CHAPTER 22

Aleara’s POV.

The party was in full swing, people dancing, drinking, and just having a good time. For a moment it was almost as though I was enjoying myself at a normal party with normal and legal people, with no guns and in no real threat of being massacred.

My hands found their way around Atlas’ shoulders, my fingers looping together, locking themselves around his neck. Slowly, his hands found their way around my waist, pulling me so close to his body I could feel his warmth radiate onto my skin. We swayed together to the beat of the music, I closed my eyes, leaning into his chest. My ears caught the sound of his heart, it beat steadily, and loudly.

It was as though the ice around it had melted and was slowly beginning to warm up to the world, blossoming into something slightly less icy and guarded.

“Aleara,” he whispered in a hushed and reserved tone, still not letting me go.

“Mhm,” I replied, in all honesty, I couldn’t force words out of my mouth. I was comfortable, I felt safe, guarded. I liked this, I shouldn’t, but I did.

“I have to take care of something,” he started, I opened my eyes to look at him, “I’ll be back in a moment,” disappointment hit me like a rock. It was like every time he felt a spark of emotion, he had to get the fuck out of there. He let me go, my arms falling beside me as I watched him walk away towards the drinks table, glancing back towards me slightly, I watched as his face fell and his brows furrowed. Could he possibly feel bad?

I tapped my foot hesitantly on the ground, the sounds of clicking heels became somewhat comforting to me as I continued to stand alone, cold, in a void full of killers. As a bar tender walked past, I proceeded to grab two glasses, downing both in no time at all.

“Excuse me, may I have a dance,” I froze in my tracks, dread pooling inside of my stomach, making me feel nauseous. Jay.

The man who had made me feel like absolute dirt, like nothing.

I shifted uncomfortably on my feet.

I brought my gaze up to him slowly, taking him in.

He looked almost unrecognizable. He wore a black suit, and his hair was pulled back neatly. He wore a degrading smirk plastered across his face, I wanted to slap it right off him.

“Uh, Atlas will be back soon,” I shook, my voice quivering slightly.

Jay let out a slow and unsettling laugh, his gaze drawn away from me, “will he?” he scoffed. I followed his gaze until it stopped at Atlas who was standing and talking to a thin and leggy blonde in a tight green dress that highlighted all her perfect curves. My mouth dropped open, and my heart shattered.

A thick pool of green jealousy filled my stomach as my jaw clenched and twitched slightly. I brought my glance back to Jay who still bore the same boyish grin on his face.

“How about that dance, no?”

Heat went to my cheeks, turning them a blotchy and ugly red as I reached for another glass of champagne. I looked down at my feet and shuddered, doing my best to ignore the ugly and uncomfortable feeling brewing inside of me.

“Fuck it,” I growled, taking his outstretched hand and placing the empty glass of champagne on a side table and walking back into the middle of the dancefloor with him.

He pulled me into him, spinning me around, but it was different this time, I didn’t like it, I felt disgusted as Jay lead me into the dance.

I once looked at him, fascinated by his dark and mysterious character, but now I just saw him as a mobster, an asshole. He gave me the chills.

I couldn’t help but glance over at Atlas who seemed to be getting very close with the blonde in the green dress, my blood boiled.

“Hey,” I looked back at Jay who flashed a slight glance of concern on his face before returning to his hard and cold self. “He’s a mob boss, he doesn’t love, we got you off the streets remember,” he said bluntly. Rude fucker. But I knew it was true. I shouldn’t let it bother me so much.

He dipped me swiftly before bringing me back upright in a single and impressive move.

“Green really isn’t your colour,” he grinned smugly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes some. He spun me again and I felt the past four champagnes go through me, making my stomach flip.

He smirked slightly, taking notice of my quickly degrading sober state. We continued to dance, I tried to sneak another quick look over to Atlas, but he was gone, my stomach dropped. What an asshole. I brought my gaze back to Jay, he continued to give me that signature smirk as he led me further into the slow dance.

“Remember back at the compound when I kissed you?” he said abruptly.

I blinked, taken aback.

“Yes, of course I remember,” I rolled my eyes. This man was something else entirely.

“That was great,” my mouth gaped open, and my expression turned from pissed too angry.

“No, it wasn’t. That wasn’t great in the slightest. You left me there after telling me that it was a mistake, you know how humiliating that was? You’re an absolute prick Jay, you know that right?” I scowled, trying to contain my anger.

His lips faltered, he was lost for words, I could tell.

He spun me around again before looking down at his feet and sighing.

“Humiliated huh? I saved your life by leaving that room. If Atlas, my lifelong friend, my blood brother, my boss found out that I had kissed his girl, both of us would have been shot with our brains blown out. If I could date you, it would make me an extremely lucky man, but unfortunately that wont ever be the case,” He scoffed as I rolled my eyes.

“Well, he doesn’t seem to mind right now about going off with other girls, I didn’t realise it was a one-sided thing,” I mocked. Jay sighed and looked away. I hated feeling like this. Especially since I had begun to believe that Atlas might have had a heart inside of him.

Now I wasn’t sure if he was just playing my feelings like a sick little game.

“Excuse me Jay,” I pulled my hand out of him, the flame inside my heart extinguishing, “I need some fresh air,” I began to walk away from the dance floor, leaving Jay confused and alone. I needed to be with myself for a while, just to comprehend what was happening at least, to understand why Atlas acted as though I was the only girl in the world, only to leave me mid dance to talk to another woman.

I made my way out to the balcony, it was large, covered in pot plants and benches. My gaze was drawn to the thousands of tiny lights that marked their way to the beach shoreline, a cool breeze blew in my hair as I thought a million thoughts in the time span of about five seconds.

I began to cry, the tears streaming down my face and slowly turning to black as they mixed with my mascara. Why had I thought he cared about me? How could I have been so stupid to think that he even liked me in the first place? Why did I want him at all?

That was it, I needed to get out of here, I needed space and a hell of a lot of it away from Atlas.

I stormed back inside, earning strange looks from everyone in the room, I guessed that my face wasn’t all dolled up like barbie anymore. I sniffed and wiped back more tears, grabbing another glass of champagne before sculling it. I caught Jay’s eye as he watched me walk past, he looked concerned, but I didn’t care about that in the moment.

“Aleara!” he called after me, I didn’t even turn around, my drunk ass merely stuck up the middle finger and continued my merry way out the stunning double doors and into the front yard.

Jay’s POV.

I watched as she walked past me. My god, she looked like a train wreck, crying and sobbing like she was. My heart pained, it felt wrong that she was upset. But then she had flipped me the bird and carelessly walked out of the front doors. Badass. But Atlas wasn’t going to be impressed at what she had done.

Once it had registered in my mind that she was running away, my feet began to move quicker than my mind could process the situation. Find Atlas.

I flung open a set of doors down a hallway to reveal Atlas and the Mexican Mafia boss sitting at a table doing a drug exchange. He made eye contact with me, my face had told him enough because as soon as we locked glances, he was up and out of that room like someone had just killed his brother.

“How long ago did she leave?” he demanded, grabbing out the 9-millimetre from his pocket, loading bullets into it before sticking it back inside his suit jacket.

“About five minutes ago. Atlas,” I stopped in my tracks, he looked at me slightly confused, “She thinks your cheating on her,” I muttered.

His expression changed entirely, and in that moment, I realized that what she thought of him mattered the most in his heart.

“Come on Jay, we must find her. How could I have been so stupid to just leave her there all alone? I was doing a fucking business deal! I wasn’t fucking around with some prostitute,” I knew what he had been doing, and I knew it was a drug exchange, but she hadn’t and now she was somewhere out on the streets, running like a lamb to the slaughter into enemy territory.