Chapter 3
ARI
Islump back against the wall, wincing in pain. They haven’t let up for two days, beating the shit out of me every chance they get.
The first time they beat me, I wished for my death.
The second time, I was planning theirs. They took my family from me, and I’ll make every one of these motherfuckers pay.
I inspect the cuffs through blurry eyes, trying to see if I can slip out of them.
All I need is my arms, and I can fight my way out of here.
They don’t have kill orders or they would have shot me on the spot, which means they have to keep me alive or face my father’s wrath.
The worst they can do is shove me back in here.
I get up onto my knees, already breathing heavily.
“Motherfucker,” I grit out when my ribs scream in protest. Several are broken, I have no doubt about that.
My nose is also broken, but everything else is superficial, nothing that I haven’t dealt with before.
I finally get my feet under me, and stagger into the wall.
I’m inspecting the cuffs when a scream splits the air.
My heart starts pounding in my chest and I rush to the door of my cell.
They scream louder, and then I hear the voice. “Please let me out.”
“Jason?” I holler back.
“Ari?” he answers, and I almost slump to the floor. They lied to me? This whole time Jason’s been alive, and that means there’s a chance the rest of my team might be too. He has to be close. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about me, Sweet cheeks. Are you?”
“I don’t know.” I hear the tears clogging his voice, and it pisses me off even more that he’s here. “My heart feels funny.”
“Sit and try to calm down. I’m not sure what they dosed you with.
” I blink, trying to clear my eyes, but they’re so swollen that it’s hard.
The only way to get out of these cuffs is to dislocate my thumbs.
I don’t have a choice now. I have to get to him, and I don’t have time to weaken the cuffs enough to break them.
I grit my teeth, grab my hand with the other, and squeeze. They’ve been broken before, so the ligaments are already weak. I hear the slight crunch, then use the wet blood that’s still there and slip the one cuff off. I quickly get loose from the other one, snap my thumbs back into place, and wait.
I don’t have to wait long before I hear the lock slide open.
The shackles on my ankles might pose a problem with movement, but I just have to get a hold of one of them for the key.
The asshole steps in, and I pounce. I grab him by the bullet proof vest and jerk him inside the cell, then turn him around and grab his automatic at the same time.
I know these motherfuckers use armor piercing bullets, which works to my advantage.
I pop off a shot, taking out the guard standing at the door with a dumb look on his face, and jab the gun into the other’s side, pulling the trigger.
I let him drop, and start searching for the keys.
I jerk them from his belt, quickly undo the shackles, and pull his AK off.
Keeping it in front of me, I peek around the door to see if any other guards are running toward me.
When I don’t see any, I step into the hall.
I don’t have long, because I know there’s cameras in here.
“Jason?” I hiss, walking where I thought I heard his voice. “Jason?”
“Ari?” I run toward his voice and put my ear against the door.
“Jason?”
“I’m here!”
I unlock it, slide the deadbolt free, and jerk the door open. Jason is up and in my arms before I can blink. I squeeze him against me, ignoring my ribs screaming in pain. “We need to get out of here.” Jason pulls back and gasps when he gets a good look at me. “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”
“What did they do to you?”
I grab his hand and pull him back into the hallway.
I walk back to the other guard, grab his gun, and hand it to Jason.
“We can talk about all that later.” I give him a quick rundown on how to use it, and rub my hand down his cheek.
“Don’t hesitate to shoot. Keep it braced on your shoulder so it doesn’t kick out of your hand. ”
I push him behind me, place his hand on my shirt, and start moving when he closes his hand.
I go the opposite way of where they took me to talk to Abraham, hoping that I don’t run into anyone else.
We come to a hallway, and I look around the corner to make sure the coast is clear.
Not seeing anything, I take a step forward, only to hear footsteps pounding behind me.
I whirl around so Jason isn’t in the line of fire and raise my weapon.
“I won’t hesitate to shoot, motherfuckers.” They skid to a stop because they know their vests don’t hold up against these bullets. “I’m leaving. I can do it whether you’re dead or alive. The choice is yours.”
“You’re outnumbered.” That voice makes me grit my teeth so hard that I’m surprised they don’t crack.
“Why don’t you quit hiding, Abraham?”
Abraham steps forward, but keeps two guards in front of him. “You always have to make everything so hard. Your father is trying to hand you the power.” I feel Jason stiffen behind me, and realize he still doesn’t know who I really am.
“I don’t want his kind of power. It used to be something to be proud of, until he took over.
Now he’s a fucking coward who hides behind his agents to do his dirty work, and lets his own daughter die because of his beliefs.
” Jason sucks in a quiet breath and his hand slides to my hip, squeezing in comfort.
“This has to stop. I didn’t want it then, and I don’t want it now. ”
“Why? Because of some misplaced loyalty to the Saviors? You’ve been here for days, Aryeh. Your team might be dead, but there’s more. Where are they?”
“They’re dead?” Jason whispers behind me, and I can hear the heartbreak in his voice.
“They aren’t dead,” I say with more conviction. “I would feel that shit, because they’re what a true family is.” I start backing up, ready to make a run for it. I have keys and the guards’ access card, so hopefully I can get us out of here. We can hide until we can get to safety.
I grab Jason’s hand, spin around, and run like hell down a long hallway.
The whole time, I’m hoping his heart can keep up with the stress.
I’m so fucking stupid. After the whole speech about not going out alone, what do I do?
Go out alone with Jason. I knew someone was after me, and I was too cocky to believe they’d actually get the drop on me.
I also didn’t think my father would use every agent he could just to bring me back.
What I don’t understand is why? He disowned me the second I left Israel and joined the American army.
There’s more at play here and when we get free, it’s up to me to find out.
We skid to a stop at a door, and I slap the access card against the reader.
It beeps, the light turns green, and I push it open.
The person comes out of nowhere, hitting me and Jason, knocking us into the wall.
Jason hits it with a pained grunt and lands on the floor.
I see red and hit the guy with a flying tackle.
We grapple for control until I finally get him pinned on the floor.
“Ari! Behind you!” Jason calls out, and I twist to look over my shoulder, but it’s too late.
Several guards land on me, knocking me to the side, trying to pin my hands.
I fight with every ounce I have left until one of them gets a hit in on my broken nose.
Stars explode in my skull, and black spots dance in my vision.
That’s all the distraction they need. I’m pinned, handcuffs slapped back on my wrists, and jerked to my feet.
One of the other guards roughly grabs Jason by the front of his shirt to pull him to his feet.
“Do that again and I’ll gut you first,” I grit out.
“Give it up, Aryeh,” Abraham says, walking into the room. Now that I’m detained, he doesn’t hide behind the guards. Fucking pussy. “Agree to go back, and I’ll let him go.”
I snort. “I know better than that. As soon as I’m on that plane, you’ll put a bullet in his brain.”
Abraham pulls a revolver from the back of his pants and holds it to Jason’s head.
My blood runs cold, and I stop breathing.
“Or I can do it now and make you watch.” I stare him down, refusing to give him what he wants.
He pulls the hammer back, and his finger tightens on the trigger.
Jason’s eyes close, and tears roll down his cheeks.
“You have two options, since you want to be insubordinate. Watch me blow his brains out, or leave peacefully and you’ll never even know. ”
“Ari,” Jason says, his voice shaking. “Just go. You don’t need to watch this.”
“Abraham, let him go. I’ll call Papa, tell him to hand the reins over to you, and I’ll disappear. I don’t want this. I’m not standing in your way. Father is.”
Abraham’s face turns red with anger, and he pushes the barrel harder against Jason’s temple.
“You don’t think I’ve told him that? You don’t think that I’ve told him to let me kill you and get it over with?
He only wants you to carry on the legacy.
He won’t have it any other way. Now, you don’t leave me any choice. ”
Abraham looks at Jason, and I explode away from the guards.
I tuck my shoulder and slam right into him.
He pulls back and punches me right in the nose again.
My head snaps back, and he swings the gun back up, aiming at Jason.
I jump in front of him right when he pulls the trigger, and it rips right through my shoulder.
“Shit,” I groan, staggering back a step.
“Ari!” Jason calls out when I hit my knees, and I turn to look at him, relieved that he’s in one piece.
Abraham crouches in front of me, anger in his eyes. I pull my head back and slam it forward, head butting him right in the face. He screams in pain, grabbing his nose. “Lock him up,” Abraham barks. “Put them in the same room. Make the faggot watch you beat the fuck out of him.”
The guard jerks me up by my injured arm, and I bite my tongue so I don’t make a noise. I’m not giving Abraham the satisfaction. They lead us back to the cells, open one, and shove us in. The door is slammed and locked before I even get the chance to turn around.
“Ari,” Jason says, racing over to me. His hands flutter around me, having no idea where to start. “Tell me what to do.”
I sit heavily on the cot, sweat pouring down my face. “You need to see if there’s an exit wound.”
Jason rushes around me and hisses when he looks at the back of my shoulder. “There is. You’re bleeding really bad.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him that I already know that since I can feel it dripping down my arm. “I need you to put pressure on it.”
Jason whips his shirt off without a second thought and pushes it against the wound. I wince, and he immediately starts apologizing. “I’m so sorry. For everything. I should have called the guys before I went in.”
“Sit down, Sweet cheeks.” Jason gingerly sits beside me, still holding pressure.
“None of this is your fault. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. I shouldn’t have gone to your apartment without backup.
I didn’t take the threat seriously enough and got us both in trouble.
” I take a deep breath. “I need you to help me get out of these cuffs.”
“What?” Jason hisses. “Do you not remember what just happened?”
“Do you want to sit here and watch them torture me? I’m not giving up without a fight.”
“I know you can’t see your face, but it’s bad. Like, really bad, and you have a bullet wound! We can’t get out of here alone. They’ll come save us.”
“I don’t know if they’re coming,” I admit. “They cut my tracker out, so they have no way to find us. Even if they do find us, it’s almost impossible to break into a military prison.”
“The military is doing this to you?”
I sigh and turn slightly so I can see him. “Not your military. My military. My father is the director of Mossad.”
“That’s a real thing?”
I bark a laugh. “Very real, and I put you right in the middle. I’ll forever hate myself for that, Sweet cheeks.”
Every emotion passes across his face, but determination takes over. “We can’t control who our parents are, Ari. I love you. No matter what. We aren’t dying here. Tell me how to get you out of the cuffs.”
“How loose are the cuffs?”
Jason pokes around, sliding two fingers underneath them. “Pretty loose.”
“Will they slide off?”
Jason pulls on the one that’s not attached to my injured arm. “Maybe?”
“Good. Pull it.”
“Ari—”
“Just pull it. It will hurt like a bitch, but I can’t do anything with my arms behind my back.
” I kiss the frown line between his brows.
“I love you, too.” Jason starts with my uninjured arm and tugs.
I pull against him, and feel it scrape my skin.
“Keep going,” I encourage when he pauses. “Harder.”
Jason grabs my arm above the cuff and yanks at the same time that I pull. It slides off, and I gently pull my other arm in front of me. I stare at it, already knowing this is going to fucking hurt.
Taking several steadying breaths, I grab the cuff in a tight grip and yank. It comes off, but fire rips down my arm, and I sway to the side.
Jason shoves his shirt back against the wound, and his lips land on my temple. “You can’t pass out. We can do this.”
I soak in his words and beg my mind to clear. I feel like my body is one giant bruise, and it hurts with each movement or breath that I take.
But I’m still determined to get us out of here.
Alive.