14. Tyson
FOURTEEN
TYSON
Abducting Carter was the easy part.
It only took a few days of surveillance, stacks of blue bills to a couple different security guards, and a tunneled escape route that led directly to the street.
Those pieces were easily manipulated, whereas human emotions and reactions are always wild cards.
Unfortunately, we’re onto the part of this plan that will activate those two factors, meaning we can’t ever know exactly what we're dealing with, and in turn, have to calculate the levels of danger from every direction.
Carter’s father won’t be a pleasant man to negotiate with, but the longer we can spin him in circles, the further away we can run before he’s on our heels.
She was right about being the most valuable asset he possesses, and I know from experience that letting Carter go – no matter the reasons why – is one of the hardest things a person could do in this lifetime.
Without a doubt, the next phase of this mission is going to be the most difficult on all three of us, but deep down, that strong version of Carter is begging for release, and this test is one I’m confident she can ace.
“So let me get this straight, we listened to everything she went through, and you still think it’s a good idea to go at it this way?
” Massi questions, taking my presentation much harder than Carter, but only because he’s locked into over-protective mode, like a German Shepherd gnawing at its enclosure to attack anything that comes too close.
“There’s no other way to convince her father that she’s been kidnapped. We have to stage it like … like she’s a hostage,” I explain, looking between the two of them, but Carter seems to be on a different planet, blocking out our bickering while staring at the floor.
“I’m sure if we really think about it, there’s an approach that would work better,” he counters, a slight quivering in his voice that I don’t recognize.
It’s as if a softer version of Massi has appeared out of thin air, his sole purpose being to protect the one thing we both can’t lose.
Living without our girl isn’t an option, but rather than fighting him, I want us to work together, as we have the same goals, and fears.
“Every day we stay here is another where she could be found, and I’m not letting her go back with him.” He pulls Carter closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and under his touch, she barely flinches, a step in the right direction as she readjusts to being around us again.
Massi and I have never been able to keep our hands off her, but thankfully, she’s warming up and breaking through her trauma, even if it’s baby steps.
“Neither am I,” I fight back, not letting the plan I carefully curated fall apart, “but I’m not the one she asked to put a bullet in her brain, therefore, I’m going to do everything possible to avoid taking the easy way out!”
“You’re fucking stupid if you think that’d be the easy way out.
You have no idea the amount of pressure weighing on my shoulders!
At the end of this, if I have to pull that trigger, I’ll likely eat the next bullet that comes out of the gun, unable to live with what I’d done.
But for her? I’d fucking do it without hesitation.
” Massi shoots, his tongue lethal as his words settle, landing like punches to the gut as I come to the realization that although things have changed, it’s not by much, and he’s still just as willing to die for her as I am.
“She is sitting right here, and while you can debate what I can handle until you’re blue in the face, I’d rather just save us all the time and speak for myself, if you don’t mind?
” Carter snarks, a rough bite to her words that I’ve dearly missed, showing that the warrior beneath the surface is gearing up to make a grand appearance.
“Please,” I say, stepping aside and letting her have the floor.
“I’ll do what you have planned, Tyson. I know my father best, and we have to make this as convincing as possible.
He’ll comb over every pixel of each image looking for discrepancies or bargaining chips, which is how we pull one over on him.
If we leave purposeful bread crumbs, trails that lead to dead ends, that’s when we’ll gain the upper hand,” she explains, her voice oozing power as she addresses us like the leader she’s always been.
If there’s one thing Carter knows how to do, it’s command a room, and remind mere mortals of why they’re so mediocre in comparison.
“I’m not comfortable tying you up, Principessina. I don’t want you to fall down another rabbit hole of death and despair,” Massi interrupts, pulling her by the hand until she’s standing over his lap, staring down at him with something resembling an evil smirk on her face.
Something tells me that all Carter needed was an objective, a goal to work toward, and that may be the magic cure to extract the beast from its hiding place, forcing her dark side to come out and play a little dirty.
“Then be ready to pull me out, but don’t talk me out of jumping in,” she asserts, crossing her arms over her chest while stepping back, not leaning into the softer side of Massi, or falling for his protective stance, choosing to use her own strength to get through this.
“How can we be sure you’re not just going along with this so I’ll inevitably have to kill you? Is this some kind of batshit crazy suicide mission?” He asks, standing to match her stance, pacing the room like a madman while she licks her lips, shooting a heavy dose of venom straight at him.
“You don’t. But don’t you dare forget who you’re dealing with, Jasper.
I’ve done far worse than what you’ve seen, and if I’m going to get my hands bloody again, I have to start somewhere.
” She cocks her head to the side, daring him to step into the verbal ring, but he takes a few beats before saying anything, and I watch from the sidelines, waiting to see if we’re going round for round, or jumping right onto the same page.
“The knots are going to be loose. For your safety.” He concedes, crossing the room and tilting her chin, pressing his lips to hers in such a claiming, ravishing fashion that her knees buckle in response, but he snakes an arm around her waist, keeping her in place until he finally pulls away.
Slowly opening her eyes back into his, various shades of pink have flushed her cheeks, but instead of attacking him, she only bites her lower lip in response, like she’s speaking to him without using words.
Whatever is happening in their heads seems to land them in the same place, and when they both turn to me, I only have a few stipulations before we kick off a battle for the ages.
“Do you remember your safe word?” I ask, gauging her reaction, but the girl of stone I remember is masking her facial expressions, a dead stare looking back at me while she mutters one word answers.
“Yes.”
“Say it,” I challenge, digging into the bag of goodies I bought from a local hardware store, slowly revealing the ropes, tape, and various tools used for torture that she’s very familiar with.
Her eyes follow my every move, a rapid rise and fall of her chest beginning while I lay each one on the tiny table in the center of the room.
“Butterfly.”
“Good girl,” I smirk, using her weakness for praise to shove her further toward the edge of pleasure, acceptance, and comfortability in her own skin.
In a fleeting second, I catch the sparkle dancing across her baby blue irises, paired with a slight clench of her thighs as she trails her fingers across the rope, nothing but mischief radiating from her body.
“Tie me up, boys.” She spreads her arms wide, spinning in a circle while we exchange a glance from opposite sides of the room.
Massi looks concerned, almost green with worry as he watches Carter fall into old habits, but I don’t share his apprehension, wanting nothing more than to lure the blood-thirsty demon out to play.
While she may not look the part, still covering her scars and hiding her shame, I have a strong feeling, a blind hopefulness, that soon enough, dancing alongside the darkness will be exactly what brings the light back into her eyes.
We’re up against the tallest of tasks, the most fearful of men, but if Carter can let her beasts out to play in the wreckage, she’ll make what happened in Manhattan look like a freaking picnic, and come out on top of the world – exactly where she belongs.