Page 131 of Lips On My World

It’s not like I haven’t used myself as a bargaining chip before. At least a half dozen times, I have handed myself over to an enemy in exchange for the innocent to be released. I’ve been beaten, tortured, starved. But all the times before I knew in my gut I would either escape or my brothers would come for me.

My brothers will find me, but my gut tells me there may be no escaping this time. Esteban is one sadistic fuck and he’d rather put a bullet through my head than see me free. My only concern is Josephine. As long as she and the babies are safe, I can endure the rest.

Confessing my fears to my best friend is out of the question. If he catches a whiff of my uneasiness, he’ll raise a mutiny to keep me from making the trade.

Hiding my trepidation, I smirk. “I won’t go down without a fight, I promise.”

“I’m getting you out alive, Atlas. No more of these morbid thoughts.”

We slap each other on the back and pull apart. All eyes are on us as we make our way back to the team. The rain has let up some, but still enough to make you miserable. I see Chase and Punk staring at me. My eyes land on Punk and I have to swallow the bile in my throat.

Whatever he sees in my face, he doesn’t like it. Punk glowers before standing, walking away from the group.

Suits me fine; I need to talk with Chase first. I take the spot Punk vacated next to Chase.

He turns to me, rubbing his hands together. “Atlas?” He already knows I’m going to give him orders—always the perfect soldier.

“Make sure Josephine gets the folder in the safe from my office. It has everything she’ll need to get access to all my personal information. She gets it all,” I say quietly.

Chase looks at his clasped hands, nodding. He swallows like he wants to say something but thinks better of it. We’re around the rest of the team where any of our brothers can overhear me talking about my last will. Overhearing talk like that will surely start an uprising amongst my brothers, and right now, I need a united front.

Chase and I are as close as any brothers, but the way we communicate for how we feel for each other has always been more through actions than our words. Right now, it works since I don’t think I have it in me to speak openly with him.

I clap him on the back, but he grabs my forearm as I stand to leave. He pulls out something from behind his back that looks like a futuristic gun. Before I can say boo, he presses the barrel against the inside of my arm, pulling the trigger. The gun makes a sound similar to an air-compressed nail gun. Searing pain in my arm has me hissing between my teeth.

“What the fuck, Chase?” I rip my arm out of his grip and pull up the sleeve of my jacket. Examining the injection site, I notice a small red welt forming. My fingers touch the sore spot, running over a vitamin-size lump under my skin.

Chase gives me a defiant expression. “The implant should do the trick.”

The hell?!Baring my teeth, I yank Chase to his feet. “You put a fucking tracking device in me?”

“Yep,” Chase says unabashedly. “Courtesy of Piero. The dude has access to some high tech shit. That device is what’s going to help us find you.”

My eyes double in size. “You microchipped me like a damn dog!”

Gauge and my other brothers snort with amusement. Fuckers were all in on it. The looks on their unapologetically smug faces are proof.

“Assholes, the lot of you,” I growl, shaking my head.

Chase lays a heavy hand on my shoulder, anchoring me to the ground. “Knew you’d fight us on it, so we drew straws. I lost. Don’t fucking regret doing it if it saves your ugly ass.”

“Don’t have an ugly ass,” I say stubbornly. “This better not get infected.”

“Very slim chance of that happening,” Flay pipes in, waving off my concern.

Chase leans into my bubble. “Trust the tracker.”

As angry as I am for being ambushed by my crew, I appreciate the lengths they’d go to get me back.

“I do.” And it’s true. I trust the implant will lead them to me, but whether I’ll be alive when they find me is the unknown.

Chase lets go of me and nods before pulling out his tablet to busy himself.

With a heavy sigh, I move away from the crew. It’s time to talk candidly with the one person I don’t want to. I already have Gauge on board to take over as president if something happens to me. Chase will do his part to make sure Josephine and the boys have all my finances and personal data. But there’s only one person I trust to care for my woman.

I walk in the direction I saw Punk sulk off to.

My steps drag as I make my way to my youngest brother, my body warring with me to stop what I’m about to do. My heart feels like it’s in my throat, choking me when I swallow my uneasiness.

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