Page 27

Chyler

I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and running water. I blinked open my eyes and found myself staring up at a woodgrain ceiling. It reminded me of an old cabin I used to visit when I was a child. I tried to sit up, but my body refused when a sharp pain shot up from my arm. I hissed out in pain and looked to see that there was a bandage around my bicep, and there was a small pink patch where blood had soaked through.

I sighed and fell back onto the pillow. I was lying on an old dusty couch covered by a red buffalo plaid flannel blanket. Where was I? How long had I been out? The last thing I remembered was the doors being blown off their hinges at the warehouse, a bright flash of light followed by a loud ringing noise, and Atlas. Atlas. I was trying to save Atlas.

This time, I shot up, forgetting the sharp pain in my arm, and looked around the room, my adrenaline racing through me. I was in what looked like an old cabin—or at least, a living room styled to look like one. The interior was all wood, and most of the furniture matched the style. There was a small kitchenette in the corner, and the living room had just a coffee table and the couch that I was lying on. There was a hallway, which I assumed led to either one or two bedrooms, and the main door to the cabin was on the opposite wall of the kitchenette.

“Atlas…” I spoke, my voice rough. Was he even here with me? How did I get here?

I struggled to pull myself off the couch to stand, and once I was upright, I heard the sound of a screen door slamming behind me. I startled and turned around to see a man standing in the entryway—not just any man, Atlas. My lips parted as my eyes met his, and before I could even think to say anything more, I ran.

I ran around the side of the couch and across the room, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. I didn’t even care that I was in pain. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed him in deeply. His cedar and spice scent, with hints of pine from being outside— my Atlas .

He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tightly. He stood there for minutes, holding me close without uttering a word. Just the two of us embracing in this moment, soaking each other in. I felt him nuzzle his face against the side of my neck.

“You’re awake…” He murmured, and his voice was the sweetest of sounds. He was safe, and he was here with me. The questions kept flowing into my mind. How did we get here? What happened after I blacked out? I pulled back to look him in the eyes, to dive into his beautiful, captivating, heterochromatic eyes .

“How long was I out?” I breathed.

“Almost a full day…” He answered with a light sigh.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Duluth. Well… about thirty minutes north of it. I had to get us somewhere secluded where I could clean your gunshot wound and wait until you were awake.” I dropped my forehead to his and closed my eyes. We were safe.

“What happened?” I opened my eyes, and he blew out a breath. He walked us to the couch and sat down, my thighs resting on either side of him.

“Do you want the long or the short version of that story?” He dragged a hand up my back to hold the nape of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair.

“How about the medium version?” I shrugged, running my fingers through his hair and resting my arms over his shoulders.

“Derek, Marcus, and Dean blew open the doors to the warehouse, and one of them tossed a flash bang inside before they entered. Once it went off, Derek shot you, and Dean came to help me out of my restraints. You were knocked unconscious at some point, and Marcus got you out to our SUV while Derek and I searched for Charlotte. She and two other women escaped before we could get to them.”

Madison and Alexis were with Charlotte the entire time. I hoped they would have been able to get away from her, but if they escaped with her...

Atlas continued, “Before I confronted you and Atwater at the Soap Factory, I instructed the guys that no matter what happened, we would put GPS trackers on any vehicles that we suspected could be used for an easy escape. Luckily, they picked the right SUV to put it on because it was the one Charlotte took.

“We chased them across the city, eventually catching up and cutting them off. Derek performed a PIT maneuver, and their vehicle flipped several times before landing upside down in the middle of the street. When I approached the SUV, I found Charlotte lying on the roof of the interior; she had internal bleeding from the accident.”

The mental image of Charlotte lying, covered in blood, on the interior roof brought me back to my parents’ car accident and when I had woken up in the same position. I couldn’t help the shiver that trailed down my spine at the thought and the memory of that night.

I swallowed and nodded for Atlas to finish.

“She told me what she did to you back at the warehouse. That she injected you with Ataraxia, and from what it sounded like, she had used it to rewire you of your feeling of love.”

He sighed and dropped his head to my shoulder, pulling me close.

“She did. I remember that.” I whispered.

“How is that even possible? And you aren’t acting like you don’t love me anymore.” He pulled back and looked at me, furrowing his brow.

“Ataraxia had been remade, different from its previous version. Not only did they make it stronger, but they formulated it with the ability to alter an even deeper layer than just addiction. They can now isolate specific ‘addictions’ in the reward center of the brain, eliminating them completely. At least… that is what Charlotte told me before she injected me with it. She said I was going to be the first to test an Ataraxia version that focused on the elimination of love.” I told him everything Charlotte had told me back at the warehouse—the memory causing me to clench my jaw in anger.

“But if that is how it works, and she did inject you with it. How are you able to feel again?”

I breathed out, shaking my head, “Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t the right dose? Maybe the drug failed and didn’t actually work? I have so many questions myself…” I said, biting my cheek and trying to remember the exact moment when that feeling of love and compassion returned to me.

“What happened to Madison and Alexis?” I asked, remembering that he mentioned they were with Charlotte.

“Derek, Marcus, and Dean were going to handle them. I haven’t heard from Derek since I left.” He shrugged and pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear, looking back into my eyes.

“And how are we here?” The last of the questions I had for now. If they took Madison and Alexis into the CIA, how am I here and not there with them?

“Derek.” He pressed his lips into a hard line, “He gave me the keys and helped me get you out of there before it was too late.”

Derek let him take me away, but why? Why would he let me get away when I was just as wanted as the girls?… The more questions that Atlas answered, the more that I had. I should just be grateful that I was here with him and safe, but I was worried about what would happen to Madison and Alexis.

“Charlotte and Roman?” I breathed, hoping that they were no longer in the picture. Or that they had been taken in by the CIA as well.

“Roman Atwater is gone… He managed to flee the country and is somewhere with a new identity. There is no way to track or find him. By now, he would have had his identity scrubbed from existence.” He sighed, “And as for Charlotte. I put a bullet in her head.”

I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that he had killed her. I wished I had been the one to do it, but the fact that she didn’t get away and he was the one to pull the trigger made me more than satisfied with the outcome.

“My last and final question… where do we go from here? What now?

“Well, firstly, that’s two questions. And now…” He gave me the biggest of grins, gripping my thighs and lifting us off the couch, making his way down the hall and into the master bedroom.

“Now, we live, sweet thing. You and me.”

I beamed at him before pulling myself forward and crashing my mouth onto his.

And now we live.