Chapter 20
CHAPTER
TWENTY
ARIS
“Why don’t we have a signal out here?” Garrick grumbles as he attempts to call in his team for backup. In his mind, we don’t have enough men to handle the magnitude of lowlifes Berlynn’s father has at his disposal.
“It’s hit or miss in this area. Not to mention, I heard that overnight, the cell towers were being updated which means we’ll be without service for the time being,” I tell him.
“That’d explain why I haven’t had any bars for most of the night,” Garrick expresses, his face contorted into a look of displeasure. “It’s gonna make keeping in contact with one another next to impossible.”
“They’ve worked randomly, Garrick. Let’s just hope they wrap up soon.”
“Randomly isn’t good enough for what we’re potentially walking into,” he mutters.
I can’t argue with that because he’s right. Tonight of all nights was bad timing for them to do their upgrades. As we pull up to the gate leading up to my estate, chill bumps roam up and down my spine.
“Something’s wrong,” I say to myself. “This all feels wrong. They’ve done something, I know they have. I have a bad feeling, Garrick.”
“I do too,” he conveys through a strained voice.
“Fuck!” I growl, punching the dashboard.
“Hey! Don’t do that. If you break it, you buy it,” Garrick scolds me. “Not all of us have money lining our bank accounts and can afford to replace our vehicles if you destroy them.”
“I’ll get you a new one for Christmas. Just hurry the fuck up,” I utter, wanting him to stop lolly gagging around and put his foot to the floor.
The fourth round of him trying to input the code and the gate not opening has me losing what little patience I have left.
Garrick swivels his head my way and holds up his palm. “You’ve got to calm your tits and think, Aris. Is there another way for us to get in if the panel stops working?”
His tongue lashing has me settling down long enough to think.
“Yes,” I say, shifting my hips and pulling my keychain out of my sweats pocket. “There’s an entrance gate that requires a key to open. It’s on the edge of the property, that way.” I point to my left and we jump out of the vehicle and amble that way.
My hands are shaky, but somehow through their unsteadiness I still manage to get the key in the keyhole and twist. The sound of the lock mechanism releasing is like music to my ears. Once the metal bars swing open, I take off for the house.
“Aris! Slow the fuck down. You can’t go into the house without backup! Think, man!” Garrick thunders, but his words don’t slow me down. I need eyes on my woman and Berk.
They can shoot me down for all I care. As long as my family is left alone, as long as Berlynn and Berkley don’t have a single strand of hair out of place, I’ll leave my fate in the hands of a higher power.
As I step foot into my front yard, Tracker’s low, threatening growl has me pausing. He never reacts that way to anyone he knows, so this means it must be a foreign person. A stranger. That has my own hackles rising. With the amount of men we have guarding the perimeter of my property, nobody should have been able to infiltrate my sanctuary.
“The fuck?” I hiss like a rattlesnake, turning on my feet and heading toward the back half of the house.
“Careful!” Garrick chides. “Dammit, Aris. You’re gonna get yourself killed if you don’t listen to me.”
“So be it,” I say in return, refusing to slow my stride.
“You’re a hardheaded motherfucker, you know that?” he asks.
“So I’ve been told,” I volley back.
“Would you slow the fuck down and get behind me? I have a weapon, you don’t,” he argues.
“I do,” I reply, showing him my doubled fist, raising them over my head so he can see. “I’ve never needed anything more deadly.”
“Shit,” he mumbles.
“You’ve got that right,” I state as I round the corner. What I see has me snarling. “You shoot that dog and I’ll break every one of your goddamn necks!”
“Aris!” I hear my name shouted behind me by numerous voices. I don’t stop to see who it is, I’m aware of who followed us from the office.
“Kayson,” I call over my shoulder. “Call your men off before I fuck them up.”
“Put your guns down!” Kayson demands. “Now.”
Once all of their arms have lowered and their pistols have been re-sheathed, I slowly walk over to Tracker, not wanting to get bitten by him seeing as he’s in protective mode.
“Tracker,” I say his name in a calmer tone than what I’m feeling. “Come here. Let’s go see Berk.” As soon as Berk’s name leaves my lips, Tracker slowly makes his way to my side. “It’s okay, boy.” I pet the top of his head and escort him to the back door.
When the alarm sounds off, my forehead creases.
That’s odd.
We don’t usually set it when he’s outside since he’s always in a rush to return to Berk’s side. It takes him less time to do his thing if his master isn’t out with him.
“If he’s out here alone, where are Berk and Berlynn?” Kayson poses the question. “They don’t usually leave him out here on his own without one or the other out here watching over him. I never see one of them not standing on the back porch when he’s out. Even in the middle of the night.”
“I have no fucking clue,” I answer him. “But I’m about to find out.” They weren’t supposed to let him out until I returned.
Berlynn promised.
She knew it could be dangerous because I told her that it wasn’t safe and to alert one of the guards if he needed to go out. That makes the eerie feeling I’ve had strumming through me all night come back tenfold.
I’m gonna paddle her ass red for making me worry like this.
I don’t do fear well. As a matter of fact, I have a tendency to overreact and painting her ass with my handprint sounds like a damn good way to alleviate my fright.
I didn't give them a chance to case the perimeter or pie any corners. My instincts were centered on one thing alone—checking on my family and making sure they’re safe and sound, nestled in their beds where I left them.
Taking the stairs two steps at a time, I run like I haven't ever run before. I know that I'll feel off kilter until I set eyes on both of them. My nerves are shot as I hit the top of the staircase. My temper is on the fringe of shredding. I bypass Berk's room and head directly toward Berlynn’s. When I make it, I notice that her door is ajar, but I quickly push my head in anyway and call out her name.
“Berlynn? Baby? If you’re hiding you can come out now. I’m home,” I call out to the still, dark room. After giving it an appropriate amount of time with no response, I twist on the balls of my feet and rush down the hallway.
“Aris?” Kayson asks as he hits the lip of the stairwell. “Are they alright?”
“Don’t know. Berlynn’s room is empty. I’m gonna check Berk’s,” I explain.
Tracker is sitting on his haunches as he waits for me to let him inside the bedroom. Pushing the door open, I notice one body sleeping in the bed. Tiptoeing that way, I pull back the sheet and notice that it’s Berk.
But where’s Berlynn?
Whenever their parents were on a rampage, or she was scared, she’d always crawl into his bed and cuddle with him. That’s what I expected to find now.
Exuberantly shaking Berkley’s shoulders, I call out his name until his eyes fly open. His nostrils flare when he takes in my anger and my fear. “What’s wrong, Ari?”
“Where’s your sister?” I boom out the question. Whereas normally, I’d approach him with more caution, I feel an urgent need to locate my woman.
“She was just right here,” he answers, pushing his hands around on the empty sheets looking for her. Panic sets in for him when he becomes cognizant of the fact that she’s not where she was when he fell asleep. “She was just here, holding my hand.” His whispered voice cracks and my resolve breaks.
“Where is my woman!” I roar.
As if the sky opens up and decides to rain down on me, my phone begins dinging. Glancing down, I see an incoming email from Berlynn. One that’s been forwarded from a nondescript number.
When I press play, my knees buckle as I listen to the disingenuous voice. A voice that lives inside of Berlynn’s nightmares.
“Hello, daughter. It's time for me to play my hand, and soon, you'll see that the cards that I've dealt are not ones you're going to be happy with. You will not come out a winner in this. I will be the victor here. You only have so many weaknesses and only one was easily contained and I have her at my disposal. Wanna take a gander at who that could be? No guesses? Hmm, let me show you.”
Dazedly, I watch as he walks around a dusky corner, and a woman tied to a chair with her head dangling to her chin comes into view.
When he speaks again, the hair on my forearms rise up .
“You have two hours to escape your guards, leave the grounds, and meet me in the parking garage at the library. If you don’t show up at that designated time and place, Addison will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. See you soon, my daughter.”
“That’s my dad,” Berkley whispers, his tone trembling. “Did she go to him, Aris?”
“I think so, buddy,” I tell him through clenched teeth.
“He’ll hurt her. You have to get her back,” he demands.
“I will,” I vow.
“I’m gonna fire every last one of them,” Kayson growls, punching the steering wheel as we speed down the dirt road. “I trained them personally and they were all exceptional, yet they still managed to fall down on the job.”
Kristoff is sitting in the back seat, sending out ‘be on the lookout’ text messages. “Do you have any photos of Berlynn in your phone you can send me so I can attach it to these postings?”
Too angry and despondent to verbally answer, I shoot him off several that I’ve taken over the past few days.
My phone dings again. When I pick it up, I notice that my incoming message is through text and not email. Swiping the notification with my thumb, I see another video on the screen and see it’s Berlynn’s beautiful face that shows up this time around and not that of my sister.
“Aris. I’m in the parking garage, but I’m hiding. They haven’t spotted me yet, but I’m watching as they put Addy in a car which means I’m about to expose myself to them. It was my one request and I emphasized that they wouldn’t find me unless they let her go. I didn’t forward you my response to my dad’s demands because it wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things.”
She swallows her choked words. I close my eyes, listening to the sound of her cracked voice. All I can wonder about as I tune into what she’s saying is did I tell her I love her enough? Does she know I’ll walk through hell to bring her back to me?
“I have to tell you something. Before I do, and I hope it eases your worry and conscience. You’re going to be able to find me if you follow my directive. You’re going to think this is strange, but when all of this started, and things got dicey with my dad and mom, I talked with a doctor and with the help of his veterinarian wife, I had Berk and myself microchipped. It was a risky move; one we weren’t sure would even work considering they’re designed for animals and not humans. But against all the odds, it works. I’m forwarding you the link to the app, as well as the login and password information. Don’t hate me, Aris. I knew with this data you’d be able to rescue me, but Addy doesn’t have that at her disposal. She’s in a white Nissan Versa. The license plate is NVT 4454. Make sure she isn’t followed before you come after me. I love you. See you soon.”
When the video pauses and I notice her wide, fearful eyes, mine begin to swim with unshed tears. “See you soon, my love.”
“Smart woman,” Kayson says.
“The smartest,” I concur.
“We’re going to get her back,” he says, trying to appease me.
“Tonight,” I vow.