchy thrashes against the ropes that bind him and starts spitting words at me, “You’re nothing like him. That man is a god, and you are just a thing he created.” He says the word ‘thing’ like it tastes bitter in his mouth. “In due time, the hit will be on your head.”

“Do you have any will to live, or are you simply extremely dumb?” I step closer to him, placing my blade across his throat and I slide it along, not enough to cut deep, but just enough that he goes stock still at the pain. His breath stopping as he waits for me to apply more pressure and end his miserable existence of a life. When I don’t and remove the knife, he laughs.

“See, you’re weak. You are a piece of shit, and that little bitch of yours will be dead soon enough. He wants it done, so it will be done.” He smirks, and those missing teeth are on full display again. “She sure is pretty, though. I wonder if we can have a turn with her before we maim her, then take pleasure in watching that bitch take her last breath.”

I breathe in deeply, and before I can stop myself the knife slices straight across his throat, and his shocked eyes make me think he never saw it coming.

My father must have no idea the lengths I will take to protect Theadora.

The only person who’s allowed to kidnap her is me.

“Keep an eye on her place and up surveillance,” I tell Garry who nods and walks out. I drop the knife and wipe my hands on my pants as I leave, the shower I took earlier seems as though it was unnecessary now.

Heading back to the bedroom, I see Theadora curled up in a ball on my bed. I tear off my clothes, and before I can think better of it, I climb in next to her, pulling her body closer to mine. She relaxes and snuggles deeper into my arms. Her breathing evens out again, and soft snoring leaves her mouth.

I’m falling in love with this woman, and not even the downfall of what will come from that fact can now stop me.

Chapter Seventeen

Theadora

I wake to arms entrapping me. Pushing at them, I try to get up, but they only tighten further around me.

“Atlas,” I grumble, knowing it’s him. His tattoos give him away so easily. “Let me go.”

“Did that once, don’t think I will again,” he mumbles sleepily.

Somehow, I manage to turn in his arms so now my face is against his chest. His eyes are closed, and his face relaxed. “I think I’ll keep you.” He pulls me closer, so our bodies are fully aligned.

My stomach chooses that very moment to growl loudly. I haven’t eaten, and I’m so tired because of the lack of sustenance. Atlas was right yesterday when he said I needed to eat, I can feel it in the way my body is so sluggish.

“I want to eat, and then I want to go home,” I tell him.

Atlas opens his beautiful amber eyes and looks at me. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I ask, questioning him.

Did he actually agree?

“What’s the catch,” I ask.

“You have to accept that I will pick you up every evening from your work, and you will stay with me.”

“What? No way.” I try to push away, but he holds me tightly, and I have no strength to fight him.

“My father has a hit on you.”

I freeze at his words.

What the actual fuck!

When I look back at him, I see his darkened expression watching me, waiting for me to freak out. But I’m already doing that on the inside, on the outside I am numb. His arms tighten around me a little more, not letting me move.

“Wh-Why?” I ask, barely above a whisper.

I’ve never met the man, why would he want to do that?

“Because you’re a threat to him. He sees women as nothing more than trouble. He thinks when you have a woman in your life you can’t reach your full potential.”

“Do you think the same way as h-him?”

“I did, till you.”

“If you didn’t just tell me your father wants me dead, that might have been romantic.”

“I can be romantic.” He leans in to kiss me, but I pull back.

Nope, not happening.

“Remove your arms, Atlas. And honestly, you don’t have a romantic bone in your body. So, will you stop with the lying.”

“Do you agree with my stipulations?” he asks.

If I move my leg up quickly, I could hit him between the legs that would disable him enough so I could get away. I shift my arm, and when I do, I feel his hip which is bare. My eyes look down, and that’s when I know he’s wearing no clothing at all.

“Where are your clothes?”

“Do you agree?” he asks again.

“You can sleep on my couch,” I tell him. “That’s as far as I’m willing to budge.”

“I could keep you here,” he says. “You have no way of escaping.”

He’s right, but I feel like I have some kind of pull or power over him, however small that may be.

“No. You are making me miss heaps of work time. Let me go, feed me, and take me home. Now.” I reach up to touch his face and grip it between my fingers. “My home, Atlas.”

He leans in, and I know he’s going to kiss me, so I move my head to the side. He pauses but still does it anyway, kissing my cheek. Lingering there for a moment, his lips against my skin, he then pulls away releasing me from his grip.

As soon as he does, I pull away and stand, heading straight to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and freshen up before I go back to the bedroom. Atlas is still lying on the bed completely naked. There are a few pillows propped behind his head as he looks at me.

Instantly my core tightens at the sight of him, and I have to remember that he and I, we don’t work, no matter how much chemistry we have.

I could do something wrong in his eyes, and he could detest me all over again.

Shut me out.

Deny me his existence.

Next time, it could be worse.

Next time he could shatter me to pieces.

“I should break your heart. Shatter it. I should heartbreak you like you heart broke me,” I tell him, my chin turning up sharply in defiance.

“You could try, but I won’t let you get away so easily this time.” Atlas grins, and I turn to go to his secret closet. When I do, I stop short. It’s packed with clothes, and not just high-end designer labels, it also contains a lot of my branding. I pick out something comfortable, and when I turn around, Atlas is sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lifting my shirt over my head, I let it fall to the floor and do the same with my pants. When I look up, now standing only in my underwear, his gaze explores and suggests while his cock is rock hard. I smile when I look down. Turning around, I shimmy the skirt up my legs and over my ass. When I look back at Atlas over my shoulder, I watch him biting his lip as he has deep and prolonged eye contact with my body.

“Theadora,” he says, tracing my body with his lust-filled eyes.

I remove my bra and throw it to the floor then turn around. He’s seen me naked before so my body is no surprise to him. But that look—the one he’s giving me right now—makes me feel like I am the most prized possession he has ever seen or owned.

It makes all my girly parts sing some sort of Hallelujah Chorus—it feels like I have won the battle.

“You are playing in dangerous territory, Theadora.”

“I want to go home,” I reply quite simply.

“I agreed. So, unless you plan to do something with that…” his eyes scan my body luridly, “… I would get dressed before I can’t contain myself any longer.”

“You wouldn’t touch me without my permission.”

“I can tell you want me, even if you think you don’t.” Atlas stands and stalks toward me.

“It’s not you I want…” My eyes drop to what’s between his legs, and I smirk.

“You can have it, touch it, anytime you want.”

I watch as his cock twitches right in front of me. “I think I’ll give that a hard pass,” I reply. Stepping back, I slide on the shirt and quickly do up the buttons. “Now, can you feed me? I’m starving,” I say while moving well away from him.

* * *

Someone brings in food an hour later, and it’s not like the other days. This time, the door is left open as two silver trays are placed on the bed. Atlas walks out dressed in a black suit, and I have to glance away. He looks so good, almost as good as he does out of it.

“I see the food has arrived,” he says.

I sit, placing the pillow on top of my legs and take the lid off the cloche. My mouth starts salivating at what I see. The trays are full of pancakes, bacon, fruit, and hash browns. I want it all. I pick up a piece of bacon and place it in my mouth, it crunches as I take a bite. Atlas takes a piece as well with his fingers, placing it between those sinful lips.

“I want you,” he says, making me choke on the juice I just swallowed. I wipe at my mouth and look up at him. “You know I do, it just took me some time to come around to that fact.”

I say nothing and go back to my juice.

“Theadora,” he says.

I pull the glass away from my lips and focus all my attention on him. “You can’t think just because you say some words I’ll fall at your feet and give myself to you again, right?”

“Well…”

I laugh. “Oh my God, you did. So, let me get this straight. First, you kidnap me. Then you use me. Then we start something…” I indicate between us, “… which I thought at the time I could forgive you for everything you did to me because maybe… just maybe, that was a different side of you. So, I let myself fall into you…” I pause, taking a deep breath. “Then you leave me again, ignore me, and act like I’m the scum beneath your feet. Actually, probably worse than that.” I shake my head. “Then, oh wait… I’m still not finished… then you kidnap me… again.” I throw my head back in laughter. “You have got to be kidding me, right?” With all laughter gone, I rise from the bed and cross my arms over my chest. “I’d like to go home now.”

“Well, when you put it like that… sure, I went about this all the wrong way...” I slide on my shoes, and when I straighten, he is directly in front of me. “Give me a chance, Theadora. You know I’m not a man to ask, I take what I want, but in your case, I am asking.”

“You can’t just take someone when you want them, Atlas. This is not the way the world works.”

“It does for me,” he replies smugly. When he notices I am not impressed, he shakes his head. “Let me try? I will try not to kidnap you again. How about that?”

“Oh, how sweet… what romantic words you whisper to me,” I say with an overexaggerated eye roll.

He stares at me, locking eyes. “Theadora.”

“Yes, Atlas.”

“I can always spank you for insubordination.”

“You could try, and you would probably succeed. But do you think winning me back will go well with you going against my will, yet again?”

“It worked out great for me last time,” he says, and his eyes darken. I can tell he’s thinking about all the times his hands were on my body.

“It won’t this time. I can see through you now, Atlas. You wanted me because I was something you couldn’t have. Then when you had me, you were quick to ditch me. And now I don’t want you again, you want me. It’s a comical roundabout you are traveling. Maybe I should tell Lucy to act like she doesn’t want you. Maybe then you will want her, and then you two can be happy together.”

“I will never be happy with anyone but you. I know this for a fact now,” he says, then walks past me, opening the door. “We have a plane to catch, Theadora.” Atlas walks out, and I follow him.

When we step outside the apartment the island is empty, not like the last time I came here. He’s brought me out here, just me and a few of his staff.

Atlas walks straight up the stairs onto his private plane, and I follow behind him. Taking a seat in the same place I was last time I was on here, I cross my legs and turn to look out the window.

I feel his stare penetrating me.

Piercing the very fabric of my being.

But I choose not to look.

What he’s doing isn’t healthy, and I don’t want an unhealthy relationship, no matter how much my body wants him.

And my heart? Well, that bitch is as confused as ever, so there’s no way I’m listening to that.

I’ve learned the hard way about bad relationships. My mother and father had one. Lucy is a magnet for them. And, well, I want nothing to do with them or him.

Turning around to face Atlas, he doesn’t look away, keeping his sharp stare firmly and decisively on me. Those amber eyes penetrate more than my outer surface. They penetrate my fucking soul, and I can’t evict them no matter how much I try.

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I can’t fall down his rabbit hole. Nothing good can come from it.

I will be left a shattered wreck if I give in and will be left with nothing but a shell of my former self.

Chapter Eighteen

Theadora

As soon as we are off the plane a car is waiting. Atlas holds the door open for me, and I slide in. When I’m in the car, it takes off, leaving Atlas behind.

The drive back to my home is long, and when I finally arrive, Tina is waiting on my doorstep.

“He told me you were on your way,” she says, standing and brushing off her jeans. “Do I need to kick his ass?”

I step out. “No, it’s fine.”

Another car pulls into the curb, and I recognize him as one of Atlas’s security team. He walks over and nods to both Tina and me. “Miss, I’m here to stand guard. If there is anything you need, please press this button.” He holds out a remote and passes it to me.

“Who the fuck are you?” Tina yells.

“Security, miss.” He turns and stands at the front of the house like a damn statue.

Tina reaches for my arm and pulls me inside of the house then slams the door shut behind us. “Gosh, hasn’t your life gotten exciting since you met Mr. Atlas Hyde,” she says.

I take a deep breath and shake my head.

Everything bubbles up inside of me.

Every-damn-thing.

From how my life was pre-Atlas to how it is now.

A fucked-up mess.

I can’t blame him solely, it’s also my sister’s fault. Most of it is her fault. But if it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have met Atlas. Is that some sort of fucked-up thought?

“Thea, do you want him in your life? I know you did before, but then it ended so badly. But is it still over?”

“We could never work,” I say on a shaky breath. “Never. Atlas only thinks about himself. His actions drive him. There’s never any thought process, purely his actions.”

“Well, maybe he needs to change.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. How can a man change from what he’s become accustomed to all his life? And the last thing I would want is to ask him to change for me.”

“Maybe you should. I’m sure he would… for you,” Tina says, lying back on the couch. My cell starts ringing, and Tina reaches for it. I forgot about it because, well, I was fucking kidnapped, so it was left behind and when I got home it was there waiting for me.

“Hello.” Tina listens, then sits up straighter. She stands and reaches for me. When she hangs up, she looks serious. “We have to go to the hospital. Lucy’s having the baby early.”

“I should go, right?” I ask her.

Tina looks to the floor in thought with my cell still clutched in her hand.

“Tina… I should go, shouldn’t I?”

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes,” I say. “But maybe I shouldn’t. She doesn’t want me there. She only wants Atlas,” I say with a cringe.

“Fuck her. She will be in too much pain to know the difference, and I know you won’t forgive yourself if you’re not there. Come on, let‘s go, and be with your evil bitch of a sister,” she says with an eye roll. Tina walks out of the front door with my cell in hand. I follow and slide into her car, and the security guard does the same in his own and follows behind us. When we reach the hospital, only I am allowed in with Lucy so Tina heads home, and when I go into the room she has already had the baby and is sitting up fixing her makeup.

“Where’s the baby?” I ask.

“He’s early, so he’s in special care.”

“He?” I ask with a smile on my face.

“Yeah, he. Anyway, can you call him? He isn’t answering my calls as per usual, and he needs to know the baby has arrived.”

I look down at my cell as Lucy watches me with skeptical eyes.

“You call him,” I tell her.

She does, straight away with no hesitation, as if he’s on speed dial. Actually, he probably is, but he doesn’t answer.

“See, he must be busy,” she says, picking up her mirror and continuing with her makeup application.

“Will the baby be okay?”

“I don’t know. Gosh, Thea… will you just call him already? Atlas needs to be here for this.” She applies lip gloss and turns her glaring eyes directly on me.

I press call, and he answers straight away. “Atlas.”

“I hated my name until I hear you speak it. Now I quite like it. Or maybe it’s just whatever comes from those gorgeous lips of yours—”

“He talks to you like that?” Lucy’s voice cuts in loud and clear.

Maybe I shouldn’t have put him on speaker.

“You’re with Lucy?” he asks. “Theadora,” he says my name and makes me realize he does care. Atlas knows how Lucy treats me. “Why are you there?”

“She’s had the baby,” I tell him.

“Okay,” is all he replies.

I look up at Lucy who’s staring at me with wide eyes when she whispers, “Tell him to come.”

“Do you want me to come?” he asks.

I turn away from Lucy, taking Atlas off the speakerphone to chat with him privately. “Do you not want to?” I ask him a little confused by his answer.

“No. I helped her because of Benji. I did what I had to do. She has his money. There is no other reason I should continue to be involved in her or her child’s life. So, Theadora, do you want me to come?”

His words confuse me. My hand clutches the cell as I turn around to face Lucy. She’s watching me with a mixture of hope and extreme anxiety playing on repeat in her eyes.

“No,” I reply, then watch her face drop. “Okay, no, maybe you should. It shouldn’t matter what I think.”

“No, you don’t want me to come. So, I won’t.”

I nod, but he can’t see me.

Lucy’s still watching me, waiting for what, I don’t know.

“Goodnight, Theadora.” Atlas hangs up.

Lucy throws her hands in the air. “So… when is he coming?”

“He’s not,” I tell her.

Her eyes narrow. “You told him not to, didn’t you? You want him all to yourself, you selfish bitch.”

A nurse steps into the room and looks from me to Lucy. “Do you want to see your baby now?”

“No. Get out,” Lucy says to the nurse.

The nurse’s eyebrows pinch together so much they form a single line, and when she turns and walks out, I spin away following her.

“I would like to see him, please?” I ask.

She looks me over. “Are you family?”

“Sister,” I tell her.

The nurse nods. “He’s in special care, so you will need to wash your hands and wear a gown, and that man can’t follow you in there.” I nod and follow her, instructing the security guard to wait. When we reach the special care unit, I follow her instructions before entering the room while the security guard stands outside. She steps over to where he’s lying in a crib. He’s so little, so very tiny. “You can reach in and touch him,” she tells me with a smile.

“He’s so little.”

“He is,” she says, checking his monitors and vital signs.

“Will he be okay?”

“He’s a fighter, that’s for sure. And so far, everything is looking good. Well, as good as can be expected for a premature birth. The doctor will be in later if you wish to stay and chat with him.”

“I’ll be here.”

The nurse smiles and walks away while I stay, his little hand firmly holding onto my pinky finger. He’s so vulnerable, so innocent. How could you not love something this helpless? I love him already, and I’ve only just met him.

I stay in there for hours with him, and when I finally do move it’s only because visiting hours are over and the nurse tells me I can come back tomorrow.

On my way out of the hospital, I check on Lucy. She appears to be asleep. So, I quietly walk over, but when I get close her eyes open.

“He’s beautiful,” I tell her. “Do you have a name yet?”

“Is Atlas coming?” she asks again.

“Lucy, your son! What do you plan to name him?” I ask, ignoring her last question.

Her eyes turn fiery as she watches me. “If Atlas doesn’t want me, I don’t want the baby. I kept the baby for him.”

“He would have never asked you to do such a thing.” I don’t know Atlas all that well, but I know him much better than she does.

“Of course, he didn’t. But he wants the baby, I just know it.”

“I think you should see someone, Lucy. Your fixations are making you unhinged,” I tell her.

“You don’t know shit,” she spews her vile words at me. “You can have him. I don’t want him.”

“Atlas isn’t yours to give, Lucy,” I tell her calmly.

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No, that baby. You can have it. I don’t care.” Then she turns away from me, curling into herself.

“Lucy, your baby needs you.”

“I don’t want it.”

“You’ll come around. He’s just a little baby, Lucy. He’s beautiful. You’ll love him when you see him.”

“No, I will not. Leave. Now.” I go forward, reaching out to touch her, comfort her, like I always used to do whenever she didn’t get what she wanted. But somehow my hand pauses and hovers over her instead. This is what I always do, give in and try to make it better for her somehow, and that’s when I realize maybe that’s why she’s stuck in this rut. Because everyone helps her, but she refuses to help herself.

Lucy has a child now, and I can no longer coddle her like a baby. No, she needs to do that to her son. She needs to grow the fuck up and give him a name. I pull my hand back and turn, walking out of her room without another word.

The nurse waves to me when I leave. As I walk out of the building with the security guard following behind me like a lap dog, I notice Atlas standing there, his head bent as he looks at something on his cell. I step forward until I’m standing in front of him. He lifts his head and smiles. That simple smile makes my heart flutter.

“You came?” I ask when he said he wouldn’t.

“I came for you. I know you don’t have a car. And, I wanted to make sure your sister didn’t make you commit murder,” he jokes. I don’t smile nor laugh. “Oh shit! Did she send you to the dark side? I mean, if anyone could, it would be her,” he says, reaching out and touching my arm with a smirk.

“Can we pretend… just for a few hours?”

“Pretend what?” he asks.

“That I forgive you and everything is normal. That we are normal, and you are just a boy wanting a girl…” I bite my lip, “… and I’m that girl.” My voice is a desperate whisper.

“I can do whatever you want, Theadora, but I will not pretend. You are the girl I want. And nothing will change that fact.” He reaches for my hand and entwines his fingers through mine. Atlas pulls me to him, and I feel his teeth at my neck, teasing my skin. “You are mine,” he says again, his lips now touching and giving me small kisses.

“For tonight,” I say, almost on a plea.

“For every night.” He pulls back and turns our hands which are still laced together, as he starts walking to his car.

I remember the first time I was in this car, the way he looked at me made me think I was beneath him. But I’m not. No, we are most definitely equals, and he simply needs to realize that.

Once we reach his car, he pulls open the door, helping me in. Then he stops and leans down, looking at me. “Last chance to run, Theadora.”

I shake my head. “Hurry, Atlas, before recognition sets in, and you’re never allowed to touch me again.”

I don’t tell him about the baby, not even when he gets in the car and offers me a sly smile as he speeds off.

Should I? I don’t think so.

It’s my family business. And Lucy is just that—my family, not his.

Plus, she may change her mind.

Maybe.

Probably not.

But I can hope.

Because there is a beautiful baby boy at stake here.

Atlas’s hand touches my thigh, and I turn to look at him. I can let him make me forget, just for tonight. Atlas is so very good at that.

Chapter Nineteen

Atlas

She doesn’t speak on the drive, just turns her body toward the window and stares out. My hands tap restlessly on the wheel as I drive giving her time—it’s what she deserves, it’s what she needs.

When we get to my place, she’s out of the car quickly and walking toward the front door. I follow with my hands in my pockets. The front door is unlocked so she pushes it open and goes straight inside. Without looking back to see if I’ve closed the door, she starts peeling off her clothing. Her shirt is first to go over her head, then her skirt falls past her waist to join the shirt on the floor. Now she’s standing there in nothing but a bra and panties.

“Theadora,” I say gently.

She looks at me over her shoulder. No smile graces her lips, nothing registers on her face. She seems like she is inside herself, in her own world.

“We don’t have to do this,” I tell her.

Silently, she reaches her hands behind her back, unclasping her bra as she takes small steps toward me. My cock is already hard, my need for her is next level. I haven’t been with anyone since meeting Theadora, and believe me I have tried. But all I see is her sky-blue eyes staring at me.

Those eyes see through my waves and hurricanes and capture me with more passion and intensity than anything I’ve ever had. It’s another reason I can’t seem to let her go.

“You don’t want me?” she asks, her hand reaching out and cupping my cock. “By the size of this it feels like you do.” She plays, but there’s still no smile touching her lips. She leans in and kisses me softly. “What are you waiting for, Atlas? You always take what you want. That usually includes me. Now I’m giving you permission, and you aren’t taking me.” She kisses me again, and I let her, because her kisses are like vanilla kisses, once you take that first bite, it’s impossible to stop.

My restraint leaves when she pushes against me, her now naked body on mine. My hands touch her sides, and I dig my fingers in as she deepens her kiss and lifts her leg to my hip. I take it, hiking her up so both legs wrap around my waist and she pulls back from the kiss.

“Do you plan to have me on the counter or in the bedroom?” she asks.

“How about we eat first,” I tell her. “I bet you haven’t eaten.” She pushes me, so I have to place her down on the floor in front of me. She turns and picks up her clothes. “Theadora.”

“This was a mistake. It’s all just a big mistake.” She shakes her head while trying to dress. I reach for her hand, making her turn to face me.

“It isn’t a mistake. Let’s eat first. You’ve had a busy day.”

Theadora closes her eyes briefly. “No, I should go.”

I strip off my shirt and offer it to her. “You have no way home. Here, put this on and eat, I have sushi ready.” She gives up on her clothes and takes my shirt sliding it on, and I reach for her, gripping her waist and guiding her toward the kitchen. Letting her go, I get the food out of the refrigerator, and she sits at the table as I bring it over to her. Immediately, she reaches for a piece and places it in her mouth, groaning as she chews. I sit and pour us each a glass of wine while watching her eat.

She looks up at me and wipes at her mouth. “You aren’t eating?”

“I’ve already eaten, ” I tell her. Even if I hadn’t, what I plan to eat is not on this table. Yet.

“Oh, well…” she puts another piece in her mouth, “… what about dessert?”

“I plan to have you for dessert.”

She chokes on her food and manages to catch her breath. “Oh, gosh, you…” She shakes her head. “I did just throw myself at you, and you turned me down.”

“I didn’t turn you down, I need you to have energy for later.”

“You so should have ended that line with a wink,” she tells me with a smile. “This is weird. You know this is just a one-night thing, right? It’s a goodbye. It’s our last goodbye.” She says the words, but they’re not believable. At all.

“It isn’t goodbye. Our goodbyes don’t work,” I tell her.

She drinks the wine in front of her, and when I believe she’s had enough to eat, I stand and walk around to her, pulling out her chair. Her legs that were folded up on it, fall to the floor.

“I think I’ll have dessert now.”

I look up to see her smirking. “Do you?” She raises an eyebrow as I pull her legs apart. The moment my hand traces up her leg she shivers, goosebumps schooling her skin. “What if I told you no, that we shouldn’t do this?” she asks, all the while spreading her legs even farther apart.

“I can remove myself from you, but is that what you really want?” I ask, leaning in again, this time putting my lips to the skin of her leg, trailing kisses to the middle of her thigh. Her head drops back, her body sliding forward, her legs opening even wider. I take that as my invitation.

Standing, I move behind her chair, clasping each hand and tie them behind the chair. She looks up at me, those sky blue eyes stealing thoughts and maneuvering her way into my heart.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is raspy, her breathing heavy, but she doesn’t pull against the restraints. I go back to where I was, but before I drop to my knees, I lift my shirt up her body exposing her breasts. Her nipples peak, and I lean in, my tongue circling and savoring her taste. She moans as my hand grips her other breast, squeezing it while my tongue laves in circles, while I suck and bite her other breast. She’s a slave to my will, so responsive, so fuckable, so feisty, yet also so reserved.

I like that about her.

I like a fucking lot about her.

My name slips from her lips when my hand trails its way down from between her breasts to her sweet, sweet fuckable pussy.

I’m not going to lie and say I feel nothing for this woman. She’s the first woman ever, who has made me feel wanted. To feel wanted by someone that you also want is something I’ve never experienced. Yes, I have been wanted before. Women will drop to their knees with their need for me. But I have never wanted them in the same way or even in the same realm as I want this woman who’s tied to my chair as she lets slip moans of my name.

I fucking hated my name before her.

Nothing existed before her.

And hopefully, there will never be a fucking after her.

I can’t wait any longer. I touch her clit as my hand slides down, and then even lower until my fingers dip into her heat.

I know her taste.

I dream of her fucking taste.

So, when my fingers slide in and slide out, and she keeps on moaning, I pull them away. She groans in protest at the loss, which only forces a smile to touch my lips.

“What’s the matter, Theadora?” I tease.

Her eyes fly open, and as they do, I lean in fast, my lips capturing hers. When I pull away, I take the two fingers that were inside of her and place them in her mouth. She sucks on them, and as she does, my cock hardens so much it’s painful. Pulling them away and placing them in my mouth, I can still taste her.

She smiles as I drop to my knees and she watches as my head lowers between her legs, pushing her even farther apart until she is open for me like an all you can eat fucking buffet. If I were to die here, I would be a happy fucking man. What a way to go.

The first stroke of my tongue has her hips bucking, and I have to hold her tight, my hands on her hip bones to keep her in place as my tongue works it’s magic between her legs. She moans, and I slide my tongue all the way down and dip it inside her entrance, tasting her even more before I go back up to circle her clit.

“Atlas.”

It’s a plea, and I know exactly what she needs. Removing one hand from her hip, I insert two fingers inside her, fucking her with my hand and tasting her with my mouth.

It’s not long before she comes hard with words of profanity leaving her mouth. Maybe I’ll fuck that dirty mouth of hers later. One thing I know for sure, tonight has only just gotten started.

Now I have her, I’ll be a fool if I let her go.

Chapter Twenty

Theadora

I can’t move my body, not just because my hands are tied behind my back. No, it’s because the pressure of his hands on my hips are keeping me in place. It’s because no one touches me, fucks me, or devours me the way Atlas Hyde does. He makes me lose all sense. All form of reality leaves me when it’s just us two.

What does that say about us?

Somehow, I keep on finding my way back to him.

Granted, he’s always kidnapping me. And a part of me—a very small part of me—also likes that fact. I’ve never been wanted by a man as powerful or as good looking as Atlas.

He doesn’t only darken my world, he also brightens it.

But when you have too many skeletons in your closet like he does, can they stay buried?

He stands, removes his clothes, and I let my head drop back. I don’t need to see him undress, I’m already fighting my want for him, trying hard to keep it under control. And we all know that this man was put on the earth to tempt women, and it’s really not fair.

“Theadora.”

I lift my head and watch as he steps behind me, undoes the binding that holds my hands together, and grips my throat. He holds me where I am and kisses me. I can taste myself, but I can also taste him.

Atlas pulls away and takes two steps so he’s standing next to me. “Can you walk, or should I carry you?” he asks, looking down at me. “I must say if I carry you, I’m afraid we may not make it to the bedroom.”

He smirks, and I fight the urge to smile back.

Pushing up from the chair, my head spins.

Fuck! I’m glad I ate, otherwise I would have fallen straight back on my ass. But of course, he’s right, and now because my stomach is full, I’m not feeling sick or light-headed.

He strides in the direction of his bedroom, but my feet halt, wondering if I should turn back now and leave. But as I watch his ass move, I know I’m not going to go with that option. I’m going to take option B, and I’m going to follow him into his room, and I’m going to fuck him. Because for just one night, I have forgotten about everything outside these four walls.

All I can think about—all I want to think about—is what’s inside of these walls. The man who has disrespected but also worshipped me. I’m not sure what is right and wrong. I’ve only had men or been with men who are compliant, who are good, so I’ve never had a taste for something this dark and sinister.

Maybe Lucy and I do have that in common, and I was simply too late to realize it or too ignorant because I didn’t want to be anything like her. That was Lucy’s job—to want what I want, to have what I want. Maybe it’s God’s way of showing me that I’m a little fucked-up too.

Atlas opens his bedroom door, and then he turns around. I’m two steps behind him, and he covers those two steps fast, his hands gripping my ass to lift me, so I have to wrap my legs around him.

“Maybe against the wall before the bed?” he asks, his eyes dark now.

I grip tighter around his neck. When I lift myself, I reach between us, gripping his cock in my hand, positioning it to my pussy entrance, and sliding down the shaft. Atlas’s eyes close just for a fraction before they open again, and when they do, I see the gold specks sparkling in his eyes before he takes another step and slams my back against the wall. My hands stay around his neck as we start moving, and it’s the perfect rhythm. Every nerve ending sparking, every spot is being hit in the most perfectly delicious way imaginable.

He grips my hair with one hand, pulling it back as he moves me from the wall. Exposing my neck to him, he bites, dragging his teeth down the side to my shoulder and repeats the same thing. The sensations only heighten everything that’s happening between us right now.

I come, again. Hard. My nails digging into his neck, trying to control everything that’s happening to, or rather racing through, my body right now.

Atlas moves me up and down, faster and harder, both hands now on my ass while I have lost all energy to be able to move.

When he comes, we both fall, but he protects me and drops to his knees then lets me fall backward, my back now on the bedroom floor. He does the same, lying next to me and breathing heavily.

I close my eyes, my body still shivering from the orgasm that has racked through me, that is still shuddering through me. His hand touches my bare belly. My shirt—well, his shirt—was somehow ripped from my body during our encounter.

I go to sit up, but he holds me down. “Stay,” he says.

Atlas stands and reaches for me, lifting me as if I weigh nothing, then lays me on his bed. He walks off, and when he comes back, he has a towel in his hand which he passes to me. “Sleep, we can talk tomorrow. Not tonight.”

I nod, no more talking, I’m too tired. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I wipe myself and curl up into a ball on his bed. I feel the bed dip as he slides in next to me. His hand touches my hip, and he pulls me back to him, my naked body now aligned with his. I try not to think too much about it as my eyes become heavy and I fall fast asleep.

And I have the best sleep I’ve had in a long, long time.

* * *

Dread fills me.

What have I done?

I sit up fast, and my head spins.

Fuck! What have I done?

Atlas tries to pull me back down, but I manage to get off the bed.

I wasn’t drunk. Everything he did, I wanted. I’m not going to lie.

I turn around and see Atlas opening his eyes.

“Benji.” I say his cousin’s name.

Atlas’s face contorts as if the word hurts.

“What did you do with his body?” I ask.

Atlas sits and pulls the sheet up to cover his cock. His hand strokes through his hair, pulling it from its crazy, sexy mess as he turns to look at me. “You don’t get to say his name,” he says through gritted teeth.

“You blame me, still?” I ask while shaking my head.

Atlas moves, and the sheet drops as he stands. He makes his way to the bathroom and looks back, stopping as his hand touches the door frame. “I don’t blame you, but I also can’t help but think it would have been a different outcome if you weren’t there,” he says, then disappears through the opening.

My heart hurts.

And not in a good way either.

Finding a shirt on the floor, I reach for it and throw it on, my naked body now covered as I wait for him to come back out. He doesn’t take long, and when he does return, he’s wearing a pair of athletic shorts.

“I need you to take me home. I have to get back to the hospital.”

“Your sister doesn’t want you there.” He says the words I already know. Atlas reaches for his cell and checks it, then looks up to me. “She’s already left the hospital.”

My mouth falls open in shock.

No way.

There’s no way.

The doorbell rings, and he walks out, and I follow him.

“I need you to take me home,” I ask him again.

Atlas walks to the front door, and when he opens it, my sister is on the other side. She doesn’t see me at first and steps forward, throwing her arms around his shoulders right where my nail marks are, and she hangs on for dear life. His hands stay at his sides as she grasps onto him.

“You didn’t come. You didn’t come,” she cries.

Atlas reaches for her hands and peels them away from his body. Lucy looks up and sees me behind him. Her eyes narrow as she reaches up and smacks his chest hard.

“You picked her over me?” she screeches.

“There was no picking, Lucy. It was never you,” he says, which only makes her madder as she looks at me.

“You stole him.”

I can’t deal with this, not today.

I need to see that baby and make sure he’s okay, because clearly, Lucy does not care.

“Where is the baby, Lucy?”

She smiles. “Who cares?”

I find my things on a small table near the door and reach for them, then I see the car keys and grab them too.

“I don’t want you, Lucy. I can’t tell you another hundred times. If you keep this up, I’m going to have you committed,” Atlas says to her.

Maybe he should. She needs help that I have never been able to give to her.

“You can’t, you aren’t family.”

“I’m sure you know I have connections that can circumvent me not being family.”

“You wouldn’t,” she challenges.

“Go back to the hospital, and stop thinking with your pussy for once,” I say, pushing past both of them.

Atlas calls my name, but I don’t answer him, instead I go straight to his car and get in the driver’s side. He rushes after me and bangs on the window, I roll it down as he stands there.

“You’re stealing cars now, Theadora?”

“Only from those who deserve it.”

“I didn’t ask her to come here,” he says.

I grip the wheel.

This car cost a lot of money, and if I crash it, I will never be able to afford to get it fixed.

Maybe I should get out.

Nope.

Nope, not happening.

“And I didn’t ask you to leave.”

“Some part of you will always blame me, so maybe it’s best I do. I don’t want to be with someone like that, Atlas. I don’t want to be forever blamed for something that was out of my control.” I start the car and look to him. He’s staring, but he’s not looking at me. It’s like he wants to say something, but it’s not leaving his mouth. “I will bring your car back later,” I tell him.

Atlas pushes off the car and stands there with no shirt on. His neck is strained as his eyes lock on mine. That broad chest is full of ink and his arms are placed by his sides. With both his nose rings inserted, all I want to do is to lean in and kiss them.

“Atlas…” Words fail me because as I go to say something else, I look behind him to see Lucy standing there with a gun in her hand, pointed directly at his back. Before I can warn him, she pulls the trigger. Blood coats my face as Atlas’s eyes widen in shock and disbelief, and my breath leaves me as I scream.

I watch helplessly as Atlas falls to the ground, clutching his stomach, and behind him is a smiling Lucy who raises her gun even higher to aim it at me.

“He loves you, do you even know that?” she asks.

My screaming stops and everything around me sharpens into clear focus.

“All I wanted in this world was for him to want me. Not you. I could have been happy.” She’s said this before when she stole my last boyfriend—that she did it because it would make her happy. I let it go that time. But no, not this time.

“Lucy, you’ve shot him,” I say, shaking my head. “You shot him,” I screech.

“He deserved it.” She starts to back away and then says, “Goodbye, sister. Take care of my baby. You always did want my things.” She laughs. “Now you can have my spawn, too. I’ll be seeing you around, Thea.” She turns and runs.

I manage to open the door and crawl over to Atlas, my hands move to his stomach, trying to cover the wound and stop the bleeding. His hands are clenched at his sides, and his eyes are shut tight, and I can tell he’s trying to breathe through the pain.

“Help is coming,” I say, more to myself than him as his security comes in out of nowhere.

I watch on helplessly as he passes out from blood loss.

Is this something else that will be my fault?

I look back down to the ground and see all the blood.

Honestly, I’ve seen enough blood to last me a lifetime.

There’s just too much blood in my life, and I want away from it.

Chapter Twenty-One

Theadora

Help finally arrives. My hands stay on him, trying to slow the blood loss until I am told to remove them.

Atlas is taken away in an ambulance, and I am left sitting on his cement driveway, covered in blood. His blood. It takes me a bit to manage to move, and when I do, I drive straight home, even if every part of me wants to go to the hospital and to where I know both Lucy’s baby and Atlas will now be. But I can’t go there dressed in a shirt and covered in blood, so I head home and shower as fast as humanly possible, dress, and jump back into Atlas’s car. 

I don’t even think about what could happen if I crash Atlas’s expensive car, which is saying a lot.

Parking, I get out and rush across the lot to the front of the hospital. I see Sydney’s already there, her heels clicking as she walks in ahead of me. She turns as if she knows I’m here, and her eyes narrow. “You,” she spits. She walks over to me, and her hand goes to hit me, but before it can, someone stops her.

Tina grips her hand and looks at her with wide eyes. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tina says, pulling Sydney’s hand away.

Sydney looks at her with anger, hurt, and surprise. “You protect her, over me?” 

“Yes. So do not raise your hand to her again.”

Hurt flashes over Sydney’s face before she looks back at me while pain radiates from her. She turns abruptly and starts walking into the hospital as I stand there with Tina.

“Sydney’s upset. She heard Atlas was shot and Lucy was involved,” Tina says. 

“You don’t have to protect me from her,” I say to Tina. I feel bad that it happened. 

She nudges my shoulder with her own as we start walking toward the doors of the hospital. “Someone has to protect you, and in doing so, not kidnap you.” She laughs. 

“So, you know?” 

“Yeah, Sydney told me. He has his way of looking out for you, I guess.” 

“It’s insane.” We get to the elevator, and I press the children’s area. 

“You aren’t going to visit him?” Tina asks. 

“Sydney would most likely not want me there. Plus, I have bigger troubles. Lucy’s baby is premature, and he needs to know someone’s there to support him.” 

“You… Theadora Fitzgerald… are too good for any of us.” She shakes her head as the elevator comes to a stop.

I step out and turn back to look at her. “I’ll be there later to see how it’s all going. Will you message me to tell me how he is?” 

I hear, “Of course,” then the doors close.

I head to the area where I have to wash my hands and put on protective gear before I can walk into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The same nurse that was there yesterday is there again today. She spots me and comes over as I sit next to him. 

“Your sister left, and she’s left you as the baby’s next of kin. Do you happen to have a name?” 

“Benji,” I say with a smile. I may not have been fond of the man, but this is his child, and I’m sure if he were here he would want the best for this baby. 

“If you could fill this in, please.” She hands me forms that I notice have already been signed by Lucy, giving me guardianship of the baby.

Everything is left to me. 

How could she be so damn cruel?

Tina: He’s in surgery, it’s touch and go.

My heart jumps at Tina’s message. I keep the cell glued to my hand as I sit there next to Benji. The nurse puts his name on the crib, and I smile. 

“You may be able to hold him tomorrow. He’s a fighter, and he’s doing well.” She places her hand on my shoulder, squeezing before she walks away to deal with another screaming baby elsewhere in the unit. 

* * *

When I leave Benji, I text Tina to ask what floor they’re on and where. When I located them, I see Tina sitting in the waiting room, playing games on her cell. She puts it away when she sees me walk into the room. 

“How is the baby?” she asks when I sit next to her. 

“Good. He’s doing really well. They are happy with his progress.”

Tina wipes at her face—she’s been sitting here all day, as long as I’ve been here.

“How is Atlas?” 

Tina takes a deep breath. 

“He’s out of surgery, and Sydney is waiting for him to wake.” 

“I spent the night with him last night,” I tell her. “It was… good. When it’s just us, we are good,” I say, smiling. 

“Look, Thea…” she grips my hand, “… I’m all for you being happy, you deserve it, and you know I will always be the first one to cheer you on but, can it work? I know you kept some things from me about how he is, but I know because Sydney tells me everything.” She pauses. “Can you handle his lifestyle, Thea? Like really handle it. You like things slow and easy and Atlas is anything but.” 

She’s right, I know she is. But that doesn’t change the fact I feel something for him, and it’s not small either. It’s huge and is slowly taking me over inch by inch.

“He’s asking for you.”

We both look up to Sydney’s voice, her hands are at her sides, and she appears tired. She walks over and takes the seat on the other side of Tina and lays her head on her shoulder. 

Standing, I walk to the room that Sydney just came out of and spot him straight away. There are machines all around him as he lays on the bed. He looks… helpless. I’ve never seen him that way. Atlas has always been someone you fear, never a man who needs help himself. He turns his head, and his amber eyes fall to mine. 

“Theadora.” My name is a croak coming from his lips.

I step into his room and take small steps until I reach the side of his bed. My hand instantly reaches out and covers his, and it’s cold to the touch. 

“You’re all right,” I say, relieved. He winces as he moves, and I shake my head. “Stay still.” 

“The baby?” he asks. 

“Doing well. I can probably take him home in a week or so. He is a good size and growing,” I tell him with a small smile touching my face. “I never thought I would have to look after a child that isn’t mine, but I can’t put anything past my sister. She’s full of surprises.”

A knock comes on his door, and I turn to see the bodyguard that Atlas assigned to me. 

“Sir,” he nods his head and looks to me. “I’m ready to take you home when you’re ready, miss.” 

My eyes go wide as I turn back to look at Atlas. “I don’t need protection,” I say to him, looking him up and down. “It seems you do more than me.” 

“You do. Please don’t fight me on this.”

I want to, the words are on the tip of my tongue, but I try to restrain myself.

“You should leave,” he says, looking away and pulling his hand out of my grasp. “I need to rest.”

I stand and walk to the door then look back to him. “Do you want me to visit again?”

“No,” he says firmly, and I feel my heart crack.

I told myself not to fall for him, to not even have the slightest thought that things could or would change. It’s what happened the last time we hit a rough spot. Then, disaster.

Is this what our relationship is meant to be?

A disaster?

I can’t handle that and I won’t. 

“Goodnight, Atlas,” I mutter, walking out, managing to keep my tears at bay.

How many times can I be stupid? I’m not one of those girls. Granted, yesterday, I was, but I have reached my limit. He can bring me down and make me forget. 

The girls are huddled together when I walk out. I wipe at my face as the bodyguard follows behind me. Both sets of eyes look up when I enter the waiting area. 

“Hey, you weren’t in there long. Everything okay?” Tina asks.

Sydney doesn’t move, just watches me. 

“I gotta head back and get some rest before I come back tomorrow,” I say to Tina. “Oh, and I need to buy baby things.” I wince just thinking about that part. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Lucy left the baby here. She doesn’t want it.”

“Of course, she did. The baby didn’t benefit her in any way so why keep it,” Tina says in a harsh voice. Problem is, she isn’t wrong. Her eyes fall on me. “Are you sure you can handle it? A baby, I mean? You have only just started your own business.” 

“I don’t know, but I have to try.” 

“You should find that child a home,” Sydney finally says something. 

“He has one. I’ll give him one,” I tell her. 

“Yeah, but you don’t know the first thing about raising a child, and I’m sure you could find that child a home where someone wants him.” 

“I want him,” I tell her, defending myself. I don’t even know why I am defending myself to Sydney, it’s none of her business what I do. 

“You don’t know what you want, though, do you? You go back and forth, which isn’t good for a child. A child needs stability,” she says, raising an eyebrow. “Give that child another home… one that isn’t yours. That’s all I’m saying.” 

“You have some nerve, some real balls of steel, don’t you. And I’m going to let that slide based on the fact your boss is injured and supposedly again it’s somehow all my fault, even though I not once asked to be dragged into any of this bullshit.” I take a deep breath. “So, yes, this once I will let your mean girl comments slide.” I turn to walk away and throw over my shoulder, “Goodnight, Tina,” as I leave.

The damn bodyguard follows me, and when we get outside, I don’t see Atlas’s car where I parked it. 

“You are kind of a badass.”

I jump at that voice.

Turning around, I look at the bodyguard. His hands are in his pockets as he watches me, then he nods his head to the black car parked near us. “Our ride is here. Sir’s car was collected earlier today.”

I nod. “Thanks.” 

“It’s no problem. I do as I’m told.” He opens the back door, but I go to the passenger side and get in. 

“You aren’t my chauffeur, so I’ll ride up front if you don’t mind,” I say as he slides in next to me. 

“I’m not sure sir would be happy,” he states, but starts the car anyway and pulls out of the lot.

I lay my head on the side window. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” 

“What’s your name?” 

“Ronnie.” 

“Nice to meet you, Ronnie.” 

“You too, miss. You, too.” We drive back in silence, and when we get to my house, I jump out, and Ronnie stays in his car. Walking in, I find Lucy lying on my couch, and she’s asleep. 

“What the fuck,” I scream.

She startles awake and sits straight up while rubbing her face.

“You need to leave. Leave, now, Lucy. You have done enough damage to everyone around you to last a lifetime.”

“You should be happy, Thea. I’m giving you everything you have ever wanted. The man, the kid…” She throws her hands up in the air.

Ronnie walks in, a gun in his hand as he looks where I am located. “Are you okay?”

“Put the gun down, Ronnie, it’s just my sister.” 

“Your sister. The one who shot sir?” he asks, raising his gun again. 

“No,” I say, the lie falling from my lips. “Please, leave,” I beg Ronnie. 

“I’ll be right out the front. Please yell if you need me.” He turns and pockets his gun as he leaves. Once I hear the click of the door, I turn back to Lucy and raise an eyebrow. 

“I hate you,” she spits, and hits me over the head with something hard.

Everything goes black.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Atlas

“You aren’t meant to leave yet,” Sydney says.

It’s been a week, and she hasn’t come to see me, and I haven’t asked for her either. I asked her not to come because I don’t want her to see me that way.

“I need to leave. I can’t just sit here, I’m fine,” I tell her.

She reaches out and pokes me in my stomach, causing me to stagger back. “See… you aren’t fine. Now get back in bed.”

“Sydney, get my shit, I’m going home.”

She stands there, not doing anything.

Ronnie walks past, and I look from him to Sydney.

“Why is Ronnie here? Is Theadora here?” Sydney looks to the floor as I slide on my shirt. The doctor said I was recovering nicely and could go home if I took it easy, but he highly recommends I stay. “Sydney?”

“You can’t fire him, or me for that matter,” she says, grabbing my bag and throwing it over her shoulder. “We can talk in the car. It’s probably best not to do it here,” she says. “I know how you get when Theadora’s involved.”

“What did you do, Sydney?” I ask in a gruff voice.

She shakes her head and walks out of the room, taking my bag with her. When we get to the elevator, I turn to face her, but people step in, children along with them, halting my inquiries for now. I see a sigh of relief leave Sydney as we go down.

Stepping off the elevator, Sydney puts distance between us before I can say another word. When we finally get to the car, Sydney turns to face me. “Ronnie isn’t on her anymore.”

Ronnie’s sitting in the driver’s seat of the car.

“I can see that, Sydney. Now tell me why, when you know I instructed it.”

“You were injured and put me in charge. I took Ronnie off her,” she says, matter-of-factly.

“You did what?” Looking to Ronnie who’s quietly waiting, I ask, “When was the last contact you had with her?”

“I haven’t seen her since that night, sir, when I took her back to her house, and her sister was there.”

“Lucy?” I ask, which makes him sit up straighter.

“She didn’t say her name. I asked miss if she was the woman in question, and she told me she wasn’t.”

“Did she have long, dark hair?”

He visibly flinches. “Yes.”

“Go to her house… right now,” I instruct as we get into the car, and he takes off quickly.

I turn to look at Sydney. “You’re fired!”

“She’s fine. She messages Tina every day saying so.”

I don’t believe a word that leaves her mouth.

“You can’t be angry at me about it. I’m the one here for you. I care about you. She only came to see you once.”

“Because I told her to leave,” I say in a voice that screams pure unadulterated anger. But I am trying to not work myself up until I know what’s happening and that she’s okay.

“Your father won’t be after her, he tried and failed.”

“And he will try and try again until he gets what he wants. It’s how I was raised, so I know it’s how he works.” My eyebrows pinch together. “If you were anyone else right now, Sydney, I would roll you out of this car with a bullet between your eyes.”

“Why do you care so much about her. She isn’t worth it,” she says with a shake of her head. “Nothing but trouble follows that woman.”

“No, Sydney, it follows me.”

We stop out the front of her house, and I get out as quickly as I can. I try not to wince with the pull of my stitches as I stand, the pain almost unbearable. Pulling my jacket together, I walk to Theadora’s door, knocking on it a few times. She doesn’t answer. I look back over my shoulder to Sydney. “Call her.”

Sydney gives me an eye roll but does as I say. When she doesn’t get an answer, she tries again. “I’ll call Tina, see if she’s heard from her.”

I wait, knocking again just in case. I can hear Sydney talking to Tina, but then she turns to me. “Tina said she hasn’t spoken to her, only texts for the last week. She said Theadora’s been busy.” Worry stretches over me in waves. “I’ll call Marissa. She will have seen her.” Sydney does as she says, and I motion for Ronnie to come to me.

He gets out of the car fast.

“Break the door.”

Ronnie raises an eyebrow but doesn’t balk again when I nod. I would have done it myself if it didn’t hurt to fucking walk.

Ronnie kicks the door, and it flies off its hinges. He steps back as I walk in, and when I do, I see no sign of her. Her things are on the floor which is very unlike Theadora. Her home is always clean, small but clean.

Sydney runs up the stairs, her cell in hand.

“She hasn’t been in all week, and I even rang the hospital. I know a nurse there, and she said Thea hasn’t been in to see the baby either.”

My eyes grow wide at her words, and I take a deep, steadying breath.

“Track Lucy, now.”

Sydney starts typing on her cell, then looks up to me. “You need to call her. Lucy, I mean.” She hands me my cell, and I do just that.

Lucy answers on the first ring. “Oh, Atlas, I knew you would call,” she gushes into the cell. “I’m so happy to hear you survived. I couldn’t help myself, I’m so sorry—”

“Lucy,” I say, interrupting her.

“I had to do something drastic, you know—”

“Lucy,” I snarl.

“It has to make you see now that I’m the one for you.”

“Where is Theadora?”

She pauses. “Why do you call her that? Only you do that,” she says through gritted teeth. “I had to get rid of her… for good. It was easy, really,” she says.

“Where is she, Lucy?”

“I guess you will never find out how much fun this will be.” Lucy hangs up on me.

“It’s always Lucy. She was your biggest mistake bringing that woman into our lives. I warned you she’d be trouble at the time,” Sydney says, walking back to the car. “Luckily for you, I never trusted the bitch and put a tracker on her cell. You’re welcome by the way.” She presses a few buttons and brings up a location. “It’s time to put the crazy away for good.”

* * *

Lucy isn’t good, there’s not a good bone in her body. I often wondered how she got through life. When I first met her, she came as a recommendation and worked at my parties, then the regulars kept asking for her, so I brought her back again and again. Each time, she would talk to me, and I knew she wanted more, and that there was a reason she kept coming back. And it wasn’t just for the money.

Then Lucy stole from me, and I couldn’t have her around any longer. Benji pleaded for her life because he was in love with her. Then there was Theadora. If it weren’t for her, I would have killed Lucy immediately, but at the time I thought Theadora could pay back Lucy’s debts.

Lucy looks at us in surprise as we walk to her, she was easy to track, she has shopping bags in her hands as Ronnie reaches for her, trapping her in his arms before she can even move. She screams, but his hand covers her mouth as he drags her to my car in the parking lot. He sits down with her on his lap, strapped to him like she’s a rag doll. Except she kicks and tries to bite him, and Ronnie doesn’t even move, just stays stock-still.

Lucy’s eyes find mine, and she freezes.

The car starts moving, and I nod to Ronnie to move his hand, so he does wrapping it around her waist.

“You,” she spits. “I guess I should have aimed higher?”

“You could never kill me, Lucy,” I say as the car keeps moving.

“You want to save her, just like she tries to save everybody? Miss goody-goody Theadora,” she says with an eye roll.

“What screw is loose in your fucking head, Lucy? Tell me because I want to know.”

“None, I’m perfectly fine.” Her smile is dangerous, she actually believes she’s sane.

“So, normal people leave their babies and don’t care?” I ask. “No. No, they don’t, Lucy. Now, where the fuck is your sister?”

“I’m never telling,” she says, the smirk so wide I want to wipe it clean off her face. “Never, ever, ever… hopefully she’s dead,” she says with a cackle.

We come to a stop outside a private hospital for the mentally ill.

Lucy looks at the sign, then to me. “You can’t make me go in there.”

The door opens, and a doctor stands there with a needle in hand.

“You tried to shoot me, Lucy. I can do whatever I want. Consider yourself lucky it’s not a bullet in your stupid little fucked-up head.” I nod to the doctor who injects Lucy with the shot. She instantly goes drowsy, and I take her cell off her handing it to Sydney.

Ronnie lifts her out and places her in a wheelchair, and they cart her away.

Luckily, I own this place, so it’s easy to have her committed.

“Found her,” Sydney says.

When I look over, Sydney cringes. “But you aren’t going to like where.” She turns the cell and shows me.

Fucking hell.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Theadora

I’m hungry, so very hungry. She’s had me trapped in this room with nothing but a toilet for what feels like days. My body is sore, and I’m losing weight rapidly. She feeds me once a day, and even when she does that, she doesn’t speak to me, just opens the door and slides the tray in before she slams it shut again. My insides scream when I eat, wanting more, needing more, but she only provides a small ration and a bottle of water. I need to get out of here, but there’s no way out, and now I don’t have the energy to fight her.

I think today has been a week since Lucy left me here. It has to be. I have counted six sunsets and slept more than my fair share of nights and days, but the trouble is it makes them all blend together, so I can’t be absolutely sure how long I have been here.

The door opens again, and I manage to sit as she walks in. I screamed so much the first day, it made my throat so dry I considered drinking the toilet water. Now, I know it will do no good because there is no one out there who can hear me. I cross my arms around my body as she stands at the door, shutting it behind her.

Looking up at who I think is Lucy, she looks the same. No. Maybe she’s a little different, but mostly she’s the same.

“Thea.”

I shiver.

She looks me over and shakes her head. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” I’m taken aback by her words, but I don’t respond. “You were on top of the world, you even managed to get my company,” Chloe says then she steps forward and slaps me across the face hard, making my cheek throb. “And you got my husband killed by that maniac of a boyfriend you have.”

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” I mutter.

“Sure. That’s why you were with him when Lucy shot him.” She rubs her hands together. “That sister of yours is a real treat. It was easy to convince her to get you. All it took was for me to say I wanted you, and she couldn’t have been happier to do my bidding. She is batshit crazy that one.”

Yes, she is.

Wrapping my arms around my legs, I stay on the floor as she towers over me.

“Then I heard about Atlas’s father wanting to kill you, and I couldn’t let that happen. No, I had to be the one to end your miserable existence. I had to make sure Atlas knew how it felt to lose someone precious to him. Because he doesn’t care for anyone…” she pauses, her eyes narrowing, “… except for you. He even put a security detail on you and everything.” She smiles. “Atlas Hyde has one weakness, it seems.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell her, my voice dry and hoarse. I have hardly used it, and one bottle of water a day only lasts so long.

I turn away from her. Chloe walks over, her fake nails grip my face, and she turns me back around to face her, her breath in my face as she speaks, “He will pay for what he did to me,” she snarls.

“But I did nothing. It’s not my fault you’re all so fucked-up and don’t know how to live a normal life,” I say back to her, raising my chin in defiance that I know is going to get me in trouble. She holds on to my face for a moment more before she steps back, letting it go. Then she slaps me. Hard. I see stars before she turns and walks out, locking the door behind her.

I stay in the same spot for ages, not trusting anything or wanting to move for the fear of what that will do to my energy reserves. I have to be careful and don’t want to piss her off so much she won’t feed me.

My stomach growls at the thought of food.

Trying to keep all thoughts of Lucy’s baby away from my mind, I bite down on my lip to taste blood.

That poor child has no one.

Maybe Sydney was right, maybe I’m not the right choice for Lucy’s baby.

That thought breaks my heart a little.

Rocking back and forth, my ass is cold on the tiled floor.

The door creaks open again, and Chloe strides in, but there’s no tray of food in her hand.

What does she want this time?

“Seems Lucy’s gone missing,” she says. “And Atlas has left the hospital.” She looks down, and I see she has my cell in her hand. She presses call, and I hear his voice, a shiver running through me.

“Theadora…” I hear his voice say my name.

“The baby, is the baby okay?” I ask.

Chloe pins me with a hateful stare and shakes her head.

“Sydney will check. But, Theadora, where are you?”

I look around the room. No matter what I can’t tell him where I am simply because I have no idea. The lone window in my room is boarded up on the outside and sunlight barely seeps through the cracks in the wood. I can’t see out.

“I don’t know. Chloe won’t let me out.”

Her eyes go wide at the mention of her name. She hangs up quickly, steps up to me, and slaps me again, only this time, it’s more of a punch. I fall backward, my head hitting the floor with a thud. I cradle myself into a ball trying to protect my body as my head screams with pain and things start to go dark.

“You stupid, stupid, bitch,” she screams. She throws my cell on the floor, and I watch as it shatters to pieces. She stomps on it before she picks it up and walks out of the room.

I hear the resounding echo of the click of the lock as she leaves.

* * *

I wake to noise.

A lot of noise.

My head hurts, there’s a huge bump on the side, and I can feel the sting on my face from where there is a bruise forming. My stomach grumbles loudly as the door opens and shuts. I watch Chloe as she leans against it, turning to face me and keeping her back on the door as if she’s holding it closed.

“I liked you… I did. But Jesse always said you weren’t good, and that we couldn’t trust you,” she sneers.

I hear footsteps and look at the door behind her.

“They came for you, but I can still win this game. Your sister was smart to avade your bodyguard by taking you out the back door. I’ve beat them at their game once and I can do it again.” Chloe pulls a knife from her pants and walks toward me, the knife coming at me in a swift arc. I crawl backward on the floor until I am pressed against the wall and can’t go any further.

“Chloe,” I scream as she raises the knife to stab me.

My hands instinctively go up to block her, and the knife touches my skin, causing me to scream out in agony as it stabs into my flesh. Chloe grunts and pulls back. I look up at her in shock, the blood from the wound in my arm already trailing down to my fingertips as my hands drop.

Her eyes zero in on me, and she raises it to stab me again. And just as she does, a loud bang echoes in the room, and Chloe’s eyes go wide for a split second before blood begins to bloom on the front of her shirt. She drops the knife and clutches her chest, her eyes sad and shocked at the same time.

“You,” she says, and I watch helplessly as she falls to her knees, blood filling her mouth, then spilling over her lips. She spits it out, wiping it away with her blood-covered hands.

I tremble watching on, my arm stinging and unable to move.

“Theadora.”

I shiver at the word.

Atlas is standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. He lowers it as he looks at me, and I look back at Chloe who seems to be struggling to breathe.

“Are you okay?” I turn to Atlas as he tries to pull me up.

For some reason my voice doesn’t want to work yet, so I manage to shake my head.

My head hurts.

My world hurts.

What’s happening?

“I need to know if you can stand, I’m too injured to carry you.” His words don’t register, but I shake my head anyway. I feel his touch on my arm, but I don’t look at him, my eyes are trained on Chloe as she continues to gasp for breath.

Rough hands touch my face, tearing my eyes away from her. “Don’t look at her, look at me.”

I nod, but my head unexpectantly tries to turn back to her anyway. Atlas huffs, and I hear more footsteps as they come into the room.

Sydney is standing in the doorway along with my bodyguard.

“Hi,” I croak.

“Theadora, I need you to stand.”

I think about it, but my body is frozen to the spot.

I can’t do it.

I don’t bother telling him that because next thing I know, his hands are around me and lifting me against his chest. He grunts, and then Ronnie, my bodyguard, steps over.

“Let me take her, sir,” he says, reaching for me, but Atlas doesn’t let me go. “I will stay next to you the whole time. You are injured, sir.”

Atlas seems reluctant to let me go, and I’m way too tired to fight him on it. He nods to Ronnie who takes me from his arms, causing him to wince from the jostling.

“Thank you, sir.”

Ronnie stands to move with me, and I turn back.

Chloe is lying on the floor, but now there’s no movement from her at all.

“Don’t look.” Atlas’s strong voice shocks me, making me jolt. “Don’t look, Theadora… just don’t look.”

I turn away at his command while Ronnie carries me outside into fresh air and daylight, my eyes shut as the sun hits my skin.

“Have you been outside at all since you were taken?” Ronnie asks.

I shake my head, covering my face with my hands, causing the blood from the wound to smear across my cheeks.

We stop, and my hand is pulled away from my face. I manage to squint to see Sydney looking at my arm before she puts something on it, making me scream out as the pain assaults me. I wiggle in Ronnie’s arms, which doesn’t get me anywhere, before I realize a bandage is being wrapped around the wound.

“It needs stitches, I’ll call the doctor to the house,” Sydney says as she wraps it. Her eyes look at me. “You should sleep, Thea, and then you can eat.”

Ronnie puts me in the car, and I lay my head against the door and settle into the cushy seat. At least what’s below my ass now isn’t the hard, cold floor. The door opens, and Atlas gets in, sliding in next to me.

Atlas’s hand goes to touch my leg in comfort, but I jump at his touch, pulling away. He removes his hand and places it in his lap. “Are you okay?” he asks.

A shiver racks my body, I hear the crinkle of something and turn to find him pulling out a wipe. He leans in to touch my face, but I pull back again.

“I’m just going to clean some blood away from your face,” he tells me.

I nod, and with gentle hands, he cleans my face as the car moves smoothly in and out of traffic. When he’s finished, I turn away from him, staring out the dark, tinted windows to the world outside.

“The baby,” I ask, not looking at him.

“He’s doing well. Lucy signed all rights for him over to an adoption agency. They found him a home right away.” My heart squeezes. “I have my lawyers on it and have requested that you have access, monthly visits, to be written into the arrangement,” he tells me. “Lucy has agreed to these arrangements as well.” I turn to face him now. His skin isn’t as dark, but he looks like the same man.

“Where is Lucy?” I ask.

Atlas knows where she is, I know he does.

“She’s finally getting the help she needs,” Atlas says as he straightens in his seat. He flinches but covers it fast. “You named the baby Benji,” he says as the car slows down. I look out the window and see his house coming into view.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. I made Lucy request that the name stays the same.”

If I could smile, I would, but the bruising on my face won’t allow it.

“It wasn’t your father. That’s why Chloe took me because she heard he had put out a hit on me, and she figured she could kill two birds with one stone. Hurt you as you hurt her.”

“My father won’t be an issue anymore,” he states as the car comes to a stop.

Atlas gets out, and when he does, he walks around to my door as does Ronnie.

Ronnie leans down to pick me up.

“I can walk,” I tell him, brushing his hands away.

He looks to Atlas, who nods, before stepping back.

I get out slowly, my feet heavy and my head more than a little dizzy.

I look up to Atlas.

Words sit on the edge of my tongue, but before I can speak, I pass out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Theadora

I wake in a bed, which I know is not be my own and remember that I’m no longer trapped in that room. Atlas sits on the edge of the bed with his head down. 

“Atlas,” I say, sitting up slowly.

He turns to me and pushes a tray toward me. “Eat slow, you need to nourish yourself, five days of little food has your body breaking down. You need to eat small amounts, but many times during the day.” I reach for a piece of cut up fruit as he sits back on the bed, so he is now next to me. “How are you feeling?” he asks. “The doctor came, he gave you stitches and put you on a drip.”

My stomach growls in appreciation of the food he’s given me. I look down at my bandaged hand and realize he asked me a question before I look back up to him. 

“Still sore.” I look him over. “How are you?” 

“I’ll be fine, I always am.”

I nod, unsure of what else to say.

Atlas doesn’t move as he sits next to me while I eat the food in front of me. After a few moments, he passes me a glass of water, which I drink way too quickly, making me feel like I am going to be physically ill.

“Your father?” I ask.

 His eyebrows pinch together tightly. “He will be dead before the weekend ends, along with any threats he has out there.” 

“He’s your father…”  

“He tried to have you killed because he viewed you as a weakness for me.” 

“Why am I considered a weakness?” I ask.

Does his father not know he kidnaps me?

There is no way I am a weakness. 

“Because my feelings for you deem it that way.” 

I cough, then choke on the food I was eating and manage to sit up straight to see him watching me. 

“Feelings for me? You kidnap me then fuck me. How are those feelings?” I ask him. Honestly, I couldn’t be more confused. I stand, my head goes light as I do. “I need to go. I have missed so much. Fuck, so damn much work.” I shake my head. “I need to go,” I say again. I walk to the door and notice it’s locked. I turn to face Atlas who is still on the bed, knowing I can’t get out. “Open the door.” 

“It’s not safe for you out there yet,” he says. 

“Nope… nope, not happening. Between the number of times you have kidnapped me and being locked in a room by a crazy woman, I am done. This isn’t happening. Let me the fuck go. Now,” I scream. 

Atlas stands and walks over, shaking his head as he steps in front of me.

A knock comes on the door, breaking our silent stand-off. I hear it unlock, but he blocks my path to freedom, staring down at me. “You never have to be afraid of me, Theadora.”

I laugh at those words. “You’re joking, right?” I reply with a raised eyebrow. “After everything you have done?”

“The only time my intentions weren’t good, was when I first kidnapped you…” He pauses. “Then I saw those eyes and everything in my life changed.” 

I roll my eyes. “Please, don’t play coy with me. My eyes hypnotize you, and you got so lost in them, you just couldn’t resist yourself?” I cackle. “Did you read some sort of bad insta-love story? Is that where you get your moves from?” I ask while looking behind him at my escape. “I need to go. I need to leave,” I reiterate.

“Can I come?”

“No,” I say quickly. “I need to rest and feel safe. And I want to do that in my own bed.” 

“If you won’t let me come, please at least let Ronnie go with you.” I look out the door to find Ronnie standing there. 

“Fine.”

Atlas turns and steps over to his nightstand, then walks back to me, handing me something. He reaches for my hand and opens it, then drops a set of keys in my palm. “I got you a car, you need one.” I look down at the keys in my hand. 

“I’m not letting you buy me a car,” I say, shaking my head. 

“Go home. Rest. Call me if you need me. Ronnie will take you home now.”

I stride out, and Ronnie follows a step behind me as I walk out of Atlas’s house. The car Ronnie drives is already out the front, and he opens the back door before I can. When I’m settled in the back seat, I look back and see Atlas standing at the door of his house, watching me. 

* * *

The new car Atlas purchased for me was parked at the front of my house when I arrived home. I chose not to acknowledge it, hoping if I didn’t it might just go away somehow. Because that car’s expensive, and even though I may own my own business, it doesn’t mean I have money to burn.

I rang Marissa before I showered, and she told me everything went well in my absence and asked when I was coming back. I told her tomorrow.

Which is now today, considering I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I slept all the way through until morning. Ronnie stayed at the front door the whole time, making me feel safe.

My stitches sting under the water, but I endure the pain because the warm water feels too good on my tired body. When I finally step out of the shower, I hear pounding at my front door.

“Thea,” my name is screamed.

I wrap the towel around myself and head to the front door. I know Tina’s voice anywhere. When I open it, Ronnie is still there, as well as a pissed off Tina. Her eyes land on me, and she searches me up and down before she steps forward, throwing her arms around me. 

“Oh my God, never do that to me again,” she cries, squeezing me even tighter. When she finishes, she steps back. “Your life is chaotic with him in it, isn’t it?” she says, and all I can manage is to nod. “Oi, you okay or not?” 

“I have to go to work today,” I tell her. 

“Thea, you can talk to me.”

“And I have to see the baby.” My gaze drops to my bare feet. 

“Thea, did you hear me? Are you okay?” 

“I’ll be fine. I’m always fine,” I tell her. “Hey, can I ask you a favor?” 

Tina nods at my words. 

“I need Sydney, or someone, to contact Atlas’s father. I want to meet him.” Her eyes go wide. 

“No way. That’s not happening, Thea. Sydney said everything is his fault.” 

“I want to. Please. Just make it happen, and don’t tell Atlas.” 

“How else do you expect me to ask Sydney without her telling Atlas?” 

“I’m sure you have your ways,” I state, managing a smile. I look past her to make sure Ronnie isn’t within hearing distance. He’s still near his car, where he walked once Tina and I started talking. 

“I’m going with you then. I won’t come in, but I will take you there and drive you home.” 

“Deal.”

Tina nods and turns to walk out. “Your sister is being a pain the ass, I hear,” Tina says as she walks off.

I slip on my ballerina flats to match my dress I slipped on before we leave. I have no cell, so I don’t have to worry about that ringing. 

Ronnie opens the back door, and as he does, he holds out a white box for me. I look at it, as does Tina. 

“A cell?” Tina questions. 

“It’s for you, miss, from sir,” Ronnie says. 

“Atlas, he means,” I say, clarifying for Tina. “Tell him I can get my own things.” He nods and places the box behind his back as he waits for me to get in. 

“You lost your cell?” Tina asks. 

“Chloe destroyed it,” I manage to say. The cut on my arm is still painful, and my face, although littered with bruises, is now covered with makeup, but still has a tinge of red and blue to it. 

“Am I the only decent person in your life?” Tina asks while shaking her head. “At least Atlas is trying now, I guess,” she adds. 

“That’s well and truly over.” 

“He doesn’t seem to think so.”

“He can think what he wants.” 

“Sydney said you were with him before—” 

“I was. It was a lapse in judgment.”

“If you say so, but I also think you know that there is more than just an attraction with Atlas. Your goodness balances out his badness,” she says, and then laughs. 

“When did you become so poetic?”

“When I saw him go crazy trying to find you.” I raise an eyebrow as she shakes her head. “He thought he found you because of Lucy. But it took longer, and I saw him, I saw the way he could hardly speak, and his only worry was you. He bit everyone’s head off, and then Sydney said when he finally found you, it was as if he was finally okay and that he could breathe again.” 

“He was breathing to begin with,” I squeak out.

“You know that’s not what I mean. It was as if a weight was lifted.”

“I don’t want to talk about Atlas,” I tell her, getting into the car. I look back at her and say, “You’ll call me at the office when you have news?” 

“Yes,” she answers, then shuts my door. 

* * *

It’s the following day before I am able to see Atlas’s father. It was a tricky one to pull off. Ronnie seldom leaves my side, but somehow I have managed to sneak out with the help of Marissa. I drove myself in her car while she told Ronnie I was busy.

My hands are shaking as I walk into the visitor’s room where he’s seated. His hands are chained to the table in front of him, and he eyes me up and down as I walk over to him. I know who he is the minute I see him. He looks like an older version of Atlas, right down to being covered in tattoos, except his hair is shorter than Atlas’s. As I step up to the table, he tries to stand, but his cuffs clink on the table preventing him from doing so. 

“This is a surprise,” he says, smirking. “I’m taking it my son doesn’t know you’re here.” 

“Why would you do that?” I say, ignoring his comments and getting on with business. 

He drops his head to the side. “Do what?” 

“Do you like to act dumb, or are you actually dumb?” I ask, my leg is shaking under the table, but he can’t see my nerves, but I can sure as hell feel them ricocheting through my entire being. 

“You’ve got a mouth on you, a fast one too,” he says in appreciation. “I bet you won’t be so fast to smart talk when your insides are being ripped out, now will you?” he retorts.

My mouth opens, and I shake my head. “Well, I can see why you’re in here, right where you need to be.” I stand. “I shouldn’t have come, but I had to know what kind of man tries to kill a woman he’s never met.” I smile. “At least now you have a reason to kill me, you ignorant old bastard.” 

“Sit back down, Theadora, or I’ll have your favorite human killed next.”

I pause. 

“You don’t know fuck all about me,” I retort. “Let alone who my favorite person is.” 

“Tina, the baby...” he pauses. “Maybe Atlas.”

I sit down immediately.

He smiles. “Good girl. Maybe you aren’t so dumb, after all.” 

“What do you want?” I ask. 

“What’s so special about you that made him fall for you, I wonder? I mean, Lucy was a loose cannon, but you seem to be well…. normal. Atlas doesn’t usually go for your type.” He eyes me up and down. 

“And what’s my type?”

“Good, wholesome… blonde.” He raises an eyebrow. “Lucy is more his style, minus the crazy, of course.” 

“Do you love your son?” I ask.

His fingers tap on the table in front of him one after the other. He seems to think before he answers and that’s troubling. “Yes, but not as a father should love their son. I respect what he has created. And when I’m free, I will take it all from him… it should have been mine to begin with.” 

“Why?” I ask. 

He slams his fists onto the table, and it shakes. “Because it was all my idea,” he seethes. 

“You’re jealous.” I smile.

That’s it.

I stand and grin widely. “Thank you for your time, but I think that is all I need to know. You are jealous of your son, that he’s everything you wish you were but could never be.” I turn my nose up at him and lean in close so he can smell my perfume. “He is nothing like you, you stupid, idiotic old prick.” I turn, but his voice stops me. 

“I loved his mother once, until I killed her,” he whispers, so the guards don’t hear. But I heard every word he uttered.

When I leave, my hands are shaking as I grip the door handle.

Atlas is nothing like his father. 

I hope.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Atlas

“What do you mean you lost her,” I say to Ronnie on the cell.

“I’m sorry, sir. She was in her office, and when I went to check, one of her co-workers told me she was in the bathroom. That break went on way too long before I realized she had taken her work mate’s car and left.”

Fucking hell.

“Sydney.”

She comes into my office straight away, a pen in her hand, with her glasses on. “I need a much bigger detail on Theadora than just Ronnie. She seems to have escaped.”

Sydney looks down at her feet, her eyebrows pinched as she avoids my gaze. “Sydney,” I snap at her.

Licking her lips, she looks up at me, opening her mouth to speak, but then she stops.

“Sydney, what do you know? Tell me, now.”

“I didn’t think it was a smart move, but she asked. And after everything, I said yes,” she says quickly.

“Said yes to what?” I push my chair back as I stand, my hands clench tightly together.

“She asked to see your father.”

“You told her not to do that, right?” I question through gritted teeth.

Sydney steps back. “No. She went to see him.”

My hands slam down on the desk, making her jump. “You did what?” I scream at her.

“He can’t harm her in jail,” she says. “And she asked. She’s been through a lot, Atlas. A whole lot.”

“I know how much she has been through.”

“So, if you keep trying to control her moves, you will never win her over.” Sydney turns and quickly walks out of my office.

* * *

I’m sitting at her office desk when Theadora walks in. She jumps when she sees me and places a hand over her heart.

“You scared me, Atlas.”

“Did I?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She’s lost so much weight. I nod to the food I brought with me, and she looks at it before she sits down and grabs a spring roll, placing it in her mouth to take a bite.

“Why are you here?” she asks, then adds, “Thanks for the food.”

“You’re welcome. You need to eat more,” I tell her, but she doesn’t say anything back. “So, where were you?”

“Who said I was anywhere?”

“I’ve been sitting here for over an hour. So, where… were… you?”

She places her food down. “It seems you already know.” She’s a clever girl, this one.

“I’d like to hear it from you, if you would please tell me.”

“Please. Wow! I bet you had difficulty getting that word out of your mouth?”

“Eat.” I nod to the food. “And no, that word I only reserve for those who deserve it, or have my respect.”

“Well, I know I don’t have your respect, and I’m not sure what I did to deserve it.” Theadora shrugs.

“You do have my respect, undoubtedly. I know I may go the wrong way in showing it, but you do,” I tell her honestly. No other woman has earned more respect from me than the one sitting in front of me.

“Wrong way, indeed. You kidnap me, you treat me as if I’m a child instead of your equal.” She shakes her head. “You don’t have respect for me, Atlas. It’s the complete opposite.”

“I do,” I say, arguing the point with her.

“Whatever. What is the real reason you’re here? It can’t just be to bring me food.”

“You didn’t accept the car or the cell.”

“I accepted the business, that’s my limit. I will get my own cell and car, thank you very much.” She crosses her arms over her chest, defiantly.

“You went to see my father,” I finally say.

“I did.” She doesn’t deny it but doesn’t tell me anymore either.

“And?”

“He is an arrogant prick.”

I smile at her words. “That he is.”

“You two look alike.”

I scrunch up my nose. “I don’t accept that.”

“But you are nothing alike. He sees everything for himself… he’s selfish.”

“You don’t see me that way?” I ask, leaning in.

“Oh, you are selfish. You have proven that. But he’s on an all-new-level that’s for sure.”

“What did he say to you?”

“That he killed your mother.” She continues to speak after my non-reaction, “You knew this then?”

“Yes, I knew,” I tell her.

A knock is heard on the door, and we both turn as Tina pops her head in.

When she sees me, her eyes narrow. “I’ve come to see if you’re free for dinner.” Tina glares at me.

“Yeah, I should be able to finish up in about an hour. If you want you can go and check on that outfit you asked me about,” Theadora replies.

Tina nods and shuts the door on her way out.

“My father won’t be an issue for you anymore.” I stand and make my way to her door.

“I don’t want you to be an issue for me anymore, either, Atlas. I want you to get out of my life.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You can. I don’t want you. I want you to go away and never come back. Take your people with you, and leave.” Her voice wavers as she speaks. “Please.”

“Theadora…” I step closer to her, my hand reaching out, but she steps back even farther, putting distance between us.

“Atlas, go back to your life, and I will go back to mine.”

“I’m not sure I can,” I tell her honestly.

“You need to.” I watch as her hands shake, and she quickly hides them behind her back. “I want to go back to my own life, Atlas. I can’t deal with all this anymore. Everything is Lucy’s fault, and you have handled that, which I thank you for. But please… please… let me go.” A tear slides down her face, and I reach for it. When my hand touches her face, she closes her eyes for a fraction of a second before those sky-blue eyes penetrate me.

Something snaps inside of me, and I go to reach for her with my other hand, but she pulls back, my other hand dropping from her face.

“You want me to leave.”

“And never come back,” she says with a shaky breath.

“Never come back,” I mutter her words trying to get it straight.

I think on this for a few seconds then say, “This is what you really want?” I ask her again to make it absolutely clear, but before she can utter another word, I move forward, and my lips crush on hers.

Theadora’s hands press on my chest. She tries to push, but then she clasps my shirt in her hands and pushes forward. I slide my hand in her hair and grip on with everything I have in me. Her hand moves and touches my scar, causing me to flinch, but I don’t remove my lips from hers, until finally we part but only a fraction of an inch as I rest my forehead on hers.

“Yes,” she says.

At first, I think it’s an answer to our kiss, but then I realize it’s to my earlier questions—she wants me to leave.

Theadora pulls back, her lips pink and swollen as she looks up at me. “I want to thank you for what you have done for me. For this…” she waves her hand around the office, “… but I’m going to ask you to leave.” She offers me a forced smile and then pleads with me, “Please take Ronnie and the other security guards you have stationed everywhere as well.” She takes another step back away from me.

“Goodbye, Theadora,” I say while walking to the door.

When I look back at her, she’s looking down at the floor.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Theadora

Atlas leaves, as I asked him to, and he takes his security team with him, and for this I am appreciative.

Tina walks into my office with a pile of clothes in her hands. “How’d it go?” she asks, taking a seat in front of me. 

“Ended,” I say.

A life with no Atlas—I’m not sure how I go back to normal now. It’s been months since I first met him, and even through all the bad, I have developed feelings for him. Strong ones at that. 

“Are you okay?” Tina leans in and touches my hand with hers. 

“I will be.” 

She pauses. “Okay, good. How about we go to the shops before dinner and get you a cell. Because girl… you know I need to text you when I have my freakouts.” I smile at her words.

Freakouts, as in, Am I doing the right thing with Sydney when I was all about men for so long. And, What if I want dick again? I simply remind her about how much she likes Sydney during these freakouts, and it doesn’t take too long for her to calm down.

I don’t know if it will work out between them, but I can see Tina does feel something for Sydney, more so than I have ever seen her with anyone else before. 

“So, shopping?” Tina stands, offering me a smile. 

“Shopping,” I reply, smiling back. For some reason my fingers touch my lips as I lean down and grab my bag and I think, That was a great last kiss. 

* * *

I purchased a new cell, and they helped me set it up. Tina dropped me off at the hospital so I could spend some time with baby Benji. The nurse smiled when she saw me and told me Benji is doing well. I was able to hold him, and as I did, I only wished the best for him. 

“Would you like to meet them?” the nurse asks. I look up to her a little startled by her words. “The adoptive parents, I mean. It’s a brave thing you are doing.”

I simply nod, and she also nods her head to a couple who are at the door, washing their hands before they enter the nursery. The man is tall, older, possibly early forties, the woman is about the same age. A soft smile graces the woman’s face as she walks over to where I’m holding Benji. 

“Hi...” I stand with Benji in my arms. 

“You must be Theadora, it’s really nice to meet you. We have heard so much about you.” 

“Ummm… thanks. I’m sorry, I don’t know your names.” 

“I’m Giles, and this is my wife, Willow.” He offers me his hand, but I don’t take it. Not because I’m being rude, but because Benji is asleep in my arms. “Oh, sorry, of course you can’t shake my hand while you are holding that beautiful little boy. Well, anyway, it’s nice to meet you. Seems we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future.” Giles looks at the baby and smiles. The wife’s smile hasn’t left her face as she stares lovingly at Benji in my arms. 

“We hope your sister is okay. We didn’t want to delve too much into what was wrong, but we heard she’s in a hospital,” Willow says. “We want you to know, whatever you need, just ask. What you are giving us…” she wipes away a few stray tears, “… it means the world to both of us. We have been trying for many, many, years to have children of our own. And we have lost many along the way.” Her eyes well with unshed tears, while her shoulders droop as she speaks of her loss, but then she locks eyes on Benji. “He really is a miracle… our miracle, and he’s doing so well.” 

“Have you been here often?” I ask. 

“Oh, yes, every day since we were told about Benji. I spend all day here with him, while Giles spends the nights. We want him to know he has someone, no matter what.” 

“He has me,” I say defensively. 

“Oh…” Willow grimaces. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine,” I cut in. “I am the one who should be sorry. I was in the hospital and couldn’t visit Benji.” I give them a false truth because it’s better than the facts.

“Theadora, we apologize. I didn’t mean to say that the way it came out. I know we agreed for you to see him once a month, but, honestly, you’re welcome to see Benji whenever you want. We want him to have family that’s also related by blood. So, he knows where he came from and that he’s loved by everyone.”

“I would like that.” I step forward and kiss Benji’s cheek before I hand him over to Willow. She takes him with a smile, and looks at him the way I had hoped Lucy would. 

“Thank you. So many times… thank you.” 

“I have a few baby things… would you like them?” I ask, my hands now free, but my eyes trained on the sleeping baby. 

“No. Listen why don’t you keep them for when you have sleepovers,” Giles tells me.

I smile as he places a hand on my shoulder, and then pulls me into a hug. I freak at first, just staying still until I hear his soft tears of obvious gratitude. “Thank you, Theadora, you are an angel we never knew existed.” Giles pulls away and wipes at his eyes before he walks over to his wife and kisses Benji on the cheek. 

I leave and plan to come back as often as possible knowing that Benji is in the safest of hands, and that those people are going to make Benji’s life incredible. I only wish I could be the one, but my life is too busy, and I wouldn’t, even though I want to with all my heart, be able to give him the type of life he deserves. The type of life where he is priority number one and is always going to have what’s best for him and his needs.

Walking out, Tina is waiting for me. 

“I think I need to buy a car,” I tell her, trying to take my mind off what’s going to happen inside that hospital. 

“I couldn’t agree more.”

I hook my arm through hers as we walk out of the hospital, and I sigh with gratitude for a little boy who has found his forever home with wonderful parents.

“But tomorrow, right? Because I don’t have the energy for that tonight.” 

“Tomorrow,” I confirm with her. 

* * *

So, I got a new car. One I purchased on my own. Well, I guess really the bank lent me the money, and now I owe them, but still, it’s my car.

I spend all that week and the following working and trying to catch up on everything. And I’ve started to put some weight back on that I had lost during that one week in hell that I will never forget. I’ve also been seeing a therapist, and it feels good to speak to someone about absolutely everything I have been through since first meeting Atlas. But not only that also about my sister and her role in the way I behave. 

“Hey, is it your birthday next month?” Marissa asks as she pops her head in through my office door. I look up from my work as my forehead crinkles at her words. “Oh, please, come on… just tell me.” 

“Yes,” I answer not particularly liking where this is going. 

“Okay, good. Drinking and food? Or food then drinking?” she asks excitedly. 

“I’m not sure I want to do anything.” 

“Oh, you do. You need a night out. You’ve been at the office non-stop, even on the weekends when no one is here. And don’t tell me you haven’t, because I drove past last weekend and your car was here.” 

“Guilty.” 

“So, which option?” 

“Look, Marissa, it’s sweet of you to want to do something for me, but I don’t want to do anything,” I reiterate.

She walks in and shuts the door behind her. “You have gone through a messy breakup, with one of the hottest men who’s ever been put on this planet. You need a night out and hopefully some hot sex as well.” 

“I’m good. Really,” I tell her. 

“Nope, you are coming. I’m calling Tina and letting her know.” She turns and walks out, obviously not taking no for an answer.

My email pings and it’s from Sydney. I haven’t seen nor heard from her in a while. Every time I’ve seen Tina she’s been by herself. 

Found Dead!

The notorious kingpin of the underworld was found swinging from his cell last night in what appears to be a suicide.

My eyes go wide at the name that follows…

Cole Hyde.

Atlas’s father.

I call Sydney straight away. 

“You got my email.” 

“I did…” I pause. “Is he okay?” 

“He’s fine. I wanted you to know you’re safe. No one is after you, and you can start running again.” 

“He told you to tell me, right?” I say, knowing full well he did. That last comment could only have come directly from Atlas. 

“He’s keeping his distance, as you asked. I have to go. Goodbye, Thea.” She hangs up, and I quickly scroll through my contacts. I have his number in my new cell, but I know it and can rattle it off by heart. I shouldn’t. There is absolutely no need for me to remember it, but for some crazy reason I can recall it easily. 

Putting my cell away, I search the internet for his name. 

Pictures pop up, him with other women, but he’s definitely not touching any of them. Then there’s one of the two of us. His hand is held firmly on my lower back while his eyes are trained on me as we walk. I didn’t even know it was taken let alone available on the web. I look so damn innocent, so completely unaware of the type of man he really is. 

I’ve been trying to move on from Atlas Hyde, ever since the moment he trampled all over my heart while carrying his cousin from my living room. And now, I’m afraid that it may not be possible. How do you move on from someone who you thought you disliked, but then realize it’s not that at all—it’s quite probably love? 

The problem I am facing is it’s next to impossible.

I dream about him.

He’s in my every waking moment of thought. 

His father’s picture comes up next. It’s one of him dressed in a suit, a young Atlas is standing next to him at his trial. I’m guessing it is the one that put that asshole away for good. Atlas doesn’t look at him, but he is there in every picture, standing by his father’s side, even though he shouldn’t be. 

I look at my cell again, then shake my head as I pack my things and leave.

Once I arrive home, I change into my active gear. I haven’t run in what feels like weeks. Stretching, I look up at the night sky and breathe in the crisp, clean air. Smelling rain, I know I should go back inside, but I don’t want to. I need to move, and the only way to do that is to run. My body is craving the endorphins, and it will help me to relax, and after this, I know I will have the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. My therapist has been encouraging me to exercise, and she asks me every single time I attend a session if I have been out for a run. Truth be told, I haven’t felt safe to do so with the threat of Atlas’s father’s hit hanging over my head, but now that has all changed, and I feel safe to be outside on my own again.

My feet hit the pavement hard as I start, the wind blowing through my hair as I push myself further and further until my bones ache and my legs burn.

This feels good.

It’s what I crave.

I am good at this. 

The rain starts to fall in soft droplets, then it becomes a more wind-driven downpour which is cold and pelts my skin. It changes within seconds, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop now, the high from pushing myself is working, and the stressors that I felt earlier are slowly leaving my body while my mood is changing, and my mind is becoming clearer.

My watch tells me I have been running for forty minutes, but it doesn’t feel like it has been that long. Turning around, I start the trek home when I see a familiar figure, a man wearing a hoodie who is also running this track. My feet come to a dead stop as he runs along the other path, not looking my way, but I know it’s him. I would know him anywhere. 

My hand goes up to call him over, but I let it drop and turn away. Looking up, the night sky is now black, the rain now light and I find it all comical.

What an ending.

What a way to move on. 

With quick steps, I start again not looking back, not caring why he is out this way.

I don’t want to know, I tell myself as I start the run home. 

I don’t want to know. 

When I arrive home there’s a letter sitting on the porch, propped up against my door. I pick it up with wet fingers and tear it open, inside there is a picture of baby Benji. The photograph instantly gives me joy as I smile while looking it over before I step inside. I hold it carefully trying to make sure I don’t ruin the image because I’m saturated, even my hair is dripping water from the ends.

Flipping it over, on the back there’s the letter ‘A,’ but there’s also a note stating that Atlas receives updates on baby Benji and he thought I would like this picture.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Theadora

I’m another year older, and a litter wiser, or so I would like to believe. It’s been a month of non-stop work and visiting little Benji every chance I get. He’s doing well, getting bigger, and his new family idolizes him. I love that. I adore the fact that he will not grow up in a household like mine, and I like that he won’t ever have to worry if he’s loved.

Because he is.

In so many ways, and by so many people.

Marissa grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor. Tina comes up behind me and spins around—she’s clearly drunk. More than likely as intoxicated as Marissa. I’m halfway there, but only hovering around tipsy right now.

I’m happy.

Actually, very happy.

Which is saying a lot because I haven’t been in a long time, or what feels like a long time anyway. It’s been over a month since I saw Atlas. He’s been true to his word, and he left me alone. I haven’t seen him apart from that one time when he was running, well, I think it was him. Only that photograph he left on my doorstep led me to believe I saw him that night, so I am fairly certain it was him. The picture I keep in pride of place on my refrigerator door, so I see baby Benji every time I open it. I adore him, he’s growing so quickly now.

I’m better all-round, not just physically but also mentally.

I’m stronger than I realized.

I like the me I am becoming.

And Lucy? Well, I still haven’t heard from her, but I hope she’s doing better. She needs to do better, but as my therapist has told me repeatedly, I cannot be responsible for her actions anymore. She is an adult and what she does is of her own volition. For some reason, I still find it hard to let go completely in my mind, but I know I have to for my own sanity.

“Just take a shot,” Marissa says, pushing the glass full of tequila into my face.

“Yes, take the shot,” Tina yells.

She spent all day with me today, including taking me to a spa for a day of full-on pampering including facials, manicures, pedicures, and then the most luscious of full-body massages. Then she came back, and we got ready together. My hair and makeup were done by the specialists at the spa, and I haven’t felt this beautiful and more alive in a long time.

“If I take that shot I will be as drunk as you two.” I laugh, but Marissa shoves the glass at me. We went out for dinner and drank margaritas before we arrived at the club, and the girls have had one or possibly two too many.

“And you’re having so much fun doing it.” Tina laughs and takes the shot from Marissa and shoots it herself. Marissa turns to the table behind her, then back, holding another shot in her hand. The music is loud, a thumping beat can be felt throughout my entire body, as she hands it to me.

“Drink!” she screams.

This time being given not a lot of choice, I take it and shoot it back. It burns as it goes down, and they both laugh and squeal in delight.

We dance.

Dance until they need more alcohol.

Me, I just have water, and then decide to head to the bathroom.

Walking away from my girls, I spot Sydney in the crowd at the same time as Tina. She walks over and throws her body at her, lips crashing down on hers as they make out. Guys cheer next to them, which they don’t seem to hear, or even care about.

I’m sure Sydney wants to marry Tina.

Problem is, I’m not sure Tina is ready for that, though. She has never wanted to get married, and I think she’s told Sydney that.

Marissa hooks her arm through mine, pulling me over to them. I was trying to give them their privacy, which is silly considering we’re in a packed club and privacy is extremely difficult to find. Let’s face it, the guys hooting around them don’t give a damn about their privacy.

“You two stop, this isn’t a make-out session.” Marissa laughs and pulls me back to our table. When we sit, Tina and Sydney join us not long after.

Sydney pauses when she sees me. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you.” I offer her a small smile.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming,” Sydney asks.

I look at Tina who’s watching us both. “Of course, I don’t. You’re with Tina, and I love Tina,” I reply, smiling to Tina. Sydney breathes a sigh of relief before more drinks are brought to the table.

“Oh my God, Sebastian. What are you doing here?” Marissa stands.

Looking over my shoulder, I find her brother standing there, the one she tried to set me up with all that time ago, and he’s rubbing his chin in confusion.

“You invited me,” he says, stating the obvious.

Tina and I burst into laughter. The man has no idea how to be subtle.

I feel him sit next to me on the bench sofa seat, Marissa’s perched on the other side of me.

“Nice one, Sebastian,” Marissa says with an eye roll.

I try not to put too much thought into him sitting next to me and especially this close.

“Thea, Sebastian’s still single.”

“Smooth, real smooth, Marissa,” Sebastian states from next to me. He reaches for a drink and slams it down fast.

“I think she means well,” I say, turning to face him.

He’s grimacing when he says, “Look, I like you and all, but I’m not up for being turned down a second time.” He laughs.

“Well, I think you’re great, from what I know of you anyway.” I smirk. “But I’m not ready for anything just yet. So, maybe Marissa can find you a woman who is.”

He leans in. “I don’t need help finding a woman. It seems Marissa likes to dabble in places that don’t warrant her dabbling.”

“But she means well,” I say.

Marissa lands on my lap, her hands going around my neck. “You should just kiss, see if there’s any spark,” Marissa says, looking between me and her brother.

“You’re crazy,” I tell her.

“Really? Honestly, what harm could it do? Just… kiss,” Marissa says, getting off me after she kisses my cheek quickly. She leans down to her brother and smiles. “Kiss the woman.” Then she pushes his head until he’s facing me and we are inches apart.

“She can be annoying until she gets what she wants,” Sebastian tells me, my eyes dropping to his lips.

Okay, so it’s just a kiss.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been kissed by anyone but Atlas, and pre-Atlas it was even longer. Actually, I don’t even remember anyone before him.

“She certainly is,” I reply, my eyes flicking to his lips again then back to his eyes.

Sebastian leans in, and my breathing almost stops as his lips gently touch mine. Then he applies pressure, but his kiss is soft. Too soft. I press back, and he takes that as an invitation to deepen the kiss.

It’s a nice kiss, but that’s it. Nice. Nothing more.

I’m the first to pull back, my head slightly dizzy from all the alcohol. Marissa cheers next to us, and Sebastian holds his breath, gently biting his lip in hope.

Tina grabs my hand and pulls me to where she’s sitting on the other side.

“You didn’t like that, did you?” I look down at her words as she whispers them to me. “He’s still staring at you.”

Looking up, I see Sebastian is indeed staring at me.

Marissa’s smiling from ear to ear, and I look away first.

“I think I’m gonna go,” I tell Tina, who stands with me.

Sydney follows, and so do Marissa and Sebastian.

“We’re heading out,” Tina announces.

Kiss and run.

Can I do that?

Well, I think I just might.

“Maybe we can—” Sebastian leans in.

“I don’t think so. But thank you for that kiss.”

Oh. My. God. Cringeworthy much?

He looks down.

Marissa saves the day by stepping between us and wraps her arms around me. “I mean… it would have been so cool for you to be my sister-in-law. I guess I’ll just have to deal with you as the boss,” she slurs.

“Boss sounds good,” I tell her. “Always a boss and a friend.”

* * *

A week after my birthday, it’s my day to visit Benji. When I arrive at Willow’s house, a car I recognize is already sitting in the drive. I freeze as I slide out when I realize whose it is. As I rush to get back in my car, my name is called.

“Theadora…”

I turn and find Atlas, his hands in his pockets as he stands there in black pants, a black jacket, with a white shirt. “I’m leaving, no need for you to go.”

“Atlas,” I say his name.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. He looks good, but then again when doesn’t he look good, though. It’s a curse, to all woman-kind to have to look at someone so exceptionally good looking and not be able to have him, to touch him.

“Benji’s asleep. Do you want to go for a coffee?”

“Coffee?” I ask him in an uncertain tone.

“What I actually had in my mind probably isn’t appropriate. So, yes, coffee?”

“I should just wait to see Benji. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Atlas looks at my car then back to me. “Good choice.” He gives a chin lift to my new car.

I reach out and touch the paint surface mindlessly. I love my new car, it’s black, with sleek lines and a sunroof which is great on those sunny days. The new car smell every time I slide into it, reminds me that I did this all on my own. I was able to purchase my own car with my own money, and I couldn’t be prouder of myself in this moment.

“I think so. It’s great to drive. I’ve never owned a brand-new car before. It’s nothing special, but it gets me where I need to go,” I babble on to Atlas.

“It’s a safe car, Theadora.” He doesn’t step closer keeping a safe distance away from me.

I look up at the two-story house where my nephew lives.

“Happy Birthday, for last week,” Atlas says, making my eyes snap back to him.

“Thank you,” I answer.

“You had a good night?”

“I did…” I pause. “You know I went out?”

“I own the club, Theadora.”

Oh, yes, he has mentioned that to me previously.

“It’s a great place, the girls all love it there.” Then I remember the alcohol, and how we had our own table. “You organized it, didn’t you? You gave them the table…”

“And alcohol,” he says, finishing my thought.

“Umm, okay. Well, thanks again.”

“I especially liked it when you kissed that man.”

Those words are totally sarcastic, and my back straightens.

“You were there?” I ask.

“No, I was shown.”

“That’s not creepy… at all,” I say with an eye roll.

“Do you want to visit your sister?” he asks. This time he does step closer. I can smell him, and my hands start to shake wanting so much to reach out and touch him. I once thought, when I first met him, that he was just a man, a powerful man, but how wrong I was.

He is everything.

Plus, more.

“I assumed I wasn’t allowed to.”

“It’s my facility. If you wish to see your sister, just ask.”

And there it is—he wants me to ask him for something.

“I think I’ll be fine, thank you.” I try to walk past him, but he sidesteps in front of me.

“How are you, Theadora? I miss you.”

My heart speeds up while my hands clench at my sides. “I’m good, Atlas. How have you been?”

Atlas’s eyes rake over my body, and he does it ever so slowly that I can feel my pulse beating in my neck. P-pump. P-pump. P-pump.

“I could be better.”

My throat constricts, but I manage to swallow. “That so?”

He looks wistful while gazing at me. “You look… good, Theadora. But then again, you always did, didn’t you?”

I’m not sure how I’m meant to answer that. So, I don’t. Instead, I look past him to the door. No one is there, and I’m not sure how much longer I want to stay here chatting with a man I want so badly but know I can’t have. I’m not sure how much willpower I have when I am around him, and the last thing I want is to test it.

“You’re avoiding looking at me, Theadora.” He says my name as if he’s tasting it on his tongue.

I furrow my brows as I look at him, then glance away.

“Relax, Theadora,” he says low enough that my eyes find him again. “I won’t bite.” His eyes graze over me again.

“But you do bite, and you take what’s not yours,” I say. “I wasn’t yours, and you took me with no questions asked,” I clarify, confident that he will get the message.

How wrong I am.

“Only you, Theadora. Only you.” He’s pulling me in, his eyes glancing over me, not leaving one inch of me unexplored.

“If you say so.” I grind my teeth together angrily, fed up with all his words. “I have to go.” This time I manage to slide past him, and don’t look back as I step to the door. I knock fast and heavy, hoping my beating heart will calm down sooner rather than later.

Willow answers with a beaming smile and steps by to let me inside. “You just missed Atlas. He’s amazing with Benji,” she coos. “Benji smiles for him, it’s beautiful to see.”

I bet it is. A man like him with a baby in his arms, most women would pay good money to see that.

“Benji was just put down for a nap, would you like a coffee before we wake him?”

“I can wait, and coffee would be great. I just need to call work, I won’t be long.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s fine. I’ll step out for a few minutes.” I smile. It’s forced, but I manage to pull it off.

Walking outside, I shut the door behind me and look over at his car. Atlas turns and looks back just before he slides in, dropping his sunglasses, hiding his glare from me.

I can’t read him anymore.

I look away, and with my hands shaking I press call on my cell. As he pulls out onto the road, I hear the rev of his engine behind me.

And suddenly I’m falling back into him—down to where I was before.

Down to Atlas’s level.

Now, I have to try and claw myself out of there again.

It’s not going to be an easy feat.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Atlas

Seeing her in person is a shock to my system.

She’s everything I want.

And I have no fucking doubt about it.

Now, I just have to convince Theadora that I’m enough for her, that I can be enough for her.

“How is he?” Lucy says as I sit in front of her. She asked me to come to visit her, and I have turned down every single one of her requests. That is until today.

“He’s healthy and happy,” I reply, referring to her son. “He has incredible parents.”

She sits on her legs, bites her nails, and looks behind her. The doctors are out there, and we are in an open room where other guests and patients are also located.

“Did you tell Thea I want to see her?” She doesn’t remove her fingers away from her mouth so she murmurs the words.

“Yes. She isn’t ready.”

Lucy looks down. “I’m doing better, I swear.”

“It’s only been a few months, Lucy. It takes time.”

It turns out Lucy is bipolar, amongst other things. She is on medication to help and attending lots of guidance sessions and cognitive therapy groups to help guide her through her diagnosis. I can see an improvement already, but I don’t understand why I’m here. If she’s changed, she must know by now I don’t want her.

It’s been hard to get this fact through to Lucy. Not once have I ever given her the impression I want her.

“Can you tell Thea I’m sorry? She is a little broken too, you know?” she whispers. “I was blind to it all growing up, but Thea saw it all. Knew it all. And she protected me from it, even though I didn’t realize.” Lucy takes a deep breath then looks down at her red and inflamed nails that are bitten right back to the quick. “Our father used to beat our mother. Thea was the only one who could calm him down. Never me, even though I was his favorite, and my mother used Thea for that. She would feed him alcohol because he asked. The woman never said no. Then, when he went off the deep end, she would wake Thea in the middle of the night to calm him down.” She takes another deep breath. “I tried once, and he hit me… slapped me so hard across the face that I flew across the room. It’s what started my jealousy because I was supposed to be Daddy’s girl, not her.” Lucy looks up at me now. Her dark hair has lost its vibrant shine, and her eyes appear tired and lackluster. “Only Thea could calm him,” she finishes.

“I’m glad to see you doing better, Lucy.”

She offers me a shy smile and nods her head. “You love her, don’t you?”

“This isn’t a conversation I want to have with you.”

“The fact that you won’t say no, proves you do.” Lucy reaches up and pulls a piece of her hair then places it in her mouth.

“It proves nothing,” I tell her.

“I need to see her, now my head’s a little clearer,” Lucy says, pulling the hair out of her mouth and twirling it around her fingers.

“You will have to wait until she’s ready. She can’t be forced into seeing you, Lucy, especially if she doesn’t want to.”

“Will you bring her when she’s ready?”

“No, Lucy, this will be my last and only visit. I came out of respect for my cousin, and now I must leave. I hope you get better, Lucy. I hope you see your worth, and your sister’s because you have a strong family member in her, and that’s not something you should take for granted.”

“Ask her to dance with you, and then twirl. Daddy always used to play the old songs and twirl her. Thea loves to twirl. It was the only time I really remember her laughing and smiling.”

I stand, pushing away from the chair. “Goodbye, Lucy.”

“Goodbye, Atlas,” she says in a small voice.

I walk out, and when I do, I feel better, for her as well as Theadora.

Maybe one day she will be the sister Theadora needs.

* * *

“Theadora asked for your number,” are the first words Sydney says to me the following week. I fired her months ago, but she never listened and still turns up at work every day.

“She has my number,” I tell her.

Sydney’s hands go to her hips. “That was until a fuckhead wrecked her phone…” She pauses. “So, should I give it to her, or not? I have a feeling she knows it, but wants permission from you for me to give it to her.”

“No.”

Sydney nods, not arguing with me as she walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

I spent the day putting out fires, in business meetings and whatever else cropped up. Grabbing my keys, I check my watch. It’s late, and soon the casino’s busiest time will commence as people finish work for the day and come here to spend all their money.

Sydney’s gone by the time I leave. Lately, she walks out at exactly the same time every day, and she avoids me when she can.

Getting in my car, I drive to Theadora’s house. Her car isn’t there when I arrive, so I park on the road out front and wait. My hands slide in my black pants as I lean on my car, the sky going dark around me. A street light is all the illumination Theadora has out the front of her house.

Finally, her car is driving up her street, and I know it’s her without even looking. She slows down then gently pulls in her driveway. Turning to look her way, I watch her get out of the car. She’s wearing a fiery red skirt with a white, shiny shirt which is tied at the waist. Sky-high heels on her feet as she leans in and collects her bag then looks my way.

“Your sister hopes you will visit her soon,” I tell her. She eyes me with suspicion. “Sydney said you requested my number?”

“I did,” Theadora replies. She brings her bag in front of her in some sort of protective gesture while her eyes dart to the house then back to me. “Would you like to come in…” she nods to the house, “… for a drink?”

“Yes,” I say all too eagerly.

Theadora watches as I push off from my car and reach for her purse to carry it inside. It’s large, she obviously has her laptop stored inside because I can see it hanging out of the top. With her keys in hand, she walks to the door. I watch her from behind as she unlocks the front door and steps in. Sky-blue eyes glue me to the spot, twinkling like stars from the heavens. She holds me in her gaze as if she intends to ensnare me in her trap, just like a fly in a spider’s web.

“Sydney told me you said no.” She walks farther inside her house, looking away and breaking my trance.

“I did. If there’s anything you wish to discuss, we don’t do it over the phone. I prefer in-person when it comes to you.” I’ve never liked talking on the phone with her, always in person, that way I can judge her expressions. Even before I knew what I wanted, that I fully want her, I couldn’t stay away. Even now, I run the same path she does in the hopes I may catch a small glimpse of her, which is sometimes enough to help with the hunger I hold for Theadora.

“I wanted to talk to you about opening an account for Benji. For when he’s older.”

“He already has one.”

She’s opened the refrigerator, and is now holding the door as she stares at me, frozen to the spot. Her mouth falls open and her head jerks back in surprise.

“It’s in his name. He can access it when he is twenty-one. I contemplated eighteen, but then I remember how I was at that age and decided it would be best to give him a few more years to mature.”

“Okay, well, can I have the details? I would like to add some money to it.”

“There is no need to.”

Her eyebrows pinch as she pulls out a bottle of wine. “Why not?”

“Because he has enough in there to last him a lifetime. Trust me.” I look at her bottle of wine she’s holding and state, “I’ll have a glass if you’re offering.”

“It’s not coffee.” She smirks, grabbing two wine glasses and setting one in front of me on her kitchen counter. She pours two half-full glasses and smiles as she hands me mine.

“This will do.”

“We can’t be friends, can we?” Theadora puts her glass to her lips and looks over the rim, waiting for my reaction.

Reaching out, I take the glass and drink, then placing it back down on the counter, I wipe at my lips, then lick them as I stare at Theadora and am pulled into her endless clouds of possibilities.

That’s what she is for me.

Possibilities.

So fucking many possibilities.

“No, we most definitely cannot be friends,” I tell her.

Theadora sips her drink. “So what can we be?” she asks, placing her glass down.

“I guess that’s up to you. If I had it my way you’d be naked right now, and I would be devouring every inch of your luscious body until you couldn’t possibly breathe or function.”

Her breathing picks up as she thinks about what I’ve just said, imagining it, and unlike before, her first reaction isn’t to run. I like that, maybe a little too much. I take a step closer, testing our boundaries and she doesn’t step away, just keeps her watchful eyes locked with mine.

“That is not the first step we should be taking,” she says.

“But you think there is a first step?”

Her eyes drop to the floor. “I’ve tried… twice, not having you in my life. Somehow, we are always pulled back together. I believe there’s a reason for that, I just don’t know what that reason is yet.”

“The old me wouldn’t have believed a word you just said, but I can’t deny I have never wanted another woman as much as I want you,” I tell her. Stepping back, I do up the button of my jacket. Theadora watches my every move, and her eyes skim over me.

“And because of that… because I know it doesn’t work no matter what, we always end up broken…” I take a deep breath, “… I’m going to leave. Turn away and walk out that door without my lips touching yours. It will take all my willpower, but I have to do it.”

Theadora’s hand reaches out, but she pulls it back quickly. “You’re right, it’s always wrong,” she whispers, and takes a sip from her glass.

Turning, I walk to her door.

She stays where she is in the kitchen. Her breathing is heavy as she grips the glass stem in her hand, her fingers almost going white.

She watches me leave, and as I shut the door behind me I hear muttered words.

“Slow, Atlas, slow,” I hear through the door.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Theadora

After he left, I drank the whole bottle of wine and fell asleep. My weekend was quiet after that, and I was a little disappointed I never heard from him again.

I shouldn’t have been, but something inside of me beats only for him.

And I’m slowly coming to terms with that fact, even if it doesn’t mean anything good will come from it. It helps to understand how you feel and what you feel.

Tina’s at my house, it’s the weekend, and I asked her to come. I think I’m going to visit Lucy today. She sent me a letter during the week—it was simple, very much not like her, and it asked that I come visit. But I can’t do that by myself, so Tina’s here with me.

I’d given up trying to save Lucy. It’s something I needed to do, no matter what, even though it hurt me. Helping Lucy only ended up with me in situations I never wanted to be in.

“Do you want me to go in with you?”

My leg shakes up and down. “No, I don’t think I will be long.”

“I can always wait at the door, and when you give me the okay, I can swoop in and save your ass.”

I manage a small laugh as I turn to face her. “I got this. And when we are done here, you have to tell me about Sydney.”

“What about Sydney?” she asks.

I look at her hand, she isn’t wearing a ring, but Sydney may have let it slip this week she was planning to talk to her about it, and she also asked my advice about how she should bring it up.

“I’m going in. Then after… we will talk. I swear.” I step out of the car and walk up the stairs to the hospital. I check-in and wait in a room where other people are talking and hugging their loved ones. My eyes skirt around the room as I wait. A door clicks, my eyes swing in that direction, and I watch as Lucy walks in, her arms hugging her body as she steps toward me.

She looks different.

I’m unsure if it’s good or not.

I honestly can’t tell from her demeanor.

“Thea.” She says my name with care as it slips from her lips uneasily. She sits across from me, her dark eyes different from mine as she stares at me. “You came.”

“You asked nicely.” I’ve never heard her say please to me in terms of something that wasn’t benefiting her, but then again, this could be, and I will be the fool who has believed her once again.

“I first wanted to ask you, how he is?” She leans in. “The baby… is he good?”

“He’s beautiful, so very much so.”

Lucy’s cheeks redden at my words. “You see him regularly?”

“Yes. I will also get him for weekends when he’s older. Right now, he is best with his family, and I don’t want to pull him away from that environment, so I have day visits with him.”

“Atlas arranged that, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“He came to see me. I told him about Mom and Dad.” My spine straightens at her words. “I just wanted him to understand our relationship. How and why I grew to be so jealous of you. How only you could calm, Dad, even though I was his favorite.”

Those nights when he was crazy I hated them. I would always protect Lucy, shut her door, and would then try to help my mother. Most nights, she would wake me in a state of panic so I could help her calm my father. I hated Mom doing that, he was that way because she enabled him, even though she knew better.

“Please don’t share things with Atlas like that,” I ask.

“I didn’t mean…” She shakes her head. “Okay, I won’t. Though, he has said he’s never coming back to see me. Which I get, but I was kind of hoping you would. Maybe even do some sessions with me, if you are up to it?”

I stand, my hands run down my legs straightening my skirt. “I’ll have to think about that, Lucy. I’m trying to repair myself as well.”

Lucy leans over and clasps my hand in hers. “I’m happy to wait for you, you deserve so much happiness and more.”

“Lucy, I’m here for this.” I look over at her, around the room, and back again. “But this has been a long time coming, and for a change, you aren’t my first priority. I am. I like putting me first. I like who I am now. I can finally breathe and stay calm.”

“I like who you have always been, it’s why I never really left. And I could have. I could have moved across the world, but I stayed here in our shitty little town because I knew if I was ever in trouble, you were always there to bail me out. Always.”

And there it is.

What I have always said, but she never heard, or maybe she chose not to hear.

I was there for her, no matter what.

Yet, who was there for me?

Not one single person.

“I have to go, Lucy,” I say, pulling my hand free.

“Can I write to you? And… will you come back?” She says the words hesitatingly, almost like she’s afraid of the answer I might give her.

“How long are you here for?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. At least a few more months, maybe even years. Atlas has it all covered and under control, so it’s not costing me or even you anything.”

“You shot him!” I say while shaking my head. “You shot him,” I say again in disbelief.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly. He wanted you, but I wanted him. Who do you want, Thea? Do you want Atlas?” she asks.

“I don’t have to discuss my personal life with you, Lucy.” My words shake a little as they come out of my mouth.

“So you do,” she guesses, and I know she’s right. “And I’m sorry I made you think Atlas wasn’t right for you, and that you met him in the situation you did. I believe if you met under different circumstances, you would have been a fire that burned so brightly no amount of meddling could have extinguished it.”

“I have to go.” I pull away and step off. I look back and see Lucy sitting at the table, not moving when she says, “I love you, Thea.”

When I step out of the building, Tina’s waiting for me.

“How was it?” Tina slides her arm through mine as we walk to her car. “You didn’t stay long. Was she—”

“Better. Well, considering who she is anyway,” I cut Tina off.

“Wow! Never thought I would hear those words come out of your mouth, Thea,” Tina says as we slide into her car.

“Yep, even told me she loved me as I left.”

“Well, holy shit.”

“Yep,” I say with the same disbelief in my voice as I heard in Tina’s as she spoke. “She told Atlas about my father.”

Only Tina knows about my relationship with my father.

“Did she say why?”

“She wanted him to understand our relationship. Well, that’s what she said.”

“Well, I want to believe her intentions are good for the first time, but her track record is pretty shitty.”

I agree with her words and simply nod as she drives off.

“Do you plan to tell me what happened?” I ask Tina, breaking our silence a few minutes later. We both have so much going on in our lives, that sometimes silence is all that’s needed.

“She brought up marriage… again.” Tina shakes her head. “Then showed me a ring. She bought one, Thea. She literally bought me one. She wants me to marry her. But I don’t know if I want to. What if I just want to be in a relationship and simply love her. Why isn’t that enough?” she asks me.

“I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. You love her, though?” I pause. “Right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, tell her that. Tell her you want and love her, but you don’t believe in marriage.”

“I did. Well, I tried.” She shrugs. “It got a bit heated, and she may have thrown me out.”

“Of course, she did,” I say while shaking my head. “Go back there and make it right. You are happy with Sydney. Be happy, Tina. You deserve all the happiness you can get out of this life.”

“So do you, you know?”

“I’m starting to believe that.”

“And Atlas can be a part of that happiness, too, Thea. You two met, and you were going along different paths. Maybe it’s time you start meeting on the same one.”

Maybe she’s right.

* * *

Atlas is at my house the next day, leaning against his car, wearing black boots with grungy torn jeans. Somehow, he makes them look sexy, and I already know what’s underneath is everything, and more than meets the eyes. His whole package does not lie. There are no misleading labels when you look at Atlas. What you see is what you get.

I wipe across my sweaty face with the back of my hand. I’m dressed in sweats and a tight tank top. Running has been helping more and more, especially with the stress of my workload. I work after everyone has left for the day, then I come home and work some more. It never stops.

“Atlas…”

He looks my way, pushing off his car and I watch as his eyes rake me over.

“You’re at my house?”

“Yes, I wanted to see if you’ve eaten. Perhaps you’re hungry and want to come out for dinner with me? Casual, of course.” His words take me aback.

“I will need to shower,” I say, indicating to what I’m wearing.

“I’m happy to wait.”

“Umm… yeah, okay.”

I walk past Atlas, and he lets me without touching me. Going inside, I shut the door and quickly shower, then pull on a pair of jeans with a nice shirt. He isn’t dressed up, so I’m guessing its nothing formal.

Just to eat.

Not a date.

Just to eat, I tell myself again while braiding my hair to the side before I walk out the door.

Atlas is waiting, and he looks me up and down. “You always amaze me with how fast you get ready.” He looks to his watch. “Most women take hours, not less than thirty minutes.”

“I can definitely take hours, but I’m hungry,” I say with a shrug. “And you have offered to feed me, right?”

Atlas nods and walks to his car. Opening the passenger door, he holds it for me. “Ladies first.”

“Is that what you call me?” I ask, stopping right in front of him.

Oh, God, he smells good. Too good.

“Yes, you’re always a lady.”

I duck down and slip into his car. He closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side, sliding effortlessly into the seat.

“You saw your sister?” he asks, glancing at me. “How did that go?”

“She’s doing better. I never really thought I would see the day she would do better,” I state.

“I want to try again… with you, if you’re up for it?” he asks, and I hear the nervousness in his voice.

I like knowing I make him nervous. Actually, I probably like it too much.

“Try what?” I ask, confused.

His hands clench around the steering wheel, and I watch them go white.

“Us. You know… you and me.”

“I thought that’s what we’re doing?”

Atlas comes to a stop outside a small restaurant, nothing too over the top, but a cute one none the less.

“I guess.” His hand reaches up and scratches the back of his head. “I mean, that was the intention.”

“You are totally out of your element, aren’t you?” I ask.

Atlas Hyde is never nervous. He’s always overly confident in everything he does. Even in pursuing me.

“Yes.” He glides out of the car and walks around to my door, opening it before I can reach for the handle. Stepping out, I stand next to him. If I took one small footstep closer to him, my head would be on his chest. “But it never takes me long to become comfortable,” he says.

I believe him.

Atlas looks down at our hands, then slides his in mine, clasping our fingers together as he starts walking. He doesn’t look back and doesn’t ask me to follow. My feet move on their own, not wanting to let go of his hand.

Atlas opens the door and finds us a table, not waiting for a waitress.

“You own this place, too?” I ask as he pulls out my seat.

“I do.”

“Is there much around here that you don’t own?” I ask him jokingly.

“Yes, actually, quite a lot. I only own a club and a few restaurants, plus the casino. I once owned a clothing company, but it seems someone who’s more qualified now runs that.”

I smile. How many compliments have I gotten from him in the past? Not many, so when they do come, it’s a nice feeling.

“I haven’t kissed you in months. And the way you’re licking your lips right now in front of me, well, it’s hard to stay on the other side of this table.”

The waiter picks that moment to come over. We order. Well, he orders for me, which I let him. I’m used to him serving me food and making me eat. It’s his thing, and I kind of like it.

“I think I would like it very much for you to kiss me. I have missed your lips as much as you have missed mine,” I tell him.

“Don’t tempt a thirsty man with the possibility of drinking from your fountain.”

“I’m not tempting,” I say. Pushing my chair back, I stride around the table and lean down, letting my lips touch his for the first time in so long. One hand reaches up and captures my face as I kiss him. Our lips are soft at first, then become more demanding as he applies more pressure.

Pulling back, I smile then head back to my seat.

“You need to eat fast,” he says, licking his lips. “Because I’m ready for dessert right now.”

* * *

He pushes his hands up my bare stomach until he cups my breast. My clothes were torn off when we first came inside, and to be honest, I tore his off too.

Dinner was good, but dessert will be so much better and the waiting for this moment was unbearable at the end.

“Fuck,” he says, pushing me again with his body weight. I like to feel him on me, to know that I make this man crazy with need and want. He bites at my neck and drags his teeth along my collar bone until he moves to my breast and sucks my nipple.

I wonder if that’s all we will be?

Passion and goodbyes.

I hope not.

I really, really do.

My hands go into his hair, and I pull his mouth away from my breast as I look into his eyes. They’re gold right now, flecks of bright color shining back at me so brightly.

“I think you will be my greatest victory…” he grins, “… and my forever.” He whispers the last part as he pushes against me again, our naked bodies touching, his lips skimming mine.

“I like the sound of that.”

I practically wrap myself around him as he slides into me. I have missed this place, this place that’s solely him.

Atlas isn’t romantic.

But he’s my kind of romantic.

And I like it.

Actually, let me rephrase that—I love it.

Pretty much as much as I love him.

No more denying it, I can’t do it anymore.

My body moves to the rhythm that’s him, and soon my hands are crawling down his back as he fucks me harder, taking more of me.

But I’m not complaining.

Because I want him to take everything.

His forehead lands on mine, our bodies beading with sweat and overcome with emotion.

He is, quite simply, the best sex I’ve ever had, and absolutely the only man I have ever loved.

I look up at him, brushing some hair away from his face. “I love you, Atlas Hyde.”

“Of course you do,” Atlas replies with so much smugness, I can’t help the smile that lands instantly on my lips. “But I am sure I loved you way before you loved me.” He moves me away from the wall and carries me to my bed. Carefully lying me down, he then proceeds to show me every which way he loves me.

And I let him.

Over and over again.

Chapter Thirty

Atlas

A month passes in bliss, absolute fucking bliss. Not one night are we separated. Every night I either end up with her at her house, or she ends up with me at mine. Even when she works late, which she does regularly, those nights I bring her food and fuck her on her desk. Got to admit, those are my favorite nights.

Some nights, I want to kidnap her again, so I can have her all to myself for days on end because she doesn’t stop working—she’s a workaholic.

Then I remember the rule I made about not kidnapping her and think better of it, not wanting to ruin the perfectness that is us.

We had our first night with Benji last night.

And, well, now I want kids.

With her.

I never wanted kids. Fuck! I never wanted a woman.

To fuck, yes.

To live with, no.

“You should move in,” I say as I open her office door.

She glances up and shakes her head, looking back to her computer. “No, I like the way things are. Stop moving too fast,” she says without looking up again.

Theadora is like that. She isn’t afraid, she puts me straight in my place, even when I don’t necessarily agree.

“You told me you love me.” I smirk while looking at her.

Her gaze lifts from the screen, and she drops her head to the side. “And you tell me the same thing every chance you get. So, who is sappier in this situation, you or me?”

“Move in with me,” I try again.

“Nope. Now stop asking.”

I do.

Instead, I walk behind Theadora and slide my hands across her shoulders, giving them a rub, and she stops typing. “What if I asked you to marry me instead?”

I feel her body freeze beneath my fingers, so I apply pressure to try and get her to relax under my fingertips. “Okay, too soon. How about you move in?” I try again.

Theadora relaxes and switches off her computer to give me her full attention. “What’s brought all this on?” she asks.

I lift her blonde hair and wrap it around my fist, pulling her head back so she has to look up at me. “You… I just want you.”

“You have me.” Her eyebrows scrunch together.

“But I want every piece of you, even your last name.”

Theadora’s cell rings, and she looks down at it. My hand leaves her hair when I see Lucy’s name flash up on the screen. Theadora reaches for it and pauses. We don’t speak about Lucy, because Theadora doesn’t speak about her, so I don’t bring her up.

“Answer, it’s fine, Theadora.”

Her sky-blue eyes look at me then she presses answer.

“Thea, how are you?”

“Good. I’m good.”

“Thank you for the photos you sent. He seems like a happy baby.”

“He is,” she replies.

I move away from behind and stand next to her. Pulling her up to stand, she moves so she’s between my legs and lays her head on my shoulder while she speaks to her sister.

“How are things? You and Atlas?”

She freezes against me. “We are… good,” she replies.

“Good. So, the doctors say I’m doing better, and soon I may be let out. I want to thank you for coming to the sessions with me.”

“You’re welcome,” Theadora says.

Theadora’s too good. I don’t bring her into my world anymore, not that I don’t think she can handle it, but because I don’t want it to taint her. If she comes to any of my work parties, she does so by choice and by my side, and I never allow her more than a few steps away from me. I rub her back as Lucy starts talking again.

“I think I’m going to move away. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to be around you all yet, and I don’t want to hurt what you have going.”

“Okay,” Theadora says.

“But can I call? And maybe, can you visit from time to time?”

“We can see, Lucy.”

“I hope Atlas makes you happy, Thea, I really do.”

Lucy hangs up before Theadora says anything else. Her head remains on my chest as I hold her to me.

“This can work. It’s going to work,” she says with so much conviction I can’t help but believe every word she is saying.

“We are already working. I couldn’t imagine you not in my life. You are my sunshine.” I press a button on my cell, and Fleetwood Mac fills the room.

She looks up at me, surprise in her eyes. “How did you know…” she asks, referring to the song.

Lucy told me that Theadora loves this song. It reminds her of happier childhood memories. Well, the few she had anyway.

I grab her hand and twirl her in a circle. She smiles up at me, and my heart beats hard in my chest. I love this woman with everything I am.

I twirl her again.

She lets me, and this time when she looks at me, a stray tear leaves her eyes, which I wipe away carefully with my thumb.

“You will be my wife one day.” She raises her eyes to mine. “You will have my babies because I love you, and you are fucking perfect, Theadora Fitzgerald. Even though it took us two lifetimes to get to where we are. We’ve finally gotten to this place, and I wouldn’t change one single thing.”

“Not even one of the kidnappings?” she asks.

“Not even one,” I reply, leaning down to kiss her passionately.

We may not be perfect, but she is perfect for me.

THE END!

About the Author

USA Today Best Selling Author T.L. Smith loves to write her characters with flaws so beautiful and dark you can't turn away. Her books have been translated into several languages. If you don't catch up with her in her home state of Queensland, Australia you can usually find her travelling the world, either sitting on a beach in Bali or exploring Alcatraz in San Francisco or walking the streets of New York.

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