Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Atlas
“What do you mean, she quit?” I shout at Rhett.
“Don’t fucking yell at me. She fucking quit. What’d you think would happen?”
Telling myself not to hit him, I walk toward the office. Her personnel file is somewhere in there. I’m sure there’s a phone number or something that I can use. She probably has one of the twins as her emergency contact. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.
I’ve spent the last three days at her house.
She hasn’t been home at all, not even to pick up clothes or check on things.
She’s so bent on avoiding me, Cora won’t even go to her home, and it kills me.
I put a motion camera on her porch, so I’ll know the minute she arrives and then I’m going over there.
In the meantime, I need to find her file.
I would have gone into the shop, but after the first night she didn’t return, I went to the coffee store her friends own and saw a sign saying they’d be closed for the week.
I’ve never felt so helpless. Even during the hell I lived in foster care, it never made me feel like this. Seth is sporting a black eye, and every time I see him, I want to darken the other one.
We’re brothers, but I refuse to apologize when he cost me Cora with his bullshit. Today is actually the first day I’ve talked to Rhett or any of them, and it’s only because I heard them talking about how she quit.
Instead of tearing about the shop like I want to, I yank open the desk drawers, looking for the paper files we keep just in case. Finding hers, I breathe out a sigh of relief, but it’s short-lived because the only address and phone number on here is hers. Son of a bitch!
Shoving the papers off the desk, I stand and weigh my options.
She has to go home at some point. Noah is probably going back to school, and he will need his stuff.
I saw his backpack in his room at the house.
I’m too far gone to care that I’ve just been camping out at her place, waiting for her to come back.
I stopped by the library, and she wasn’t there either. Where’d you go, pretty girl?
When I get her back, and I will get her back, I’m going to punish her. She will learn she can’t walk away from me, from us. Noah, her, and I are a family, and as soon as I find her, I’ll prove to her just how much of a daddy I am.
Ignoring the looks of the guys, I head out the back door and to my car. Pulling out my phone, I look down at the screen and scroll through some of the pictures of her—ones I took with her and she didn’t realize.
I’m so caught up staring at a photo of her I took while she was sleeping next to me that I don’t see the person standing by my car right away.
Seeing a young woman standing next to it would normally make me excited, but when I see it’s Bri, I want to scream.
I’m not in the mood to deal with her shit.
“Get off my car,” I growl. I want her nowhere near me or the shop. I may be pissed at the guys, but she’s poisonous. “You need to stay away from here, and Kash. Leave, or I’m calling the cops.”
“You’re not the boss. Kash loves me, and you’re just standing in the way.”
“Holy shit. You just fell off the crazy train and landed in the loony bin.” Shaking my head, I shove past her. “You need to get going.” Shutting the door to my car, I immediately call the shop line.
“You’ll be sorry, Atlas! All of you will be!” she screams, grabbing rocks and throwing them at my window as I pull out. Rhett picks up after a few rings.
“Hey, desk bitch. Crazy bitch Bri just cornered me in the parking lot. You might want to make sure shit is locked up tight. Maybe call the cops.”
“Fuck!” he clips. “Are you serious? Leave it to Kash to fuck the crazy chick.”
Sighing, I nod even though he can’t see me.
“Atlas, man—”
“I have to go,” I cut him off, disconnecting the call. I may not be willing to talk to any of them right now, but I’ll be damned if that girl causes any more problems for Kash.
Heading over to Cora’s, I decide to wait there all night if that’s what it takes. It’s been days since I’ve seen her, or tasted her, and it’s making me crazy. She still has me blocked. I’ve tried calling her no less than twenty times a day.
Pulling onto her street, I see a car backing out of her driveway. What the fuck? Slowing to a crawl, I pull over and let it pass. Looking at the driver as they go by, I see fucking Matt bobbing his head to some song, a smile on his face.
I warned him. I warned that fucker. Pulling into the closest driveway, I quickly double back to follow him. He’ll lead me to Cora, and if he doesn’t, I’ll figure it out. Either way, he and I are going to have a chat.
It only takes Matt ten minutes to reach his destination—the hardware store.
Curiosity wins as I park and follow him inside.
Deciding to wait a bit, I watch him head over to locks and accessories.
Grabbing a new deadbolt and door set, he tosses it into a basket, still bobbing his head to some imaginary song.
“What ya got there, Matty?” I ask, enjoying the way he jumps in the air.
“Geez, Atlas. Give a guy some warning.” He shakes his head.
“What ya got there, Matty?” I repeat my question, gesturing to his basket.
Glancing down at it, like it’s the first time he’s seen it, the fucker has the audacity to shrug. “Just some stuff for a project.”
“What kind of project?”
“The kind that keeps you out.” He smirks. I’m going to enjoy wiping that look off his face when I slam it against the wall.
Looking around, I see there’s only one older couple around us. I could do it, and I doubt they’d even notice.
“I don’t recommend whatever you’re thinking,” he warns with a smug look.
“You don’t know shit.”
“I know you fumbled the fuck out of having Cora.”
“Don’t you speak her name.” I step into his space. I’ve got at least six inches on him, and even though he’s a bit bulkier than me, I’ll toss his ass through the front window if he keeps goading me.
“You lost the right to give orders, Atlas. Cora is one of a kind, and you guys took advantage of her goodness. You don’t deserve her.”
“And you think you do?” I laugh. He’s lost his damned mind if he thinks I’ll let him come in and play white knight. Cora and Noah are mine. I tried playing nice, but I’m done with this shit.
“Where’s Cora?” I ask. The smirk on his face tells me he knows exactly where she is.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m telling you shit.”
Grabbing hold of his jacket, I pull him closer to me.
“If you knew just how crazy I could be, you wouldn’t be pushing me, asshole,” I growl. “Tell me where she is.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
My self-control snaps. I launch my fist into his face and let him go as he crumples to the ground. Reaching down, I snatch his phone that’s fallen. Putting it in front of his face, I unlock the screen and quickly find Cora’s contact.
Hitting the button, I wait as the call connects, praying she answers. Matt is currently lying on the floor, out cold, the lock set abandoned next to him. Come on, pretty girl, pick up, I plead mentally.
“Hey, Matt.” Her cheerful voice sounds over the line.
“You’re in trouble, Firefly,” I inform her, feeling like I can finally breathe for the first time in days. “You’ve been bad.”
She doesn’t respond at first, and I think she’s hung up, but then I hear her voice. “Atlas? What are you doing with Matt’s phone? How’d you get it? Where is he?”
“Well, currently, he’s taking a nap.” I nudge his leg with my foot. “But otherwise, he seems okay.”
“You better not have hurt him.”
“Like you hurt me?” I volley back. I’m being a dick, but she didn’t even give me a chance to explain. If she had listened to me, she would know that what she heard was out of context.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but we’re done. I heard you guys, and you don’t have to worry about Noah and me. I never expected you to take care of things. If it was a problem, you should have said something.”
She still doesn’t get it. “The only problem I have is not seeing you, Firefly. Come home.”
“It’s not your home, Atlas.”
“Wherever you are is my home. You and Noah. Let me explain,” I plead, softening my voice.
“There’s nothing to explain. Just let it go, Atlas. Goodbye.”
She disconnects the call. I call back, but she sends it to voicemail.
Knowing Matt is now a dead end, I drop his phone back down and head out.
If she thinks I’m giving up, and that a new lock will keep me out, I’ll let her.
Cora has no idea what lengths I’ll go through to keep her.
Her and Noah both. She is my sunshine, my heart, and my light. I’m not giving any of that up.