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CHAPTER 14

JOAQUIN

T he fluorescent lights in the staff hallway at Snatched might as well have been stabbing my temples. I ducked my head and rubbed the sandpaper out of my eyes. Or at least attempted to.

"I need to stop by the office," I grumbled to Atlas' and Beasty's backs.

"No." Atlas slid his hand across Beasty's hip, anchoring her to him as he glanced over his shoulder.

"What do you mean no?" I griped, speeding up to pull level with him. I couldn't watch him be all over her. When did that shit happen anyway? What had I missed while dying of misery in our room?

Then again, I didn't remember him coming into our room at all over the last several days, so apparently a lot.

"Beasty already cleared all the alcohol out of the house and gave a warning to the staff about serving you." Atlas, the ass, didn't even look at me as he delivered that nugget of information.

"And who approved that? The staff reports to us!"

Atlas pulled to a stop, curling Beasty against his side. "I approved it. Kim did too. If you'd taken the time out of your busy, sorry, pathetic schedule to make any kind of appearance, maybe you could have stopped it, but as of right now, the staff reports to Beasty."

Steam might as well have been rolling out of my ears. My fingers curled, and I had to physically restrain myself from choking the shit out of him.

"You can't do that. We're all equal owners." I glanced at Beasty. Whatever I thought I expected, and I wasn't sure because my brain was too fuzzy, it wasn't what was on her face.

She was completely stoic as she watched me. No emotion, no feeling, no pity. The last was a relief.

I needed her far the fuck away from us so I could fuck my life up in peace.

Taking a chance, I stepped forward, lowering my voice. "You wanted to live your life, Beasty. Remember how you told me at the diner that you didn't want to live like we did? You wanted to fly under the radar?" She tilted up her chin and worked her jaw. "You're never going to be able to do that. People will constantly want to be in our presence, take pictures of us, harass us."

I slowly brought my hand up next to my face, fingers tense as I formed a fist. After a moment, I relaxed my grip, and with a tired sigh, I dropped my hand back to my side. "I set up accounts for you. Several under different aliases, in offshore accounts. You'll never have to fight for food or shelter again. You can go to college, open a hedgehog sanctuary, whatever the fuck you want to do. And you can do it without having to look over your shoulder. Don't you want that?"

I paused.

"Are you done?" she asked.

"What?" Now my anger zeroed in on her. Beasty was treating me like an errant toddler who was throwing a fit. "I'm trying to give you what you wanted literally days ago. What you've begged for in so many words," I seethed.

Her gaze softened, and she raised her hand to my face. She hesitated, then cupped my stubbly cheek. If it scratched her, she didn't seem to care. "I realized something about myself."

I dropped my gaze to her lips, watching her form the words that I instinctively knew were going to flip me upside down and inside out.

"I was operating in survival mode, working so hard to escape demons that weren't the real villains of the story. I was running from acts rather than people." She huffed out an ironic laugh. "Let's just say that my perspective is changing. You four aren't bad. You're good, Joaquin. Regardless of how life has shaped you, everything you all do has a purpose. I didn't understand it before. But I do now. To protect yourself, you have to do what no one else is willing to do. What the police won't do."

As much as I hated to do it, I couldn't let her keep touching me and talking like that. The best part of me was my resolve to see her safe somewhere else. Grabbing her wrist, I pulled her hand away and dropped it like a hot potato.

Beasty didn't blink. She wasn't offended at all.

"That doesn't change the fact of how I treated you. How I screamed at you, left you at the diner." I raised my face to the ceiling, not able to watch her anymore. "That's the worst part, Beasty. I know the Pescis are after us." I laughed, and it came out as a wet gurgle. "That wasn't even everyone, but I at least knew about the Pescis. I left you there. I'm the bad guy. I can't promise I won't do anything like that again. Well, I can promise I will, because that's who I am."

This time, she cupped my neck and urged me to look down at her.

"That's not who you are. That was your past haunting you. I don't hold that against you, Joaquin."

I knocked her hands away and took two steps back. I needed the distance from her touch and the sweet scent of her shampoo. "You should. If you don't then that's your own issues making you a doormat."

That struck a nerve. She glared as the skin around her eyes tightened.

"Sorry, no doormat here. Just someone who understands how perception can fuck us up. It was why I kept trying to run from you all. But don't worry. I won't let you treat me like that without repercussions. I know what to do now." She quirked a brow before motioning for Atlas to start walking again. He attached himself to her back like a fucking octopus.

She let him.

Who was this and where was the prickly girl we knew?

As they headed toward the hallway to the private rooms, she tossed over her shoulder, "The next time you try to belittle me or leave me where I don't want to be, I'll take a page out of Atlas' book and fuck you so hard, stopping every time you're about to come. Then I'll make you watch Atlas take care of me."

They were through the next door while I stood there with my mouth agape.

What the hell? This Beasty was not the same as the Beasty we had days ago. Not even close. Why didn't Atlas find that alarming?

Because he was getting exactly what he wanted. A front-row seat to the Beasty show and a spot in her bed. Without asking or checking the cameras, I knew that was where he'd been.

I wasn't angry or jealous. I was mildly impressed even though I was irked that they were trying to cut me off. Actually, I focused on that.

Stomping after them, I entered the private hallway to the invitation-only rooms. Flagging the attendant, I motioned for her to keep the door to the Gold room open. I followed in on their heels, sweating as the familiar sounds of tinkling glasses and masculine voices, followed by feminine giggles.

Gold illuminated from the lights and behind the counters, casting a luxurious glow on the faces of patrons sitting the tables. Everything about the room was designed to make the patrons feel like a million bucks, like they’d made it and had the confidence to risk it all.

I was split in half, itching to sit at the tables myself and running back to the house to lock myself into our bedroom. Every face was happy, smiling, and focused on the cards. Some of the alcohol had to still be in my system. Their smiles shouldn't be warping into macabre images.

Then I heard the yelling from the corner. Beasty and Atlas were almost to the guards who were boxing a man in. Shit, I couldn't stand here losing it. I closed the distance quickly, reaching the guards at the same time.

"What's going on," Beasty demanded when I opened my mouth.

I snapped my jaw shut and looked at Atlas. He smirked.

"This man was cheating at the poker table, and when we removed him from the game, he started counting cards at the Blackjack table." The guard shoved his baton into the man's shoulder.

He was around our age, maybe a little younger, dressed in an impeccable suit complete with a pocket watch chain attached to his vest. The sweat chilled on my face and back as I examined the guy. There was only one group of people I knew who dressed like fucking Peaky Blinders.

The man grinned, shoving the baton away. The guard didn't appreciate that and rammed the man to the wall by his forearm, pinning him there.

He coughed but never lost his smile. "Get the fuck off me." He placed his hands on the guard's shoulders and pushed. The guard didn't budge, but I tapped him.

"Let him go. I want to talk to him." I blew out a shaky breath.

The guard rammed him against the wall one more time before stepping back.

"How did you get an invite?" Beasty took the words right out of my mouth?

What the fuck?

I glared at Atlas. If Beasty was running Snatched now, why did he need to bother me? Clearly, I wasn't needed.

"Oh, I was brought in on a guest pass with Briceida Rios."

She was an associate from the fashion world, managing one of the top names in the industry. She'd tried to steal Atlas and Kim until I'd met her in a casino and wiped the floor with her. Out of respect, she'd stopped trying to steal them away and started pestering me for invites.

Her habit was almost as strong as mine. Which was great for business. We were happy to take her money all day long.

I roamed the room, looking for Bri, but she wasn't here.

"Where is she?" I asked, stepping forward and slightly in front of Beasty. Instead of getting enraged, she merely stepped to the side.

"Oh, you know, probably in the ladies’ room." He winked at Beasty and tugged on the bottom of his vest, a ruse to look like he was straightening out his suit. "You can keep the chips. I don't need them, and I'll leave now."

"What's your name?" Beasty asked, but we didn't need it. Knowing he came in with Bri, we'd just check the records. A guest pass still had to show an ID, and we were meticulous with our records.

Pushing between me and Atlas, the man stopped and turned his head toward her. "Mac Crady. I work for Danny–"

Every bone in my body seized up. It was exactly what I feared.

I stepped in front of Beasty as Atlas pushed her away from the guy.

"He wanted to send you a message. He knows you've been watching him, and he knows who you're working with. If you don't deliver our friend here…" He winked at Beasty. "And maybe even one of the three stooges, then...Well, consider this your final warning."

He stalked through the tables.

"What the fuck?" I whispered as my heart started beating again. I think it skipped a few beats. There wasn't enough hangover cure in the world to make me ready for what I just heard.

"John, have someone follow him out. Can you also grab the make, model, and license plate number?" Beasty rattled off quietly before Mac was out of the Gold room.

"How did he get in here?” Lake passed out pictures of all the Pescis’ people to the bouncers. He never should have made it through the doors unless he was a new associate of theirs. “What was he doing before we came in?" I tossed my hands up, waiting for the guards to answer me. Sorry, the one remaining guard, since the other hightailed it out after Mac.

John scratched the side of his head. "He was here for almost two hours before he started causing trouble. Then when we tried to escort him out, he started causing a scene. Yelling things about how you four were criminals, killing people, and trying to sweep it under the rug. It was why we texted out the alert." John looked at Atlas. "As soon as we said we were calling in the owners, he settled down–mostly–and waited.”

He wanted us here. He wanted to deliver a message for the fucking Pescis.

Pacing away, I threaded my hands behind my head. Could we not get a fucking break? This was ridiculous.

"I need to find Lake." I waved a shaky hand, but I didn't get far before Beasty and Atlas popped up on my left, walking with me.

We made it back to the offices in complete silence. Before I could pull out my card, Beasty swiped one and got us in.

I sent Atlas a betrayed look, and that asshole was so pleased with himself.

I lied. I was jealous as fuck. How was my mind frazzling at the edges watching every single person, wondering when someone was going to lock us up again, and Atlas was living his best life?

How did he do it? Why couldn't I?

Lake wasn't in the office like I expected. Beasty let us into that room too. She turned on the surveillance screens on the wall, folding her arms, and watching the front of the club. There was Mac, and Bernie right on his heels.

Atlas flattened his hand on her ass, not bothered at all by what happened, instead mesmerized by the way his palm molded to her curves.

Beasty ignored that too. It was like she didn't even feel what he was doing.

When Mac's car drove away and Atlas' phone chimed, Beasty turned and walked to Atlas’ desk. She'd taken over his workspace. He probably offered it up to her on a silver platter.

"When he wakes up, Lake will want to know what happened," Beasty murmured as she turned on the computer and started moving the mouse on the pad.

That was right. Atlas had said Lake was passed out.

Atlas leaned on the desk, watching her. "We can tell him when we get home. He's not coming in today."

Beasty hummed and started typing.

"We have to tell him now!" I yelled, walking to the other side of the desk. "The Pescis could be planning a raid, they could be–" Fuck! I could barely get enough air to yell at these–I cut myself off before calling them names in my head.

It didn't matter that they didn't hear them. My guilt from how I treated Beasty before was too powerful to ignore. It was changing how I thought.

"Joaquin," Beasty said softly as she stood, rounding the desk and guiding me to the chair. With the weakest amount of pressure, I sat down. "It's not the threat you think it is. We have it under control."

"Yeah?" I bellowed. "Like Lake had everything under control before? Has he even found the driver who turned on us? That was from a man who wasn't even on our radar!"

Beasty waited for my rant to end and then bent over, placing her face close to mine. "Breathe." She pulled in a breath and I mimicked her, releasing it when she did. She was so fucking close, her breath skated across my lips.

Her expression was calm, her stunning hazel eyes wide open. She looked at me with such warmth, I wanted to dick punch myself for putting her in danger–for ever thinking ill of her and pushing her away.

"It's okay," she assured me.

There was nothing to be assured about. We might as well close up shop and disappear ourselves. If I thought the guys would go for it, I'd offer it up as a solution.

"Joaquin." Beasty shook my shoulders, and tingles sparked where she touched me. "You need food, water, and actual good sleep, not drunken sleep. Then you'll feel better." She turned to Atlas, never removing her hands.

It was nice, damn it. I hated that I liked her touch so much.

"Movie in my room?" she asked him.

Atlas' eyes darkened. "I would love nothing more."

I knew that look intimately. Atlas either believed or hoped watching a movie would turn into sex. It might. I didn't know anything anymore.

"You're all crazy," I whispered.

Beasty turned back to me. "We're not crazy, but there's nothing we can do right now. We outsourced security for the house and the club. This man made it through because he was plus one for one of your members–Atlas, can you have Guy find that woman and remove her from the guestlist?" Then she picked our conversation back up again. "We've started more stringent security protocols here, dogs constantly check the vehicles in the parking lot for drugs and explosives. Bishop also put us in touch with a couple of men who could track the Pescis. We're doing as much as we can right now. We can relax."

They were crazy. Didn't they understand that no matter how prepared you were, people still slipped through?

"Oh, and Lake asked about putting trackers on us. We haven't decided anything, we need to discuss it together first."

"Trackers..." When did this family become a them with me on the sidelines? A sharp sting of hurt pierced through me.

Beasty returned to the computer and typed out something, reread it for a few minutes before typing again. Probably emails, but I was so gobsmacked by the Twilight Zone I'd woken up in, I just watched her.

"Okay, we can leave." She stood and somehow, she and Atlas managed to walk me out to the car, and Beasty even buckled me into the backseat. Atlas snickered, but I was so caught up in the simple act of care that the sound didn't register until Beasty was in the passenger seat and we were headed back home.

In Beasty's room, Quilliam's cage was quiet in the corner. Not surprising since it was still daytime. Beasty steered me to the bed and pulled back the covers while Atlas closed the black-out curtains underneath the decorative sheers.

"Are you going to take your shoes off or does Atlas need to do it for you? Maybe take your jeans off too."

I snapped my attention to her. "You're trying to get me naked." It came out as an accusation, and Beasty rolled her eyes. Atlas laughed when Beasty walked away, apparently done with my shit.

"Take your fucking jeans off. I don't want to be uncomfortable." Atlas raised one brow in a dare as he stripped down to his briefs. He picked up the remote to turn the TV on while Beasty disappeared into the bathroom. Like I was in a trance, or just curious how this was going to play out, I shucked my jeans but left my shirt on.

Beasty came out of the bathroom in one of Atlas' designer T-shirts and a pair of cotton boyshorts. Atlas' gleam of satisfaction practically lit up the darkened room.

"Get in." Beasty shooed me, and I listened. Then just to be mutinous, I flopped in the center.

Without missing a beat, Beasty snuggled up to my right side, and Atlas got in and did the same on my left.

I had to raise my arms to get comfortable and as soon as I did, they both swooped in.

What the hell did I do with this?

"Is this okay?" Beasty slid her arm over my chest and her knee over my thighs. Her head hovered as if checking to see if I was good before. A little late for that.

"I told you, Joaquin is a sap. He loves cuddling." Atlas copied her, his leg covering both mine and Beasty's and his arm stretching to wrap over Beasty too.

"Joaquin?" Beasty urged, still holding her head up.

"It's fine," I croaked.

She dropped her head and settled into me. "Where's the remote?"

"Here." Atlas grabbed it and handed it to her.

She flipped through options before settling on a teen vampire show. I would have never pegged her for this kind of entertainment. It was too fantastical for how I'd always seen Beasty.

Atlas snorted. "Really?"

Beasty huffed as she nuzzled my chest. "Yes. I'm in the mood for a little romance, and the hero is an idiot who fights it. I think I have something in common with her."

Atlas laughed as the opening song started playing. Little by little, the toastier I got, the more I relaxed. I even curled my hands around their shoulders. It wasn't the most comfortable, but I wouldn't have moved if a meteor crashed into the house.

I did squeeze my eyes shut for some of the show. Not because I didn't like it.

This felt natural. Sweet.

Atlas and I didn't do sweet. We also weren't normal.

As Beasty and Atlas picked over the plot, themes, and a few of the characters, I drifted off to sleep. This was exactly what I was afraid of.

Somehow, I'd acquired everything I was terrified to lose.