Page 11 of Broken Trust

Atlas snorted. “My dad is strong in so many aspects of his life, but if it’s something my mom strongly believes or wants, he caves.”

Mason shook his head. “I know the feeling. All Elijah has to do is stick out his bottom lip and stare at me with those green eyes and I’m a goner.”

An image of Kellen’s emerald green eyes staring seductively at Atlas filled his mind. He’d managed to stop thinking about the guy for five minutes. Now that was all Atlas was thinking about.

He placed his cup on the desk and pressed the heel of his hand into his chest, willing the feeling to go away. It was a heaviness that felt as if it weighed a million tons.

Mason came around the desk and hunkered down in front of Atlas. “This really is messing with you.”

The guy was misinterpreting why Atlas was rubbing his chest, though he wouldn’t mind some advice on what to do about a date for the wedding.

“Why don’t you talk to your sister and see what she has to say about all this?” Mason suggested. “It’s her wedding. She might not care if you go solo.”

“She already has enough going on without her little brother whining to her.” Atlas didn’t want to burden her with his problems. She already seemed frazzled as it was.

Mason patted his knee. “She probably does. Weddings are a big ordeal with a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation. But I’m willing to bet she’d set aside some time to talk to you, especially if she knew how much this was affecting you.”

“I’ll call her sometime this week and see if she can meet up with me.” Atlas covered his mouth when a wide yawn gripped him.

“If it wasn’t for the huge order we need to get ready, I’d send you home.” Mason stood. “Unfortunately, tomorrow is the Peterson family reunion.”

Atlas groaned. How had he forgotten that? Carol Peterson had placed the order two weeks ago and had already paid the bill.

Mason chuckled. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“I have my sister’s wedding on the brain.” Atlas grabbed his cup of coffee. He was taking it with him.

“You’re going to help me prepare the food for the cookout while Kenny takes orders at the counter.”

“I don’t understand why someone is having a family reunion on a Monday.” Atlas opened the office door. “Don’t people usually have those on the weekend?”

“It’s summer, and Mrs. Peterson planned this reunion five months in advance so everyone could take time off of work.” Mason walked out behind him. “You just have to get the sides ready. I’m slow-cooking the meat so it’ll be ready by tomorrow, but I still have to keep an eye on things so nothing burns or overcooks.”

The lack of sleep was making Atlas drag ass. His shift couldn’t end soon enough.

* * * *

It had been the longest day of Atlas’s life. By the time he clocked out, his head was pounding something fierce, his eyes were burning, and every step was a struggle not to fall over.

How he’d gotten into the parking lot of his building without dozing off at the wheel was a complete miracle. Luckily, he wasn’t on the schedule for tomorrow.

No matter how confused and scared he was about last night, nothing was going to stop him from collapsing into a coma for the next nine or so hours.

Atlas groaned when he saw all the parking spaces were taken on the side of the building, which meant he had to park in back and walk around to the front. The back door required a keycard, and Atlas had forgotten his upstairs.

Worse, all the spaces closest to the building were taken, so he had to park all the way at the end. He thought about just falling asleep in his car, but he was looking forward to stripping down to his underwear and face-planting in his bed.

He made a mental note to silence his phone so he wouldn’t be disturbed by any calls. It would be just his luck for someone to call him when he’d finally gotten comfortable and drifted off to sleep.

A yawn escaped him as he reached for the container of food on the passenger seat, exited the car, and clicked the lock button. When he woke up, he was smashing everything he’d brought home.

Two of the security lights were out, making the parking lot seem a lot more eerie in the dark. He began to walk—more like staggered—as he tried not to think about crawling onto the grass and closing his eyes.

The sound of footsteps made Atlas look around, but he didn’t see anyone. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand and shook his head, trying to make the grogginess lift long enough to get inside.

Atlas felt as if he was being watched. Where the tree line began, something moved. Atlas stopped and focused his bleary eyes in that direction, but with some of the security lights out, all he saw was darkness.

A cat, maybe? Or was it something else? He tightened his grip on the food container as he started to walk again. A sound came from behind him, like shoes on the pavement. He spun, looking around, but again, no one was there.

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