Page 29 of Atlas

“Oh my god.”

He clasps my hands, bringing them to his mouth and brushing kisses over my knuckles, a new calm smoothing out his worried features. I know that face. It’s histake chargeexpression.

“Call her. Tell her that we’re coming for her in a few hours and to stay in the house and call us immediately if she sees anyone around her yard. I’d bet they’d come at night and not in bright daylight if they’re going to come at all, and maybe we do still have a bit of time until they realize it’s gone.”

I’m still trying to sort through the how and why of this.

“You can’t just launder that much money at once,” Atlas explains, even though I haven’t spoken out loud. “Whoever put it there was probably being watched, or they didn’t want anyone else to know about it.”

I’m two seconds away from freaking out, but Atlas hugs me. Hard. I know it’s just an illusion, but having his arms locked around me like steel grips makes it seem like nothing is going to get us.

“Shh,” he sooths, though I still haven’t said anything and I’m biting back the sob that wants to burst out. “We’ll go straight to the club.”

“We can’t just leave this here!” I mutter frantically into his shoulder.

His hand smooths over my hair. “You’re right. We’ll have them come to us. I’ll call Bullet right after I call Tyrant.” A horrible hiccup comes out of me, followed by a whimper. Not the sob I’ve been suppressing, but still a sound of unmistakable panic and misery. Atlas turns my face up, so I can drink in his calm. “Wizard has good security around this place, yeah? Trust me. We’re okay.”

“Why didn’t I just listen to you?”

“If you had, whoever put this there might have got scared after seeing us in the barn and they could have attacked Agatha,thinking she knew something about it. It’s better this way. At least we can keep her safe. Plus, if someone’s doing something illegal around here, the club should know. We’ve eradicated the smalltime scum, but this is no smalltime shit. We can’t have something like this going on right under our noses.”

I wish I didn’t have to ask, but I can’t help it. “Something like what?”

“Drugs or weapons. I don’t see another way.”

“Maybe it’s Agatha’s. Maybe it does belong to her. Maybe she put it there and forgot about it.”

“The bills are too new. She wouldn’t have let you buy the trunk if that was the case, and if she didn’t trust the bank, what’s wrong with her basement? She has no idea. I’m certain.”

What Atlas said about calling Bullet finally sinks like a rock settling at the bottom of my gut. “Lynette’s pregnant. This is going to upset her. Oh my god, what if it upsets her so much that—”

“Hey. Hey.” He cups my face, and my eyes lock on his, burning like bright cobalt. “Every single one of the old ladies knows what it takes to be with a man who belongs to a club like ours. We might be one of the better clubs, but there’s still no end to potential problems and even violence that could arise. Our life isn’t for the faint of heart. They know that it could be dangerous.”

“Harold kidnapped my sister,” I protest, thinking back to that horrible time last year. “I don’t want her ever having to go through anything like that again.”

“You need to watch out for yourself too,” he cautions, as though I’m reckless.

“I will. I can.” Something else needles into my brain, inflating that ballooning panic in my chest again. “But we need to make sure the club is on top of keeping your family safe as well. Anything and anyone this touches. We can’t let anyone become a target. I’d never forgive myself if someone we loved got hurt because I had to have a stupid trunk.”

“Willa.” He pauses. Like he’s not sure what to say.

I put his cell into his palm. “Call the club. We had better get moving on this. At least the bonus is that our going back to Agatha’s doesn’t have to look suspicious. Your bike’s there. We were going to get it anyway.”

“That’s true. But we need to assume that they know, and that they know who took their cash and where we are.”

“If they knew, wouldn’t they be here already? They could have just broken into the trailer last night and I never would have known the difference. Sure, there’s cameras around the place, but they could have worn masks, and we never would have been able to identify them.”

“Good point,” he muses, scrolling through his contacts to find Tyrant’s number. “They might not know yet, but if that’s true, we should make sure they can’t follow us back when we get my bike and pick up Agatha. I’ll get Wizard on that.”

“Wizard does way too much. How come you guys don’t have other IT guys or people who are good at tracking and finding those who don’t want to be found?”

Atlas’ sandy brows crash down over his nose. “That’s a good question. I don’t know. But for a while now, Wizard has been handling way too much. It’s probably time that we findsomeone else. I’ll bring that to Tyrant too. No doubt they’re going to call church before they make any decisions.”

Atlas’ thumb is covering over his contact list and I ask him in the smallest whisper I’ve ever heard myself utter. “When you call Bullet, please tell him not to leave my sister alone, whatever he does. Take her to the club, or bring her here with him.”

He nods firmly.

“And please ask Tyrant to have someone drive past your parents’ house regularly from here on out. Maybe… oh fuck, maybe your sister too? I know she’s still there —would she be in danger in Seattle?”

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