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She inhaled a deep breath and lifted her head to face me.
“What are you going to do?” She asked.
I had no idea. I was still trying to devise a plan that would work for both of us. The only thing I did know was that I was not going to hand her over to the CIA. There was no chance in hell.
“I don’t know yet, but don’t worry. I’m going to keep you safe, Chyler. I promise you that.” I squeezed my arms around her a little tighter.
I meant every word. Even though I knew she could clearly take care of herself, I wouldn’t let anyone else get their hands on her. She was safe with me. She was mine.
CHAPTER 22
Chyler
Atlas and I left my apartment together but parted ways when he dropped me off near Madison’s townhouse. At this point, there wasn’t much more that I could hide from him besides Madison and Alexis. I trusted him to a point, but I would not risk their identities if our newfound relationship blew up in my face. Aside from the two of them, he knew everything else. I told him about Charlotte and our client who had hired her—us—to take out Roman Atwater.
I didn’t tell him whose house he was taking me to, and I had him drop me off almost a block away so that he wouldn’t know which one was hers. He might be protecting me now, but I needed to protect my friends, too. Once this was all over and the heat died down, I might be able to bridge my two lives together. But until then, all I needed was him. All I wanted was a future with Atlas. Sure, I would be choosing him over Madison when she so willingly chose me over Adrian. I was being incredibly selfish in that regard, and I don’t know if she would ever forgive me in the end for walking out on her after everything she had done for me. But she wasn’t alone; she had her parents—her family. I had no one in the end.
I found Madison and Alexis in the living room. Madison jumped up from the couch and ran over, pulling me into a tight hug.
“Chyler, I’m so sorry about last night.” She gave me a gentle squeeze and then pulled back, holding my arms in her hands and inspecting me for any damage.
Alexis would have updated her on what had happened either after she landed in Grand Cayman or waited until she got back here. Regardless, she already knew about what had happened after she left to pursue Roman and how it was the CIA who tracked us to the manufacturing plant and saw me standing over Michael’s bloody and mangled body. What neither of them knew was that Atlas worked for the CIA, and he was the one who caught me in the end.
“It’s alright, Mads. I’m fine. I’m here, and you got Roman.” I gave her a weak smile and ran my hand through my hair. “Let’s just get this over and done with. What’s the plan for tonight?” I was ready to be done with everything. I was no longer interested in working for Charlotte—for being the bad guy in all of this.
Madison gestured me towards the living room, and I sat on the couch next to Alexis while she took the chair opposite us.
“This will be a little different than we had expected. The client has requested a confession from Roman.” Madison flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward, handing me a piece of paper with writing on it. Strange, but I'll bite…
“A confession?” I echoed. “Of what?” I gave her an incredulous look as my eyes drifted from hers down to the sheet of paper that she handed me. There was some information regarding Ataraxia, but it was very vague. I knew it was a drug that was going through clinical testing right now, but that’s really all I knew.
She shrugged. “Ataraxia. They want a confession from Roman that the drug is not new or stolen from a European lab. They want the truth about it. The whole truth.” I couldn’t help but scoff at the request.
If they wanted him dead, then why add in a confession for the drug? With Roman dead, everything would be shut down, and the drug would never even reach the market. It would become but a mere memory for anyone who was involved with it, to begin with. A confession wouldn’t change anything unless they now planned to keep him alive. Without Roman Atwater, there is no Ataraxia.
“Fine, whatever the client wants. I’ll get them the confession.” I sighed. I was running out of patience. I wanted to finish this job as soon as possible and get the hell out of here.
“Our last location is swarming with CIA agents and police right now, so we are holding Roman in the basement of the old soap factory.” Alexis pulled up her phone to check the cameras she had set up in the basement of the building.
We always ensured at least one camera was set up anywhere we handled our targets. Charlotte's one requirement was that everything be recorded and available for her if she requested it, and this would be no different. It wouldn’t surprise me if Alexis had connected her to the live feed already.
“Alright, so when do we leave?” I asked, looking between the two of them.
“Right now. We can’t waste any more time and risk him or us being found by the CIA.” Madison stood from her chair and crossed the room to grab her backpack from the barstool. “Let’s go, ladies. Our payday awaits.” She gave a saccharine smile and pulled open the townhouse’s front door. Alexis and I moved to follow her out the door, and I trailed slightly further behind her, pulling my phone out from my back pocket and shooting a quick message off to Atlas in hopes that he could keep our location hidden from the CIA.
Me: Soap Factory.
When we arrived at the old soap factory, Alexis dropped Madison and me at the back door of the building and left to park a few blocks away. We went inside and down the emergency exit stairs into the basement. I changed into my usual all-black attire in the back seat of the car. The hallway we took at the bottom of the stairs reminded me of a scene from Silent Hill. It was dimly lit, with a few lights flickering towards the end of it. It was cold down here; the walls and floor were solid cement.
Madison placed her hand on my shoulder as we approached the room where Roman was held, and I turned to look at her.
“You got this, Chy?” She gave me a weary smile, and I couldn’t help but feel the urge to tell her the side of the last night that she didn’t know. I wanted to explain to her what happened between Atlas and me, that he worked for the CIA, and I had fallen in love with him. I stood there for a moment, just looking into her beautiful green eyes, and wished that this cluster-fuck of a world we were in was different. I wished that we didn’t work for Charlotte, that we were ‘normal’—whatever that was anymore. I wished she had never chosen me over Adrian and had her happily ever after with him. That foundation Atlas chipped away at back at The Landing was crumbling underneath my feet, and I was heading for a free fall.
One more time. I just had to pack it all away one more time, and then I was free.
Catching myself in my thoughts, I breathed in deeply and pulled myself under—under the thoughts and emotions that threatened to break me apart. My eyes fell empty, my body grew lighter, and I flipped my switch one last time. I turned myself into the emotionless, unhinged monster that I had created all those years ago—just one last time.
Madison flinched and released her hand from my shoulder when she caught my change in demeanor. How I carried myself now made it evident that the Chyler she loved and cared about was no longer there.
