AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How do you know that?” Derek asked, bringing his gaze up from his hands.
I knew more than I was telling them, but instead, I just shrugged like it was obvious, and I pointed to the paused video on the TV.
“I don’t believe they kill their victims quickly unless they get the information they need from them. Based on how long and how much they tortured him—he put up a fight, and they fought right along with him. They could have tortured him until he had no skin left and then gone even further. Whatever information he gave them, they wanted it desperately, and they weren’t going to risk killing him without getting it out of him first.”
“If that’s true, then what do you think the information was?”
I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms, and blew out a long breath. I already knew what information they got from Michael, and we would know the same information if this video had the audio to accompany it.
“Atwater,” I said and looked at all of them. Michael was the only one who would have even the slightest clue where Atwater was hiding out. He would have needed to communicate closely with him to continue progress on Ataraxia while also remaining off the grid. They wouldn’t sit on this information long; they were probably already on their way to grab him right now from wherever he was.
With that realization, I stood and made a beeline out the door.
“Where are you going?” Derek followed me.
Fuck.
I need to get out of here; I’ve wasted too much time already.
“I need to get cleaned up and sleep if we are going to continue this.” I held up my arm to show the blood soaking through my shirt and the tear that gave a glimpse of the cut from the knife. It wasn’t a deep cut, but I needed to give him a reason to let me get the hell out of here without further questioning.
“I’ll keep you updated.” Derek nodded when he saw the cut and rubbed his forehead.
“You should get some sleep, too, Derek. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” I added.
I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.
I wasn’t going home. I was going to her, and I still had no idea what I was going to do once I had her in front of me.
CHAPTER 20
Chyler
“You need to calm down, Chy. Are you going to tell me why you are so on edge right now?” Alexis was staring at me as I paced the kitchen of Madison’s townhouse. She brought us back here when I found her down the street from the office building. She had a backup car ready to go in case we got caught, and it paid off. We abandoned the SUV with the assumption that was how they had found us. At some point, they must have put a tracker on the SUV before we even picked it up from the service depot, which meant that they were monitoring Michael’s movements just as we were.
I continued to pace, tugging at the roots of my hair, the balaclava hanging around my neck, and my hood pulled off. I had already taken my hair out from my ponytail and let it just flow over my shoulders. The stress mounted on me the more I thought about Atlas and how he shoved me out of the back door of the building. Everything about this was so completely fucked.
“It’s nothing, just the adrenaline wearing off from almost getting caught.” I clipped.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell her that it was Atlas who caught me, and he knew who I was now. Seconds, and my entire life was blown to hell. My hands were shaking, and I fist them at my sides.
“What’s the update on Madison?” I asked, trying to change the subject and take her concern off of me.
Madison left immediately after Michael spilled Roman’s location, and Alexis was able to confirm it. We didn’t want there to be a single chance that he would get tipped off and leave his villa in Grand Cayman. If he knew that Michael had never made it to the lab, he would assume that we had caught him and then disappeared all over again. Charlotte had a private jet on standby just in case we got the information we needed.
“She’s still in the air but should land in a few hours. We won’t know anything more until she arrives at his villa. I’ve been watching his cameras to ensure he stays put and doesn’t leave.” She pulled out her laptop and set it on the counter, loading up the live feed from Roman’s security cameras. “You need to go and get some sleep. Look at you...” Waved her hand up and down my body. “You look like you are about to fly out of your skin. Go home.”
I crossed my arms and huffed at her. She wasn’t wrong; I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. My mind was racing with thoughts of Atlas and what he would do to me if I ever saw him again. How broken and defeated I felt that I was the one who ruined the one thing I told myself I could never have. I never deserved him, and this just proves it. I fucked everything up.
I could wish all I wanted for a second chance, but with him working for the CIA, there is no shot in hell left there. We are enemies…
My thoughts were spiraling out of control, and I was internally screaming.
“Fine.” I bit down on my cheek and aggressively pulled my hood up over my head, gesturing my hand out for my keys. Alexis pulled my keys out from her backpack and handed them to me, speaking before she let them go, “Take care of yourself tonight, Chy. I’ll call you as soon as I have an update from Madison. You’re fine. We didn’t get caught, and we got the information we needed. Take this night as a win.” She said softly.
I bit back the twisted laugh that threatened to make itself known. If only she knew the half of it. Tonight was a win for them, but it was a complete and total loss for me. I lost everything tonight.
I fucking lost.
