Page 103 of Bonds of Obsession

My chest tightens. “Atlas?—”

“They beat him to death and made me watch.” His grip on my face eases, but he doesn’t let go. “Without him there to look out for me, I knew it was just a matter of time before they killed me too.”

“What did you do?”

“I ran.” The admission seems to hurt, even now. “I left everything behind. The club. Everyone I knew. My whole fucking life. I ran until I couldn’t anymore.”

I swallow hard. “How did you survive?”

“The same way you will. One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Sometimes one breath at a time.” His other hand finds my waist, anchoring me. “I learned pretty quickly that survival means letting go of the shit you thought defined you. Your home. Your colors. Your family.”

“But your father?—”

“Would’ve wanted me alive.” His eyes hold mine. “Just like yours would want you alive. Whatever it takes.”

My voice shakes. “I failed him.”

“No.” The word comes out sharp and strong. “You protected your people. Just like I protected myself. Sometimes that means walking away.”

“They’ll think I abandoned them.” The words taste bitter. “They’ll think I’m weak.”

“Fuck what they think.” His jaw clenches. “You think I gave a shit what people thought when I left Chicago? When I was sleeping in alleys and stealing to eat?”

“You were so young. How long were you alone?”

“Too long.” Something dark passes through his eyes. “Until I learned that being alone doesn’t make you stronger. It just makes you dead inside.”

“Did you become dead inside?”

“Almost.” He exhales and his tone lightens just a fraction. “Then I found something worth living for. I thought I’d never have anything again. I thought I’d always be alone and running, without a place to call home. Then I found Nico and Killian.”

I glance over his shoulder. The other two men stand a few yards away, giving us space but staying close. Always close.

“You found your family,” I whisper.

“We found each other.” His thumb traces my bottom lip. “Just like we found you.”

Something in my chest cracks. “I don’t know if it’s that simple.”

“Listen to me.” He presses his forehead to mine. “You haven’t lost everything. You’ve got us. All three of us. And we’re not going anywhere.”

“You can’t promise that. Look what happened to you already. Ambrose will start coming for the three of you next.”

“Ambrose is fucking dead, he just doesn’t know it yet.” His grip tightens. “You think I survived all that shit just to walk away now? You think any of us would?”

I close my eyes, breathing him in. Feeling the solid warmth of him. The strength of him.

“I can’t lose anyone else.”

“You won’t.” He kisses me, hard and fast. “We protect our own. Always.”

“And what happens when that’s not enough?”

He pauses, then something in his expression hardens. “Then we go down fighting. Together. All of us.”

Looking into his eyes, I see the truth of it. I see the same determination I’ve always admired in him and the same strength that kept him alive all those years ago.

“I don’t deserve?—”

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