#danielatlasxoc

“It’s all in the wrist,” Jack told Merritt as they waited outside the Horsemen Hideout for Danny and Sutton. “Let the momentum of the card do the work for you.”

“Mhm,” Merritt agreed, rolling his eyes.

“This last one, I call the stall.” Jack threw the card, it coming to a perfect stop on the rusted car.

Merritt whistled. “Not bad. Now you want to see a thing of beauty?”

“I do indeed.”

“Here you go, and bingo bango bongo!” Merritt exclaimed, the cards he had thrown falling into a lame pile.

Jack nodded. “That’s good. No, no, no, it’s good to be positive despite making zero progress in a year.” Merritt agreed. “Whereas when it comes to hypnotism, the student has almost become the master.”

“I like your confidence,” Merritt told the pickpocket, “but you might say that you have the better teacher.”

Jack played along. “You’re right, you’re right. Your teacher definitely doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Jack flicked cards through the air. “By the way, was this your card yesterday?” he asked after catching the one he was looking for.

“In fact it was,” Merritt marveled.

“I thought so.” Jack sliced the air with a card. A loud clap sounded in the dimly lit alley.

“Not too bad,” Sutton smiled at them as she made her appearance. Jack and Merritt greeted her. “Ace of spades?” Sutton clicked her tongue. “Very predictable, Merritt.”

Merritt shrugged. “Where’s Ass-las?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You just love calling him that, don’t you?” Merritt smiled widely in confirmation.

Sutton sighed. “Don’t know.”

Merritt and Jack exchanged a glance. “What do you mean?” Merritt questioned.

“Look, guys,” Sutton started, “it’s really not a big deal.”

“Did he cheat on you?” Jack interrupted.

“Why does everyone keep assuming Danny cheated on me?” Sutton asked. She let out a frustrated huff. “No, he didn’t cheat on me. Danny just did something that made me not trust him.”

“Awe, Sut,” Merritt cried, wrapping her in a hug.

“It’s okay, though,” Sutton said, clearing her throat and wiping at her eyes. “We are just taking a break. It’s not forever. I know Danny knows what he did was wrong. I just know, I don’t know how, but I know he will find a way to fix us, make us ‘Sutlas’ again.” Merritt gasped and fangirled at Sutton’s use of his nickname for the couple. She gave him a light smile.

Jack smiled at her. “I never saw this side of you before, Sutton.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Whatever it is that happened, I’m glad you are handling it well. If you have faith in Danny, I do too.” Sutton smiled up at her best friend.

“How’s Ass-las handling it?” Merritt asked, while Jack cursed him for using the lame nickname once more.

Sutton shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“If he has any sense in him, he will be a mess when he gets here,” Merritt told her. Just then, a motorcycle roared. Sutton turned, knowing fully well it was Danny.

“I’m going to go in a while, okay?” Sutton told the two as she watched Danny remove his helmet. She gulped. Danny was attractive as he was, but the motorcycle put him over the top. Shaking her head, Sutton headed inside to wait for the guys.

A minute later, Sutton heard Danny’s voice. “Okay, somebody broke into my apartment, alright? Some amateur who knew everything about me, everything about-”

“Wait, what?” Sutton interrupted, stepping in Danny’s path.

“S-Sutton,” Danny stuttered. He cleared his throat and gave her his signature smile.

In the dim light, Sutton could tell Danny had dark circles under his eyes. He was crying, Sutton figured, after she left. All Sutton wanted to do was wrap her arms around the man she loved, but she knew she couldn’t give in that easily. She needed to teach Danny a hard lesson. Sutton shook herself back to reality. “Who broke into our apartment?”

Danny shook his own head, disappointed that she didn’t want to talk to him about anything except business. “She-she knew everything about us. The Horsemen, that is. Everything about Henley leaving.” The group of four walked up to the railing. “That’s her.”

“Hey!” the woman from the apartment greeted them.