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It was hard to process the conversation going on around me. All I could understand was that I was in deep shit. While Atlas wasn’t the white knight I’d believed while he helped me change my tire, he hadn’t hurt me. If this had been his goal all along, wouldn’t he have handled things differently at the beginning? He could have taken me then. It sounded like he truly meant it when he told me he’d protect me from the others, so I had to believe his only intention at the time had been to help out a woman in trouble on the side of the road.
The men started up their bikes once again. Atlas took my arm and dragged me to his bike. He straddled it before taking my arm again to help me on. “Careful of the pipes. They’ll burn you. Put your feet on the pegs.”
“I’ve never done this.” I kept my voice barely above a whisper. “My car --”
“Is just a car. We’ve got bigger problems to deal with. Right now, I need you to hang on to me as tight as you can. I’ll take care of everything.”
Atlas started up the bike before reaching behind him to run his fingers through my hair and pulling me forward for another kiss. Then he spoke against my lips once more. It was hard to hear him over the engine, but I caught it. “If they separate us, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. Including killing anyone who touches you. If they try to question you, keep your mouth shut. Don’t say a single word for any reason. Not even your name. Not. One. Word.”
I nodded, then he let go and revved his bike a couple of times before taking off. The one they called Dutch seemed to be in charge, and he pulled up beside us once we started down the road. Several times he looked at me and Atlas, a little smirk on his face. He gave me the creeps instantly.
I must have made a sound of distress because Atlas rubbed the outside of my thigh briefly as we flew down the road. Dutch still eyed us from time to time as we continued on but frowned at the familiar gesture.
When I shivered -- as much from fear as from the cool air as we cut through the night -- Atlas slowed down. Some of the bikes went on ahead of us, but Dutch stayed beside us, frowning at Atlas. Atlas turned his head briefly in Dutch’s direction but didn’t do anything else, only continued at the slower pace.
We pulled through a chain-link fence with a sliding gate, all of it topped with razor wire. I felt like I was being led into the gates of hell with no way out. I had to wonder if the man I clung to now was my savior or my captor. Perhaps he was both? I couldn’t think about it yet. If I did, I was certain I’d dissolve into tears. Above everything else, I knew that showing that kind of weakness in front of these men would be a death sentence of the very unpleasant variety. All I could do was what Atlas told me. I’d have to trust in him to keep me safe. If he let me down? Well. At this point, I was dead anyway.
I suppose I could have gotten in my car and fled the second I realized we were in trouble, but though it was reliable and reasonably fast, there was no way my little Ford could outrun a motorcycle. I didn’t have what it took to run someone down with my car even if they tried to force me off the road. They’d have had me anyway. At least I had Atlas standing in front of me. I did at the moment anyway.
Atlas started to go past the group of bikes that had stopped in front of us, but Dutch lazily rolled his bike between us and the rest of the group. I felt Atlas growl where I was mashed tightly against him. He shut down the bike but made no move to get off or to indicate I should move.
“Where you think you’re goin’? Need to have us a discussion ’bout your little cherry there.”
“Ain’t got time for this,” Atlas muttered. “So? Discuss!”
Dutch chuckled and shook his head. “Afraid not, man. We go inside where we can take our time.” The double meaning wasn’t lost on me.
“Already told you. I don’t share.”
“You can’t take us all, Atlas. No matter how fuckin’ big you are.”
“Nope. But you’re first on my list. After that, you won’t care much what happens. I’m bettin’ I can take more than two or three of the resta you with me too. So pick who dies first and come get me, motherfuckers.” He pulled a gun from a shoulder holster and cocked it as he aimed at Dutch.
