Page 39 of Queen of The Reapers
“We didn’t have the best first impressions of each other.” He says. “But I hope you now see my intention was never to hurt you. They led me to believe you were nothing to them. Merely a toy. And I’m embarrassed to say I acted accordingly. I apologize for my behavior, Kroshka. Truly. But I assure you, in a world full of enemies, I am one of the few you can trust.”
“Do us both a favor?” I ask, grateful to see the bartender placing the garnishes on my drinks. “Save the excuses for someone who gives a shit.”
I thank the bartender, slide a twenty onto the bar top, and gather the two glasses in my hands. Dimitri can try to twist the narrative all he wants, but he knows what he did was wrong. My grievance with him may be on the back burner right now, but that doesn't mean I’m letting him get away with it. Not by a long shot.
I take a step away from the bar and turn on my heel to make my way back to Atlas.
“You never responded to my text.” He calls out.
I freeze in place as my thoughts race.That couldn’t have been him, could it?I glanced at my phone the entire drive here, debating on whether to text the number back. I was planning on telling Atlas and having his guys see if they can trace the number. But a small part of me, the ugly distrusting part, thought it was better to keep it to myself. I still hadn’t decided what to do with it yet, but now it looks like I won’t have to.
“What text?” I ask, feigning ignorance. I'm not stupid enough to take his bait that easily. If it was him, he needs to prove it.
“It’s good to be distrusting.” He remarks, leaning closer to my back. “You should be wary of everyone, including your men.”
I shake my head as my upper lip curls.
“I have known them for a long time.” He whispers, his warm breath cascading down my bare shoulders. “Long before you ever knew who they were. One fact about them has always remained true: The Cole brothers look out for The Cole brothers. No one else.”
“And what about you?” I ask, turning around to face him. “What makes you different? Why the hell would you want to help me?” I have no idea why I’m even entertaining this conversation, but something inside of me wants to hear what he has to say.
“You’re right.” He says, shrugging his muscular shoulders as he leans back against the bar. “I have no real cause. No vested interest in any of this. But unlike my brothers, I have a conscience and as much as you may not want to believe it, I regret our first encounter. Helping you find your sister is my way of making up for that.”
I mull over his words for a moment and study his features for any signs of a lie. His words feel like they’re true, but I can no longer simply trust my gut. Not with so much at stake.
“You want to make it up to me? Fine. But if we’re doing this, everything goes through Atlas. I'm not hiding anything from them.”
“That is disappointing, Kroshka. Unfortunately for you, I’m not nearly as trusting of them as you seem to be. I have resources I feel will help, but I can’t, in good conscience, hand it over to them. They’ll only end up betraying you. If you want my help, you’ll have to accept it without them.”
“No deal.” I say, shaking my head. “We’ll find her without you. And just so you know, you're wrong about them. They would never do anything to betray me.”
“Is that so?” He asks, staring into my eyes so hard it feels like he's peering into my soul. “Then might I suggest not returning to your table just yet. I think you've had enough disappointment to last you a lifetime.”
Against Dimitri’s suggestion and against my better judgment, I turn around and the sight I see punches me straight in the gut. The servers. The stupid, big-titted tramp whores are hanging all over Atlas. Circling him like a group of hyenas.
I know it's unfair for me to expect fidelity when I'm in a relationship with his brothers, but that doesn’t stop the jealousy from pouring into me.
The world stops moving as I barrel my way towards Atlas. I painfully grip the icy drinks in my hands and the numbness feels like it's seeping from my fingers all the way down into my toes.
I stop steps in front of the group and the girls are too distracted by Atlas to notice my presence. Ironically enough, the red-head showed up with my hellhound after all and by the looks of it, she “accidentally” spilled it all over Atlas. Luckily for him, the other servers were right there, ready to help her clean up her silly mistake.
I loudly clear my throat, expecting them to scatter as soon as they see me, but none of them make a move to leave.Assholes. Atlas glances up and we lock eyes. There's no hint of embarrassment or shame in his eyes, just mild amusement. I have nothing to worry about and his lack of response proves it. Still, these bitches need to go.
I gesture for him to do something about it, but he says nothing in response. Instead, he looks around the room before glaring back at me as if to say, “the entire crowd is watching. What are you going to do about this?”
He's right. If I let him take the reins on this, I'll end up looking weak and insecure and I’ll never get the respect I deserve.
“Excuse me.” I say, a little more softly than I intend to. I wait for some kind of reaction, but when I don’t get one; I try again. “Excuse me.” I repeat, a little stronger this time, and I see the five women surrounding him visibly bristle. “Hey!” I snap. Forgoing my attempt at politeness all together.
The red-headed server jerks her head in my direction and sneers as she looks me up and down. She’s sitting beside Atlas and is in the middle of patting down his lap with tiny black cocktail napkins.
“Can we help you?” She sneers, cocking a brow at me.
“You’re in my seat.” I say calmly, fighting the instinct to sneer back at her. My voice is cool, detached even, and there’s no hint of the hostility brewing inside of me.
“Oh, sweetheart.” She laughs, stepping up to her full height as she smooths down her royal blue minidress. “I’m sure he had fun with you, but with Melanie out of the picture & Jessie finally gone, the world is his oyster and he has much better options now. I think it’s time you leave, before you really embarrass yourself.”
I take a step back, and her face radiates with delight. She thinks she's won and, based on the looks on their faces, the other servers think so too. But Atlas knows better. His eyes haven’t left mine since I stepped back into the lounge and I can see the thoughts swirling inside of his head. He’s wondering what I’ll do next. How I’ll handle this woman’s blatant disrespect.
