Atlas, page 5
“All right, all right. But I want her when you’re done.” He leered at Rose. She shivered slightly but didn’t look up or acknowledge the man in any other way.
“I’ll be gone from this shit-hole long before then. I’m here to help with this deal. Then I’m gone.”
Dutch shrugged. “Unless I need you further.” The intent was clear. Dutch wanted his taste of Rose, no matter how long it took. Which was trouble. The longer he waited, the more impatient he’d become until he challenged me outright. And he had no intention of letting me leave here without getting what he wanted. “Eat up, little girl,” Dutch said, boisterously. “You’re gonna need your strength.” Then he barked out a laugh, like it was his own little private joke.
Rose didn’t say a word, her expression blank. Only the slight tremor of her body gave away the effect Dutch had on her.
“Good girl,” I murmured. “Finish your hot dog, and we’ll go back to the cabin.” She looked up at me with solemn eyes and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, not wanting the food. In that moment, I could cheerfully have throttled Dutch. I didn’t need this. Any of this. “Go on,” I encouraged her. “I swear I won’t let him touch you, but you have to eat.”
She nibbled on the rest of the hot dog, finishing all but the last bite. I popped it into my mouth, then stood, helping her to her feet as well. We had thirty minutes to get back and contact my team or they’d come in, guns blazing. I thought I could manage this but Sting had to know the complication I now had so he could inform Alexi. Or Azriel. ’Cause even I didn’t have enough balls to tell Alexi I had his daughter inside this fucking compound. He’d put a bullet in my Goddamned head, and I wouldn’t blame him. I thought back to everything I’d already done. Just kissing the girl was grounds for castration. Not only would he probably kill me, but it would put Iron Tzars in a bad light with Shadow Demons.
The really bad part -- as far as I was concerned -- was that I cared less about the effect on my club than I did about the effect on the tiny woman in my possession. Since I’d been a part of Iron Tzars, I’d never put anything above the club, but I was reevaluating that stance with this girl.
I led her back to the cabin and shut the door, locking us in. Not for the first time, I regretted not putting a better lock on the door. Hell, the cabin needed a new fucking door to be stronger. Or a whole new fucking cabin. Still, it would give me a few seconds if Bozz or Dutch decided to push the issue. A few seconds would be all I needed, but I still put a chair under the doorknob as one more thing. Fucking Christ, I didn’t fucking need this!
The music still blared, and I was careful not to move into the line of sight of the camera Bozz had planted, but I didn’t feel safe talking freely. Or maybe it was that I wanted to be close to Rose. I wanted to smell the clean, fresh scent of her hair as it tickled my nose when I spoke close to her ear. I wanted her in my arms as we pretended an intimacy I fucking craved. To say I wanted to fuck her was a gross understatement, but that wasn’t happening.
I looked up to find her leaning against the small sink in the kitchen area, her arms wrapped around herself as she studied me from under her lashes. We stared at each other a long while. Then she started trembling and looked down at her feet.
Crossing the distance to her, I swore to myself as I grabbed her upper arm as gently as I could and took her to the bathroom. It was the one place inside this cabin I was sure wasn’t bugged. I’d tested it on more than one occasion, pretending to talk to someone outside the compound and saying things I knew Dutch or Bozz would call me out on. Not enough to get me killed, but enough to rouse their suspicion and make them have to feel me out. I’d also swept it for bugs, same as I had in the main room. While the front room routinely had them, the bathroom hadn’t had a listening device other than one I’d removed months ago, the first night I’d come to the compound. No one had said anything about it, so my guess was that the bathroom bug I’d removed in the bathroom either hadn’t worked, or no one was monitoring it, and Bozz hadn’t realized it was gone. Though Bozz was a son of a bitch, the man wasn’t stupid, so I was betting my life they’d decided they trusted me at least enough to keep this one space free of listening devices.
Once we were inside and the door was shut, I framed her face with my hands, forcing her to look up at me. “You good, baby?”
She shook her head slightly, then her breath started coming in shallow pants, tears springing to her eyes. One little sob let go before I pulled her into my arms and held her face against my chest while she had her meltdown.
It had to happen. No woman in her right mind wouldn’t have been terrified by the situation Rose found herself in. I couldn’t reassure her everything would be all right. There was a very high probability it wouldn’t.
“I know, honey. I’m so sorry you’re mixed up in this.”
“Are they going to rape me?” Her question was so soft I nearly didn’t catch it.
“Not as long as I live, Rose. I’ll protect you with my last breath.”
She looked up at me, tears flowing freely from frightened eyes. I swore. We had to have this talk, though after this minor meltdown, I was ready to say fuck it and call in the calvary.
“I’m calling it. I won’t risk you getting hurt. We’ll figure something else out.”
“Wait,” she said softly, bunching her hand in my shirt. “How quickly can your team get here if we get into trouble?”
I tilted my head, trying to see where she was going with this. “At a moment’s notice. I’ve got at least two guys on this place at all times. Right now, I’ve got ten members outside this compound ready to storm us in exactly fifteen minutes unless I call them off. If I give the word, they can come right now.”
“Then wait.” Rose still trembled in my arms, but her features hardened. “I don’t want to leave anyone here. We get them all out, or we stay until we can.”
There was no way to stop the growl of frustration. It was the plan I’d had all along, but seeing how terrified Rose was -- with good reason -- I’d changed my mind about keeping her with me. She needed to get to safety, and I was prepared to take the smaller victory. Then she had to go and volunteer to stay.
“You saw how everyone here is. If we stay, you’re very much in danger. I’ll protect you with my life, but it might not be enough. I’m only one guy. There are thirty-seven men in this compound who’d love to get their hands on you. Killin’ me’d just be a bonus.”
She straightened, lifting her chin in stubborn determination, even as her lower lip trembled slightly. “I’ll do exactly what you tell me to. If at any time you feel the situation is getting out of hand, call in your club. I’m scared, but I can fight through it if it means we save innocents. It’s what my dad would do.”
“Honey, your dad would kill every motherfucking person in here, including me, if he knew you were here. I’ve got to tell my president so he can take the appropriate action to protect our club, but it’s not going to make much difference. Once Alexi finds out you’re here, it’s over.”
“Then don’t tell him.”
I had to really concentrate and replay her words in my head to believe she’d just suggested we not tell Alexi she was here. “Sting won’t go for that. It’d bring the Shadow Demons down on our club like a plague. They’d kill everyone in the compound if something happened to you and we could have prevented it. Keepin’ you here one fuckin’ second longer than strictly necessary is not preventing it fast enough.”
“Then I’ll tell him myself. He’ll send you anything you need to make this work as safely as possible.”
OK, that got my attention. And sent my brain into overdrive. We’d never asked Shadow Demons for an assist. Yes, we worked for them so we could keep getting tech and weaponry from them, but we didn’t work together. They gave us a task and we completed it. If they came in on this with us now, we might shut down the whole fucking outfit in this region.
What the fuck was I thinking?
“No. Out of the question. I should have already gotten you out of here, and that’s what I’m gonna do now.” I went to the water heater and got the sat phone. When I turned around, Rose was right behind me. She put her hand on my arm and reached for the phone, gently plucking it from me.
“This is Giovanni’s.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I have one just like it. I left it turned off in my bedroom because I didn’t want him and my dad monitoring every move I made. I wanted to live life on my own for a while. See what it was like outside that big mansion and the long arm of their protection.”
“This isn’t what you signed up for, Rose. It’s the worst situation you could possibly be in.”
“No, it’s not. Though I won’t deny it’s close. I remember life before Mom and Alexi got together. We stayed in some pretty questionable places. Just the two of us. We had no one to turn to back then. Now, I have Alexi, Azriel, and Giovanni along with my mom and every single member of that household. The women here are in a much worse situation than I am. I have you to protect me. They have no one.”
Without waiting for my consent, Rose punched in a number on the phone and put it on speaker.
“Atlas?” The man on the other end of the phone bit out my name, irritation in his voice.
“Gio?”
There was a pause. “Bella?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Can you get Dad?”
“What are you doing calling from this number?” The anger and fear in Giovanni’s voice told me the man knew exactly what was going on. He might not know the particulars, but the fact that Rose was anywhere near this fucking phone told him all he needed to know about the situation she was in.
“It’s a long story, and we don’t have that kind of time. I need you, Dad and Azriel to help the Iron Tzars. Right now.”
I heard computer keys clicking in the background. “We’re coming, sweetheart.”
“Wait! No, Gio! They’re trying to get a meet with --”
“I know who that fucker Dutch is trying to contact. I’ve been monitoring them since Sting put Atlas in there in the first place. You’re not going to be in the same fucking state as the Swede, Bella. We’re coming to get you.”
“Gio, you have to let them do this.” Her voice wavered. Rose was on the verge of tears again. “Please. Use all those things you make to figure out a way to keep me safe until they catch this guy. I don’t want to die or be r-raped,” she stumbled over the word and more tears overflowed her eyes, “but my life is not worth the lives of dozens of women and children. More if he’s allowed to continue.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Gio, I could never live with myself --”
There was a scuffle in the background, then another voice interrupted me. “Bella? What’s going on? Why are you in that fucking hell hole?”
“Daddy.” Rose did let out a little sob then. “Please, Daddy. They have to catch the Swede. I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt so many others because they pulled me out and blew the chance.”
“I’m not even entertaining the thought of you staying there, Bella. I don’t give a fuck who else is in danger, you’re my first priority.”
Her voice changed from terrified girl to hardened warrior. Or, at least, a hardened warrior who was still scared of the battle to come. “I called to ask you to join the Iron Tzars in doing this. To help them catch this guy and kill the shit out of him. I swear I’ll never ask you for anything else again as long as I live, but I need you to do this.”
There was a scuffle and the sound of a glass crashing in the background. As well as some very inventive swearing.
“Bella, it’s Azriel. Tell me the situation as you see it. Describe the area and the men. The fortifications.” Azriel sounded better in control than Giovanni or Alexi. I could tell he was acting as the voice of reason here. Hopefully, he’d have her lay it all out, then point out the reasons she needed to let us get her out.
“I’m not sure how big the compound is, but it has a chain-link fence around it topped with razor wire. Atlas says there are thirty-seven men here. I counted thirty-three when we joined the group to eat. Of those thirty-three, maybe fifteen carried themselves like they’d be good in a fight. Half of those were drunk. The president, Dutch, isn’t as smart as he thinks he is, but he’s cunning. He likes to play his members off each other, but I’m pretty sure it’s backfiring. Bozz, one of his inner circle is gunning for him, though he appears like he’s solidly in Dutch’s corner. He bugged our cabin with a tiny camera, but I watched him talking to another man when we ate and Dutch was talking with Atlas. If I read Bozz’s lips correctly, Dutch doesn’t know about the camera. Bozz isn’t spying on Atlas so much as he’s testing the camera out to see if Atlas finds it. He’s wanting to put eyes on Dutch. Again, I’m not a hundred percent, but I think he’s looking for the right time to kill Dutch.”
There was silence so long I thought maybe we’d lost the connection. Might be just as well. I still wasn’t certain how much I trusted the phone’s connection not to be traced. Obviously, Giovanni believed his gadget was foolproof. And, Jesus fuck! How the fuck had Rose gotten all that information in her one outing?”
“You sure about all that?” I couldn’t help but ask the question.
She shrugged, wiping tears from her cheek with one hand. “As sure as I can be given the brief time I had to watch. I did what you told me to, Atlas. Aside from the four men I didn’t see, you’re the deadliest man here. After you, Bozz and the man he was talking to. Dutch might lead these men, but probably only because he’s killed a few so the rest fall in line.” She ducked her head. “At least, that’s my take on the situation. I only had an hour or so, and yeah. I was scared out of my mind. But I don’t think I’m wrong.”
“How’d you learn to do that?”
“My degree is in criminal psychology. I don’t have much experience, but the main players in this case are textbook as far as I can see. Given more time, I can narrow down specific character traits and predict their actions. Dutch, in particular, is unstable. The thing that makes him dangerous is his mental instability. He’s a psychopath. He’ll carefully plot out any move he makes to get what he wants. He’ll pretend to be your friend or to be on your side, but he’s not. He’s on his own side. The side that gets him the end result he’s looking for. Right now, something is holding him in check. Probably the money he believes he’ll make when he sells people to this Swede guy. He believes you give him the best chance to maximize his profits, so he’ll back off you. For a while.”
“Yeah, he said as much to Bozz when he told him to lay off the women.”
“I think Bozz is a sociopath. He doesn’t care about others, certainly not the women he hurts. He has outbursts of anger and rage over the slightest things. He’ll rationalize his behavior, just like he did with you tonight. He said this was his club, and he’d do what he wanted. In his mind, because the women are in his home, he can do whatever he wants.”
“So these are the people we’re dealing with.” Ariel’s voice coming from the phone startled me. I’d forgotten about them, thinking the connection had been lost.
“The main players, yes,” I confirmed. “I don’t like this, Rose. I get where you’re coming from, but I’m not willing to risk your life.”
“You said you could keep me safe.”
“And I believe I can. But I don’t want to take that chance.”
“You were willing before.”
“I was willing to consider it before. Mainly because, at the time, I didn’t have any options. Now I do.”
“How much time do you have before Sting sends in his men?” Rose’s eyes still glistened with tears, but there was a steely determination in her gaze that had me swearing on the inside. There was no way I was going to win this fight with her. I shrugged, not in any hurry to answer her. If I could wait just a little bit longer, Sting would take the decision out of my hands.
“Atlas…” Rose’s expression hardened. She was still pale and trembling slightly, but this side of her was throwing me. It was… unexpected. And turning me the fuck on. “Tell me how much longer we have.”
“Ten minutes.”
“Giovanni --”
“No way, Rose.”
Then she did something else I wasn’t expecting. “Are you going to trust Sting and the others to take this place with me inside? Think of everything that could go wrong. Wouldn’t you rather be in place to control the situation?”
There was another silence before Alexi could be heard in the background swearing and possibly destroying many expensive things. “Goddammit, Bella! I swear to God, you’re gonna be the fucking death of me. Atlas, tell Sting to hold. We’ll be there in three hours. You make sure you have a direct fucking line to him and his team, Atlas. Anything starts you can’t control, call them in.”
I gave Rose my best intimidating, pissed-as-hell stare. “I’ll call him now.”
Without further comment, the line really did disconnect this time. I immediately called Sting, never taking my gaze from Rose.
“Stand down, prez. Expect company in the form of the Shadow Demons.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope. They’ll fill you in on the development. Remember that problem I told you I had? They’ll fill you in on her.”
“Her.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yep.”
“Well, trouble always starts with a woman. Why the fuck would this be any different?” After that last disgruntled comment, Sting disconnected, and I put the phone back in its hiding place.
“I swear to God, when this is over, I’m gonna beat your ass, girl.”
Chapter Four
Bellarose
Once business was done, there was nothing to do but wait. “This whole fucking affair has been nothing but waiting.” Atlas muttered his disgruntlement as we exited the bathroom. “It’s after midnight. Since we’re not at the party, we need to act like we’re going to bed.”
I nodded. He turned off the music before moving closer to the bed and beckoning me to him. He whipped his shirt over his head and tossed it to the chair where Bozz had planted the camera, then did the same with my shirt. I was so surprised all I could do was gasp. When I went to cover myself, he shook his head as he stripped off his jeans and tossed them too.
