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I cross my arms, glaring at him. “What the hell was that?”
He cocks his head to the side, watching me. “What was what, Calla?” He sounds irritated by my question, but I’m the one with a reason to be pissed off.
“You showing up here,” I say, shaking my head. “Kade messed with her head to make her forget me telling her about you, then you—”
“Her knowing I exist is far off from her knowing you are living with a house full of vampires.” His condescending tone makes me scowl.
“Whatever. Let’s just go.”
I half-expect him to say something more that will only add fuel to the fire in my chest, but he just nods and starts walking. I follow him to the parking lot without a word and get into his Escalade, which looks wildly out of place in the student parking lot. I get in the passenger seat and tuck my bag between my legs, staring out the windshield as Atlas starts the car and drives out of the lot.
“Am I to expect a vampire chauffeur every day, or…?”
“It’s dark, and I didn’t want you taking a cab,” is all he says.
My brows knit, because his words almost make it sound as if he cares about my safety. “Okay,” I finally say. “Well, I don’t have class tomorrow, so you don’t have to worry about picking me up.”
“I know.”
I press my lips together, frowning at his detached tone. “Right.”
Atlas turns onto one of the main roads, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. “Are you hungry? Gabriel and Kade are out for the night, and Lex already ate, so we can stop somewhere.”
“Oh, um, I’m okay.” The ball of nerves in my stomach from Atlas and Brighton meeting effectively ruined my appetite. “I mean, unless you’re hungry?”
He casts me a sideways glance. “I’m always hungry, but I’m afraid a Chick-fil-A drive-thru won’t satisfy my cravings.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I try to ignore the meaning behind his words, but I can’t deny the way my pulse races at the thought of him…Nope. Don’t go there.“I don’t know, their waffle fries are pretty good.” Despite the upset from earlier, my stomach grumbles.
He exhales on a laugh. “I thought you weren’t hungry.”
I shrug, though he’s focusing on the road now. “I’ll eat when we get back to the house. I’m sure there’s some leftover lasagna. Gabriel made enough to feed an army.”
Atlas nods. “He does that. It makes him feel like he’s taking care of his family.”
“He’s a good guy,” I say without hesitation. It’s a truth I believe wholeheartedly, which makes me feel a tinge of guilt over what I tried to do last night.
It’s as if Atlas is able to read my mind, because he says, “You should try apologizing to him. He cares about you, so I’m sure he’ll be forgiving.”
My stomach drops. “You know?”
“I’m surprised you resorted to seduction for information so quickly,” he says, answering my question with a jab that makes me not want to look at him.Asshole.
I inhale slowly before replying, “Well, the four of you don’t exactly make it easy to get information otherwise.”
“Hmm, and how did your tactic work out?” he asks, turning off the main road onto our street.
“Go to hell,” I shoot back, unbuckling my belt the second we pull into the driveway.
Atlas pulls into a spot in the garage, shifting the car into park, and when I open the door, he moves faster than my eyes can follow and pulls it shut.
“Wha—”
“You will know what we want you to know, when we want you to know it.” His voice is low, threatening, and his face is so close I feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek.
Instead of backing down, I blurt, “What if I can help?” When he arches a brow, I add, “I mean, if I can—if I help you with whatever ’business acquisitions’ you’re talking about, will you let me out of this damn contract?”
He leans back a little, his arm still braced on the console between us, and glances out the windshield. I wait, but he doesn’t say anything.
