Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Stormy
Las Vegas, NV
As I walk along the dark street, the hair on the back of my neck rises.
Nonchalantly, I stop and glance around. I don’t see anyone, but there’s a car down the block with its parking lights on, just sitting there.
I wish I had brought Gurgi with me. I should have, but I didn’t want to leave him tied up on the corner while I went into the grocery store.
They don’t allow animals in there unless they’re service animals.
Part of me has thought about saying he’s one, but I think that would mean I’d have to register him.
I’m not sure. I’ve heard I would, and I’ve heard I wouldn’t, but I can’t register him without giving my name.
I chose for us to come to Las Vegas, but now I’m regretting it.
I picked this city because I thought it would be easy to hide in plain sight, but I forgot this is the most telemonitored city.
There’s practically a camera on every street.
It’s only a matter of time before Atlas finds me.
For now, we’re stashing money before moving on to the next city.
Maisy and I ended up heading down into Texas after Arkansas, where we changed trucks again.
Now, with some of Fury’s help, we have a small apartment that allows pets, and both of us work at an off-Strip casino.
We made it through the Christmas holiday, which only made me miss home more.
The desert has nothing on snowcapped ridges and mountains.
Just the thought of Atlas makes my heart ache. He’s been on my mind a lot. I remember everything about our night together and how he made me feel. Now my body craves him. I wake in the middle of the night sweating and in need of a release that I can’t give myself, no matter how hard I try.
As I approach the entrance to the courtyard of our apartment, I turn and see the car is still sitting there.
We’re going to have to go sooner than we wanted.
Maybe we should just leave tomorrow. We could reach out to Fury and see what he knows or has seen.
He’s monitoring the boards to see if Andrus comes back online looking for me.
I step through, walking past the empty pool and to the end of the complex, where I climb the stairs.
The metal creaks, and I cringe with worry, just like I do every time.
These stairs have made me nervous since we moved in.
Before I head to our door, I stop and look out over the courtyard.
I don’t see anyone below, but the hair on the back of my neck is still standing on end, and fear still grips me.
When I open the door, Gurgi prances over and brushes his big body against mine. It calms me only slightly.
Maisy is stretched out on the sofa, dozing in and out.
She’s been missing Cronus as much as I miss Atlas.
She won’t admit it, but we share a bed, and I hear her saying his name in her sleep when she does sleep.
Something about their meeting brought up something from her past, and she won’t talk about it.
Moving to the small kitchenette, I unload the groceries and start meal prepping.
I was excited to get a walk in and some exercise, but now I regret not driving.
That car sitting at the end of the block still bothers me.
It could just be someone visiting one of the local dealers, but it feels too coincidental.
After I put away enough lunches and dinners in the fridge for the next couple of days, I warm up some for us to eat now. I walk over to the sofa with both plates and set them down on the coffee table.
“Maisy, I have food.”
“I’m not hungry,” she grumbles and buries herself deeper into the edge of the sofa.
“Come on, you didn’t eat earlier.”
She huffs, then rolls over and sits up, making space for me on the only sitting furniture we have in the room.
“I think we’re going to have to make a run for LA sooner than we would have liked.” I start the conversation. “When I was walking home from the store, there was a car parked down the block. I could feel someone watching me.”
“Okay. Want to go now?”
“We’ll go tomorrow after our shift. It’s payday.”
“Okay. Are you sure about LA? They have a lot of cameras too.”
“I’m not sure anymore. I’m just trying to avoid small towns, where we’ll stick out. Hopefully, the bigger the city, the better we can blend in. I’ve never been on the run before.”
“I have.” She takes a bite and nods her approval of the meal. “When I ran, all I could think about was getting away. I didn’t trust anyone until I finally made it to Montana. Tink and Shadow helped me get across the border so I could stay with my aunt.”
“Didn’t your aunt have to tell your family where you were?”
“No. She’s my aunt by marriage. I only met her when she messaged me one day online.
Jovie has been hiding out from her half brothers for years.
” She pauses, and I know there’s more, but she won’t tell me.
“When I got to Jovie, she helped me. For all intents and purposes, she was like my big sister or mom. I finished school. She gave me her last name so the family couldn’t find me. ”
“If Ritchie is her last name, isn’t it the family’s too?”
“No, it’s her mother’s last name. Her biological mother was a Canadian citizen.
She left Jovie her business when she passed.
I worked there and lived under the radar until I turned eighteen, then I knew I had to help the Handmaidens rescue women and girls from men like Jovie and I were raised with. ”
“Holy shit! Were you trafficked?”
“Not exactly, but that’s for another time. My point is that we can keep running. We can hide in plain sight.”
“I don’t think Atlas is going to give up on me.”
“I know Brock won’t give up on me, but I can’t be near him. It would destroy him if he knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
“I can’t tell you. The fewer people that know, the better.”
“Okay, so after we eat, we’ll get packed up.”
We don’t have much. Just the seven or so outfits we had in our go bags. After having everything taken away from me when I was in captivity, I can’t stand losing anything. Then we had to leave all of our stuff back in Tennessee. Now I just have a few clothes and Gurgi. I won’t leave without him.
The next day, Maisy and I are dressed in our work uniforms and making the rounds around the tables. The black, fake leather outfits are skimpy short jumpsuits with halter necklines that plunge low, so when we bend over the tables, the guys usually get an eyeful.
The manager and the owner pay us under the table, just like they do with most of the serving staff here. This casino isn’t exactly like the ones on the Strip. Things aren’t always on the up-and-up. At least here we don’t have to worry about being forced to strip.
When my break comes, I walk outside and check on Gurgi, who is in the truck. I take him for a walk, and again that feeling of being watched overtakes me. I look around, and even Gurgi has his head up, as if he senses it too.
My life is going to be constantly on the run.
I don’t want to drag Maisy into that every time I think I’m being followed.
It could all be in my head, as far as others think, but I know this time it’s not.
I’m sure Andrus has found me. I don’t know how, but I have a feeling he was involved in the sale of us back in Tennessee.
Atlas never told me who the ultimate buyer was, just that he was a very bad man. It could have been him.
I know what I need to do. There was so much I didn’t discuss with Atlas that I should have. I wish I could trust him to help me, but deep down I know I can handle this better on my own. That’s why I have to change my plans with Maisy.
As the day progresses, I become increasingly sure of the plan.
I’ll take Gurgi with me because I can’t stand the thought of being away from him.
I found a car service that will drive us from here to California.
It’s going to take a lot of the money I’ve saved up.
I can’t go to LA because Maisy will look there first. But the longer she’s with me, the more chance we have of Andrus finding her.
I’m thinking about sending a message to Atlas, telling him where Maisy is so Cronus can come get her and keep her safe. I pause at the thought. Why is it so easy for me to believe that Cronus will protect Maisy, yet I can’t believe Atlas could protect me?
My phone pings with the final invoice from the pet-friendly car service. I’m about to pay it when a shadow falls over me. Gurgi stops, turns, and then sits, waiting. How do I know it’s him? My whole body tingles. My breath catches.
“Stormy.” Atlas’s voice cracks, and I turn to him, closing the app.
“Atlas, what are you doing here?”
He chuckles deep, and the sound makes my core spasm. I look around him when I hear Maisy’s voice and see Cronus has her in his arms again. He’s moving toward an SUV. Well, there’s one thing taken care of. Now I just need to get away from Atlas.
“Come on, baby.” He reaches for my arm, and when Gurgi doesn’t even grumble, I know I’m not going to win this one.
Atlas leads us to our truck. When he sees our packed bags, he just shakes his head.
Titan
Standing here in front of her, I’m torn between pulling her into my arms and kissing the fuck out of her, or dragging her across my legs and spanking her until her sexy ass is red with my handprints.
She was going to run again. We just got here, so I know it wasn’t because of us.
My grip is firm but gentle on her arm. Cronus said he’d handle their employer, tell him they quit, and then we’d head to the building he secured.