“One month,” he repeats.
“I don’t have that kind of money,” I reply, looking at him.
“Would you like to make a deal?”
Goddamn! My head tells me no, run, and try to find a way to make the money. You should never make a deal with a devil. Yet, here I am, nodding my head because my voice is lost.
“I need to hear you say it, Theadora. Would you like to make a deal so you can work off your sister’s indiscretions?”
“Yes,” I squeak.
He steps forward, his hand reaches up, and when it does, I catch a glimpse of a tattoo from under his black sleeve. Another peeks out from under his collar on his neck. Are they all over his body?
He pulls on a piece of my blonde hair, and then lets it slide between his fingertips.
“I’ll own you until her debt is paid. You do understand this?”
Nodding, it seems to be what I am good at right at this moment.
“Your life will not be the same. Any jobs you do for me will be confidential. Do you understand?”
My eyes search around the empty room frantically.
“Theadora, this will not work if you go mute. It will do nothing to assist you, but it will piss me off.”
“Yes…” I hiccup. “I understand.”
He walks over to a fold-up chair, which is the only thing in the room, and reaches for a watch, then places it on his wrist.
Why was that off in the first place? is all I can think.
What was he planning to do with me?
“My sister.”
“Alive,” he says, easing my mind. “For now.” Then he walks past, brushing against my arm as he goes to leave me standing in the cold, empty, cement room. He reaches for the red door and pulls it open, letting light in. It’s then I see the two guys standing there waiting. Both look at me, then him as he speaks to them before they walk off.
He turns back, those eyes that I’m sure will haunt me tonight stare right at me.
“Goodnight, Theadora Fitzgerald of Thatcher Lane.”
My eyes go wide at his words—he knows my street address—before he smirks and turns, letting the red door slam behind him on his way out.
The minute the door shuts I fall to the cold floor, and the tears I have been holding back fall, leaving my soul heavy.
Lucy.
What have you done?
Chapter Two
Atlas
Ocean blue eyes—that’s the only reason I didn’t kill her, those ocean fucking blue eyes. A woman has never stopped me from doing what I’m meant to be doing. It’s how I got to where I am. It’s why I am so good at what I do. No one walks over me, and my business thrives on everything I have a hand in.
We sit out front of my building as we wait. The tint on the car windows makes it almost impossible for anyone to see in, and even if she did, Theadora has no idea what car she was put into anyway.
The sun has set when she comes out. The sky now dark and ominous, which I find fitting. When she emerges with her hands wrapped around her, the skirt she’s wearing—which is way too short—seems to be a little higher than it was before. Her lips quiver with the cold, and what fucking beautiful lips they are. She looks down and reaches for her cell; one of my guys left it there for her so she could get home. I can’t have anything happen to her when I have such plans for her.
The minute she stands clutching at her cell, she looks around. It’s not a busy area, but there are a number of cars parked along the curb and in a few surrounding lots. I watch as her eyes zoom in on the one we are in. It’s as if she can sense me, and it makes me smile. She doesn’t move for a moment, simply stares at the car before she looks down at her cell, more than likely getting an Uber.
“Do we wait, sir?” Garry asks.
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “Then follow her.”
After she finishes with her cell, she looks back up at our car, her hands skimming at her skirt and her head dropping to the side, assessing where I am. She puts one foot in front of the other toward the car. Is she going to come this way? Maybe even tap on the window? She takes another step in our direction, but she seems to stop herself and puts the cell to her ear. Whoever it is on the other end has distracted her.
“Is she fucking anyone?” I ask Garry, who’s been watching her for the last few weeks.
“No sign of any men in her life, sir.”
Her eyes look down at her feet as a car pulls around the corner. An Uber must have been close for it to be that fast. Theadora doesn’t pull the cell phone away from her ear as she climbs in, but she does look my way one more time.
A smirk I didn’t know could form, pushes my lips up.
Those ocean blue eyes are going to be fun to break.
Lucy sits on her bed with her eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t tell her. Please, don’t tell her.”
“She knows, Lucy.” My back hits the wall as I watch for her reaction. She doesn’t disappoint, taking a deep breath and screaming at me from the bed, but doesn’t make a move toward me.
“How could you,” Lucy says between hiccups. “How could you?”
“Lucy,” I say her name, but she doesn’t answer. I take a step toward her, lifting her chin so she has to look at me. There was a time I thought she was beautiful, but now I see the ugly inside her, and that’s the way it will be staying. “I could still kill you. Would you prefer I do that instead?”
Lucy is overdramatic, this I have come to realize as we have spent time together. She throws herself back on the bed with her hands above her head as she continues to cry. Her theatrics doing nothing for me.
“She’s perfect. Thea is perfect. She already thought I was a bad egg, now you just confirmed it,” she says, the tears not leaving.
“Tell me more about Theadora,” I ask. Actually, no, it’s a command.
Lucy stops the tears straight away and sits upright. Her head drops to the side as she looks at me. “You like her, don’t you?”
Lucy doesn’t deserve my answers, so I don’t say anything.
“She’s pretty, but I’m exotic. You can have me! Don’t you want me instead?” Lucy’s hand touches my arm, and I look down at it.
My tone is aggressive when I speak to her. “Remove your hand, Lucy. Now.”
She drops it fast and pulls away from me.
“Tell me about your sister, Lucy. Now.”
Her dark eyes, which are the opposite of her sister’s, look at me before she starts talking. And believe me, Lucy likes to talk.
“She manages some shop,” she says with an eye roll. “Been working with them since straight out of school.” Lucy lies back on her bed and starts to play with her hair, twirling it with her fingers. “She hasn’t dated anyone seriously since high school.” She pushes up on her arms and looks at me. “Is this what you want to know? Who she’s fucking?”
“Who is she fucking?”
“No one. She’s a prude with a vicious mouth.” She scrunches her nose up. “Thea can be mean with her words.” Lucy lies back down and continues to talk while looking at the ceiling. When I get sick of her droning voice, I walk out with ocean blue eyes stuck in my head.