Page 40 of Killer Confections (Syndicate Killers #1)

Loxley

“Drive!” Thalia shouts, slamming the gear shift into drive and pushing my leg to send us forward.

I snap out of it, my hands white-knuckling the steering wheel as we peel out of the parking lot at breakneck speed. Car horns blare as people swerve to avoid hitting me on the highway. I quickly straighten out the car, ignoring the sounds of lifted truck exhausts following closely behind.

“Take the next exit,” Alana commands as she pushes to position herself next to me.

Her phone is out, and the screen looks totally different.

It’s one massive map, different markers and pointers illuminating to life as we pass them.

Her eyes flick across the screen as she reads the directions with an expert eye.

“Get on the freeway,” she instructs, pointing in the direction I need to go.

I follow her directions closely, laser focused on what’s in front of me and only flinching when I notice one of the vehicles behind us getting uncomfortably close.

I completely forget Atlas is on the phone with me until he speaks loud enough for his voice to fill the cab. “Alana! Call Connor and get him to turn off the tolls. We don’t want any evidence.”

“On it,” she chirps before pressing a button on the dashboard and a call log illuminates to life. She presses Connor’s name, and it rings briefly before a deep tone cracks in the silence .

“Hello, beautiful—”

“Not enough time. Turn off the tolls on the freeway. I’m sending our location now.” Alana barks.

There’s typing from the other side of the line before Connor’s worried voice breaks through again. “What’s going on, babe? Talk to me. Are you hurt? Have you called someone?”

“I’m fine, and Atlas and Dom are five minutes from us. I’m with Loxley and Thalia, and the South syndicate caught up to us.” She responds.

“Fucking Christ,” Connor curses as something slams in the background. “Everything is powered down. You come home to me, you hear? I’m not getting off the phone until Atlas intercepts you.”

Thalia scoffs as she pulls— a fucking gun —out of her bag. “And I can’t protect her? You’re all sexist pigs, you know?”

“I know you can protect her,” Connor says with so much intensity it nearly rattles the speakers. “But you have my whole world sitting in that car. I’m not getting off here until I know she has multiple eyes on her.”

This would be super sweet if we weren’t about to die.

“The girls are in sight,” Atlas announces. “Closing in on the first truck. You’re doing great, Short Stack.”

I nod, forgetting he can’t see me. I’m deathly silent, worried that one wrong move could send us all straight to our deaths.

“Let’s kill two birds with one stone,” Thalia says. “Dom, are you on?”

“Hang on,” Atlas grunts before there’s a ringing sound, and another voice joins him on the call.

“What’s the move?” Dom asks.

Thalia turns, pressing her back to the console and planting her knees in the passenger seat.

She rolls the window down, filling the cab with cycled harsh wind as she loads her gun and aims it behind us.

“Keep two of them as close as possible. I can send one off the freeway and have it take another with it. ”

“Aim to kill,” Dom instructs as I get two more flashes of light in my rear-view mirror. These are smaller and accompanied by the purring of a motorcycle’s engine. Relief washes over me, but I hold steady on my grip, listening for instructions.

He’s here.

Atlas is here.

“Never leave them alive,” Thalia smirks as she takes aim.

My eyes flicker to the mirror, giving me a good view as both bikes push to corral one truck towards another. They must startle the driver. The headlights swerve to the side, getting far too close to the other truck flanking it.

Thalia is precise and quick. I chance a look at her and there’s only a split second of her aiming before the gun fires, and my eyes squeeze shut at the loud crack .

I open them just in time to see as one vehicle swerves, and it’s obvious the driver is losing control as the nose of the truck slams into the driver side of the one next to it, sending them both into the guardrails in a tangled mess of metal and shrapnel.

I wince at the disaster behind us, knowing that no one could survive something like that. Not at the speed we’re traveling.

I glance down at the speedometer and take a deep breath.

If anything happens, we’re going to die. If the one remaining truck that’s been playing tag with our bumper pushes an inch closer, we’re going to face the same fate as the other two drivers.

My breathing becomes quicker—a lot more ragged—as I try to keep myself focused. My adrenaline is pumping and I can feel my body buzzing with an energy that sits just below my skin.

“Loxley,” Atlas’s gentle voice permeates my mind, pulling me back. “You’re doing amazing, baby. Just breathe.”

The bridge of my nose stings and I can feel my lips wobbling, but I swallow the emotion in my throat as I nod. “ Okay.”

“That’s my girl. It’s almost over.”

“Get him off our asses,” Thalia commands as she plops back down into her seat and buckles her seat belt.

“Working on it,” Dom bites. “Loxley, I know you’re scared, but I need you to do something a little reckless.”

“ Dominic ,” Atlas warns, far harsher than he sounds when he speaks to me.

Maybe it’s the adrenaline or the fact that I have two women in the car with me that forces the confidence and clearheadedness I need at this moment. It’s like a flip switches and I realize Thalia and Alana’s lives are in my hands.

And I can’t stomach failing them.

“Tell me what to do,” my voice shakes, but my words are loud and clear in the car.

“You don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, Loxley.” Atlas says.

I shake my head, forcing my trepidation down as my hands tighten on the wheel. “ Tell me what to do, Dom.”

Atlas curses over the speaker, and Dom’s voice bleeds through. “Swerve. Back and forth. Accelerate and try to lose him so we can force him off the road.”

“On it,” I grit before slamming my foot down on the gas and lurching us forward. Alana holds onto the seats, her phone tumbling to the floor as Thalia laughs manically beside me. “Hold on!”

I turn the wheel side-to-side, creating distance between us and the truck as I bob and weave in and out of traffic. Car horns blare and people swerve to miss me, but I never lose focus as the truck gradually begins to lose us.

Eventually, it’s lost to the traffic and I only register it’s over when I see smoke billowing up in the distance from my rear-view mirror.

“Pull over at the next exit, baby. You did it. It’s over.” Atlas says breathlessly. He sounds relieved, but I’m too stunned to speak .

I slow us down to a normal speed before flicking on my blinker. The uniform sound fills the cab and I snort at how mundane it sounds compared to what just happened.

Alana is next, taking a stuttering breath as she laughs. Thalia chuckles beside me, her head shaking as we all come down from our adrenaline and I pull into a random gas station.

Alana speaks to Connor in a hushed tone, between her delirious laughter, to calm him. I didn’t know he was still on the phone with her, but judging by his worried voice and quick promises to keep her home and lock her away, he adores her deeply.

When we stop, my car door is ripped open and my frame is swallowed in a desperate hug. Atlas’s scent washes over me and I quickly blink my surprise away as I bury my face in his neck and let him squeeze the daylights out of me.

“ Fuck ,” he groans in agony. It makes my heart crack open as I rub a shaky hand down his back. I know I should let him comfort me, but he sounds like he needs it just as much.

He pulls away, but only to cup my cheeks as he gives me a strange expression.

It’s a mix of fear and anger, but I know it isn’t with me.

He’s upset about what just happened and it makes my heart warm to see him so cautious about my safety.

I may have been mad, but how can I with the way he’s looking at me?

Like his reason for existing was just threatened?

Like Atlas— a fearless assassin —was terrified of losing me?

His thumbs brush the apples of my cheeks. “Tell me you’re okay, Short Stack. I need you to talk to me right now.”

I nod, my hands moving to cling to his wrists. “I’m okay. I’m fine, baby.”

His shoulders drop as he releases a breath. He leans forward, closing his eyes tightly as he presses a long, pained kiss to my forehead before he squeezes me to him again.

“Oh, barf,” Thalia whines. “She’s fucking fine, Atlas. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

He pulls away to rest his chin on top of my head as he crushes me to him. “ You should have been more vigilant. ”

Before Thalia can argue with her brother, I pull back and lift a brow at Atlas.

“I’ll have you know Thalia followed all procedures while we switched locations.

” His lips thin as I speak, but I won’t let him blame this on her.

“She scouted every location and triple checked to make sure we weren’t being followed.

When that man approached me, she had us out of the restaurant in ten seconds flat.

Don’t blame this on her. Not to mention she’s the one who took out two of those guys with one bullet. ”

“Fucking right,” Thalia smirks as she gives me a high five. All three of us turn to Atlas.

Alana holds her phone up, pointing to it. “Connor is on our side, too.”

His eyes narrow on the device that’s strangely silent.

Finally, he hangs his head and sighs. “Okay, that was a dick move. I’m sorry, Thalia.”

“Yeah, sorry, I don’t have a pair of nuts,” she quips in return.

His lips quirk as he shakes his head. He runs a hand through his hair. “You three are going to be the death of me.”

“There’s a forth coming too,” Alana adds with a smile.

“New friend!” Thalia shouts as she pumps her fist.

Atlas deadpans. “Don’t remind me.”

We hang out for a few minutes, Alana and I both becoming jittery from our adrenaline depleting. Thalia is perfectly fine, talking a mile a minute as Atlas strokes my back in comforting circles while we wait on Dom.

When the assassin finally shows, everyone is on edge waiting for his report. He looks solemn as he dismounts his bike and tosses his helmet aside. “Four reported dead, but none of them are Kai Hayes.”

“ Christ ,” Atlas mutters as he presses the heel of his hand into his eye.

“Was he the one that spoke to me back at the restaurant?” I ask.

Dom nods. “That’s him. If you see him again, you need to alert us right away. He seems to be targeting you specifically.”

“Security needs to be upped,” Atlas interjects. “If anything, we may have to do a lock down until everything is over.”

I frown. “A lockdown?”

Thalia groans. “No one in or out of the compound until Kai is found.”

My eyes widen, and I grab Atlas’s wrist. “How long could that take? I can’t leave the bakery!”

He gives me an apologetic look. “A few weeks. Maybe months.”

“I can’t do that to Janette,” I shake my head. “We don’t have enough staff…”

“It’s far too dangerous to let you go alone, baby,” Atlas says gently. “I hate saying no to you, but I refuse to put your life at risk.”

Realistically, I understand. I’m not so dense I would argue with an assassin about my wellbeing.

Not to mention my presence at the bakery would make it a target.

My staff have lives outside of their job and I don’t want them bringing home anything that could get them killed. If I have to stay away, I’ll make do.

I sigh. “Fine. I’ll call Janette and have her run impromptu interviews tomorrow morning. I’ll tell her something happened on vacation and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

He nods agreement. “We’ll find him soon. Promise.”

Dom crosses his arms, staring out at the busy freeway in the distance. “This would be so much easier if Bailey had taken over the South syndicate instead of her cuck of a brother.”

Thalia smirks as Alana wiggles her brows.

I’m confused, naturally, until the intel expert leans across the console to whisper in my ear.

“Bailey is Kai’s younger sister. She was supposed to take over, but opted out of the syndicate so she could marry a surgeon.

She’s been retired since Kai took over a few years ago, but Dom has always had a major crush on her. ”

“ Oh ,” my brows lift and I feel like I’ve just been given the juiciest gossip. “Wait, she’s married now?”

Alana shakes her head. “Long engagement. The wedding is in two years. Something about Bailey finishing her master’s degree before she ties the knot.”

I look over at Dom and really observe the assassin. He’s slightly smaller than Atlas, but just as intimidating in his dark jeans and black T-shirt that shows off his tattooed sleeves. He’s thickly muscled and honestly not a bad-looking guy with his dark hair and the light scruff on his jaw.

Hell, he probably has women beating his door down.

But there’s something about his eyes. The austere expression he wears like a mask is exactly that.

Just a mask. Those moss green eyes of his look tired and there’s a deep sadness to them, like he’s experienced something gut-wrenching that changed his life for the worse and he never learned how to cope with it.

The hopeless romantic in me thinks it’s Bailey, but the more rational part of my brain convinces me he just needs a good night’s rest.

Atlas presses a tender kiss to my forehead before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’ll follow you home. Stay between us, okay?”

“Okay,” I smile.

His thumb brushes my lips and his expression is so sincere and full of affection. “I love you, Short Stack.”

My brain short circuits as my eyes widen.