When night fell, and the moon sat high in the sky, we were all a little tipsy from the bottles of wine. Well, all of us, aside from Coal, who didn’t drink. Rhett was telling us about their traveling circus and all the new friends he’d made.
He practically lit up when he told us about their famous circus show and the set Coal does. He’s their firedancer, and based on Rhett’s description, it was like the fire came alive on stage and danced on Coal’s command. Hearing his boyfriend sing his praises, Coal was too shy to meet any of our gazes.
I smiled and wondered if Rhett realized he’d found someone very similar to Hector. They say children find partners that remind them of their parents, so if that didn’t prove Hector was every bit family to Rhett, then I didn’t know what would.
“You twohaveto come see the show,” Rhett said, his words slightly slurred. “You’d love it! And I’d love to show you around.”
Hector looked at me and found my hand. “We’ll visit in the future. Definitely.”
I grinned and nodded. My heart filled with the lightness of his sureness of us going together. He’d been so uncertain at the start of all this. A chance at us, which I had no doubt he thought was a temporary thing that would eventually end, but now, he was certain the ending he was so terrified of wasn’t one either of us would choose.
When Rhett jumped from his seat and tried to recreate Coal’s performance with one of the unlit candles we used for the table centerpiece, Coal decided it was time for bed.
They’d parked their trailer just outside of town and insisted on sleeping there instead of staying upstairs. Coal tucked his boyfriend under his arm, probably to keep him safe lest he try to light the candle he still had clutched in his hands.
“We’ll stop by in the morning before we have to head back,” Rhett said to both of us, but his eyes were focused on Hector.
Hector was visibly emotional, probably from the wine getting to him as well. He scooped Rhett from Coal’s side and pulled him into a giant hug that had Rhett’s feet leaving the ground.
They stayed like that for a while. Coal and I met gazes and smiled. I think we both knew our men needed this moment.
When they finally parted, Hectorplaced Rhett back on his feet. Rhett wobbled back to Coal’s side and tucked himself under his arm.
We followed behind them to the entrance. “Oh, there’s a piece of paper taped on the door!” Rhett’s chipper tone was a stark difference from the chill that went down my spine.
Hector and I shared a look. The other two were oblivious to our mood, and Rhett seemed all too happy to retrieve the folded white sheet for us.
My name was written on the front, and when we opened it, the same curly lettering I could recognize in my sleep printed two ominous words.
Playtime’s over.
Chapter Twenty-Two
HECTOR
I didn’t know how we managed to keep things cool as Rhett and Coal left, but our forced smiles must have worked since neither of them questioned anything. As soon as I closed and locked the door behind them, the smile dropped.
“We need to call Clay,” I said, and went further into the diner to find my phone. Realizing I’d left it in the apartment, I went for the stairs, but Atlas stopped me.
“No, it’s late. We can deal with this tomorrow,” he said tiredly.
I turned to him, almost frantic in my insistence. “This can’t wait, Atlas. This guy is obviously off his rocker. What if he, I don’t know, tries to burn the place down?”
He frowned. “Are you worried about the diner? I can leave until…”
“No!” I said frustratedly and grabbed his arms justso I was touching him. “Love, I don’t fucking care about the diner right now. I’m scared foryou. I’m scared he’s going to hurt you. So, no, you’re not going anywhere. And even if you do, I’m coming with you.”
A small smile peeked from his lips. He grabbed one of my hands and placed it on his cheek, his soft face nuzzling into my palm.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, sounding so sure of himself.
“You can’t know that,” I muttered, voice cracking.
He looked up at me with eyes filled with certainty. “It’s going to be okay,” he repeated. “My gut is telling me he doesn’t want to hurt me. Scare me? Maybe? But I don’t think his goal is to hurt me. He has some sick, perverted obsession with me, but I think he’d rather find me in his bed than dead.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” I grumbled. The thought of anything bad happening to Atlas tore at my insides.
I’d been resigned to life alone. Living every single day the same as the next, all by myself and Shadow. But then Atlas came and showed me it didn’t have to be that way. There was light and life waiting for me. There was community and friendship, and most importantly, love. So the thought that it could all be taken away, that the person who showed me all of this happiness could disappear one day, it felt like my heart was thrown into a grinder.
