The Watcher

40. The Storm

Atticus lurched back, my nails scratching over his cotton shirt as my body failed to keep up with my head.

"To befriend her was one thing, but this?" Olivia hissed.

Her voice cut through the fog of lust in my head. As it did, I noticed Aslo sheepishly standing in the doorway. His shoulders filled the space, but never had a man so big looked so small.

"I tried to stop her," he murmured to Atticus, who had disentangled himself from my grasp and instead stood between Olivia and I at the edge of his crumpled bed.

"Liv, let me explain," he started, but her eyes flashed with a venomous green.

Goosebumps broke out across my skin, and my limbs tingled with adrenaline as my survival instinct kicked in. Slowly, I inched towards Atticus until his hand gently rested against my knee, a warning sign to stay seated.

"Explain?" Olivia spat sarcastically. "Playing Scrabble were you? Debating the latest EU summit decision?"

Her words sliced through the air; each one more spiteful than the last. As she seethed, I reached for my discarded top and pulled it in place. I figured my black lace bra was probably like flashing a red rag to a bull, or in Olivia's case, a homicidal bull with the speed and strength to tear me in two.

A hardness flashed across her vitriolic gaze as she watched me redress.

"Last I heard your orders were to find her, Atticus, not fall for her."

My chest tightened as I heard what she said. Like cool sea fret creeping from the shore, I could feel the betrayal sliding over my skin, making my blood run cold.

Aslo's hand grabbed her arm, like he could somehow make her suck the words back into her mouth. "Starling, that's over the line."

She shrugged out of his grasp effortlessly, an impressive feat given how dainty she looked.

"I'm over the line?" she exclaimed. "He has no intention of wiping her memory, Aslo. You and I both know that. That's a breach of secrecy without even considering everything else."

Their voices seemed to drift into the distance as Olivia's words ran through my head.

Your orders were to find her....

I looked at Atticus beside me. He should have been defending himself against Olivia's onslaught, but instead he was just watching me, his beautiful blue eyes wide and fearful, like a child caught out in a lie. A sick, painful lie.

"You were ordered to find me?" I asked in a voice so small no human would have heard it, but he did.

He dropped to my side, joining me on the bed that was still warm from our bodies.

Somehow that thought made it worse.

I could feel the heat of his touch against my thigh, but it didn't elicit the same thrill it had minutes ago.

"Only you would focus on that part of what she said," he said with a humour that was just as fake as the smile on his face. Just as I could see the fear in his eyes, I could hear the panic in his voice.

I threw his hand from my leg as I replied, "It kind of makes the rest of it irrelevant, don't you think?" My voice was acidic. I could almost feel it burn my throat. Or maybe it was just the bile bubbling at his betrayal.

"Anna, please, I can explain."

"I'm sure you can," I sneered. "But how am I supposed to believe a word you say."