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I nod. “And they do so quite well. But I wantyou.”
Atlas pulls his hand free and slams it against the wall next to my head. “You’re playing with fire.” His voice makes me shiver and his grip on my hip tightens, warming my skin through my joggers.
“Then burn me,” I breathe, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugging him to me.
His nose grazes mine, and the moment his lips brush mine, my eyes flutter shut, and I melt into him. He kisses me painfully slow, his entire body tense with restraint.
I slide my hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck. “Relax,” I murmur against his lips. I’m surprised when he actually does, leaning into me and deepening the kiss as his tongue flicks out and traces my lips. My heart thumps loudly in my chest, and I lose myself in the kiss. So much so, that I don’t hear the bounding footsteps up the stairs from the garage.
Atlas pulls away from me, and over his shoulder, I see Lex come toward us. I’m expecting some lewd comment about him walking in on us, so when he says nothing, I know something’s up.
“Calla, go back to the house,” Atlas says.
I whirl on him. “I want to know what’s going on.”
“And if you need to know, you will,” he says pointedly. “Now go back to the house.”
“I… Fine.” I walk across the room, passing Lex without a word, and jog down the stairs into the garage. The concrete space is cold, making me shiver as I let myself into the house, where Kade and Gabriel are sitting in the living room.
Gabriel glances up from his phone when I close the door behind me, then stands, offering me a warm smile. “Can I make you something for lunch?”
I shake my head. “You can tell me what’s going on, though. Lex came upstairs to talk to Atlas, and I got sent in here.” I thought I was making progress when it came to being kept in the dark, but the universe is apparently set on proving me wrong.
“They have some things to figure out,” Kade says from where he’s lounging on the couch, scrolling on his phone. He seems far less concerned than Lex, but it doesn’t make me feel better.
“Does this have something to do with that vampire from New York?” My stomach drops as the panic that’s been living in my chest for too long now spikes, making my pulse race. “Does he know I’m here?”
Gabriel closes the distance between us in a blur of movement and cups my face in his hands. His grip is warm and gentle. “Take a breath, angel. You’re safe. Dante doesn’t know where you are.”
“He doesn’t?” I hate how weak my voice sounds.
Gabriel shakes his head. “What’s going on has nothing to do with him. You don’t need to worry about it.” His eyes shift between mine. “Okay? You have my word.” He lets his hands fall back to his sides, but his gaze remains locked with mine.
“Okay,” I finally say. “But if Dante is still looking for me, do you think he’ll go after my parents?” Despite the strained relationship I’ve had with them over the years, the thought of them being in danger because of what happened long before I was born—even though that’s the very position I’m in—makes my chest feel suffocatingly tight.
“Your parents are safe,” Kade says, setting his phone on the coffee table and swinging his legs over the side of the couch as he moves into a sitting position. “Dante is interested in you—and fucking with us—he doesn’t care about your mom and dad. He knows you’re not with them and, if he’s done his research, he likely figures using them to get to you wouldn’t be very effective.”
He would be wrong about that. They’re still my parents. If they were in danger, I would do whatever was necessary to ensure their safety.
Nausea rolls through me like a vicious, unforgiving wave. I feel like a pawn now more than ever, and that makes me want to scream. I swallow the lump in my throat and straighten my shoulders, holding my chin up.
The garage door opens, and Atlas and Lex walk inside. Lex comes over to me, his expression less severe than it was when he interrupted us in the gym, and slings his arm around my shoulders. He leans in pressing a kiss to the side of my head.
“I should take a shower,” I announce. I don’t really need to—I didn’t get much of a chance to work up a sweat in the gym—but it’s a good excuse to get out of this room.
Lex lets me go, and I feel the guys’ eyes on me as I walk out of the room. My head is spinning by the time I get to the bedroom and lock the door. I fall back against it, closing my eyes and pressing a hand to my forehead.
I’ve been here for almost a month now. While I’m not immediately terrified for my life when it comes to the four vampires in the other room, there’s still something in my gut that tells me I can’t entirely trust them. There’s still so much I don’t know, so many secrets that are being kept from me for god knows what reason. And despite knowing in my heart that there’s no chance I’m getting out of this, there’s still a part of me that wants to run, to choose my own fate for once.
I stand in the shower long after I’ve washed my hair and body, letting the hot water mix with the silent, frustrated tears rolling down my cheeks.
I’m so far out of my element now, I don’t even remember what it feels like to have control.
17
When I return to the living room after changing into a hoodie and leggings, I frown at the empty room. The sun is shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but the wind is hollowing through the trees outside. Mother Nature is as restless as I am today, it seems.
I stand at the window with my arms wrapped around myself, watching the branches sway and drop leaves into the pool.
