Chapter 29 #2
I pulled myself against him by his suit’s lapels.
“It is what I want. I want to be yours,” I spat out bitterly in a longing voice.
“But that reminds me.” I came up on my tippy toes, to whisper to him conspiratorially.
“You promised to let me see the red diamond.” I looked excitedly at the vault door.
But he frowned. “I told you about that?”
“You don’t remember? You promised to show me, if I showed you the red lingerie you bought me.” I giggled, biting my finger. “Now, I held up my end of the bargain, Mr. Anderson.” I batted my lashes at him and felt silly doing it.
“Interesting,” he said, still frowning.
It made my heart stop. Was he getting suspicious?
“I guess I must trust you a lot. I’ve never told anyone about the diamond, not even when I’m drunk off my rocker,” he said.
And it was exactly what my little tincture was made to do. “Why wouldn’t you trust me? Am I not your girl, Mr. Anderson?” I pressed my chest against him again, making sure he had a good view of my cleavage.
He swallowed hard and pushed his hand between us, cupping my breast. “Yes, you are, sweetheart.”
I had to close my eyes and moan as he squeezed my breast. Time was running out. “After you show me the diamond, will you have me on this table?” I looked expectantly towards the large wooden boardroom table in the middle of the room.
He laughed excitedly. “I’ll take it out and let you look at it while I fuck you from behind, how does that sound?”
What a disgusting thought. “Oh gods, yes,” I moaned.
He opened the vault and came back out with a black leather box.
My heart was racing, but I slowed my breathing, kept my focus.
Charles handed me the box, to clear his hands, so they could go all over my body.
I did my best to ignore his slimy hands pulling and prodding at me.
I had a job to do. I flipped open the lid.
Inside, nestled in a cushion of black velvet, laid the biggest diamond I had ever seen.
It looked like the photo, just more striking.
“Wow,” I breathed and meant it, the first true words I’ve spoken since walking into this building. It was as if I held a piece of Grayson’s history in my hands. A piece of his mother. A relic of a once happy, loving family. A family that Charles had destroyed and left Grayson in the ashes.
“It’s spectacular.” That was the signal.
Charles’s hands suddenly stilled from where they were trying to snake up my dress.
A flash of panic crossed his face as I felt my Grayson’s presence filling the room.
Charles did his best to keep his face straight, unbothered, but I saw right through it.
He was scared shitless. And he should be.
I turned towards Grayson and Hunter, the box still safely clasped in my hands.
They hadn’t bothered with masks. The CCTV system had been disabled, and dead men cannot speak.
Grayson had a gun pointed at us, a chilling smile on his face.
Hunter stood behind him, a gun gripped loosely in his hand, the picture of ease.
“Grayson Varon. I’m surprised to see you here.” Charles’s voice was seemingly steady, but I heard it crack at the end.
Grayson cocked his head, his grin widening. “Of course, you are.”
Varon. Grayson Varon. What a perfect name for such a perfect man. I tucked it away in my heart, adding it to all the other little pieces of the real him I’d collected.
“I’ve had men watch you from time to time, to make sure you weren’t up to anything like this,” Charles continued, waving his hand at the gun Grayson held.
“I’m aware,” Grayson looked unimpressed. “You should’ve hired smarter people.”
“Let’s cut the bullshit, son. Why are you here?” Charles was trying his best to remain in control of the situation.
“Don’t play coy, old man. You know exactly why I’m here.”
Charles put a hand on my shoulder. “Give me the box, Ava,” he half whispered.
I turned to him again. He reached for the leather box, but I took a few steps back, away from his grasp, towards Grayson. A smile formed on my lips as his face contorted, first with confusion then pure shock.
“Give me the box, Ava,” he said again, clinging to denial, his hand still outstretched towards me, waiting.
I turned to Grayson and opened the box for him to see. His eyes flitted to the diamond, then back to me. He smiled adoringly at me, then grabbed the diamond from the case and slipped it into his pocket.
“You’re on, Hunt,” Grayson said.
Hunter gave one nod, turned and jogged towards the elevators.
It was him and his beloved dart gun’s job to silently drop Charles’s men throughout the building.
I had watched him train for this, day and night, for weeks.
He was an immaculate shot—quick and precise.
And with the fast-acting tranquiliser I had whipped up, one shot would leave a man unconscious within two seconds.
It would make the next part easier, and more time efficient, as Grayson had put it.
The part that Grayson didn’t want any of us to participate in—the killing.
I shuddered.
But I had decided to make the tranquiliser so the men wouldn’t have to feel their death—a small mercy, that I hoped Karma would bestow on me too.
I had questioned and pleaded with Grayson about his exit plan. Why couldn’t we just steal Charles away quietly, and leave the way they came in? But Grayson had been unshakable. “We kill every one of Anderson’s men in the building and we walk out the goddamn front door.”
When I couldn’t look him in the eye, his voice softened.
“This is necessary, Ava. I don’t kill for nothing.
But I must leave a clear message.” He had lifted my chin, so gently, so at odds with what he was saying.
“You don’t have to participate in it, little witch.
I would never make you do something you don’t want to, but you can’t stop me either.
You will have to trust me on this. It’s important that I make an example out of Anderson. ”
I didn’t question him anymore. I trusted him. I trusted his judgment. This is what I signed up for, wasn’t it? This is what Hunter had talked about. And I wouldn’t let them down.
Charles’s eyes were on me. His face was contorted in fury. “You fucking bitch!” he spat at me.
Grayson stepped forward. “Sit down. Hands on the table.”
Charles complied, not taking his eyes off me. The look in his eyes would have scared me, but Grayson was there. I was safe.
Charles sat at the head of the boardroom table, palms flat on the wooden surface, staring daggers at me. I held his gaze, not letting him scare me.
“So how do you two know each other?” he sneered.
We didn’t deign him a response, but he started laughing.
“He’s the bank robber, isn’t he? He’s the one that kidnapped you.” He laughed again. “Oh, you stupid fucking whore.”
Grayson walked forward. “Hold this for me, will you?” he said as he plunged a knife through Charles’s hand, imbedding it into the table underneath.
Charles’s scream echoed through the room, eerily mixing with Grayson’s laughter. I looked away as the blood started spilling over his hand, my stomach rolling.
When Charles had gone quiet, panting, with his other hand hovering over the knife handle, Grayson leaned onto the table.
“And later, I’m going to cut your tongue out for the way you just spoke to her.
” He flicked the handle of the knife as he straightened again, smiling in satisfaction as Charles screamed again.
Grayson walked towards me, his eyes softening. “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t want you to see something like that. I just lost my… patience.” He lifted my chin and kissed me softly. “No man should ever talk to you like that.”
A while later, Hunter’s out-of-breath voice came from behind us, “All set.” He walked past us towards Charles with a zip-tie in his hands.
Grayson smiled down at his watch. “One minute and seventeen seconds faster than I anticipated.”
“We’re still going through with Plan A?” Hunter asked Grayson, his eyes anxiously flitting between us. Was he okay?
Charles’s scream made me whip my attention to him. He had pulled the knife from his hand and flung it at us. My heart lurched into my throat as I helplessly watched the knife heading straight for Grayson.
With a move so fast, my brain hadn’t registered it, Grayson had the knife in his hand. He had caught it, mid-air. He had fucking caught it, right in front of his face. He chuckled, like it was fun, right as Hunter bashed Charles’s face into the table.
When he turned to me again, he went on as if nothing happened. “There is one more thing I need, Ava. From his vault. Would you get it for me, while I help Hunter?”
My brows furrowed, but I nodded, not able to make a sound, my skin still prickling.
“He has an oval cut diamond ring in there. I need it.”
I nodded and turned towards the still open vault. I stepped inside just as Grayson pressed his thumb into Charles’s wounds, causing another scream and curses.
I tried to block it from my mind, while rummaging through the vault’s content. This one was much more disorganised than the one in Paris. There were a few ring boxes, but none with an oval cut diamond, so I kept looking, determined to find it.
A sudden click had me shooting to my feet, from where I crouched.
The vault door had locked.
And I was still inside.
I ran to it, pushing at it, but it was no use. I banged against the door. “Grayson!” I screamed. Could he even hear me through the thick steel?
I took a step back. Panicking wasn’t going to help me. I needed to slow my breathing and focus.
I suddenly remembered the small earpiece in a secret pocket on the inside of my jacket. In case of an emergency.
Ripping my jacket off, I laid it on the ground. My fingers located the pocket and retrieved the earpiece. I prayed that it would work through the thick steel of the vault as I pushed it into my ear. There was static as it came on in my ear.
“Grayson?”
Nothing.
“Grayson? Are you there?” I asked a bit panicked.
Static was the only answer.
“Grayson, please answer me. Please.”
A few seconds passed like hours, then, “Princess.” His voice was distorted and soft from the interference. But he was calm. There was no panic, so I calmed too.
“Thank the gods,” I said, my breath coming out in a whoosh. “I’m trapped in the vault. The door’s locked.”
There was nothing but static. I chewed at my cheeks, waiting for his reply. Did he hear me?
“I’m sorry,” came his voice so soft.
“What?” I asked, not understanding, not sure if I heard correctly.
“I’m sorry, Ava. I’m so sorry, baby,” came his voice again. Was it panic, I heard?
What was going on? Couldn’t he get me out? “Grayson?”
The static cut off. Then silence hummed in my ear. I stood frozen. I wasn’t breathing. My heart wasn’t beating.
“Grayson?” I whispered again, but I already knew he couldn’t hear me, as the nothing in my ear continued to hum.
No.
No.
My feet stumbled forward, my fists beating frantically against the door, screaming at the top of my lungs. For help. For Grayson. For Hunter. For anyone.
But no one heard. No one answered.
Had they left me? They wouldn’t. How did the door close anyway?
“I’m sorry, Ava.”
My knees gave in. No. Something must have gone wrong.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
No, he wouldn’t. There had to be an explanation.
I ripped the useless earpiece from my ear and threw it across the vault, watching it fall behind a shelf. I tried to push the loose strands of hair back in place with shaky hands. I backed away from the door.
Stay calm. You have to slow your breathing.
They will get me out of this.
I scooted to the middle of the space and clutched my knees to my chest. There was nothing I could do but wait. He will get me out. Rule Number One—Protect each other at all costs. He would come for me.
There was no telling how long I sat there. It could have been seconds. It could have been hours. But finally, the vault’s lock clicked loudly. I jumped to my feet, relief flooding me. Grayson did it! He got me out.
But when the door swung open, it was Wesley’s face that stared at me in shock.
“Ava. I thought they took you too.”
There was a crowd of people behind Wesley. My eyes scanned through their faces. Searching for him. But he wasn’t there. It was men dressed similarly to Wesley, and police officers.
Wesley shook my shoulders, and I slowly focused my attention back on him. “Who did this? Who took him, Ava?”
I just stared at him as my brain spiralled. Where was Grayson?
“Hey! Calm down. She’s clearly in shock. You won’t get anything out of her like this.” A man stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder. A police officer. “Let’s get you out of this box, Miss.”
I let him lead me through the office, him and Wesley still arguing, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying over the roar in my ears.
“Sit here, Miss. The EMT is going to look you over and give you something for the shock.” I let him push me down into a chair.
We were somehow in the lobby, chaos reigning around us.
Lights were flashing, people were running.
Dead bodies everywhere. Some on gurneys, some still sprawled on the floor.
I hadn’t expected so much blood. It marked every inch of the foyer floor. The police and Charles’s men, who hadn’t been in the building at the time, were leaving bloody footprints all over the floor, being unable to dodge all the blood.
I watched as a medic threw a sheet over the guard that had greeted me by the door. His throat was slit.
Gods! This was…
“Ah, fuck. What are the feds doing here?” the policeman groaned as a black SUV came to a standstill. He walked over to the car, his chest puffed out.
I shut my eyes as the EMT started prodding at me, asking me questions I didn’t have the strength to listen too.
Grayson wasn’t here. None of them were.
“Ava. You’re alive!” an unfamiliar voice called out.
I opened my eyes to see a man in a suit stare at me, shaking his head in awe.
“Do you know her?” the police officer, who had taken me from the vault asked. He was standing next to the suit-man.
“Yes,” he answered. “Now cuff her.”
“What?” the policeman inspected the man next to him, as if he was looking for signs of drug use.
My body felt too heavy to react, so I just kept the suited man’s stare.
“She’s in on it. She’s with them.” He kept his puzzled gaze on me too. How did he know?
The policeman must have seen something on my face. “Well, fuck,” he said, taking out his cuffs.
“And who are you?” I asked the man with all the arrogance I could muster.
He smiled and stepped forward. “I’m special agent Owen Becket. I’ve been hunting your guys for a while now. And they finally made a mistake.”