The Rampage MC #3: Atlas and Joy

Chapter 12 (Atlas): The Treasure She Is

When I got to Stian's room, I pounded on his door. He answered a minute later and smirked when he saw it was me.

"Yeah?"

I saw Corner walking down the hallway, his eyes wary as he spied me. Definitely didn't want to do this in front of an audience.

"Can I come in?"

"Shouldn't you at least buy me dinner first before you try to get invited into my room?"

This fucker. So not in the mood for this smart ass. If his busted-up lips and black eyes weren't enough, I'd be willing to provide him with more.

He must've read my face because he stepped aside, and I walked in.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave Joy alone," I told him, looking him in the eye. "Stay away from her."

"Seems like that should be a Joy decision."

"Seems like it should be a me decision. I claimed her. You know what the fuck that means and you went ahead and took her on your bike anyway, motherfucker."

His face turned to stone. "What the fuck is it with you assholes in this MC? You think women are commodities to be passed around or, if you find one you like, to be claimed, but you still treat women like things with no say in their own lives. Joy doesn't want to be claimed by you."

"She told you that?"

"She told you that in the kitchen in a way even you couldn't misunderstand! And Joy didn't have to tell me in words -- she got on the back of my bike. Tell me you don't want to be claimed without telling me you don't want to be claimed."

"She only said that in the kitchen because she doesn't know what was going on, why I was treating her the way I did. I haven't had a chance to explain everything to her, but I was protecting her."

"That was protecting her? What do you do for an encore? Kill her?"

My eyes zeroed in on a picture of a beautiful blonde on the nightstand. "You should understand claiming a woman. Your wife was beautiful, too, just like Joy. You wouldn't have wanted her on the back of another man's bike."

"First of all, I would have done backflips to make sure my wife didn't want to go on the back of another man's bike. And second, my wife was beautiful, but more than that, she was intelligent. She was funny. She was kind. She was giving. Her looks were the least of what she had to offer, but it's the first thing every man notices."

I turned on him. "What the fuck is your problem? Sorry I couldn't look at her picture and tell you damn, she looks like she could work the hell out of a trigonometric ratio."

"My problem is that's all you see. A woman's looks."

"It's a damn picture, Stian. What else am I supposed to notice?" 

"Atlas, real women may as well be pictures to you and your Rampage brothers. It's all about looks and pussy to you."

"You are so fucking wrong, it's not even funny."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Really? Tell me about Joy then, tell me something about her besides her looks."

"How long you got?"

"All night," he challenged me.

"Have a seat. This could take a while."

"Atlas, if a man like you makes it more than a minute talking about Joy's outstanding attributes without mentioning her body or looks, I'll be fucking amazed."