Page 2 of Bonds of Obsession

Not only is it the absolute truth, but it also happens to be a good excuse to buy us some more time. Maybe there’s still another way to get to Atlas. Maybe we won’t need to use the marker after all. I just need a few more days. Hours, even.

But Ambrose isn’t going for it.

“Oh, Quinn. You’re a clever girl. I knew that much before I even met you. Turns out you’re too fucking clever for your own good. So if I were you, I’d use that pretty little brain to figure it out. Quickly.”

I swallow hard as I look down at the three marks on my chest.

Nico’s, Killian’s, and Atlas’s. They’ve each claimed me with these marks, but these men—my men—belong to me just as much as I belong to them.

My fingers trace over Atlas’s mark, and it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come. From enemies to lovers to enemies again, and now… something more. Something that makes my chest tight and my breath catch when I think about anyone hurting him.

The attack at the tattoo parlor caught all of us off guard, but Atlas fought like he was possessed. Like he was made of fucking steel.

The look on his face in those last seconds is seared into my mind. The intensity and the raw emotion still take my breath away.

He sacrificed himself so we could have a few more precious seconds to get out alive. None of us would’ve left him under normal circumstances, but I was barely conscious.

The last thing I remember seeing before passing out was Atlas, standing his ground against Ambrose’s men.

He risked his life for me. After everything we’ve been through, all the betrayal and heartache, he still chose to protect me.

And now he might die because of that selfless choice.

The thought makes it hard to breathe, and I have to force myself to loosen my grip on the phone. I can’t let Ambrose know how much this is affecting me, how much power he truly holds over me right now.

“Okay,” I say, simply. “I’ll do it. I’ll get you into the Dark Lotus Syndicate.”

I can almost hear the smirk in Ambrose’s voice. “Now that’s what I like to hear. Smart girl.”

“But I need time. I don’t even know how to contact them. This isn’t something I can just snap my fingers and make happen.”

“You have five days.” His tone is hard again, and it’s clear he doesn’t intend to bargain. “I think that’s more than generous, considering the circumstances.”

My stomach drops. Five days is impossible. Ambrose might not want to bargain, but I have to at least try. I owe it to Atlas to give him the best possible chance at surviving until I can figure out what the fuck we need to do.

“That’s not enough time.” I exhale, then draw in another sharp breath. “Give me at least a full week. Please. Two would be even better.”

“Five days. Not a minute more.”

I open my mouth to argue again, but he cuts me off.

“I’m not fucking around with you, Quinn. You have until midnight on the fifth day to make the arrangements. If I don’t hear from you by then, Atlas dies. It’s as simple as that.”

My throat tightens, and I struggle to form words. “But?—”

“No buts,” Ambrose interrupts. “Five days. Tick tock.”

The line goes dead, leaving me sitting here with the phone pressed to my ear, listening to nothing but my own chaotic thoughts.

I drop the phone, and my hand starts shaking uncontrollably as everything washes over me all at once. The weight of the situation, the impossible task ahead, the danger Atlas is in—it all crashes down like a tidal wave, ready to drown me.

But then another realization hits, and it feels like all the oxygen is immediately sucked out of the room.

Emmett.

He’s the only person who overheard us talking about the marker hidden in my tattoo, the only one who knew besides me and my three men. He must’ve run right from my office to the phone so he could sell me out to The Saint. To Ambrose.

I’ve been betrayed before, but this one hurts. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.

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