Chapter 44 Atticus
Atticus
The rain’s stopped pouring down, but the windows are still streaked with water, catching moonlight in silver trails.
Lexi’s sitting on the edge of the couch, wearing my shirt, her hair damp and tangled from earlier.
She’s staring at nothing, lost in whatever dark thoughts have been chasing her since we got here.
I lean against the doorframe, watching her. She’s got this energy about her—coiled, restless, like she’s planning something or fighting against something. Either way, it’s magnetic.
“You’re thinking too loud,” I say.
She turns, those eyes finding me in the shadows. “And you’re staring too much.”
“Can’t help it.” I push off the doorframe, crossing the room slowly. “You’re the most interesting thing in this shithole.”
“That’s a low bar.”
I stop in front of her, close enough to feel the heat coming off her skin. “Is it though?”
She looks up at me, and there’s challenge in her expression. Defiance. The same look she had before she kissed me earlier like she’s daring me to make a move, to push, to see how far this thing between us can go.
My phone buzzes on the table. Revan’s name flashes across the screen.
I ignore it.
“You should answer that,” Lexi says, but she’s already reaching for me, her fingers curling into the front of my shirt.
I cup her face, thumb brushing her cheekbone. Her skin is soft, warm, and I can feel her pulse jumping under my touch.
“Probably.” But she’s pulling me down, and when our mouths meet it’s all heat and hunger.
“I bet your cunt is aching.”
She hums against my lips.
The phone buzzes again. And again.
Fuck Revan.
I kiss her harder, one hand sliding into her hair, the other finding her waist. She makes this sound—half gasp, half moan—that does something to my brain. Makes me want to hear it again, louder.
She pulls back just enough to breathe. “Bedroom?”
I lick my lips.
“And only my pussy this time.”
The foreplay is slow, deliberate. I take my time peeling my shirt off her body, revealing skin inch by inch like I’m unwrapping something precious. She shivers when my fingers trail down her spine, arching into my touch.
“Cold?” I murmur against her neck.
“No.” Her voice is breathy, shaking. “Not cold.”
I bite down gently where her shoulder meets her neck and she gasps, nails digging into my shoulders. The pain is good—sharp and grounding.
“You like that?” I kiss the spot, then bite again, harder.
“Yes.” The word comes out strangled.
My phone is still buzzing in the other room, Revan’s persistence bleeding through the walls. But it’s background noise, irrelevant compared to the way Lexi’s breathing changes when I touch her, the way her body responds to mine.
I map every inch of her with my hands, my mouth, learning what makes her tremble and what makes her moan. She’s responsive, reactive, and watching her come undone is better than any high I’ve chased.
When I finally push into that pretty cunt, she arches off the bed, eyes rolling back. I set a rhythm that’s slow at first, torturous, watching her face as pleasure builds.
“Atticus—” My name on her lips sounds like a prayer and a curse.
“Look at me.”
She does, those brown eyes hazy and desperate, and I lose myself in the connection.
Later, when we’re both spent and breathing hard, she curls against my side. Her fingers trace patterns on my chest, following the lines of my tattoos.
“I need a shower,” she says eventually.
“Go on then.”
She slides out of bed, grabbing the shirt from the floor and pulling it on. I watch her disappear down the hall, listen to the water start running.
My phone buzzes again. I finally grab it, seeing seventeen missed calls from Revan.
Bloody hell.
I answer. “What?”
“Where the hell have you been?” Revan’s voice is tight, urgent. “I’ve been calling for an hour.”
“Busy.” I sit up, running a hand through my hair. “What’s so important?”
“Gilbert.” He pauses. “He’s playing at something. Wants me to bring him Koa to end the deal.”
My stomach drops. “Bring him how?”
“Alive. But I don’t like the sound of it. Something’s off.”
I stand, pacing to the window. “So what’s the play?”
“I’m calling the Reapers. Talking to Noah, seeing what we can do.”
“And what can you do?” I already know the answer.
Revan’s silence confirms it. “Nothing. Koa’s not a Reaper. A man handles his own shit. We don’t interfere in blood debts outside the organization.”
“That’s right.”
He exhales hard. “I’m coming to the house. We need to make a plan.”
“Fine. When?”
“Thirty minutes. Maybe less.”
I hang up and stare at the phone for a long moment, processing.
Gilbert wants Koa. Revan’s caught between loyalty and duty.
Koa is his stepbrother and together they setup both Vincent and Gilbert, so yes, loyalty is valid here.
I run a hand through my hair, my dick still hard as a rock.
Lexi’s in the shower, oblivious to what’s happening next.
I pull on my jeans, then head down the hall. The bathroom door is cracked open, steam pouring out into the hallway. I can hear the water running.
“Revan’s coming,” I say, pushing the door open wider. “We need to talk strategy when you’re out.”
No response.
I step closer, something prickly crawling up my spine. “Lexi?”
Nothing.
I grab the shower curtain and pull it back.
Empty.
The water’s running hot, steam filling the small space, but there’s no one in there. No Lexi. No clothes. Nothing.
I stare at the empty shower, my mind trying to catch up with what I’m seeing. She played me. Used the sex as a distraction, used my phone call as cover, and slipped out while I was occupied.
I should be angry. Should be raging at the manipulation.
Instead, I stare at the waste of water.
Clever girl.
I reach in and turn off the water.
When I walk into the living room and then the kitchen, she’s not there. I check the bedroom again just to be thorough. Nothing. She’s gone.
I walk outside, the cold air hitting my damp skin. That’s when I notice the fucking car is gone.
The spot where I parked it is empty, just gravel and tire tracks leading out to the main road.
She stole my bloody car.
I stand there for a moment, hands in my pockets, staring at the empty space. Then I shake my head, a smirk tugging at my lips despite the situation.
She’s got a thing for stealing cars, doesn’t she? First Koa’s, now mine. She’s a little thief.
Twenty minutes later, headlights cut through the darkness. Revan’s Mercedes pulls up and I’m already waiting outside, leaning against the porch railing.
He kills the engine and gets out, taking in my posture, the empty driveway, the look on my face. His expression shifts from confusion to understanding in seconds.
“What the hell happened?”
“She stole the car.”
Revan doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Just stares at me, then at the empty driveway, then back at me.
“You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
He runs a hand over his face, somewhere between frustrated and impressed. “How did she—”
“Does it matter?” I push off the railing and walk toward his car. “She’s gone. We need to find her before Gilbert does.”
Revan’s jaw tightens. He knows I’m right.
I get in the passenger seat, slamming the door harder than necessary. Revan slides behind the wheel, starting the engine. The Mercedes roars to life, headlights cutting through the darkness.
As we pull out onto the main road, Revan glances at me. “Where would she go?”
“I don’t know. She seems to only care about one thing.” I stare out the window at the trees rushing past. “Her brother. Or somewhere we’d never think to look.”
“That’s helpful.”
“She’s smart,” I say, more to myself than to him. “Too smart for her own good.”
Revan accelerates, the speedometer climbing. “If Gilbert gets to her first—”
“Yeah.” At least I de-virgin her nice ass.
“I don’t know if he’d kill her or…”
Rev doesn’t finish the sentence. I just stare at the surrounding vehicles, looking for her. With enemies on all sides, she isn’t safeShe thinks she’s escaping, thinks she’s taking control.
She has no idea she’s driving straight into the fire.
And part of me—the dark, twisted part that lives in my chest—can’t help but admire her for it.
Even if it gets her killed.