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She joined me at the island, her head still cocked as she waited for me to speak, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what had happened. Instead, I stood and dumped the glass into the sink without taking a sip. She blinked in surprise.
“You didn’t need to do that,” she mumbled.
“I don’t want to bring up bad memories for you.”
Bianca’s mouth tightened more. “But smoking, Atlas? You don’t seem like the type to use tobacco.”
I scoffed. “Even if it can’t kill me, I wouldn’t,” I replied. “And I don’t.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Were you camping, then?” she teased. “In the middle of the night? Without me?”
“There was another fire. Two of them.”
Bianca drew back like I’d hit her.
“Where? At the Golden Halcyon?”
“At two other casinos,” I muttered, loathing to say the words aloud.
There was no point in hiding it from her. Sooner or later, she was bound to find out about it. She and Dahlia weren’t prisoners in the house. They had access to media and neighbors—far-flung as they were.
“Oh, Atlas,” she moaned. “It’s the curse, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” I admitted. I didn’t want to lie to her.
She bit on her pouty lower lip, and I fixated on it, suddenly envisioning it around my cock. After the day I’d had, it would be the perfect stress release. I extended my hand toward her.
“Never mind all that,” I told her. “Let’s go upstairs. I need a shower, and you can join me.”
She stood with me, allowing me to lead the way toward the stairs.
“It’s too much,” she whimpered from behind me. “It’s all too much for you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I replied, glancing back at her. “Everything will work out.”
I purposely did not mention the deaths. Her alarm was already heightened at the mere mention of the fires. If she learned about the bodies…
I shoved the thought out of my head and opened the double doors to my bedroom suite, gently tugging her through. She followed me obediently, but I sensed the reluctance in her steps.
“Was anyone hurt?”
I froze in my tracks, the pointed question forcing me to stop.
“We don’t need to talk about this right now.”
“You were gone all day without a word,” she insisted. “You haven’t looked me in the eye since you got home, Atlas. I can tell that something’s not right.”
Slowly, I let go of her hand and faced her.
“There were deaths,” I blurted out, wishing I hadn’t the moment the words fell from my lips.
“What?” she gasped. “How many?”
“Four… possibly more. They’re still sifting through the wreckage.”
“How? Why? Who?” She seemed lost, her knees buckling as she sunk onto the bed.
“There was an explosion at Emerald City Casino. A fire at the Azure. They were apparently unrelated, but I suppose you know that’s not true.”
