Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Henry
I stared at the inky ocean water, the moon illuminating a sliver of it. The rest of the sky was black. Devoid of any light. Even the stars seemed to disappear. Not like up in Maine or even my farm in Georgia, where there was no light pollution to dim the stars.
Here, everything was duller. Noisier.
It made me long for the peace and tranquility of the farm even more. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be getting back there anytime soon.
I sipped my scotch as I settled deeper into the wicker couch on my patio, the ocean breeze cool against my skin.
I should have had no trouble sleeping. I was exhausted, my body still sore, although I was feeling much better than I did twenty-four hours ago.
But my mind wouldn’t let me sleep.
Not after the nightmare that had plagued me tonight. About leaving Ariana in a field, bound and gagged, with no way to defend herself. Tracking her to some abandoned warehouse, only to learn we were too late.
That I’d failed yet another person in my life.
“Trouble sleeping?” A deep voice cut through, and I snapped my head up as Blake walked the path from the pool house.
“Something like that.” I ran a hand over my face. “I napped off and on most of the day. I think it fucked with my sleep schedule.”
“I hear that,” he retorted as he lowered himself into the chair opposite mine.
He looked better than he did when I first saw him in the hospital room.
The cuts had healed and his bruises had faded.
There were a few burn marks along his neck and arm, but he was moving around a bit more, albeit with a slight limp.
He’d even ditched the sling, although his doctor would probably have something to say about that.
“My sleep’s been fucked since the hospital.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Pretty sure your sleep was fucked long before then.”
He considered my statement for a beat, then shrugged. “You’re probably right about that.” He reached for the scotch on the coffee table and took a sip straight from the bottle. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore, but alive.” I arched a brow. “You?”
“Same.” He took another long swallow of the scotch. “Sorry I told Ariana about the Bratva. It was the only way to keep her from going out and looking for you herself. She may seem sweet and innocent, but that girl has some fire to her.”
“You have no idea,” I said with a roll of my eye, but couldn’t fight the smile tugging across my lips as I thought about Ariana’s fire.
I’d noticed it from the beginning. At least once she was no longer under Victor’s thumb. How defiant she was when I found her in the woods. How fearless she was, even when confronted by me, the man she believed to have abducted her.
It was that spark that intrigued me.
That spark that ruined me.
And that spark that made me fall in love with her.
I couldn’t stomach the idea of anything happening to that spark.
“What’s going on?” Blake cut through my thoughts and I glanced his way.
“What do you mean?” I replied, bringing my rocks glass to my lips and taking a sip.
“I know you. Something’s bothering you.” He lowered his voice. “Did you get more information about Victor’s buyer?”
While Ariana was cooking dinner this evening, I told Blake everything I’d learned from Mikhail about Victor’s operation. Which wasn’t much. But I didn’t tell him about my plan to track down this mysterious buyer.
Because I still hated it.
“No. But I was able to access Victor’s phone. And the app he used to communicate with his buyer. There aren’t any messages, but since there’s only one contact, chances are it’s him.”
“What’s your plan?”
I exhaled a long sigh. “I’ll reach out pretending to be Victor. No one knows he’s dead.”
“Smart.” He furrowed his brow. “So what’s bothering you?”
“My original plan was to use Jenna. Put a background together. Make this guy think she’s another one of Victor’s girls, hide a tracker on her in the hopes she’d lead us to where he’s keeping Sarah.”
This was based on the assumption she was still alive.
Which was a big fucking assumption. Especially considering we knew absolutely nothing about who this guy was and what he wanted with any of the women he’d bought from Victor.
Still, I refused to give up hope that Sarah was still alive.
Not until I had proof she was no longer breathing.
I’d made that mistake once before.
I wouldn’t make it again.
“It’s not a bad plan,” Blake offered.
“But…,” I prodded, sensing more.
He opened and closed his mouth, hesitating.
“Just say it, Blake,” I demanded, certain I already knew what he wanted to.
“Do you promise not to shoot or stab me? Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I’m still not back to full strength just yet.”
I rolled my eyes. “I promise not to murder you.”
He nodded, taking another gulp of scotch before shifting his attention back to me.
“Your plan is good, but it’s not great. If you ask me, there’s a better course of action here. Something with less…uncertainty.”
“And what’s that?”
He pinned me with a glare. “You know what.”
I didn’t move for several long moments. Simply stared at him. Then I leaned back against the couch.
“Ariana,” I exhaled.
I knew he was right. Hell, even before Ariana suggested it herself, it had crossed my mind.
But I quickly dismissed it, refusing to do anything that might put her life in danger.
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but she’s a better option than some random woman Victor supposedly found.
I mean, we don’t even have the details of how Victor arranged any of this shit.
All we know is what you were able to learn from Mikhail.
That the Bratva’s involvement was just acquisition and transportation.
Victor dealt with the buyer. We don’t know how Victor approached him.
Or if he approached Victor. But we do know one thing. ”
“He wanted Ariana,” I said, albeit reluctantly.
“I’m sorry, Henry. If there were any other option, I wouldn’t be suggesting it. We may only have one chance at nailing this guy. And Ariana? She’s your best shot.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, all the conflicting thoughts and emotions that had been plaguing me all day swirling in my mind.
“I feel like I lose no matter what,” I admitted through the tightness in my throat.
“If we do this and something happens to her…” My chest ached at the mere thought.
“I don’t know if I could live with myself, Blake.
It’s crazy, considering I’ve only known her a few weeks, but I just…
” I shook my head, attempting to get a handle on everything.
“Sometimes a few weeks is all you need.”
“I can’t lose her,” I said, meeting his eyes.
“You won’t. I’ll have your back. And hers. We’ll be careful. We’ll put a tracker on her so we’ll know where she is at all times. We either do this…”
“Or risk never finding Sarah.”
“It will be okay. If I have anything to do with it, and I do, I will make sure Ariana comes home to you. And God willing, Sarah does, too. I’ve got your back, brother.” He held my gaze. “No matter what.”
“No matter what,” I repeated, unable to shake the uneasiness in my gut that something terrible was about to happen.
And there was nothing I could do about it.