Page 36 of Queen of The Reapers
I grimace. The thought of my name being on any stranger’s lips unnerves me. “That’s weird; but are we sure it’s a lead?”
The last appearance I made at Hell’s Tavern didn't exactly go smoothly, and I’m sure I made a lasting impression on a few of the guests who witnessed the fight between Melanie and me up close and personal.
Atlas locks his eyes on me before answering. “They didn't just want to know about you, they wanted to know about your importance to us.”
“Any idea who they were?”
Atlas hesitates. Not long enough for someone not paying attention to take notice, but long enough for me to question why.
“No. No names. Whoever it was, wasn’t from here, and it’d be nearly impossible to search the cameras. We have unfamiliar faces coming in and out of the club every night.”
“So we’re back to square one.” I say, knocking the back of my head against the elevator wall.
“Not exactly.” He says, watching the floor numbers change as we make our descent. “The Mercenaries will take over the search for Alex from here on out. If anyone can find her, it’ll be them.”
“Good.” I say, with a firm nod. “With all of us searching, we’ll figure out who has her.”
“No.” Atlas says, pinning me with a hard glare. “One of their only stipulations for taking the job is that we aren’t allowed to tamper with their investigation. We can’t go rogue. And any information we receive goes straight to them.”
“But wouldn’t it make more sense to have as many hands on deck as possible?” I ask.
“This is what they do. They find people that don’t want to be found. My brothers and I have our own ways of getting information, but with something like this, we need to leave it up to the experts.”
The surrounding air drops a couple of degrees and I cross my arms over my chest.
“So you’re giving up.” I say, pressing my lips into a tight line.Maybe whoever texted me was right. Maybe The Reapers won't help me.
“We aren’t giving up anything. Nothing is changing. Our men will still keep an eye out, but we need to let The Mercenaries do their job. We’re leaving the search to them. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” I bite back with my eyes fixed on the elevator doors as they glide open. Without waiting for him, I step out and head straight for the parking garage.
I make my way back to Atlas’ white Porsche in silence. I can hear him trailing a few steps behind me, but I don’t slow down. He says they aren't giving up, that he and his men have done everything they can, but why can’t I shake the feeling I’m being lied to?
“Why did you let me come with you?” I snap, my frustration with him boiling over as I turn around to face him. “What, was I just there to be arm candy and make you look good?”
Atlas stops moving and levels his golden brown eyes on me.
“No.” He fumes with narrowed eyes. “The Mercenaries are a highly sought after team of trained assassins. It was almost impossible to book that meeting with them. It took a lot of favors and a lot of negotiations to make it happen. I planned to go back for you, but they insisted we keep the negotiations between us. It had nothing to do with you.”
I stand there for a moment and stare at him.
“I’m sorry.” I say, and this time, I actually mean it. I'm not sure why, but it's almost like I want to see the bad in him. The bad and all of them, really. But they keep exceeding my expectations. Just when I think they're going to zig, they fucking zag and throw me into a tailspin.
“It's fine. I knew this would be a lot for you to deal with so soon after your sister’s—” He cuts off the rest of his sentence when he notices my glare, but I already received his message loud and clear.
“Here.” He says tossing me a set of keys he plucked out of his pocket.
“What's this for?” I ask, dangling the keys between my index finger and thumb.
“I have somewhere else I need to be.” He says, pulling out his cellphone. “And I’m sure by now you know the way home.”
I do, but I still don’t understand why.
“You’re letting me drive myself home?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why?”
“What you said the other night didn't sit right with me. This is my way of showing you things have changed.”
My eyebrows knit together in a scowl.
