In a city of sheep ruled by wolves, she became the python that pulled them apart.
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Sage Black is a girl of little opportunities, forced to see the seamy side of life growing up in New York. Witnessing what lengths billionaires will go through t...
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I wonder if he can hear my heartbeat. I hear it in my chest, my head, my ears. I can barely breathe with his soft hands on my mouth and his eyes dark eyes looking me in the eye, his scent taking over the room. It is three feet long and wide, and the air is stuffy, but I shiver when I feel his breath on my forehead.
I'm sandwiched between his hard body and the shelves. I shift as I feel something sharp prod my back but there's nowhere to go. Especially with his broad frame taking up all the space. His eyes narrow in warning, silently telling me to stop moving.
Atlas's footsteps get closer and closer until he's standing in the storage room next to us. His voice is muffled by the doors and walls, but that's it. We can only hear one voice which means he's on a call with someone.
I hear the shuffling in the room next to ours stop. A few footsteps. A door being closed. His voice pauses.
My heartbeat hammers in my chest as I realize something that makes my blood run cold.
My bracelet. The bracelet is on the floor in front of the door.
I close my eyes and panic. No, no, no, no. I'm done for. On the first try, I fail foolishly because of a silly mistake. Because I'm distracted by him. Marli's disappointed face flashes behind my eyelids.
Atlas is going to figure it out and open our door any minute now. I squeeze my eyes shut, anticipating the turn of the doorknob.
But it never comes.
His voice carries on as his footsteps start to fade away. He laughs, the sound getting fainter by the second. Until we can't hear it anymore.
I open my eyes, and Theo takes his hand away. He holds a finger to his lips. We stand like this for a minute, maybe two, listening for any sound. Then his hand reaches behind him, not able to fully turn around, and twists the doorknob.
I breathe out in relief when we step out, placing my hand on my still beating chest. My gaze flits to the ground where the bracelet once was, only to find it not there. He took it.
"Atlas took the—"
"Bracelet?" He pulls the metallic band from his pockets. "I was smarter than to leave it on the floor."
Closing my eyes, my shoulders sag in relief as I lean on the hard wall to steady myself. This was close—far too close.
Theo crosses his arms and tilts his head with an expectant look. "Talk."
He saved me from getting caught. This could've been the perfect opportunity to rat me out to Atlas but he didn't, he chose to give me a second chance.
So I talk. I explain my plan from start to finish without getting interrupted, only receiving a blank look. By the end of my speech, I'm sitting on the ground with my back to the wall, my feet too worn out after standing in heels for too long. I look up at him through my lashes, suddenly feeling small as he towers over me with an unreadable expression. It's frustrating how I can never tell what he is thinking or what his next actions are based on his face.
