Page 78 of Atone

A topless girl runs up to Maddox’s side. She leans forward to snort a line of coke, dragging her tits throughthe pile of drugs. Something Maddox doesn’t seem to mind when he pulls her up and drags her out of the room.

I fucking hate it here.

I’m about to leave when a figure in the doorway stops me.

She wants to ignore me.

She wants to run.

But she can’t.

Mila is mine now, and she came just like I knew she would.

25

I’M NOT THAT INNOCENT

MILA

As if Alexhas been waiting for me to arrive, his gaze lands on me the second I stop in the doorway. He’s seated in a large black leather chair at the center of the room. The only remaining Sigma Sin King, overseeing his subjects while the party rages.

I don’t miss the berth everyone here gives him after the incident at the carnival. They’re finally seeing the monster who’s been let out of his cage after he planted a knife in Marco’s shoulder. That quick action solidified every rumor they’ve whispered about him for the past two years.

I narrow my eyes, not breaking Alex’s stare.

Even if I didn’t respond to his texts earlier, I’m sure he assumed I’d end up here. Apparently, I’m a masochist who can’t fucking help it.

What does it say that I continue stepping into his all-consuming darkness? Testing myself like my history will help me withstand whatever he has planned for me. If I were under the illusion that a clear-minded Alex stepped out of Montgomery, I was wrong.

He’s vicious, and with every passing day, he unravels a little more.

The room is clogged with marijuana smoke, and my head swims with every breath. It’s hazy between us. A mess of people dance offbeat. Flesh and sin. Sickness and lack of inhibition.

And Alex sits at the center.

If he put his violence away for a moment, he could have any of the women who watch him from the edges of the room. But he remains alone, looking almost proud of how his actions keep him isolated.

Finally stepping through the archway, I don’t head toward Alex. I break stares and walk over to a table filled with shots. Being drunk won’t do me any good, but one look in Alex’s eyes and I know I need something to cut the edge before I face him.

Usually, I’m hesitant to pick up any pre-poured drinks at Sigma House, but with my eyes on Alex, I lift one and down it. He’d stop me if there was something laced with the alcohol because even if he is a violent, twisted man, he won’t let anything happen to me.

That much, I trust.

I set the empty shot glass back on the sticky table, and Alex stands. But instead of walking toward me, he tips his head, indicating for me to follow. And I do because I’m no more done playing this game than he is forcing me to participate in it.

My black tank top sticks around my ribs. It’s sweltering inside Sigma House, and the tension between me and Alex isn’t helping.

He guides me to the large foyer, where the main staircase leads to the members’ bedrooms upstairs.

Alex doesn’t pause as he passes the two new SigmaHouse members standing guard at the bottom. He simply angles his head to indicate I’m approved to follow. I doubt they’d stop me even if he didn’t. Everyone here knows I’m with Alex at this point.

He made that clear at the carnival.

Alex walks up the stairs ahead of me, not pausing until he reaches the top. Only then does he meet my eyes and holds out his hand.

An offer, dangling between us.

His hazel eyes are deceptive in this light because the green and gold shine, but beyond that, there’s nothing but darkness. Nothing but haunted memories and the fragments of a man the doctors could never put back together. Still, I reach for him because I need him. I take his hand like an oath I’m not ready to commit to.