Page 76 of Princes of Carnage

24

QUINN

My stomach twists itself into knots as I push my way blindly through the gathered crowd at the Carnage clubhouse. The music is blasting, but now it just sounds like noise. There are people everywhere, laughing and talking and dancing, and I keep moving past them, trying to get…

I don’t know.

Somewhere. Anywhere other than here. Away from what I just saw.

The image of Atlas with Zoey on his lap is burned into my mind. The way she leaned into him, her body curving appealingly against his. The way he was holding on to her wrist like he wanted to keep her close. They both looked flushed and eager in the dim light, and the thought of it makes my heart pound and my stomach churn.

I don’t even know why I feel so upset about it. It’s just Atlas. Atlas and his ex. It’s none of my business what they do together. They’re supposed to be broken up, but whatever. Maybe they’re exes who fuck. Maybe they’re getting back together. None of it should matter.

Someone knocks into me as I make my way for the door, and they barely glance at me before turning back to their little group. I take it in stride, dodging people doing shots and bantering loudly. If anyone recognizes me as the leader of Enigma and Nico’s ‘wife,’ they don’t say anything, and I’m grateful for that.

The last thing I want to do right now is talk to any of the Carnage members.

I grit my teeth as I finally shove my way out of the building, sucking in a breath of the fresh night air.

Nico and Killian are in there somewhere, considering they’re the ones who told me about this party and came here with me. Well… Nico told me. Killian didn’t say a word, as usual, although he somehow managed to find my bike keys for me in about five seconds before we left the house. I’d misplaced them earlier, and the man must be part bloodhound, because he somehow knew exactly where they were.

But I don’t care about finding either of them right now. I just need some goddamn space.

I need to get out of here, and I don’t need their permission to do that.

I drag in deep breaths, trying to stop thinking about what I saw. Trying to stop caring about it.

Atlas can do whatever the fuck he wants. He’s a grown man, and he definitely doesn’t owe me anything. He doesn’t even like me half the time. The other half, he’s doing confusing shit like feeding me in the middle of the night, teasing me about my nerdy reading habits, and staring at me with an unreadable look in his amber-flecked eyes.

I head for my bike, desperate to get the fuck away from here, but before I can throw my leg over it, someone calls out my name.

“Quinn! Wait.”

I turn and see Atlas striding toward me.

He looks slightly out of breath, like he rushed after me, and his hair and clothes are disheveled—a clear reminder of what he was just doing. What he would probably still be doing if I hadn’t walked into the room.

I shouldn’t listen to him. I should just get on my bike and ride away and leave him standing here. But some impulse makes me stay, despite my better judgement.

“What?” I snap, folding my arms.

“Where are you going?”

“Home,” I grit out. “I shouldn’t have bothered coming here anyway.”

His brow furrows. “You were clearly invited.”

“Right. ‘Invited.’” I roll my eyes. “You mean Nico basically told me I’d better make an appearance for the sake of the alliance, then made some comment about how he ‘wants to show his wife off,’ which I’m sure was a joke. That’s not the same thing. Anyway, this shit is for Carnage, and it’s not really my scene.”

Nico can say whatever he wants to about the alliance and me being his wife. I’m not really one of them, and I definitely feel like an outsider right now.

Atlas’s jaw tenses at my words, and I wonder which part of it he’s taking issue with. I’d assume he doesn’t want me here, if it wasn’t for him trying to get me to stay.

“So you’re just leaving?” he finally asks, a hard edge to his voice.

Anger wells up in me. As if he has any right to want me to stay after what I just saw. As if he has any say in where I go and when. Or why.

“So what?” I snap. “It’s none of your business what I do. And you were clearly otherwise occupied, so why don’t you go back to that?”

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