Chapter 2
ATLAS
The red of murderous rage was the only thing I knew.
As soon as I saw some fucking dead man gripping Beasty's hair with a knife to her throat, my vision swam, and my fist was flying.
I bellowed as I tackled him to the ground, landing punch after punch against his fucking asshole face. Damn him for hurting her, for touching her.
He didn't deserve to smile or be happy. He didn't deserve to breathe. Fuck that. He did. But on my terms.
I'd keep this man alive for years, making sure he regretted ever fucking with us, or thinking he was worthy enough to lay eyes on Beasty.
The skin of my knuckles split, and the sting of pain egged me on.
Shouts. Cries. Thumps. Gunshots.
All a cacophony around me, blended in a way that I couldn't tell who was shouting or where the shots were coming from.
The only thing that mattered was making this man suffer.
I yelled again, but an arm wrapped around my chest and pulled me back.
"I get you’re angry, but this pendejo will be useless to you if he's dead." A heavily accented voice spoke right into my ear. "You also don't know what, if any, diseases he has."
It didn't matter. As soon as I was wrestled away, Lake took my place, landing a brutal kick to the man's midsection. Andre released a put-out sigh as he let me go and grabbed Lake.
Now that I wasn’t lost to the violence, I remembered the only thing that mattered.
Beasty.
A lump lodged in my throat as I spun.
Joaquin cradled an unconscious Beasty as sobs worked in his chest. He pressed kisses to her forehead, smoothing her hair back as he murmured unintelligible words of comfort.
It hurt how destroyed Joaquin was, his eyes red and his body trembling.
I dropped to the ground beside them, but Kim caught my eye. He was sprawled out next to Joaquin. Shit, I didn't even think Joaquin noticed him.
Placing one hand on Beasty's side, I felt her warmth and the gentle way her chest rose and fell. The knot in my chest loosened.
She was alive.
With my other hand, I reached out to Kim. He wasn't moving. But his eyes...They were locked on me. Ice rolled up my spine.
He was awake. And he couldn't move.
"Kim!" I shouted, leaving Beasty in Joaquin’s arms to pick him up. As soon as Joaquin shifted his gaze to Kim. His eyes almost bugged out of his head as panic washed over his face. Then Kim was gone, and Joaquin had both Kim and Beasty cradled against his chest.
He kept murmuring but I couldn't make out anything he was saying.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat, wrapping the three of them up in my arms. I allowed myself two seconds to just hold them, needing that short connection so I could think.
Then I sat back so I could examine their faces. Both Beasty and Kim were awake, but they couldn't move.
Lake shouted behind me as he argued with Andre.
"Joaquin,” I said, keeping my voice low and calm, “we have to get them help.” I reached for my phone—
"Fuck!" I yelled. I didn't have it. As soon as I saw Beasty and Kim laid out in the parking garage, I, fuck, I didn't know what happened to it. I must have dropped it or crushed it.
Light footsteps approached before Parker crouched next to me. I was just about to shove him away, but the calculated expression on his face as he reached out and checked Beasty's pulse stopped me.
A muscle worked in his jaw as he pulled his own phone out.
"They've been drugged." Parker pulled a dart from Kim's chest, raising it to his nose to smell. "This is an absolute shitshow, and while I would normally thrive on this type of environment, nothing makes me crankier than a traitor." His top lip pulled up in a sneer.
I wasn't sure who he was speaking to, but it damn sure wasn't us.
"Call 911," I barked, not giving a damn who he was or what power he had.
He quirked a brow. "I've already placed a call for emergency medical services. But it's not 911 you need."
I narrowed my eyes on Parker as I placed my hands on Beasty's and Kim's chests. I needed the connection. I needed to know that they were still breathing. Their heartbeats thumped against my palms, and I let it center me. They were a little slower than I liked, but steady. Strong.
"Fuck!" Lake kicked something behind me.
"Lake, we need to get Beasty and Kim to a hospital," I called, refusing to look away from Parker. Joaquin had just tricked him. Who was to say he wasn't going to use this as an opportunity to weaken us?
In a blink, Lake was next to us, and I dragged my gaze away from Parker. Stress lines bracketed Lake’s mouth, and the skin around his eyes tightened as he took in Beasty and Kim. He was two seconds from breaking apart at the seams.
"Why should we trust you? We just forced you out of Snatched." Lake leveled Parker with a deadly glare.
I had to give it to the man, not many could withstand Lake's threats, but Parker took it in stride.
"I guess you don't know. But I can tell you, a hospital is only going to cause you problems."
Lake whipped out his phone. "I don't have time for this shit. They need doctors. The rest can be worked out."
The roar of a vehicle coming down the ramp deafened us, and we all turned our heads. An ambulance swung around the corner so hard, it nearly lifted two wheels off the ground.
The knot in my chest relaxed. Help was here. Beasty and Kim would be okay. My fingers twitched over their hearts. They still beat. We were going to be fine.
"That's a fucking ambulance," Lake snarled, like he was accusing Parker.
"That's an ambulance provided by The Network. They'll get medical treatment after they're taken into a back entrance to the hospital. They won't be in the system, and they will only be seen by doctors who are on payroll." Parker watched Lake, calm and un-fucking-bothered.
I froze. Network...
The same organization that Books and Bishop belonged to?
"Fine,” Lake snarled, still not trusting him. “But I ride in the ambulance with them."
Parker shrugged. "Suit yourself, but it's going to be a tight fit with both Cressida and Kim rolled in there." He glanced behind him. "Someone needs to stay to clean up this mess."
Lake cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. "You two go with them." He touched Joaquin's shoulder, who was still lost to his upset. "This is about to be a shit storm," he muttered under his breath.
The ambulance slammed to a halt right next to Beasty and Kim. Joaquin shifted his gaze to the employees spilling out of the ambulance. They wore all black, with somber expressions as they hustled to the back, opening the doors and grabbing a shit load of equipment.
They were composed, working calmly under the sizzling tension in the garage.
In the next blink, they crouched by Kim and Beasty. Joaquin gathered them closer to his chest, a whimper escaping him as his wide eyes locked on two of the most important people in his life.
As much as I feared for Beasty and Kim, I ached for Joaquin. My sensitive lover was damaged by this.
"Excuse me, sir, we need to check their vitals, get them stabilized," a woman, in her mid-thirties, with a brusque but kind tone said.
"No!" Joaquin jerked back when the paramedic reached for Beasty. My heart thumped at the sudden jolt. He shouldn’t be moving her like that. What if…what if he hurt her worse?
"Sir," she tried again. "We need to check their injuries."
Goddamn, what was I doing just standing here? I placed my hand on Joaquin's, feeling the bulging tendons as he gripped Beasty's shoulder so tight, his fingertips were bloodless. She’d have a bruise.
All the air in my lungs caught in my throat as I gazed at my lover, waiting for him to snap out of it.
"Joaquin," I croaked.
His wild eyes finally latched onto me and away from Kim and Beasty.
"They need help. Let the paramedics help."
Joaquin's face twisted up, his eyes watering. Then he nodded. Hard and fast.
"Okay. Okay." He loosened his grip, and the woman started turning Beasty's head while the man beside her flashed a light in Kim's eyes.
"They've been drugged," I said, my voice hoarse. The woman nodded.
Whistling, the woman reached in her bag with one hand while she kept Beasty's head turned. "This is a very lucky girl. It looks like the start of a deep cut. If it had been one centimeter to the right, it would have nicked her artery.”
Joaquin cried out. He didn't need to hear that shit. "Shut the fuck up, and just make her better," I snapped.
The woman's cheek twitched but she never stopped her work.
I scooted forward, placing myself in Beasty's line of vision. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes shifted right and left so fast, they quaked. "It's going to be alright, Beasty. We're going to make sure of it."
For some goddamned reason, I dropped my gaze to her neck, to that bright red trail of blood making its way down the slender column of her beautiful throat.
Never. Fucking. Again.
"Let's get them into the ambulance," the woman called to her partner. Their hands were a flurry of activity as they worked to pry them from Joaquin's arms.
For a second, he seemed as if he would fight them, but I barked, "Joaquin!"
Releasing a breath, he let go. They were careful with both Kim and Beasty, laying them out on the stretchers, strapping things to their bodies and who knew what else.
"There's only room for one person in the back." The woman canted her head a fraction over her shoulder as she rushed the first gurney to the back. Her colleague was right behind her with Kim.
Joaquin was on his feet, his mouth open and his face twisted up in anguish.
I wanted to ride too, damn it. Fisting my hands, and gritting my teeth, I sucked in a deep breath. When I released it, both gurneys were strapped in the back.
Joaquin was devastated. He was practically catatonic, and if any of us needed to see Beasty and Kim breathing, it was him. I could give this up so he could have it.
"Go." My voice was guttural.
Joaquin snapped his head my way, his brows shooting up.