Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Henry
“Ready for me to kick your ass again, old man?” Ariana joked as I entered the home gym after taking Cato for a walk.
She was already stretching, wearing fitted leggings and a tank top that did absolutely nothing to help me keep my head straight. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, exposing her neck…as well as the bite marks I’d left hours earlier.
It had been a few days since I’d agreed to use her as bait in order to lure Victor out of hiding.
I still hated it. Every damn part. The idea of her being anywhere near Victor made my skin crawl.
But she wasn’t wrong.
Victor had paid the Bratva an obscene amount of money to have her abducted. If she suddenly reappeared with our carefully crafted story — that she’d taken a few days to “disconnect” while her husband was out of town — he wouldn’t be able to stay away.
He’d need to play the part of the caring, concerned husband for the world to see.
Then, we’d end this.
In the meantime, Blake and I had doubled our efforts to locate him.
We’d put tails on several Miami Bratva members, including Nikolai Volkov, the Obshchak Victor had spoken with the night before Ariana’s botched abduction.
So far, nothing led us to him. It was as if the earth had swallowed him whole.
But I wasn't giving up. Not now. Not ever.
And while Blake’s team hunted, I spent every morning training Ariana in my home gym.
If she insisted on being bait, she’d damn well know how to defend herself. I’d also taken her shooting so she’d be comfortable handling and firing a gun if it came to it. I hoped it didn’t. But she needed to be prepared.
“Old man?” I closed the distance between us, my mouth hovering over hers. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I were really an old man, would I have been able to treat you to three mind-blowing orgasms this morning? Have you begging for more while you rode my cock?”
“They do make pills for that,” she teased.
I pulled her against me, gently thrusting so she could feel what she did to me with just one touch, one look, one smile.
“I don’t need any pills when you’re around.” I covered her mouth with mine, hopelessly addicted to her. In such a short time, she’d invaded my every waking thought to the point where I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Where I happily told her I loved her.
She hadn’t said it back yet, but I didn’t care.
I’d lived with enough regret. I didn’t want to add this to the growing list.
After the shit she’d been through, she deserved to know she was loved.
And hopefully, one day, she’d trust her heart enough to say it back.
“Let’s get started,” I said, pulling out of the kiss.
“Yes, sir.” Ariana mock saluted, and I couldn’t deny a thrill rushed through me when she called me “sir”.
Maybe we’d add that to our bedroom repertoire.
We went through warm-ups, then reviewed basic strikes, blocks, escapes. She caught on fast. Almost too fast. Victor trained her without meaning to. Surviving him required instincts no normal person should ever have to develop.
Seeing her improve by leaps and bounds every day solidified what I’d told her the first time I saw her scars. What I tried to make her feel every day.
She was a warrior.
“Let’s practice a new hold,” I said after a while.
“Which one?”
“The bear hug.”
“That doesn’t sound all that scary.”
“No, but when you’re in the heat of the moment, one wrong move could be the difference between life and death. You need to know the best way to weaken your opponent in order to escape.”
“Okay.” She took a sip of water. “What’s the bear hug?”
“I’ll approach you from behind,” I began, keeping my voice steady, my gaze studying her for any hint of apprehension. “Then wrap an arm around your upper body and pin your arms to your sides.”
Her expression faltered slightly. I knew exactly what she was thinking about. That night in Maine when I’d performed this exact hold on her, which led to a panic attack.
“We don’t have to do this today,” I said when I noticed her face grow pale.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she returned her gaze to mine, it was full of determination.
“If Victor attacks me, he won’t ask what hold I’d prefer. I need to be ready for all of them.”
Fair point.
“When I restrain you, drop your weight, shift your hips, aim for a soft target, and strike.”
“Got it.”
“Ready?”
She nodded. “Ready.”
I moved behind her carefully, giving her time to adjust as I slid my arm across her chest and pinned her arms to her sides. Her breath hitched immediately, her muscles going rigid.
Uncertainty crawled up my spine. If she panicked like this in front of Victor, she could end up dead. The mere idea had my stomach in knots.
Then, just as quickly, her unease seemed to subside, her body shifting.
Before I had time to register it, she dropped her weight, twisted her hips, and drove her elbow back hard.
Pain exploded beneath my ribs.
The next second, she executed the sweep I’d shown her a few days ago, and my back hit the mat.
“Like that?” she asked, standing over me, her chest heaving.
I blinked up at her and grinned. “Exactly like that.”
She extended a hand to help me up. I grabbed it, flashed her a devilish grin, and yanked her down on top of me. She let out a startled laugh, her palms bracing on either side of my shoulders.
“If this is what I get when you take me out,” I murmured, sliding a hand along her hip, “I’m happy to let you kick my ass all day, every day.”
Her laughter softened, and she dipped her head to kiss me. Slow, lingering, the kind of kiss that made me want to forget about Victor Kane entirely.
This was the effect Ariana had on me. She made me want to shut out the world and focus on her and her alone.
But we couldn’t.
Not until she was finally free from her past.
Suddenly, the gym door swung open, startling both of us.
I snapped my head in its direction as Blake came to an abrupt stop.
“Shit. Sorry.” He looked between Ariana and me. “Didn’t realize I’d be walking in on…anything.”
“You didn’t. Just me kicking Henry’s ass.” Ariana smirked as she rolled off me.
I loved Blake like a brother. But right now, I wanted to kill him for interrupting us.
“He needs a good ass-kicking every now and then. I’m Blake, by the way.” He extended his hand toward her.
“Nice to finally put a face to the name,” she said as they shook. “I’m Ariana.”
“I know.” He winked at her before turning to me. The lightness left his face instantly. “We need to talk.”
I got to my feet and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from my brow. “Did you find something?”
“I did.”
I shot Ariana a look. “We’ll pick this up later?”
She nodded. “Go.”
I pressed a quick kiss to her temple before following Blake out of the gym and into my office.
He dropped into the chair beside the monitors and tapped a key. Footage popped up of a man standing next to a pickup truck, pumping gas.
“What am I looking at?” I asked.
“Victor Kane,” Blake said.
My pulse slowed, sharpened. “Where?”
“Near Lake Okeechobee. Used his credit card this morning. I got an alert, so I hacked into the system at the station to check the footage. It’s not great and I can’t make out his face, but he has the same height and build.”
“I’ve never known Victor Kane to wear anything but designer suits. Certainly not jeans and a flannel.”
“He’s probably hoping no one recognizes him.”
I considered this for a moment, then asked, “Do we know where he is now?”
He hit another button, and footage of a cabin on a lake popped up with the same truck from the gas station parked in the driveway.
“He also turned on his cell phone this morning to make a phone call to an electrician. I was able to track it to this cabin.”
Relief punched through me so fast I had to brace a hand on the desk. We wouldn’t need Ariana as bait. We could end this without putting her at risk.
“What do you want to do?” Blake pressed.
I stared at Victor’s shadowed face as he pumped gas. My jaw clenched. My daughter’s face flashed before my eyes. Then Ariana’s. Then the dozens of women whose photos hung on the walls around me.
“We go there,” I said. “See if it’s him.”
“And if it is?”
“We end this. Tonight.”