Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“What’s happening?” I croak out, anxiety making my voice tremble.
“It’s Atlas,” Dante says, finally lifting his gaze from his phone. His features are pinched. “Jax, uh…”
“Jax what?” My voice is shrill. “Dante, what’s going on?”
He scrubs his palm over his face. “Jax arrested him.”
“Who? Jeremy?”
While stewing on my way home from Blur, I made a pitstop at Jax and Dante’s first to let Jax know what Jeremy did to my phone. As much as I hated contacting the “authorities,” I hated Jeremy getting away with it more. And, if I went to Atlas, he’d have just flipped his shit. Since I’m still mad at him, I decided to come to Jax instead. Not long into my story, Jax received a call and flew out of here like his ass was on fire.
“No,” Dante says slowly. “Atlas.”
I blink several times in confusion. “You’re not making any sense. Atlas is a cop.”
“He was arrested for assaulting Jeremy Powers.”
My blood runs cold. “What?”
“Jax says he’s been set up—hey, wait! Where are you going? Goddammit, Callan, at least put on a fucking coat and let me drive you!”
I yank open their coat closet and steal one of Jax’s Bean’s coats because as much as I love my style, the coats from L.L. Bean’s are really damn warm. After jerking it on, I wait impatiently for him to put his coat on too. He locks up the house, and we march out to his Range Rover. Anger and confusion are pulsating through me, making me impervious to the winter storm that’s started to ravage our town.
“This is all wrong,” I tell him once we’re inside the vehicle. “It should be Jeremy who got arrested. He cornered me in the bathroom and broke my phone.”
“I know,” Dante assures me in a cool, calm tone. “Trust me. I do. It’s a mess, but Jax will figure it out.”
I gnaw on my bottom lip. “Atlas’s parents are attorneys. They hate him.”
“I know that too.”
“I hate this town. I fucking hate it.”
He wisely doesn’t argue with me, instead focusing on keeping his car on the slick streets rather than in a ditch. The usually five-minute drive to the station takes closer to twenty with the bad weather. Finally, we arrive, and Dante barely gets the Rover parked before I’m climbing out. I nearly bust my ass on the concrete but grab the side of the vehicle just in time. I let out a string of expletives before walking more carefully onto the sidewalk.
I’m blasted by heat and the dull roar of voices talking over each other. Jax’s eyes find mine, subtly darting them toward the hallway. I skip past the noise, leaving Dante to deal with them, and make my way to the sole jail cell in the building. When I enter the holding area, the breath is sucked from my lungs.
Atlas.
Head buried in his hands. His shoulders tremble, and I can hear him sucking in ragged breaths. My heart cracks right down the middle.
“Atlas,” I cry out, rushing over to the cell.
His head snaps up, eyes bloodshot and cheeks tearstained. The despondent look on his face transforms to one of relief. He’s on his feet the next second.
“You’re okay,” he croaks. “Thank fuck, you’re okay.”
He rushes to me, taking my outstretched hands and squeezing them before bringing each hand to his mouth to kiss. After releasing one hand, he steps closer to touch my lips with his fingertips. Then, his mouth crashes to mine for a brutal, salty kiss. I grab hold of his shirt, clinging to him as I kiss him fiercely.
His teeth and lips and tongue try their damnedest to overpower me, but I’m just as needy and upset as he is. I devour him with equal fervor. I’m still confused as to how he landed himself behind bars when it should be Jeremy Powers.
“What happened?” I ask between breathy kisses. “Atlas. Tell me.”
He pulls from our kiss, pain etched in his features. My heart aches inside my chest. I’ve seen a lot of expressions on Atlas’s face, but never this one. Pure fear. It claws at me from the inside out. I wish I could kiss away the look and replace it with one of his cocky smiles.
“I got a call.” His voice is husky, and his lips thin out. “Earlier this evening, someone called to threaten you. Before my shift.”
That explains his sudden asshole behavior before I went to the club. But now, knowing there was a legitimate concern coming from him rather than baseless overprotectiveness, guilt rains down on me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He sighs. “I didn’t want to upset you or worry you until I had more to go on.”
“And tonight?”
“I felt like a dick after the way I’d treated you. I didn’t want to fight, so I texted you. You didn’t read them, but I felt like you were still mad at me.” His eyes close, and he rests his forehead on a bar. “I tried calling you, too, but you didn’t answer.”