“I think you’d be his friend if he didn’t have a dime to his name.”
No response.
“Andthat,”she told him, “is how I know there is far more to you than just the vicious past that you endured.Maybe you need to start looking at yourself a different way.The image you see reflected back when you look in a mirror—sometimes that image is just what we fear, and it’s not who we are.”
Atlas had said he was her broken mirror.
She’d always thought she was the broken one.
“Fuck.”A breath from Desmond.“You are dangerous.”
She hadn’t been trying to be dangerous.She’d been trying to help.
He pulled away.“Get dressed.Then hurry downstairs so Atlas and your ex don’t come to blows.”
She stepped out of her bedroom.“Atlas told you that Gage was my ex?”
“Nah.”Desmond didn’t look back.“Learned it weeks ago when we started digging into your life.Got to know your enemy, understand?”
“I’m not Atlas’s enemy.”
“I’m getting that…” He darted down the stairs.
She slid back into her guest room.Shut the door.As she crossed the room to get dressed, the sheet trailed behind her.As quickly as she could, she dressed.Panties.Bra.Long, flowing dress.Lily picked the dress because she could just yank it on and go.Same thing with the flats.She finger-combed her hair, splashed water on her face, brushed her teeth, and hurried back for the door.Even as she yanked it open, she heard the rumble of deep voices.
Her feet flew over the stairs.And as she got closer to the main floor of the home…
“You are a killer, Atlas Bennett.And I’m placing you under arrest.”
Oh, no.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Five minutes before…
He openedthe front door himself.Yes, yes, he had security.He had staff who could have done the job for him, but Atlas opened the door to the Fed himself.I know how to open a freaking door.
FBI Special Agent Gage Emerick glared at him, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched.Fury clear to see in every line of his face.His parter, Sharon Hinkle, shifted nervously behind him, foot to foot, and her head craned so that she could get a look at Atlas.She blinked when she realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.Her green eyes widened.
“Took you long enough to answer the damn door,” Gage snapped.
Atlas shrugged.“I was…occupied.”
Gage’s jaw hardened even more.“Don’t you havepeoplewho could answer the door for you?”
“I do.But in light of recent events, I gave orders that only I was to determine which visitors were allowed in my home.”And, technically, he hadn’t allowed the Feds in yet.They were still on the other side of the doorway.“But mypeopledid see you through the security feed.I was alerted that you were here, shouting to see me.So, here I am.”No sense having the discussion in the doorway, though.“Do come in.”He turned away, giving them his back, and he marched across the foyer.
They followed.He heard their quick steps and the slamming of the door.But just as he turned for his study?—
“This isn’t a social visit,” Gage snarled.
“Oh, you mean you didn’t come back because you find me incredibly charming and you want to be my new best friend?”He slowly turned back to face the Feds.His arms lifted to cross over his chest.“How disappointing.”
Gage huffed out a breath.“I know what you’ve done.”
Highly doubtful.“You know that I gave Lily the most satisfying night of her life?”A deliberate taunt that brought him untold delight.Sue him, he kissed and told.Because you will never touch her again.
The Fed surged toward him.
