I can’t help myself. “Well, it is almost his dinner time. I did feed him the guy I took home last week.”
“You better be fucking joking about taking a man home,” Atlas growls as he holds out his hand. “Your mama is a funny girl, buddy. How about you and I become allies? We both want to protect her. We also need to get going before more men show up.”
Atlas tilts his head as he listens to someone in his earpiece.
“Here’s my keys.” I hand them over, then open the back door for Gurgi to jump back in.
Atlas walks me around the truck and opens the passenger door for me. When he climbs into the driver’s seat, cars start swarming the parking lot. I watch as he throws the truck into reverse and we back out onto the street behind us. He then skids the truck sideways, and we propel forward down a side street with a car following us.
“Fuck. Hermes, I have company,” he says, and the next thing I know, the night is lit up with gunfire as a motorcycle rushes up and shoots out the tires of the car following us.
“Who are these men?” I ask as Atlas reaches over and pushes my head down. “Gurgi, lie down,” I order him, and he grumbles from the back but gets below the windows.
“They work for Diego’s gang that runs the strip club you were working at. How did you get mixed up with him? He was going to sell you and Maisy to us tonight.”
“Motherfucker. We knew he was part of the trafficking ring, but we didn’t realize he had us pegged as his next girls.”
“Who’s we, baby?” His deep voice rumbles, and it’s like a live wire to areas of my body I didn’t think would feel pleasure again.
I can’t completely answer his question. If he knows I’m working with another DHMC group, it could cause issues with Riddler back in Ptarmigan Falls.
“Maisy and I, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll have to figure out another way to find Syndall. I was ready to quit after tonight anyway.”
“Why are you getting involved? Fuck. If we hadn’t been here tonight, you would have been sold to a very dangerous man we’ve been trying to bring down for a year now.”
“So, you break up human trafficking rings?” I turn my head to look up at him. When I don’t hear anymore gunshots and his driving is less erratic, I start to sit up. He reaches over and helps me.
“We’ll be at the clubhouse shortly. We can talk more there. Cronus is probably getting information from Maisy too.”
It bothers me that they’re separating us for questioning, just like the police do.
“Are you law enforcement? Maisy won’t tell him much. She tells me even less. Syndall was a friend who helped her, then ended up being trafficked by Javier.”
He takes his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at me. “Cronus will get her to talk. He won’t hurt her. From the looks of them, she might just open up. You don’t know.”
I notice he doesn’t answer my question, but I don’t push him. Maybe I don’t want to know the truth.
For the next thirty minutes, we make small talk. He tells me about my brother and Scout having a baby back in August named Deacon. My parents are officially divorced, and my father is dating Vixen, the Handmaiden who gave me my nickname. She’s also Scout’s aunt and a woman I respect. I’m happy she and my father are finding peace and love together. It still hardens my heart to stay away from them. I can’t let them get dragged into Andrus’s world.
“When we get you back to Alaska, your family is going to be so excited to see you.”
“I can’t wait.” I fake enthusiasm, but I’m not sure I pull it off. I’ll give Atlas the slip as soon as I can. I can’t and won’t have my family get hurt.
When we finally exit the freeway, I realize we’re in a small community Maisy and I drove through one day while exploring the area. Atlas continues driving until we reach the outskirts, where he stops in front of a large building surrounded by a metal fence. An industrial door slides open, and he pulls in before shutting off the engine. I start scanning for a way out, but before I can spot an opening, Atlas turns to me.
“Wait right here.” He jumps out of the truck, and a blond guy walks up.
They talk for a few moments before he takes something from the guy. I watch as he walks around the truck with the piece of equipment. When it beeps, the other guy gets down on his hands and knees and pulls something off the rear bumper. I turn in my seat to watch them move along the opposite side of the truck. Gurgi growls at the guy, who jumps back when he sees him in the window.
“Fuck! Pops was right. That’s a beast.”
“Apollo, he’s okay, as long as you don’t want to hurt her.” Atlas points at me, and the guy smiles.
“Hey, I’m Apollo. What’s your name?”
“Mine,” Atlas barks at him as they move to the front of the truck, where they find another tracker.
“Jeez, Titan. I’m happily married, and you know that.”