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CHAPTERFOURTEEN
I fucked up.I wanted to choose my words carefully. To break it to them in the simplest and easiest terms I could. But as soon as I opened my mouth, it was like I couldn’t hold all of it in anymore and the words just started pouring out.
I told themeverything. About Dimitri and how he set us all up. About The Mercenaries and their role in protecting Alex and ultimately saving me from the fire. I even told them about what happened the first night I met Dimitri and the subsequent texts he sent me after that.
I don’t know what came over me. And I still don’t know what they’re thinking. I stopped talking a few minutes ago, but the three of them have yet to say a word.
Atlas looks at me like he’s in mourning. He keeps running his hands over his beard and staring at me like I’m some lost soul he was too late to save. And because he’s who he is, I’m sure he’s blaming himself for this.
Cyrus is sitting on the edge of Atlas’ desk, glaring at me like I make him uncomfortable. He keeps clenching and unclenching his jaw, as if the mere sight of me is agony. I hate that hurting him seems to be the only thing he can rely on me for.
Tristan is standing behind his brothers, studying me with that quiet intelligence I’ve always admired about him. Out of the three of them, he seems to be the only one who seems neutral. There’s still anger there, but I can see questions lingering behind his eyes.
“Did anything else happen?” Atlas asks abruptly as his eyes zero in on me. “Anything else you’re not telling us?”
I glance between the three of them. “No. That’s everything.”
“Did they hurt you?” Tristan asks, narrowing his gaze at me.
“What do you mean?” I ask numbly, breaking eye contact as I look down at my hands and start picking at my nonexistent callouses. I didn’t even realize I left that part out.
“Besides trying to set you on fire.” Cyrus adds, grabbing my attention as he forces himself up from the desk. “Did his men do anything else to you?”
I swallow and stare at the three of them, mildly confused by their response. I expected them to be angry. To accept my mistakes for what they were and then throw me out on my ass without an ounce of remorse. It would’ve hurt like hell, but I could’ve survived it.
But this. This is something I didn’t see coming. The three of them are trying, and I mean,reallytrying, to understand what I’ve been through. It’s obvious they don’t like the choices I made, but they haven’t placed any of the blame on me. I should be grateful, but somehow, their concern for me is only making this harder.
Atlas moves out from behind his desk and takes a seat in the vacant chair beside me. “Look,” He says, reaching over to link his fingers with mine. His touch is warm yet solid, and all I want to do is climb into his lap and pretend that everything’s okay. That everything that happened was all a bad dream. “Whatever happened to you changes nothing.”
“We just need to know.” Tristan adds, rounding the desk to perch beside me.
I close my eyes and slowly shake my head.
“What is it?” Cyrus asks, kneeling in front of me as he cups my chin and forces my head up.
“No.” I lie, my voice barely above a whisper. “Nothing like that. Just the fire.”
I want to be honest with them, but right now, their safety comes first. If they find out I was tortured, it’ll add even more emotion to this already volatile situation and they could end up getting themselves hurt. I’ll tell them the full truth. Soon. But not now. I’ve already spilled enough truths tonight.
Satisfied with my answer, the guys retreat back to their seats and, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I speak up.
“I should get going.” I say, standing up from my seat. “Alex is outside waiting for me.”
A storm of emotions flashes across their faces. From shock to sadness to anger. I want to look away, but it’s so raw that it almost feels cowardly to shy away from them.
“Why are you really leaving?” Cyrus asks, narrowing his eyes at me. “Alex doesn’t need you. She has The Mercenaries to keep her safe.”
“Because we’re done here. You guys know how badly I fucked up. There’s really nothing left to say—”
“There’s still a lot left to say.” Cyrus says, shaking his head. “You’ve given us your side, but you haven’t heard ours.”
I want to say something to refute what he’s saying, but he’s right. It isn’t fair of me to throw this all on them and not give them a chance to do the same. Plus, Ezra isn’t here and out of everyone, he deserves the biggest apology.
“Stay with us.” Atlas says, holding onto my gaze for a few seconds. “At least, until the Dimitri problem is taken care of. All of your things are still at the house and it makes little sense for you to stay anywhere else.”
Should I? It would be safe and it’ll only be a few days, a week tops. I can handle a week with The Reapers. A month ago, I was ready to spend a lifetime with them.
“Okay.” I say, nodding my head. “I can do that. Let me just make a quick call first.”
