Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Sugar Skull
My ears ring, his words echoing in my head.
The cold air doesn't settle the heat roaring through my chest.
“Bring her home.”
I did this.
I thought I was buying us time. I thought we could find out what happened to Zee’s father and leave. Together.
I've done nothing but give her more questions and more reasons to stay.
I've derailed my tasks. It's been days since I saw his body, and I still don't know what happened to Barry.
If you weren’t so busy fucking her, you would’ve by now.
The pressure builds in my chest as I reach into my pocket for my phone.
My brows lower.
Zee isn’t on the camera feed.
Another deep inhale helps me fight the urge to slam my phone onto the stone path. That’s still not enough.
"Fuck!"
Students pass by, doing a double-take, and I know it's due to more than my obscenities.
I’ve seen my face. Kon did some damage. A bruise under my eye. The red and purple remnant of Kon’s fist in my cheek.
There's no time to fix my worsening reputation. I need to get Zee out of here.
I won’t give her a choice.
The last few days spin through my mind as I hustle over to Zee's house. Blood. Laughter. Death. Joy.
Disaster.
Zee is my eye of the storm. My break in the clouds.
All of that is mine.
She deserves nothing more than devotion, and I won't let that slip. Not anymore.
The house is dark and quiet as I unlock the door and step in.
"Zee!”
I'm quick to the closet, pulling out one of her father’s old suitcases as dust flies around me.
Storming upstairs, I drag the suitcase behind me, the wheels bouncing against the wood before rolling against the floor.
I pause when I’m by the window, my eyes scanning the street and forest next to the house. Nothing yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Moving into the bedroom, my eyes dart around the space before picking up her favourite pieces off the floor. Her chunky sweater, her VEIL t-shirt, her father's old button-down. I shove them all in the suitcase.
Reaching for my phone, my finger hovers over Zee's name before my eyes fall to the dresser.
My head tilts when I notice a piece of paper that wasn’t there before.
I move towards it, the handwriting becoming clearer.
It’s hers.
Gone for drinks with Lola
xo Z
My fist bangs on the dresser.
Then I’m back out the door.
Father's on to me, and if Zee’s with Lola, this isn’t good. But if Zee’s with Lola, I know exactly where they’ll be.
Zee
“Holy shit, Lola, this place is—”
“Worth it,” Lola finishes my sentence, waving over a very attractive man in a burgundy vest. “My usual. Please.”
Flashes from earlier still play in my head, my stomach churning as I follow Lola and the server into the dining room.
My baggy jeans and blazer are no match for Lola’s silky red dress. It shimmers as she glides through the room, her gold stilettos clicking against the floor. Piano music plays in the background as we weave through the busy restaurant.
My eyes wander the space, decorated like a vintage movie from the twenties. Emerald curtains match the cushions on gold chairs. Intricate chandeliers cast a dim glow throughout the expansive room.
It's stunning in here, but it doesn't help the horrifying images from sticking in my mind.
His bulging eyes.
The way he collapsed to the ground.
The bloody letter opener in his neck.
I left as soon as I came on Atlas’s fingers, shaking and blasted to another dimension. When the world came roaring back, it was too much.
He’s too much.
The worst part? I already miss the feel of him between my legs.
"Two Negronis, please." Lola requests our drinks from the server who seats us at a high booth near the back. "You’re over twenty-one, right?” She waves off her questions before I can answer. “Kon likes them young, but he wouldn’t dip below legal.”
Hearing his name makes the blood rush out of my face, my skin going cold. “Can you make that a double?”
Lola laughs. “My kinda girl.”
I was only in the house for a second before I got Lola's text that she was back in town and wanted to get drinks tonight.
I thought about packing and leaving. I thought about rummaging through the house until I found out who this Father person is. But Lola has my answers.
The server nods and scurries off, leaving us alone at the table.
“I’m so sorry it’s taken me this long," Lola says. "I thought I’d be back sooner, but Atlas’s list kept growing. He sent me to Toronto, then Muskoka to hunt down the Mottled Duskywing.” She blows out a huff of air. “It’s been a while since I’ve been away from home that long.”
My stomach coils.
Of course, Atlas sent her away.
What the fuck is he hiding?
“Before I forget.” She reaches into her designer purse and pulls out an envelope. She slides it towards me. “Congrats. It’s your first paycheque.”
My eyes settle on the envelope.
I’m curious about the number on the cheque, but I’m much more curious about something else.
Folding the envelope, I put it in my tote before I lock eyes with Lola. “How close were you and my father?”
Lola blinks, silence settling between us before she reaches for my hand. I let her take it as she locks her lined eyes with mine.
“Zee, your father and I were involved. Briefly.” She searches my eyes before her shoulders drop. “You knew! Was it Kon?”
I nod, hoping these drinks come quicker. “He said you were married.”
Lola shifts in her seat, glancing around. “Okay, we were, but it wasn’t just out of love.”
“Did you love him?”
“I did. We all did. We didn’t know he had a child until he passed. We were all so close, I thought he would have at least mentioned it to Kon. Or Atlas.”
My brow arches. “Close? With Atlas?”
“Oh, girl,” Lola cuts in. “We’re a tight-knit team. That’s how we got through a lot of … weird nights.” She pulls out her phone and taps the screen. “Here. This was last summer break.” She slides her phone towards me.
The room tilts as my hands turn to fists.
It's a photo of her, Kon, Atlas and…
My father.
They’re at a fancy bar, drinking fancy cocktails, wearing fancy clothes. Lola’s arm is outstretched to take the photo, Kon next to her, holding up his drink to the camera.
But my focus is on the background.
Atlas and my dad are mid-laugh, like, a big laugh. Atlas has his hand on my father’s shoulder, as if they’ve been friends for years.
“Can you send me that?” I ask, my stomach twisting tighter and tighter.
“Of course! Atlas and your father took a ton of trips together. You can ask him for some, too.”
Prickle.
Heat.
What. The. Fuck?
My eyes shift to something near the front door. By the coat check.
A dark figure.
Mother. Fucker.
Why didn’t he tell you they were close?
What is he hiding?
Did he do that to get close to you?
Is he manipulating you?
“Zee, I’m so sorry about Barry."
Hearing people refer to my estranged father by his name makes this all weirder. I didn’t know him. At all. And here he is living a lavish life with strangers. Murderers.
Was he one, too?
“It was a huge loss for us all,” Lola continues. “We’re like family here.” A family I’ve never been part of, and something tells me I was never meant to be. “How have you been settling into his house? Have the guys been any help?”
My mind flashes back to Kon on top of Atlas.
Blood on the floor.
Atlas’s hands on my body.
His touch. His kisses.
The server arrives with our drinks, breaking me out of my haunting trance.
He places two glasses filled to the brim with ruby liquid on the table.
My eyes shift back to the front door.
The shadow doesn’t move.
“Wait, don’t answer that,” Lola says, lifting her glass. “ Let’s make a toast.”
My eyes stay on the shadow. Still unmoving.
Looming.
Waiting.
I slam my hands on the table, pushing myself up. “I need the bathroom.”
Before Lola can answer, I’m out the booth, heading for the lobby.
But when I get there, the shadow is gone.
Glancing around, he’s nowhere in sight, like he disappeared into the air. Guests waiting for a table look at me like I’m insane. So does the hostess behind her podium.
I am. Aren’t I?
The room spins, my hands trembling before I take a deep breath.
Closing my eyes. I count the sounds around me.
Guests chatting.
Dishes clanking in the distance.
My thumping heartbeat.
I need a fucking smoke.
Before leaving the house, I rolled a joint, popping it in my bra, knowing that I might need it.
Surprise, I do.
I ask the hostess for a lighter before moving outside into the chilly night air. Taking another deep breath slows my pounding heart, but it doesn’t stop the spiral in my mind.
Finding a dumpster far enough from the door keeps me out of view of others. Then I light up. Taking my first puff, I let my head fall against the brick as I run through everything Lola said.
Why wouldn’t Atlas tell me he was close to my father?
Why wouldn’t Kon?
Why have they all acted like they hardly knew him until now?
Why the fuck would they do that if Atlas isn’t a—
“You need to leave, Zee.”
My body stills.
I hear his voice before I see him.
I turn my head to that deep, rumbly voice.
Atlas.
“The audacity,” I say, toking hard on the joint so I don’t shove the end in his eye. “You lied to me.”
My body stiffens as my eyes move around his frame. Joggers. Hoodie. No glasses. Just unhinged eyes staring into my soul. His jaw is tighter than I’ve ever seen it, his fists clenched.
“Go home, Zee.”
I step towards him.
He steps towards me, closing the distance.
I’m trying to be confident, but any time my body touches his, I get those tingles again. That heat. That surge of electricity.
I fight the urge to wrap my arms around him, to pull him close, to pretend like everything’s fine.
I reach for my phone instead, tapping the photos Lola sent.
Then I shove it in his face.
He doesn’t even look at the screen, keeping his eyes on mine instead. “Zee, I know what it looks like.”
“Like you’re a liar?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then please make me. ‘Cause right now, you’re turning into what you tell me everyone else is. Dangerous. The enemy. But you’re the real enemy, aren’t you? Manipulating me? Lying to me?” My voice gets louder by the word.
“I will fix this,” he says, firm, his eyes hardening. “You have to let me. It’s too dangerous for you. Lola’s dangerous. She—”
“Atlas?”
My head snaps to another voice.
Lola stands on the other side of the dumpster, her eyes wide.
I don’t know how long she’s been there or what she’s heard, but now that she is, maybe she can help. “Is… everything okay?”
“No!” I snap. “Everything is far from okay.”
“Zee,” Atlas warns.
I don’t give a fuck. I’m about to fuck shit up.
“Atlas never told me he was close to my father," I explain. "And I’m trying to figure out why.”
Lola laughs, glancing between us. “Atlas, crashing girls’ night is desperate. C’mon, Zee, our drinks are getting watery.”
Atlas moves. Quick.
In a flash, Lola’s in a headlock.
“Atlas, what the fuck?” My eyes dart between them. “Let her go!”
“Get your drink,” he says, effortlessly holding Lola in place as she fights to move.
“Atty, stop!” Lola yells, but Atlas squeezes harder, making her sound like a mouse. “What are you doing?”
“Atlas!” I reach out to help Lola, but he jerks her body back, his eyes narrowing.
“Go get your Negroni, Zee,” he says, and I can’t even begin to process how he knows what we ordered. “Or I’ll choke her to death.”
I blink.
Is he fucking serious?
My heart pounds, Lola’s eyes wider as Atlas tilts his head towards the entrance. He squeezes harder, forcing choking sounds out of her.
“Fine! Okay!” I give in, thinking he’ll snap her neck right in front of me, and I don’t have it in me to witness another murder. “Just… loosen up.”
My ears ring, my feet wobbly the entire way back into the bar.
Servers speak to me, but it’s all muffled. I don’t even know what I mutter as I carry the drinks outside. I examine them, pulling them to my face, but I can’t see anything wrong with them.
When I’m by the dumpster, I’m relieved to see Lola still alive, but Atlas still has his arm against her neck.
The minute he sees me, he grabs a drink and pulls it to Lola’s face.
“Drink it,” he tells her.
Lola pulls her head back… like she’s smelling shit.
My brows lower.
“Drink it, Lola." Atlas pushes the glass further.
Lola tries to pull away.
Why the fuck is she pulling away from a regular ol’ double Negroni?
"Zee. Please!"
“Drink it,” the words fall out of my mouth.
Atlas’ eyes shoot to mine.
Lola's face scrunches. "Wh—”
“Drink it, Lola,” I repeat, my fists clenched by my sides.
Atlas pulls it closer.
She pulls back.
I grab the glass from Atlas’s hand, its contents spilling over my grip.
“Zee… wait,” Lola begs. But I’m through waiting.
My hand lands on her lips, keeping them open as I tip the contents into her mouth.
Atlas slams his hand over her lips and nose, my heart hammering against my chest.
She struggles, her eyes blurring before she has no choice but to swallow. Only then does Atlas release her, a mascara-filled tear falling down her cheek.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. "I was just—”
My brows furrow as her legs wobble, her hand coming to her chest.
Then her body gives out.
The world rushes back to me as I watch her slump against Atlas.
He doesn't seem alarmed. He just gently lays her body on the ground as I stand there, watching.
I give her some time to move. A second to say anything, but she doesn’t.
Holy shit.
My stomach coils, my knees buckling as it hits me.
He killed her.
I killed her.
She tried to kill you first.
"Zee."
Atlas calls my name, but it's muffled, my ears ringing as I glance around.
If anyone sees me next to a dead body, I'm done.
I drag my gaze to meet Atlas’s golden eyes. He opens his mouth, but this time, I speak first.
“Don’t follow me home. Don’t follow me at all. No cameras. Got it?” I narrow my eyes into his. The same ones that made me melt the moment I saw them, when I didn’t know who he was. And right now, I wish I didn’t.
"Zee..."
I hold up a hand, my breath shaking. My eyes drift back to Lola. No life in her eyes. “I- I can’t do this. I’m done."