Page 42 of Twisted Ruck

I glanced over to Storm, who half-held the door open.

Atlas shouldered past him, Ramsey right behind. Neither seemed intimidated by the big fullback.

"He's part of this." Atlas moved to stand beside Jay, who was equally unruffled.

Clearly he knew why Ramsey was here too. He shifted his shoulders uncomfortably when the other guys approached. As though there were suddenly too many people in the room.

Even without being on the spectrum, I understood. These guys each had a presence that sucked the air from the room. With all of them here, becoming overwhelmed was easy.

I trusted if Jay needed to step aside, he would. We'd understand if he did. He had to do what was necessary to take care of himself. Like everyone else here did. If we were going to be any kind of family, we'd have to learn to understand each other and support everyone's needs.

Ramsey shrugged and stepped over to help himself to one of the bowls of salmon and salad that sat on the kitchen island. He sat on the back of the couch and started to eat like he owned the place.

I hadn't ever seen him quite so relaxed. The opposite of everyone else. The tension was so thick I could have touched it.

Frost smiled, but he still looked tense.

Dallas looked like he wished this was over with. I could relate to that sentiment.

Storm glared at the newcomers, but closed and locked the door before he picked up his bowl.

"I'll make one more," I said.

Hand shaking with anxiety, I spooned more salad and fish into a seventh bowl and grabbed another fork to sit inside it.

The food looked good, but I wasn't hungry. Between the run-in with Otis Skinner, and anticipation of what Atlas was going to tell us, I was full of nerves.

It also wasn't lost on me that I was surrounded by testosterone. So much of it. Each of the guys were attractive in his own way. Each different from the last. Dark and brooding, light and cheerful, but all with an edge of danger that drew me in more and more every day.

I was a butterfly caught in a web, surrounded by spiders. All of who might just want to eat me alive. I wasn't even trying to struggle to get away. I was happy to spread my wings and let myself be consumed.

In some ways, that was the most terrifying thing of all.

"Start talking," Storm said to Atlas. He waved his fork at him to hurry up.

"Are you sure it's safe here?" Atlas looked around, scrutinising the room. Searching for hidden cameras and listening devices. Or ones that weren't hidden.

I looked carefully too, but I hadn't seen any. According to my brother, this place should be as secure as Storm suggested it was. If it wasn't, we'd find out the hard way.

"It better be," Storm growled. "Stop fucking around and tell us what's going on. Are you working for Dominic King?" Histone was direct, blunt. He wanted all the answers and he wanted them right this minute. He wasn't the most patient person in the first place, and clearly he'd run out of every last remaining fuck.

Atlas met his gaze, unwavering. "No," he said firmly. "The opposite. I work for the Brantley family. I have for a long time. When King started making his move, they wanted me to keep an eye on him. They knew he had his eyes on Dusk Bay. At least, they suspected he did." He rolled his lips, brow creased in thought.

"So you killed Bruce Fergus, allowing him the in he was looking for," Storm concluded. He scratched the centre of his brow with his thumbnail, trying to get his head around everything. This clearly wasn't going the way he expected. He obviously wasn't ready to believe anything Atlas, or the other two, said. Not yet.

"I told you why I killed him," Atlas replied evenly. "Because he would have hired someone else instead of Chelsea. But I had approval to do it, for the reason you said. If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else. Probably King himself."

"What does that have to do with you playing for the Smashers?" It was Frost who asked.

"They wanted Jay and I in place before he made his move," Atlas said. "We might have…" He glanced over to Jay. "We might have objected to being sent here. Where we were, it was good for our careers. But we were given no choice." He shrugged. "We were also told to figure out which of the guys would be recruited."

"You recruited Ramsey?" I asked. My gaze swivelled to him, then back to Atlas.

Ramsey snorted. "Nope."

"He was already working for the Brantley family," Atlas supplied. "He was our first contact on the team. We got our orders through him."

I raised my eyebrows at Ramsey, who raised his back at me. I should have seen that coming. Someone who doesn't say much, who blends into the background, what else would he be?

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