Heartbreak You - T.L. Smith Page 0,54

will stay next to you the whole time. You are injured, sir.”

Atlas seems reluctant to let me go, and I’m way too tired to fight him on it. He nods to Ronnie who takes me from his arms, causing him to wince from the jostling.

“Thank you, sir.”

Ronnie stands to move with me, and I turn back.

Chloe is lying on the floor, but now there’s no movement from her at all.

“Don’t look.” Atlas’s strong voice shocks me, making me jolt. “Don’t look, Theadora… just don’t look.”

I turn away at his command while Ronnie carries me outside into fresh air and daylight, my eyes shut as the sun hits my skin.

“Have you been outside at all since you were taken?” Ronnie asks.

I shake my head, covering my face with my hands, causing the blood from the wound to smear across my cheeks.

We stop, and my hand is pulled away from my face. I manage to squint to see Sydney looking at my arm before she puts something on it, making me scream out as the pain assaults me. I wiggle in Ronnie’s arms, which doesn’t get me anywhere, before I realize a bandage is being wrapped around the wound.

“It needs stitches, I’ll call the doctor to the house,” Sydney says as she wraps it. Her eyes look at me. “You should sleep, Thea, and then you can eat.”

Ronnie puts me in the car, and I lay my head against the door and settle into the cushy seat. At least what’s below my ass now isn’t the hard, cold floor. The door opens, and Atlas gets in, sliding in next to me.

Atlas’s hand goes to touch my leg in comfort, but I jump at his touch, pulling away. He removes his hand and places it in his lap. “Are you okay?” he asks.

A shiver racks my body, I hear the crinkle of something and turn to find him pulling out a wipe. He leans in to touch my face, but I pull back again.

“I’m just going to clean some blood away from your face,” he tells me.

I nod, and with gentle hands, he cleans my face as the car moves smoothly in and out of traffic. When he’s finished, I turn away from him, staring out the dark, tinted windows to the world outside.

“The baby,” I ask, not looking at him.

“He’s doing well. Lucy signed all rights for him over to an adoption agency. They found him a home right away.” My heart squeezes. “I have my lawyers on it and have requested that you have access, monthly visits, to be written into the arrangement,” he tells me. “Lucy has agreed to these arrangements as well.” I turn to face him now. His skin isn’t as dark, but he looks like the same man.

“Where is Lucy?” I ask.

Atlas knows where she is, I know he does.

“She’s finally getting the help she needs,” Atlas says as he straightens in his seat. He flinches but covers it fast. “You named the baby Benji,” he says as the car slows down. I look out the window and see his house coming into view.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. I made Lucy request that the name stays the same.”

If I could smile, I would, but the bruising on my face won’t allow it.

“It wasn’t your father. That’s why Chloe took me because she heard he had put out a hit on me, and she figured she could kill two birds with one stone. Hurt you as you hurt her.”

“My father won’t be an issue anymore,” he states as the car comes to a stop.

Atlas gets out, and when he does, he walks around to my door as does Ronnie.

Ronnie leans down to pick me up.

“I can walk,” I tell him, brushing his hands away.

He looks to Atlas, who nods, before stepping back.

I get out slowly, my feet heavy and my head more than a little dizzy.

I look up to Atlas.

Words sit on the edge of my tongue, but before I can speak, I pass out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Theadora

I wake in a bed, which I know is not be my own and remember that I’m no longer trapped in that room. Atlas sits on the edge of the bed with his head down.

“Atlas,” I say, sitting up slowly.

He turns to me and pushes a tray toward me. “Eat slow, you need to nourish yourself, five days of little food has your body breaking down. You need to eat small amounts, but many times during the day.” I reach for a piece of cut up