Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“Well, yeah.” Shayne leaned over, her eyes focusing on mine. “I have a condition. I don’t feel pain. Like none. But at least when people can feel pain, they can tell themselves to stop doing whatever they’re doing that’s causing the pain. I can’t do that, because I don’t know that I’ve hurt myself.”
The pain was almost overwhelming now.
“I wish I didn’t feel pain,” I whispered to her.
She ran her finger along my brow, causing me to momentarily focus on the path of her finger.
Across my forehead. Over the bridge of my nose. Down to my top lip. Then back again.
Over and over and over.
“This is something I learned from a Korean acupuncture specialist. She was amazing and taught me so much stuff. This is one of the pain relief zones,” she murmured, continuing it.
I swallowed hard, trying not to make her feel bad that it wasn’t working.
“Shayne,” I sounded sick. “Did Forest see?”
There was a pause, and then, “I don’t think he understood, even if he did.”
I hated that.
I didn’t want him to ever see that.
“Is he okay?” I asked, tilting my head, causing Shayne to freak and pin my head between her hands. “Who was in the car?”
If one of the brothers were over here right now, I’d ask.
But they were staying far away, guarding the woman who was in the car. Even scarier, they were making no moves to try to help her.
“Who is it?” I asked—no, pleaded.
Shayne ran her fingers once again over my brow before she said, “Don’t worry about it.”
I opened my eyes and narrowed them at her. “Who. Is. It?”
Shayne sighed, keeping me as still as possible. “Pretty sure it’s Emory and your sister.”
How… awesome.
“They’re out?” I asked in surprise.
“They were both let out on their own recognizance thanks to the new DA half an hour ago,” she said. “Emory’s brother dropped off her car. The two of them were seen driving out of the lot twenty minutes ago. But all of the brothers were wary, so they were out here to get Forest off the bus.”
Forest.
Thank God they didn’t hurt him.
“He’s okay?” I asked.
“He’s okay.” She frowned.
“What happened?” I asked.
The woman’s eyes went wide with worry. “You don’t remember, Pepper?”
I blinked. “Do I know you?”
“I’m your soon to be sister-in-law,” she said. “You’re about to marry my husband’s brother.”
I blinked. “Who?”
Me to me: you can be a little unhinged today, as a treat.
—Atlas’s secret thoughts
ATLAS
“Yeah!” I laughed at the little boy who’d just jumped down from the SWAT truck. “Good jump, kid.”
“Thank you so much,” the mother of the boy said. “He was so looking forward to this.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “I’m glad y’all could make it out.”
The woman left with her child, and once again I started to scan the area for my girl.
She was nowhere to be found.
I frowned, glanced at my watch, and reached once again for my phone.
Again, like the last four times that I’d checked it, the phone showed no signal.
“Goddammit, AT&T,” I grumbled, shoving my phone back into my pocket.
Out of all the days for it to go out, it had to be when I was waiting for the love of my life to get here with my son.
I rubbed at my chest, an unfamiliar feeling take over me.
Something was wrong.
I just knew it.
“She’s fine.” My mother laughed. “You’re being extra, Atlas.”
I rubbed at my chest harder. “I know she’s probably fine. I just have this really bad feeling.”
“Like the kinds of feeling you get when you can’t ring the bell?” she asked, able to read me like a book she’d written.
“Well,” I hesitated as I thought about it. “Yes.”
“You know, I noticed something the last few weeks,” she said.
I crossed my arms over my chest.
She patted my arms. “Put those down. You look unapproachable, and we want the kids to come visit you.”
I dropped my arms, but my mind was spinning.
“I haven’t had to…”
“You haven’t had to ring the bell since you started seeing her,” she agreed. “You came over the other day, and I didn’t know you were there.”
My mouth opened and closed as I realized the implications. “Do you think she fixed me?”
“I think she gave you something else to focus on instead of your compulsions.” She shrugged. “Fixed, probably not.”
“Oh,” I thought about the last time that I’d rang any bells or double-checked any doors.
It’d been… weeks.
A few very long weeks.
“Hey, Mr. Officer.”
I looked down to see a young boy standing there with the curliest brown hair I’d ever seen.
“Hey there,” I said to him.
“Can I see?” he asked, pointing at the squad car.
I grinned but glanced up when I felt like the temperature in the exhibit center changed.
My mom was talking to the little boy’s mother.
She was fine.
Then what had…
A familiar figure was in the doorway of the exhibit center looking around.