Page 31 of Healing Her Cowboys
With a final shared glance, the two of them headed toward the truck, the sense of urgency between them palpable. They drove in tense silence, the only sound the rumble of the engine as they neared the docks.
Chapter Fifteen
As they pulled up, Atlas cut the engine, and the two of them got out, scanning the area. Without the crowd of the festival, the area looked abandoned. It was shadowed in the fading light, its wooden boards creaking in the wind. The quiet was almost unsettling, as if the whole place was holding its breath.
Atlas’s eyes narrowed as he spotted movement on a boat still docked. He glanced behind him, making sure Brik was out of sight as planned.
Tony stepped out of the boat, his expression cold and triumphant. He had Reese with him, her hands bound, standing just behind him. With a defiant look in her eyes, you could never tell she was afraid to be up there.
“Atlas,” Tony called with a cruel smile tugging at his lips. “Glad you decided to come, but I thought I made it clear. You were supposed to come alone.”
“I am alone,” he said.
Tony yanked Reese hard by her arm, making her cry out. “Don’t lie to me.”
“All right!” Atlas said in defeat. “Brik!”
Brik came into view, a murderous look covering his face. Atlas couldn’t afford to lose his cool with Brik so close to killing Tony. If he pulled on Reese’s arm any harder, he was bound to break it. Then he knew all hell would break loose.
Atlas took a step forward, his voice steady. “There. You can see both of us now. Let her go, Tony. This has nothing to do with her.”
“It has everything to do with her,” Tony said with a sneer, tightening his grip on Reese’s arm and making her wince. “I want you to feel a fraction of what I felt losing my brother. I want to see someone you care about get taken from you.”
Brik stepped closer to the boat, his voice cold. “Enough of this. You’ve got a problem with Atlas, fine. But Reese didn’t do anything to you.”
Tony’s eyes flashed with anger as he turned to Brik. “You think I care what you have to say? This is between me and him.” He pointed an accusing finger at Atlas, his face twisting with hatred. “He let my brother die. Left his entire squadron to die while he got to live a peaceful life on a fucking ranch.”
Atlas’s face fell, his shoulders tense as he spoke. “Your brother… he was a good man, Tony. Brendan was a brave man and a great friend. I did everything I could, but we were under attack. We lost a lot of men that day. Not just your brother.”
Tony’s hand tightened on Reese. “Don’t give me that bullshit. You don’t know what it’s like to lose a brother, to live with the fact that someone didn’t do enough to bring him back home. Iwas too young to enlist, so I couldn’t even go over there to see where he died.”
Atlas took a slow, deliberate step closer to the boat, his voice calm but filled with regret. “I promise you I carry the weight of every man we lost that day, and I think about them all the time. I didn’t want to leave your brother’s body there, but I had no choice, and I would give anything to change that.”
Tony let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Words are so easy for, aren’t they? You go on living your life while my family’s left with nothing. My brother died, and you walked away without a scratch. Do you know what happened to us after he died? Our mother killed herself. Her favorite son died, so she felt like she had to die too. Then our father got himself arrested trying to buy drugs off the street. The fucking streets!”
Atlas chastised himself for not knowing any of what Tony had told him. He thought the money he sent to each family could help them. He didn’t realize that there were some things even his regret couldn’t repair.
“I’d trade places with him in a heartbeat if it could bring your family back to you, Tony. Hurting Reese won’t bring any of them back. I think you know that.”
Tony’s face twisted, a flicker of doubt passing over his features. “You think a few sweet words will make me forget what you did to us? Make me forgive you?”
“No,” Atlas said, his voice unwavering. “But you’re not honoring your brother by hurting innocent people. He wouldn’t have wanted this, Tony. He wouldn’t want you to throw your life away over something none of us could control.”
For a long moment, the silence stretched between them, the tension so thick it felt like the entire world stopped. Tony’s grip on Reese slackened slightly, and she took a cautious step back, her eyes darting between Atlas, Brik, and Tony.
Atlas believed that their woman would know what to do when the time was right. He had faith in her even more than he had faith in himself.
Reese spotted Brik on the side, and he nodded to her. She understood, and as soon as Tony released her, she ran as fast as she could. He held his breath as she jumped off the boat and into Brik’s arms.
“It’s over, Tony,” Atlas said, his voice low and firm. “This is your chance to walk away. We all lost something that day. Don’t make things worse for yourself.”
Tony looked between Atlas and Brik, the rage in his eyes fading into something like despair. He let out a shuddering breath, and his shoulders sagged in defeat.
“You tricked me,” he said, hitting himself in the head. “All of you tricked me!”
Atlas wasted no time making it over to the kid. Tony fought him, but he still held onto him, trying to keep him from hurting himself.
Police sirens filled the dock not long afterward, and the three of them watched as officers put Tony into the back of a police car.
