October’s Ride with Atlas (Mustang mountain Riders #10)

3. Atlas

CHAPTER 3

ATLAS

Pacing my room, I look at Bex’s limp body on my bed. She should be waking up any time, and I'm itching to see those eyes on me. I knew she wouldn’t go willingly with someone she didn't know, much less someone her dad sees as his enemy. So, the chloroform was necessary even if I hated every second of it.

We got her back to the clubhouse without any issues, and I took her straight up to my bed. The satisfaction of seeing her in my bed is one I have been soaking in as I wait for her to wake up.

When she stirs, I sit on the edge of the bed opposite her but closest to the door and wait for her to wake up. I know it's going to be jarring as her memory comes back, and she finds herself in a new place with someone she doesn't know. I’m hoping to make this transition easy, while assuring her she is safe.

She groans, and her hands cover her face. I can tell the exact moment she remembers what happened because she sits straight up in bed and looks over at me, her gorgeous amber eyes are wide and full of fear. That look guts me because fear is the last thing I want to see in her eyes when she looks at me.

“Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?” She rapidly fires questions at me.

I plan to answer every one of them, but I need to take care of her first.

“You are safe, and I’ll answer any questions, but first, drink that glass of water next to you and eat that huckleberry muffin. It's from Ruby's Mercantile in town and they’re delicious. It will help so you don't feel sick as you come out of everything,” I tell her.

“What did you use on me?” she asks as she picks up the glass of water but eyes it suspiciously.

“Just chloroform. Please drink up,” I say gently.

“How do I know you didn't poison my drink?” She glares at me.

I smile, stand, and move around to her side of the bed before taking the glass from her, taking a sip myself, and then handing it back to her.

“Will you drink it now?” I ask. She nods and takes some small sips.

“Will you answer my questions now?” She asks with quite a bit of sass, considering she doesn’t know me.

“I will answer them as long as you are eating.” I nod toward the muffin on the nightstand.

She picks it up and unwraps it, taking the first bite.

“You are still in Mustang Mountain. My name is Atlas,” I say. Her eyes go wide, and she attempts to move off the bed, but her legs aren't quite stable yet.

“I'm not going to hurt you, but please don't get up yet. You're still recovering. You are at the Mustang Mountain Riders’ clubhouse. I thought we had rescued all the women from the Savage Bones, so I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner,” I tell her.

What I want to say is I'm pissed I didn't find her before now. That I’m angry that she was left at the hand of those assholes this whole time.

“I know who you are. You are the guy that sent my dad to jail,” she says, her eyes watching my every move.

What she says starts to sink in, and everything clicks into place.My body goes ice cold.

“Your dad is Malice,” I say, sitting in a chair by the bed, processing this.

“Yes, and you are the guy who had set him up to take the fall on his last deployment,” she says, crossing her arms.

It’s obvious he has his own version of the story. While I expected that, I thought she would be relieved to be away from the Savage Bones, as all the women we have rescued have been. Of course, my girl isn't thrilled about it.

“I think your dad has been feeding you a very different story than what has been going on. How much do you know about what your father is doing to the town of Mustang Mountain?” I ask, trying to gauge how much she knows.

“He's trying to save it from the likes of you,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“By kidnapping and assaulting innocent women? By forcing farmers to get him supplies to make meth? By blowing up people's cabins, destroying businesses and people’s lives?” I ask.

Before she steals her emotions, I can see a hint of doubt on her face.

“You can say what you want, but I don't believe you.”

Her loyalty is to be commended even if I hate it.

“You don't have to, but I am going to earn your trust,” I tell her, meaning every word.

“Yeah, kidnapping me is a great way to do that. Just let me go and my dad won't come and kill you and your club,” she says, and I can tell she truly believes it.

“Princess, we haven't lost a club member yet. Your dad is down to four main people, including himself and a bunch of lackeys he picked up for hire. He's weak and scared and has no shot in hell of beating us. Especially not since we flushed out his spy,” I tell her.

I can tell she is trying to piece everything together. She doesn't know what to believe, but she knows things aren't adding up. I hope I can prove to her I'm one of the good guys.

“Get some sleep. It's just after midnight. We can talk more in the morning, but I promise you will be safe here,” I tell her. Then, I pick up the blankets and pillow from the dresser and make my bed in front of the bedroom door.

She may be safe, but I'm not taking any chances of her trying to sneak out in the middle of the night, either. This way, she can't even open the door with me lying here, but she still has access to a bathroom. If she tries to go out the window, I'll hear it because that window squeaks so loud it could wake the dead.

It's going to be a long night because I know I'm not going to be able to sleep with her so close.

When I wake up, I find Bex still asleep in bed. So, I quietly gather some clothes and head to the bathroom to get ready, leaving the door open in case she tries anything. Once I'm done, I step back into the room and find her sitting up in bed.

“Listen, we grabbed some of your stuff. It's in the dresser there. Why don't you slowly get up and get dressed? We will go downstairs and get you some real food. The girls are excited to meet you, and I’m sure you will feel better around them anyway,” I tell her, gesturing toward the dresser where I put her things.

Nodding, she slowly stands up. When I'm sure she can walk on her own, I open the bathroom door for her and step outside the room to give her privacy as she gets ready. I check my emails, but none of them seem important when my girl is just on the other side of the wall.

A text from Sheriff Cade does catch my attention.

Sheriff: Talked to Malice. He isn't interested in meeting, especially not on your terms.

I do find it interesting there is nothing about his daughter in it, but my guess is he doesn't know we have her just yet. Time to let him in on the secret.

Me: I figured as much. It's okay. We took what we wanted anyway.

I'm not normally one to talk in riddles, but I find messing with Malice and Sheriff Cade pretty damn fun. When my bedroom door creaks open, I slip my phone into my pocket and take in Bex, who stands hesitantly in the doorway.

Her face has a light pink tint and her complexion is smooth and unblemished, making me want to kiss her. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun like the one I saw in the photo of her. She is in jeans and a t-shirt and looks stunning.

“The kitchen is this way,” I tell her, leading her toward the stairs.

She takes in the clubhouse as she makes her way downstairs, and I don't know if she is admiring the building or looking for an escape route. When we get to the kitchen, Six and Ginger are there, along with Thunder and Ashley. Perfect. Both girls can tell stories of Savage Bones, and I’m shocked Ginger and Bex haven't crossed paths. At least they don't seem to recognize each other.

“Ladies, this is Bex. She is Malice's daughter,” I say, more for the guys in the room whose eyes go huge. “Bex, this is Ashley and Ginger. Ginger is from the Savage Bones, so you two should talk.”

Bex just nods, still looking around. “This place is nice. I bet it will suck when you have to move again,” she says, hesitantly taking a seat at the table.

“Move? Princess, we have been at this clubhouse for over fifty years. Why would we move?” I ask, sitting next to her.

“Fifty years? We never stay in one spot more than five weeks,” she gasps.

I tuck that bit of information away for later.

“That's because you guys are always on the run, hiding from us and the law. You don't have to run and hide when you do things on the up and up. Hence why we have been here so long,” Thunder says as he hands Ashley a plate of food.

It’s my hope she will start to see the big differences between us and her dad’s MC. I want her to understand we are the good guys, but I don't want to force anything on her.

Getting up, I make us both a plate of food. I'm unsure of what she likes, but I will learn. In fact, I will know everything about her.

I set the food in front of her.“Do you want any coffee? Water? Orange juice?”

“Coffee sounds great,” she says.

“How do you take your coffee, Princess?”

“Cream and sugar, please.”

I head off to make her coffee and mine.

No one really talks over breakfast. I was hoping she might bond with the girls and maybe she will once us guys aren't around. I'm not ready to let her out of my sight just yet, though.

“Come on. I need to answer some emails. You can hang out in my office with me,” I say.

As she follows me to my office, she takes in the building.

“This used to be a brothel back in the old west days. Then, someone bought it to turn it into a museum. That didn’t work, so the city owned it, and the club bought it from them. We kept it as original as possible and have a lot of historical items packed away. We respect the building and the history of it.” I tell her.

“I love that. It fits an MC Club. Is the building on the National Historical list?” she asks.

I chuckle. “No, Princess. That would mean we are limited in what we can do and it would put it on the government watch list. We may follow the law for the most part, and sometimes we skate around it to protect the town, but we don't need to be bound by any government rules.” I open my office door and let her walk in while admiring the view of her ass in the skin-tight jeans she is wearing.

Following her in, I close the door behind us.

“Get comfortable.” I nod to the couch. “There are some books there you can read.” I glance at the bookshelf. Ashley pulled a stack of books she might like for her, and on the top is one about flowers in someone’s attic.

“Do you mind if I take a nap? I’m still slightly groggy,” she says.

Going to the closet, I pull out a blanket Luna insisted I put in there, and now I'm glad she did. After I hand it to her, Bex curls up on my couch under the blanket. While she naps on my couch, I pull up emails, though my gaze keeps wandering over to her asleep on my couch.

I love her there and want her on the couch with me, reading, sleeping, and hanging out with friends. I want her near me and I will do anything to make that happen. Though I know she isn't ready to hear the truth about her dad. Without a doubt, she’s been told lies to make her father look good, but I have the proof to back up what I have to say. Like that ridiculous shirt Ginger wore the other day which says, There are two sides to every story and then there are the screenshots.

When I saw it, I rolled my eyes, but now it couldn't be any closer to the truth. I watch Bex and her breathing, and she is out cold. She looks so comfortable right now, I'd like to think it's because she trusts me to take care of her. Even though I know that isn't the case, I want it to be.

My phone starts to vibrate on my desk, where I silenced it earlier as she was trying to fall asleep. It's Sheriff Cade, and I almost don't pick up, but my gut says I should. Answering the phone, I stand, stepping out into the hallway.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Give me back my daughter,” a voice that is not Sheriff Cade's growls, and it takes me a minute to register it.

Malice.

“Good to hear from you, old friend,” I say with a smile on my face. “Your daughter is perfectly fine. Napping on my couch as we speak after having breakfast with the girls.”

“You have until sundown today to get her back to me untouched,” he threatens.

“Yeah, that isn't happening. She will be staying here, safe from the likes of you,” I say as a smile falls from my face.

Her going back to Savage Bones isn't an option. I can't guarantee her safety there, and the thought of not having her close makes my skin crawl.

“Now Atlas, kidnapping is a crime. I hate to arrest you for it,” Sheriff Cade drawls in the background.

“So, it's just a crime when I do it? It wasn’t a crime when they kidnapped Poppy and assaulted her by shaving off her hair a few weeks ago? It wasn't a crime when they kidnapped Sammy's young son or when they held Ginger down and forcefully tattooed her? And it wasn't a crime when they poisoned your own daughter ?” I am yelling now.

In an attempt to calm down, I take a deep breath so as not to wake up Bex.

“How about I make a report about a corrupt small-town sheriff to the proper authorities? It's about time we clean this town up. Bex is under the Mustang Mountain Riders' protection. Anyone who touches her will be dealt with by us,” I say, hanging up.