Page 94 of Silent Betrayal

“No, no, baby girl, you asked for this by telling that terrible joke. No mercy to be had for you!”

I squirm and kick, trying to get away, but he’s just so big.

“Max! Max, save me!” I yell out to him.

“Hmm, I don’t know, Sweetheart. That was a pretty bad joke.”

“Pleeeease!” I beg. “I’ll do anything!”

“Anything?” he asks, sounding intrigued.

“Yes! You name it, and it’s done—Eeeee!” I squeal as Atlas finds my armpit.

“Deal!”

I notice Atlas struggling a little and see Max clinging to his back. Max doesn’t seem to be having much effect, though, and Atlas continues his assault, giving me his mischievous grin.

“Ahh, Malishka, it’s me you should’ve made thedeal with.”

“Okay, the deal’s yours—whatever you want, just please stop!! Ahhh!” I scream as his fingers find another sensitive spot.

“Okay—deal,” he says, sitting up with Max basically hanging off his back. Atlas gives me his hand, and we shake. I tilt my head to look at Max, who smiles at me, then jumps off Atlas and rubs his hands together.

“Alright, Sweetheart, I think I’ll take my reward now.”

“Uh—the deal was you save me. You didn’t save me.”

“The deal was Itry.”

“No. Nowhere did we saytry. We saidsave.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it again, frowning as he realizes I’m right. His bottom lip sticks out in a pout, and he crosses his arms over his chest. He tilts his head at me and asks expectantly, “consolation prize?”

“Deal,” I say immediately, wanting to make my happy man smile again. It works as he beams at me.

“What prize do you want, Atlas?” I ask, turning to my giant teddy bear.

We’re interrupted by a phone ringing, grabbing all of our attention as we watch Ben answer.

“Hello?” Ben answers.

“We’ve got eyes on Simon,” Jasper says through the phone. I gasp and cover my mouth. I can’t believe they found him already.

“Okay, let me patch in Dom.”

“Ben?”

“Yep, I got Jasper on the call. He’s got eyes on Simon.”

“Fuck yes! Good job. We’re on our way, no sense in staying here. Jasper, you and Tuck stay there. See if you can spot Helen too, and watch what Simon does. If he leaves, follow him discreetly, but by no means are you to confront him. Remember, we don’t arrest the bad guys—we justfind them. I’m gonna hang up now and call the chief. With any luck, he’ll be arrested by the end of the night.”

Everyone hangs up, and Max cheers, scooping me up and spinning me around, before kissing me.

“I can’t believe this is happening so fast!” I tell him.

“I know! Let’s go start making dinner, okay? We need a good meal to celebrate tonight.”

I look at Ben in question.

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