SWNOVELS Fear The Reapers: Chapter 18
Ten minutes into the drive and neither of us had spoken a word. I didn’t know what to say to her. I was too fucking enraged to speak.
“Are you going to say anything?” Stevie asked, staring at me from the passenger seat as she iced her swollen lip.
“No.” I responded dryly, cracking my neck as I stared at the winding road ahead.
Saying anything would be a mistake. Too many thoughts were circling in my head. And I was already a ticking time bomb before the stupid fucking catfight.
“Shocking. Atlas Cole, ever the fucking mystery man.”
I ignored the jab as silence filled the car.
“She had it coming, you know.” She noted, staring out the window.
I clenched my jaw on an exhale. It wasn’t a good time to talk, but Stevie wouldn’t let the conversation go.
“Really.” I deadpanned, glaring at the road that guaranteed at least another ten miles of discussion.
“Did you even hear what she said to Tristan?” She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest like a bratty child.
No. I hadn’t. Seconds before the fight, Cyrus and I had stepped outside for a cigarette while I tried to talk myself down from killing Jessie’s new bartender. When I saw Tristan burst out of the back entrance, I knew that whatever went down couldn’t have been good. After sending Cyrus to go after his twin, I rushed back inside to find Stevie pummeling Melanie and Ezra watching with sick fascination. But I saw everything I needed to.
“Doesn’t matter what she said.” I retorted, drumming my thumbs against the steering wheel.
“Why?” She challenged, locking her eyes on me.
“Drop it, Stevie.” I snapped. “You don’t know shit about this world.”
“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” She mumbled, uncrossing her arms as she stared out the passenger window.
She wasn’t wrong. I had years to tell her, but I never did. Truth was, I wanted her at a distance as much as I wanted her in my space. I was a selfish bastard, walking the line between two worlds. Karma was a bitch, and she forced my worlds to collide.
“You have impeccable taste by the way,” she said, giving me a smile I knew she didn’t feel, “congrats on the engagement.”
That did it. All of my control shattered in an instant. I slammed on the breaks, pulling the car to a screeching halt and jerked us to the side of the road.
“What I do in my personal life is none of your goddamn business.” I yelled, flinging off my seatbelt as I turned to face her.
Her movements stilled as her eyes locked on the road in front of us. The emotions I kept tightly wound were unravelling, and Stevie was witnessing firsthand what that amount of suppression can do to a man.
“I planned to let you disappear from our world,” I boomed, my voice filling the small enclosed space, “but you fucked up. You let your emotions fuck with your judgement.”
“Sh-she deserved it.” She mumbled in a voice so small, it barely registered.
“You don’t get to fucking decide that!” I yelled, slamming my fist against the dashboard and losing the last bits of composure I had left.
She flinched when I forcibly ran a hand through my hair, disheveling the strands I typically kept in perfect order. My eyes darted towards her and I immediately recognized the tension in her body and the fear brimming in her eyes. Fuck. I winced.
Who the fuck hurt you, sweet girl?
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down before continuing.
“There will be consequences for this and we can’t protect you in your world.” I said, gently grabbing her chin to force her to lock eyes with me. “You fought the princess of The Diaz Cartel, do you have any idea what that means?”
She slowly shook her head in response as her lower lip trembled, the realization of her mistake finally sinking in.
“The only way to protect you now, is to keep you. You can’t go back to your old life. Not now. Not ever.”