I almost shot forward when the fucker grabbed Atlasaround the neck, but Clay stopped me before we could blow our cover.
We’d been trailing the two of them since they’d entered the forest. We had no idea why Atlas had proceeded with the plan without letting any of us know first, but it was better to give him backup first and ask questions later.
Clay had noticed Atlas was acting strange ever since leaving the bathroom and quickly rounded all of us up. The stalker had made himself easy to spot with how blatantly he made his intentions of following Atlas into the woods.
The lot of us kept our distance while tracking the two of them. We thankfully blended into the trees with our dark outfits—which, now that I thought about it, must have been a deliberate choice on their part and a happy coincidence on mine.
Meanwhile, Atlas’ white silk shirt was basically a giant target that made him easy to spot. I knew that was the entire point, but I still hated having him as bait.
The stalker didn’t seem to care about his surroundings. He was so focused on following Atlas that he didn’t even check to make surehewasn’t being followed.
And now we had a video of him holding Atlas against him with an arm wrapped around his neck. Thankfully, he didn’t look like he was carrying a weapon. Atlas’ phone dropped to the ground, flashlight side up and casting them into the spotlight.
Dan kept filming on his phone while the othersspread out to form a circle around Atlas and the stalker. They all moved quietly and stayed behind the trees. I wouldn’t have known they were there if I wasn’t in on the plan in the first place.
“Oh, how long I’ve been waiting for this. You’re finally coming to me willingly, Atlas,” the stalker said in a hiss.
I couldn’t see Atlas’ face, but he was trembling hard enough for me to see even from here. My brave man. I knew this was all part of the plan, but he must be terrified still.
I wanted this to be over already. I wanted to charge in and grab the stalker, beat him until he was too scared to come back, or even… I’d never wanted to hurt anyone before, but this fucker evoked my murderous side.
Clay placed a hand on my shoulder, as if knowing I needed the reminder of why we hadn’t tackled the fucker to the ground yet. He could arrest him on charges of stalking, sure, but the only real evidence was the one video of him taping the note on the diner’s door the other night.
With a real good lawyer, the stalker could get away with the minimum sentence. A year or two in prison and a fine were nowhere near enough. I never wanted to catch the scent of this guy again. Which meant we needed this solid video evidence of his aggressiveness.
“What did you do with Hector?” Atlas gasped out. His hands were clutching the stalker’s forearm as if trying to prevent him from choking him.
Clay and I glanced at each other. Did Atlas think something happened to me? Was that why he ventured out here without any backup?
“You don’t need to know. All you have to do is follow me willingly. I’m not a bad guy, you see. I don’t like using force, and I prefer my playthings to come with me on their own accord. You’ll be good for me, won’t you, Atlas?”
The fucker licked a stripe down Atlas’ neck. It took everything in me to stop the growl that lingered in my throat.
“Who the fuck are you?” Atlas yelled. He was being so fucking brave while handling this situation.
“I’m disappointed you don’t remember me, sweet thing. If only you hadn’t run away, we could have already had a taste of you.”
My fists clenched with the need to punch the pervert until even his mother wouldn’t recognize him, but I kept myself under control, even if it was killing me. I couldn’t be above the law. I couldn’t mess up the plan and needed to wait for Clay’s signal.
“That’s the second time you’ve said that. Run away from—wait… You were there.” Atlas paused. His breathing was ragged and so loud that I could hear it clearly. “That day…you were sitting on his couch and calling mehisplaything. You’re Garrett’s fuck buddy!”
“Hmm. Close, sweetheart. Garrett and I don’t fuck. We like to share men between us, and you would have been our next conquest. Oh, I was so close to havingyou, aftermonthsof hearing him talk about you. Of how good you are in bed, howdominantandprovocative. You would have been perfect for us.”
“Fuck you! You’ll never get what you want from me.”
“Oh, but I will. If you want to see your lover again, that is.”
Atlas froze, and I wanted to kill that fucker for using me to scare Atlas like this.
“Is he okay?” Atlas’ voice was so small and vulnerable. I glanced at Clay, and he held out his hand for me to stay still. I didn’t know if I could hold back much longer. I was about to say fuck it to hell and charge up there.
“For now. But who knows what I’ll do to him if you don’t give me what I want.”
“Are you going to kill him?” Atlas said, voice trembling.
“Perhaps, if you don’t listen. I’ll kill him if I have to,” the stalker spat out.
And that was when Clay gave me the signal.
