24. CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24

Chyler

My head was pounding, and I could barely feel my limbs. I blinked open my eyes and attempted to lift my head to see where I was. The last thing I remembered was Charlotte, Madison, and Alexis before Atlas and I collapsed. Atlas. Where was Atlas?

Panicking, I jerked my head around and saw no one else in the room. He wasn’t here. Did they kill him? I swear to fucking god, if they touched a single hair on his fucking head… I could feel my heart beating hard against my ribs, and my breaths were short. I was hyperventilating. Adrenaline consuming me. Where the fuck was Atlas.

The door in front of me opened, and Madison entered, holding her hands behind her back and standing just to the side of the doorway. Charlotte and Alexis followed her into the room. Alexis stopped next to Madison, and Charlotte stepped closer towards me .

“Good, you’re up.” She snapped her fingers and held her hand out to the side. Madison handed her a syringe with a violet liquid in it. I remembered that vial from when we kidnapped Tyler.

“Ataraxia .” I breathed, my eyes widened, and I struggled in the chair.

“Ah, I see you know what this is. Lovely, that will make explaining what is about to happen to you so much easier.” She grinned and tested the plunger; a small amount of the violet liquid seeped from the tip and dripped to the floor.

“But I’m not a drug addict; what good is that going to do being used on me?” I scoffed and rolled my eyes, giving up the fight against my restraints.

“My girl, Ataraxia cures all kinds of addictions, not just those related to drugs. Yes, drug users are the primary market, but not the only market. Rewiring the reward center means eliminating the feelings of pleasure and reward for anything and everything, from drugs to sex and even food. While the original version, Relessen, only worked on a continuous-use basis—and as soon as you stopped taking it, you would relapse back to your old wants and needs—Ataraxia has been reformulated into a much stronger single dose. One and done, I believe, is the term Roman used.”

“So what are you going to do with that? Rewire my brain to not feel for Atlas anymore? To not love him?” I mocked her. She was trying my last nerve, and as soon as I got out of this chair, I was going to kill her.

“Not exactly. See, Atlas never explained to you just how this drug actually worked. Think of the ‘rewire’ as a hard reset. Once I inject you with this serum, your entire reward center will reset itself completely, making you forget any and all of the vices that once gave you pleasure, that controlled you, as if you had never experienced them at all. This dose right here, however, was tailored specifically to target the emotion of love. Consider yourself the first patient in testing Ataraxia for eliminating the need for love.”

“You can’t ‘cure’ love, Charlotte. It doesn't work that way.” What was this woman on? She was fucking nuts…

Charlotte laughed and pulled my hair, jerking my neck to the side and exposing it for her.

“Of course you can. Love can be a form of addiction, just like everything else in this world, and once this kicks in, you’ll remember the man but none of the feelings you had for him. That is the beauty of this drug; it works because it makes you forget what you crave most in this world, what gives you pleasure; it can make you forget how to feel if administered correctly. Now, you have a job to do, and your— love —for Atlas is going to be a problem. See you in a few minutes, darling.”

She stabbed the syringe into my neck and plunged every last drop of the drug into me. There was a burning sensation, and it seared all the way from my neck to my brain. I felt like I was being lit on fire, burned alive. I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain, and suddenly, everything went black again.

There was a loud ringing sound in my head, almost as if a mosquito buzzed around my ear. It was annoying, and I jerked my head to the side to stop it.

Opening my eyes, I hissed from the bright light that blinded me. My vision was blurry, but I could make out three figures in the room. Where was I? I couldn’t remember the last thing that had happened before I woke up to the sharp ringing sound in my ear. I frowned, confused about my surroundings. My wrists were sore, and I rubbed them in my lap before bringing the heels of my hands to my eyes and rubbing the haze away.

“Chyler?” a soft voice said. Madison. I dropped my hands and opened my eyes again to see her standing before me with Alexis and Charlotte. I shot my hand up to the side of my neck. I remembered. Charlotte had injected me with Ataraxia to eliminate my feelings of love. I looked between Madison and Alexis, trying to test the theory.

Nothing . I knew I cared about them but couldn’t feel it anymore; I was almost indifferent towards them. The warmth that once filled my heart when I looked at Madison was no longer there; it was gone. A hollow hole where the need to run over and embrace her used to be. My love and compassion for her was gone. Reset.

“Yeah… I’m fine.” No, I wasn’t; I was screaming.

Charlotte stepped forward and held her hand out to me.

“Come, now that you are up, we have a final task for you.” I looked at her and took her hand. I stood up from where I was seated, my body feeling like it had been hit by a Mack truck. I had never felt so empty and numb. Hate and anger were at the forefront of my emotional capacity. No matter how hard I tried to feel something more, something opposite, it wasn’t there. I was stuck with my off switch flipped, not as extreme as when I actually flipped it, but pretty damn close.

She fucking did it. That bitch took away my ability to feel love and compassion.

I needed to play it safe for now. I would comply with her demands and requests until I could get her alone; then, I would kill her. Madison, Alexis, and I were too evenly matched, and I knew I couldn’t go up against all three of them even though I was screaming inside to take Charlotte down and rip her throat out.

“Roman Atwater, right? I can handle him.” I spoke coolly. Slipping into the role of the animal she trained me to be.

“No, a new one. Roman has been handled and dealt with.” She smiled, “Come, let’s test your newfound lack of love, shall we?” She cackled, and I couldn’t help but feel the urge to stab her in the neck as I followed her out of the room. Madison and Alexis followed behind us, neither saying a single word—which was strange. They acted as though they were on her side and agreed with what she was doing to me. I needed to figure out a way to get us all out of here.

Can this be reversed? What will happen if I can’t feel love in life anymore? She took my fucking need for love away from me.

We stopped before a room that looked set up with video surveillance equipment. It had a single desk with four different monitors, each displaying various camera views of a large and empty warehouse—empty, aside from the fact that there was a man sitting in the center of the huge room.

Charlotte walked around the desk and sat; I caught a glimpse of the surveillance feed as my gaze followed her. A man was seated, tied to a chair in the middle of a room. Not just any man, I could tell from his clothing who it was—Atlas. She had Atlas strapped down to a chair in the middle of the warehouse with a dark hood over his head.

Was this going to be my task? Killing the man I used to love and want? I couldn’t even bring myself to feel any want or need for him. My desire to protect and save him was nullified by the drug running through my veins. I had become a shell for anything aside from anger and aggression. I wanted to fucking destroy her.

The longer I looked at the screen, the more I thought of ways that I wanted to end her. Slow and painful would be the only option. She didn’t deserve anything quick and painless, not after this.

“What do you need me to do?” I cleared my throat as I looked over to Charlotte, sitting behind the desk and scanning the monitors.

“What you do best, darling.” She smiled amusedly and held out her hands as if showing me the world. “Take care of him.” She was going to have me torture Atlas. Figures.

“Anything specific you need from him?” I asked, looking back at the screen. He was sitting there motionless. His head was bent forward, and I guessed that he was sedated like most of our kidnapped victims were. I wanted to drag this out with her as long as possible. Maybe if I did, the CIA would find us and get him the hell out of here.

It was a strange feeling, knowing in my mind that I cared for him but unable to feel it; I was completely numb to any sensation he once gave me.

Charlotte hummed, “No, just have fun with him.” I raised a brow. Of course, this would be her request from me. To ‘have fun’ and tear him apart like a vicious animal. I shook my head and took a deep breath, nodding to her. I didn’t want to do this, but my aggressive side was ready for release.

“Lead the way.” I gestured my hand towards the door. If only I could get her alone.

“Excellent. Madison, escort her to the room.” She snapped her fingers and pointed out the door before returning to watch the surveillance feed. Fuck.

Madison turned and left the room; I followed her into the hall and down to where Atlas was being held. She hadn’t said one word to me since I came to, and as we stopped before the door, all she did was look at me with an indifferent, blank expression.

“Madison?” I looked into her beautiful green eyes and saw nothing but a shell. What did Charlotte do to her?

“Everything is going to be fine, Chy. Just flip your switch and do what you do best.” She smiled, and it was the fakest, most forced fucking smile I had ever seen. I knew I should care about how she acted and how out of character she was, but I couldn’t.

She leaned into me, sliding a phone into my back pocket, and whispered, “Charlotte threatened our families. Message Derek and Marcus. Share our location with them. Get us the fuck out of here, Chy. Charlotte needs to be stopped.” Her voice came out strangled as if she was struggling to speak the words she wanted to say to me. I would have to put on a show if I was going to save us all.

Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked back down the hall to the office, where Charlotte and Alexis were preparing to watch me take Atlas apart piece by piece. I might not be able to feel anything for him anymore, but I would figure out a solution. I just needed to buy us time.

When Madison left my view entirely, I pulled out the phone and noticed it wasn’t mine. There was a photo of me on the lock screen. This was Atlas’s phone. Without hesitating, I unlocked it and searched the contact list for the two names she mentioned.

I selected the two names and entered the GPS application to generate our exact location. Taking that information, I plugged it into the message space and sent it to both of the names, adding ‘911’ to the end of the message before sending it. I needed them to get here before it was too late. Once I started, I wasn’t going to be able to stop.

After sending the message, I inhaled and blew out a deep breath before tucking the phone into my back pocket and placing my hand on the door handle. I cleared my head with my breathing, in and out, repeating two more times before I rolled my neck and flipped my switch one last time.

The thoughts of what I was going to do to Atlas behind this door caused a laugh to bubble up from my throat. The animal inside of me was coming up to the surface for air .

I grinned.

I was ready to play Charlotte’s game.

I was going to win.

I pushed open the door leading into the central portion of the warehouse. Atlas was sitting in the middle of the room, his back facing me. I flexed my hands and then sauntered my way over to where he was seated. The room was quiet. His head had shifted and was now upright. The sedative must have worn off already. The heels of my boots clicked on the cement floor as I approached him. He had a black satin hood over his head, so no matter what angle I came from, he wouldn’t have been able to see me.

The entire walk across the room, all I could think about was how much fun I was going to have with him, my dark and twisted thoughts fueling the anticipation to begin. Charlotte never let me off my chain to have ‘fun.’ It was always, “Don’t get too carried away with yourself.” And “Stop cutting everyone up into pieces.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the thought of her words over the years. She never let me go completely off leash until now. I will admit, with my switch flipped, I am reckless in all aspects.

Atlas’s wrists were zip-tied behind his back together, and his ankles were tied to the chair legs with rope. I licked my lips as I came up from behind him and turned as I slid into his lap, straddling him. I pulled the hood from his head and dropped it to the floor, taking my knife out of its sheath on my right thigh .

He blinked his eyes, adjusting to the contrast in light, and I smirked, biting on the tip of my tongue. I looked down and traced a path up his side with the tip of my knife, lightly dragging it up his body, starting with the bottom of his ribcage, over his pectoral muscles, and then finally stopping in the soft dip between his collarbone and his shoulder. I always enjoyed teasing my victims.

Atlas shivered from the movement, observing me closely. He knew something was wrong with me; he knew I was completely out of character—and he was right. I took in all his features; he had a strong jawline and dark brown hair with flecks of caramel streaked throughout the front. It was spiked on top—slightly mussed from the hood—and I couldn’t help but bite my lip as my eyes dropped to his delicious mouth. If I weren’t sent in here to kill him, I’d fuck him in a heartbeat. He was beyond gorgeous.

Thank god Charlotte didn’t eliminate my need for sex. That would have sucked; or maybe it wouldn’t have. I guess you can’t miss something if you no longer feel the pleasure and need for it.

I pushed a little presser into the knife, just enough to create tension against his skin but not enough to break it just yet. I loved it when they screamed, but I wanted to bide my time. He sucked in a breath with the pressure, and I couldn’t help but smile—a twisted and sadistic smile.

Atlas opened his mouth to speak but closed it without uttering a word. I twisted the knife and dug into his skin slightly as I moved my gaze from his lush mouth to his eyes. His eyes were immaculate, otherworldly. They were a stunning tricolored heterochromatic shade with bursts of blues, greens, and browns. I felt like getting lost in them. I found myself staring longer than usual into his eyes; it felt like his piercing gaze was searching my soul. It was mesmerizing, to say the least—a complete understatement.

What was I doing? I frowned slightly as I stared a little deeper into his eyes. There was a fire behind them, and I felt like a moth being drawn to a flame. I took a deep breath, his scent flooding and caressing my senses with cedar and spice. Suddenly, my mind started spinning, and a mild pulsing came from my temples, causing me to lose focus on him for a split second.

When my eyes refocused back to his gaze, I gasped softly. There it was; there he was. My heart squeezed in my chest, and the hole that Charlotte had put there slowly began to close. Was the drug wearing off? What was happening? Ataraxia was a single dose, which meant that I shouldn’t have been able to reach the pleasure sense that it eliminated. Maybe the formula didn’t work on love like she had expected. After all, love was stronger than anything in this world. I was feeling my love for Atlas again and wasn’t about to question it as my heart began racing.

My breaths turned heavy. Like a dark blanket being lifted from my soul, all the love, compassion, and adoration I felt for Atlas slowly became clear once again. I could feel everything again .

Remembering that Charlotte and the others were watching me on a surveillance feed. I had to reel myself back in; I couldn’t let them know anything was wrong and that my brain had somehow snapped back to where it was. Whether Ataraxia wore off by chance or was a complete failure of dosage, I didn’t care. All that mattered was I could feel my love for Atlas, and I needed to get him the hell out of here.

I pushed down lightly on the knife, just enough to puncture his skin, and let out a small amount of blood. Please forgive me… Atlas gritted his teeth and groaned from the pain. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for what I was doing—it pained me to hurt him, but I couldn’t show it in my demeanor. I was expected to torture and kill him slowly. Charlotte, Madison, and Alexis were watching me.

I leaned forward, sliding my free arm around the back of his shoulders to rest on the top of the chair. I dragged my nose along his cheek, taking in the feel of his skin against mine. He was everything to me. I loved him and would do anything to save him, even if it was from me.

I dragged my tongue up the side of his neck, savoring his taste for the camera, and then murmured into his ear, “I’ve messaged Derek and Marcus. They should be here soon. Play along. They are watching us. Don’t say a word.”

He stiffened under me, and I pulled myself back slowly, meeting his gaze one last time. I loved this man, and I would do anything it took to protect him. I was not going to let Charlotte win. Roman and her were the enemies in all of this, and they needed to be stopped. I didn’t know if I would make it out of this alive, but at least he had a better chance as soon as his friends arrived. He could stop them if I couldn’t in the end.

There was a loud explosion, and the doors behind me blew off of their hinges as a gust of hot air washed over us. I mouthed to him, ‘ I love you’ and fell back into my role of the executioner, letting out a growl as I cocked my head to look over my shoulder.

I ground my teeth with a feral sneer and swung myself off of Atlas’s lap, removing the knife from his shoulder and grasping it firmly in my hand. I stepped back from him, facing the blown-apart doorway behind me. I pushed as much anger and rage into my demeanor as I pointed my knife at the ground and strode towards the three figures standing in the doorway.

“The fu—”

A blast of white light and an ear-splitting ringing noise cut me off. I felt my body drop to the floor, my head was spinning, and there was a sharp pain that ripped its way through my body, causing me to scream until my throat felt raw. I couldn’t feel anything, and everything faded to black once again.