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“Hey,” we all reply.

“Sorry we missed your call,” Trick apologizes.

“That’s okay. I know Raiden’s place doesn’t have very good phone signal. I’m going to get straight to it since it's late and you guys have a flight to catch in a few hours. Liam has managed to get a meeting with Hunt, and Hunt is definitely going to kill him because it’s on the same day that we got the intel that the big shipment is coming in. There is absolutely no way that Hunt would allow Liam to be there for that if he was going to let him out alive.”

“No, not a chance,” Rafe replies.

“We know that Hunt wants to kill Liam,” I point out. “Liam is taking Hunt’s stolen art customers.”

“I still can’t believe that he’s gone back to that,” Alaric says. “It’s what he originally loved to do.”

“He’s always loved art,” Atlas adds with a sigh. “He may be dealing with stolen art and antiques, but he is extremely careful and respectful. His counterfeits are so perfect that they almost never get picked up as not being the original versions.”

“Wait, seriously?” I ask, the shock unmistakable in my tone.

“He told you that?” Alaric asks, sounding almost as surprised as I did.

Atlas frowns slightly. “Yeah, we used to talk about it a lot, actually, so long as my brother and mother weren’t around. I’d forgotten about that.”

Silence consumes the room for a moment, and it becomes increasingly clear that Atlas is very done with talking about this.

“So we’ve got two weeks?” Trick asks, getting us back on track and taking the focus off Atlas and Liam.

“Slightly less,” Alaric says. “We have twelve days. I’m going to be dealing with Liam and making sure he behaves himself. He knows that by helping us and being actively involved in the operation, we’re going to have to take him in when it’s over.”

“And he’s still helping?” Luc asks. “I’m not sure I would.”

“Me neither,” Alaric admits. “And I highly doubt that Liam is.”

“You think he’s up to something?” Rafe asks.

Alaric chuckles. “Oh, absolutely, there is no doubt in my mind that he has a plan. Which is why he’s being so cooperative and calm about being involved. I just need to make sure that I have one too, so that he can’t get away with it.”

Alaric sounds more amused than worried.

“Are you okay working so closely with him?” I ask. He may not be worried, but I am.

“Yes. Thank you for asking. He’s behaving like the Liam that I grew up with. I know that is most likely a trick, and I am on my guard. At the moment, he’s being helpful, and we need his help,” Alaric explains.

I frown.

It’s one thing to know that someone is playing you, but to actually deal with it and have someone behaving in a way that evokes memories and is how you want them to behave is an entirely different thing to deal with, and so much more difficult.

“Alaric, please be careful,” Atlas says. Clearly thinking along the same lines that I am. “He’s fucked us both over a lot, not to mention all of the stuff that he’s done that means he should very definitely be in prison.”

Silence comes from the other side of the phone as Alaric pauses. “I wasn’t going to bring this up yet, but you have a right to know. Something wasn’t sitting right with me about the whole Liam thing. The pride and affection that he shows when he speaks about you, Atlas. Every time I speak to him, he asks about you first to make sure that you’re okay. I remember the kind of shit that he used to say to you. I remember the way he’d lock you away, and that doesn’t match.”

Atlas swallows thickly and looks down at the table. I immediately get up and wriggle my way between the table and him so I can sit on his lap, holding him close as he wraps his arms around me.

Atlas takes a deep breath. “No, it doesn’t. Do you know that he never actually laid a finger on me? He didn’t stop Blake, though, and the shit he used to say to me was horrific. He’d lock me in that tiny room for days, with barely enough food to survive on. I only survived because of that maid that used to sneak me stuff and make sure that Blake hadn’t beaten me to the point that I was going to die.”

I hold him closer.

“I did know that he never laid a finger on you,” Alaric says. He clears his throat, “I did some digging. It’s what I do best. I actually asked Liam some questions. While he was still cagey, some of the things that he said and that I’ve found out myself have led me to believe that it was all Blake, and that Liam was just going along with it. I can’t prove it yet, and I can’t get Liam to talk, which is why I want to bring him in. He is not squeaky clean. I’m not saying that. Liam still has blood on his hands, and a lot of it. I am saying that the worst parts of the business, the human trafficking, had nothing to do with Liam. The business started in art, and that’s what Liam loved doing. I really think that he was never after you either. I think that was all Blake too. In fact, I am almost certain of it.”

Atlas stays silent. Holding onto me tightly.

“Why would Liam just go along with it?” Rage asks, his concerned gaze on Atlas. Rage was there with Atlas right in the thick of it, he’s been friends with Atlas for longer than even the guys have, so he’s seen things firsthand.