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I selected the two names and entered the GPS application to generate our exact location. Taking that information, I plugged it into the message space and sent it to both of the names, adding ‘911’ to the end of the message before sending it. I needed them to get here before it was too late. Once I started, I wasn’t going to be able to stop.
After sending the message, I inhaled and blew out a deep breath before tucking the phone into my back pocket and placing my hand on the door handle. I cleared my head with my breathing, in and out, repeating two more times before I rolled my neck and flipped my switch one last time.
The thoughts of what I was going to do to Atlas behind this door caused a laugh to bubble up from my throat. The animal inside of me was coming up to the surface for air.
I grinned.
I was ready to play Charlotte’s game.
I was going to win.
I pushed open the door leading into the central portion of the warehouse. Atlas was sitting in the middle of the room, his back facing me. I flexed my hands and then sauntered my way over to where he was seated. The room was quiet. His head had shifted and was now upright. The sedative must have worn off already. The heels of my boots clicked on the cement floor as I approached him. He had a black satin hood over his head, so no matter what angle I came from, he wouldn’t have been able to see me.
The entire walk across the room, all I could think about was how much fun I was going to have with him, my dark and twisted thoughts fueling the anticipation to begin. Charlotte never let me off my chain to have ‘fun.’ It was always, “Don’t get too carried away with yourself.” And “Stop cutting everyone up into pieces.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the thought of her words over the years. She never let me go completely off leash until now. I will admit, with my switch flipped, I am reckless in all aspects.
Atlas’s wrists were zip-tied behind his back together, and his ankles were tied to the chair legs with rope. I licked my lips as I came up from behind him and turned as I slid into his lap, straddling him. I pulled the hood from his head and dropped it to the floor, taking my knife out of its sheath on my right thigh.
He blinked his eyes, adjusting to the contrast in light, and I smirked, biting on the tip of my tongue. I looked down and traced a path up his side with the tip of my knife, lightly dragging it up his body, starting with the bottom of his ribcage, over his pectoral muscles, and then finally stopping in the soft dip between his collarbone and his shoulder. I always enjoyed teasing my victims.
Atlas shivered from the movement, observing me closely. He knew something was wrong with me; he knew I was completely out of character—and he was right. I took in all his features; he had a strong jawline and dark brown hair with flecks of caramel streaked throughout the front. It was spiked on top—slightly mussed from the hood—and I couldn’t help but bite my lip as my eyes dropped to his delicious mouth. If I weren’t sent in here to kill him, I’d fuck him in a heartbeat. He was beyond gorgeous.
Thank god Charlotte didn’t eliminate my need for sex. That would have sucked; or maybe it wouldn’t have. I guess you can’t miss something if you no longer feel the pleasure and need for it.
I pushed a little presser into the knife, just enough to create tension against his skin but not enough to break it just yet. I loved it when they screamed, but I wanted to bide my time. He sucked in a breath with the pressure, and I couldn’t help but smile—a twisted and sadistic smile.
Atlas opened his mouth to speak but closed it without uttering a word. I twisted the knife and dug into his skin slightly as I moved my gaze from his lush mouth to his eyes. His eyes were immaculate, otherworldly. They were a stunning tricolored heterochromatic shade with bursts of blues, greens, and browns. I felt like getting lost in them. I found myself staring longer than usual into his eyes; it felt like his piercing gaze was searching my soul. It was mesmerizing, to say the least—a complete understatement.
What was I doing? I frowned slightly as I stared a little deeper into his eyes. There was a fire behind them, and I felt like a moth being drawn to a flame. I took a deep breath, his scent flooding and caressing my senses with cedar and spice. Suddenly, my mind started spinning, and a mild pulsing came from my temples, causing me to lose focus on him for a split second.
When my eyes refocused back to his gaze, I gasped softly. There it was; there he was. My heart squeezed in my chest, and the hole that Charlotte had put there slowly began to close. Was the drug wearing off? What was happening? Ataraxia was a single dose, which meant that I shouldn’t have been able to reach the pleasure sense that it eliminated. Maybe the formula didn’t work on love like she had expected. After all, love was stronger than anything in this world. I was feeling my love for Atlas again and wasn’t about to question it as my heart began racing.
My breaths turned heavy. Like a dark blanket being lifted from my soul, all the love, compassion, and adoration I felt for Atlas slowly became clear once again. I could feel everything again.
Remembering that Charlotte and the others were watching me on a surveillance feed. I had to reel myself back in; I couldn’t let them know anything was wrong and that my brain had somehow snapped back to where it was. Whether Ataraxia wore off by chance or was a complete failure of dosage, I didn’t care. All that mattered was I could feel my love for Atlas, and I needed to get him the hell out of here.
I pushed down lightly on the knife, just enough to puncture his skin, and let out a small amount of blood. Please forgive me… Atlas gritted his teeth and groaned from the pain. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for what I was doing—it pained me to hurt him, but I couldn’t show it in my demeanor. I was expected to torture and kill him slowly. Charlotte, Madison, and Alexis were watching me.
I leaned forward, sliding my free arm around the back of his shoulders to rest on the top of the chair. I dragged my nose along his cheek, taking in the feel of his skin against mine. He was everything to me. I loved him and would do anything to save him, even if it was from me.
I dragged my tongue up the side of his neck, savoring his taste for the camera, and then murmured into his ear, “I’ve messaged Derek and Marcus. They should be here soon. Play along. They are watching us. Don’t say a word.”
He stiffened under me, and I pulled myself back slowly, meeting his gaze one last time. I loved this man, and I would do anything it took to protect him. I was not going to let Charlotte win. Roman and her were the enemies in all of this, and they needed to be stopped. I didn’t know if I would make it out of this alive, but at least he had a better chance as soon as his friends arrived. He could stop them if I couldn’t in the end.
There was a loud explosion, and the doors behind me blew off of their hinges as a gust of hot air washed over us. I mouthed to him, ‘I love you’ and fell back into my role of the executioner, letting out a growl as I cocked my head to look over my shoulder.
I ground my teeth with a feral sneer and swung myself off of Atlas’s lap, removing the knife from his shoulder and grasping it firmly in my hand. I stepped back from him, facing the blown-apart doorway behind me. I pushed as much anger and rage into my demeanor as I pointed my knife at the ground and strode towards the three figures standing in the doorway.
“The fu—”
A blast of white light and an ear-splitting ringing noise cut me off. I felt my body drop to the floor, my head was spinning, and there was a sharp pain that ripped its way through my body, causing me to scream until my throat felt raw. I couldn’t feel anything, and everything faded to black once again.
CHAPTER 25
Atlas
A bright light blinded me, and my ears were ringing. Derek, Marcus, and Dean blew off the warehouse doors to gain access, one of them throwing a flash bang into the room. I had no fucking clue why they would have deployed one of those after seeing that there were only two of us in here, and Chyler charged at them with nothing but a fucking knife.
As soon as the grenade went off, I heard a gunshot. As my disorientation subsided and I could finally focus again, I felt someone behind me using a knife to release my wrists from the zip tie. Bringing my hands to my front and flexing them, I looked at where I last saw Chyler. She was on the ground, motionless, and Derek was standing over her, his gun held to her temple.
