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“What are you talking about?” I ask, brow furrowing.
“Felix saw you at the police station with Marko. He left me and Decker a message yesterday, but I didn’t talk to him until this morning. Everyone has been trying to get in touch with you.”
Shit. Well, at least I didn’t break confidentiality. From Atlas’s face I don’t think he’s happy about this.
“We know you’re representing him. How long have you known his location?” he asks, and I can tell how unimpressed he is with me by his body language and facial expression. He’s never looked at me this way before, his eyes blank, and I never want him to look at me this way again.
“I found out yesterday,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “And I can’t tell you anything else. I was going to figure out a way to let you know; I just needed to clear my head. It’s going against everything I’ve been taught about ethical practices and client privilege by giving you the information—”
“Ethical? This man has tried to hurt multiple people you care about—”
“But I was going to give it to you anyway!”
We speak over each other, him deathly calm, me yelling. We aren’t even truly listening to each other’s words at this point, we are just trying to be heard and get the other to see our own point of view.
Yes, I didn’t tell them right away, but I was going to tell them. Marko is still in jail, so it’s not like he could’ve gotten away.
“How am I supposed to be able to trust you if you don’t tell me about something like this? Not just me—you didn’t tell anyone, not even your own MC,” he finally says, disappointment in his tone. “I thought you were... I don’t know. You can’t represent him, Natalie. Please tell me you’re not going to.”
I stay silent. How can I explain this to him?
Atlas, obviously taking my silence as answer enough, shakes his head in anger. “I’m going to go.”
“Atlas, it’s not what you think—”
He walks away, gets in his car and leaves.
Marko hasn’t done anything and he’s still fucking up my life.
I call Cara back, and like with Atlas, I can only tell her what she already knows.
“I know you must have been in a tight spot, Natty. I know how seriously you take your job. But this isn’t just a random man the MC has issues with. He’s been gunning for all of us, and Con just got shot because of him. He’s a danger to all of us,” she says after I won’t give her any information. “You really are going to do this to your family?”
She speaks gently, but I can tell that she thinks I should have told them all instantly.
She agrees with Atlas.
Chapter Fourteen
Atlas
I don’t know why I’m so upset, but I think it could be because I thought Natalie’s loyalty to the Wind Dragons was the same as mine is to the Knights. Yes, I know she’s not a member, but that’s her family Marko has been going up against, and it’s her family he would kill without thinking. I love how passionate and serious she is about her career, but to me, this is more important. Does she know how much time we have all spent trying to find Marko before he finds any of us? We have all united because we know how deadly he can be. Does she not realize the magnitude of the situation?
I’m not mad... I’m disappointed.
This is our first proper argument, the first time everything isn’t fucking perfect between us, and I’m not handling it that well. Our communication wasn’t that great, and it’s obviously something we need to work on.
“Maybe she was going to tell us,” Aries says, sitting down at the clubhouse bar and pouring me a scotch.
I nod. “Yeah, and I think she would have, but she was definitely torn. She wanted to do what was morally right for her position, but this is bigger than that. And she’s from this life, so I guess I’d expect her to see my side. And it’s not just me—this is about her family, too. People she loves. I just don’t get why she wouldn’t tell someone right away. This is something we all should have known, and what if Felix hadn’t recognized him? How long was she going to sit on this information?”
“You can’t decide what’s bigger for her. She was obviously torn because she owes her loyalty to her job and her family. She’s a career woman—isn’t that one of the things you like about her? You know that means she prioritizes her career, right?” he replies, no judgment in his tone, just understanding.
“So you would be okay with this? With hearing about it from Felix, who clearly has more loyalty to their family? He wasn’t even born into it—he married it into it. And he’s a cop!”
“Well, no. I would be pissed. But I can see her side, a little. Isn’t confidentiality a big thing with lawyers? Couldn’t she have been fired? And she said she was going to tell you all, she just had to think over how—”
“I get that, but this wasn’t a think-about-it situation. Marko is number one on everyone’s list right now, and for good reason. I don’t know, I feel surprised by what she did, and yeah, disappointed. I put her on this pedestal of being the perfect old lady because she grew up with the Wind Dragons, but maybe I was wrong,” I say, muttering the last line.
