Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Henry
I slipped into the bedroom, coming to an abrupt stop when I saw Ariana sitting at the vanity. It wasn’t the sight of her that gave me pause.
It was what she was wearing.
The same clothes she wore when I saw her being abducted.
The same clothes she wore when I rescued her from the Bratva soldier.
The same clothes she wore when she tried to escape.
I’d spent the better part of the past several days trying to figure out a way to track down who Victor’s buyer was through other means.
But I had nothing to go on, apart from the list of drop locations Mikhail had provided.
I’d tried to access street cameras in the areas near these locations.
Given most were fairly remote, any footage I accessed was easily from miles away.
So here I was, watching Ariana smear mud on her face and arms in preparation to feed her to the proverbial wolves.
And I fucking hated it.
“Is it too much?” she asked, meeting my eyes through the mirror. “I’ve never staged a kidnapping photo before.” She laughed nervously.
I approached her, swallowing hard as I raked my gaze over the streaks of dirt and grime she’d meticulously applied to her skin so as to make it appear she’d been held against her will for weeks.
Noticing a glob of mud near her temple, I smeared it down her cheek. “It looks realistic to me.”
She nodded, then shifted back toward the mirror, checking her work yet again.
“Are you sure about this, Ariana?” I asked after a beat. “You don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way.”
She shifted toward me once more. “We already talked about this. Blake agrees. I’m your best chance.”
I hung my head, a ball of unease settling low in my stomach. Hell, it had been there since she first suggested using herself as our Trojan horse. But ever since I’d woken up this morning, it had grown more prominent. It was probably nothing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I was missing something.
Something important.
Something that would mean the difference between life and death.
“I’ll be okay.” Ariana clutched my face, forcing my eyes toward hers.
“I fucking hate this, Ariana,” I admitted, my voice betraying my emotions.
“I don’t like it either. But you’re batting a thousand when it comes to rescuing me from dangerous men,” she said with a smirk, hoping to break through the tension. But nothing could. Not right now. “With that track record, I have no doubt you’ll come to my rescue this time, too.”
“You know I will. I refuse to let anything bad happen to you.”
“I have faith you won’t. I trust you, Henry.”
It didn’t matter how many times she’d uttered those three words to me. I’d never tire of hearing them. To me, it was better than her telling me she loved me. I knew how difficult it was for Ariana to trust another person after everything Victor had put her through.
I could only hope to never do anything to make her regret putting her trust in me.
“The garage is all set up,” a voice cut through, and we both snapped our heads toward the door to see Blake standing there. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Ariana drew in a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Blake shifted his attention to me, a silent question crossing his expression. He didn’t need to say the words for me to know if he was asking if I was ready.
I doubted I’d ever be ready for what we were about to do.
But I gave him a small nod anyway before touching a hand to Ariana’s back and guiding her out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
When we stepped into the attached garage, I was immediately hit with a wall of humidity.
It was still technically winter, but the air was thick with the sort of humidity that usually preceded a storm.
I stole a glance out of one of the small windows, noting the palm trees swaying with the strong breeze, gray clouds visible in the distance.
I prayed it wasn’t a warning of what was to come.
“Will this work?” Blake asked as I stepped farther into the garage.
He’d spent the last few hours grunging up my formerly pristine garage. The floor now contained several oil spots and the walls were stained from what appeared to be years of wear.
It would hopefully be enough to convince this guy that Ariana was being held somewhere other than a luxurious house in Coral Gables.
“I think so,” I stated around a hard swallow.
He grabbed a few things off a nearby workbench and approached Ariana. “You’ll need to wear these,” he said, holding up a pair of zipties and a dirty rag.
She extended her arms in front of her, placing her wrists together for him.
He shook his head. “Behind you.”
“Right.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Of course.”
She turned around, putting her arms behind her.
Blake moved to secure them with a ziptie, but before he could, I snatched it out of his hands.
“If anyone’s going to bind and gag her, it’s me,” I stated, even though the mere thought had bile rising in my throat.
Blake gave a small nod before stepping back, giving me the space I needed.
I grabbed Ariana’s wrists and ran my thumb along the soft, unblemished skin.
“I like it when you tie me up.” She glanced over her shoulder and waggled her brows.
I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t. Not when this would set in motion a series of events I still wasn’t mentally prepared for.
“I’m fine,” she stated, her gaze searing into mine.
I ran my thumb along her skin a few more times, then wrapped the ziptie around her wrists, securing it, albeit loosely.
“Is that too tight?”
“Henry,” she sighed, her eyes finding mine once more. “You’ve said it yourself. We only have one shot at this. Everything needs to be perfect. So make them tighter.”
I briefly closed my eyes, hating everything about this.
When I woke up in my cabin in Maine all those weeks ago to find Ariana gone, I swore I’d never do anything to intentionally put her in harm’s way again.
And here I was, doing exactly that.
“I can do it,” Blake suggested somewhat hesitantly.
“No.” I snapped my eyes toward his, my voice echoing in the vacant space. “I’ll fucking do it.”
I refocused my attention on Ariana, caressing the underside of her wrist once more before yanking at the tie, tightening it so it bit into her skin. She yelped, and I spun her around to face me.
“Is it too tight? I can—”
“It’s fine. I can’t show up at the drop without marks on my wrists. Not if you want this guy to believe I’ve been held hostage for the past several weeks. Now put that gag on me so we can get this done.”
I heaved a sigh, my heart physically aching at the mere thought. But the sooner I got on with it, the sooner we could be done.
But that also meant the sooner I could lose her.
Blake approached and handed me the rag. I took it from him, then faced Ariana once more.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked her for what felt like the hundredth time.
She didn’t waver. Didn’t hesitate. Just gave a single, determined nod, her gaze remaining locked on mine. “I’m fine.”
I squeezed my eyes shut again before bringing the material up to her mouth, my hands physically shaking.
After learning what Victor had done, how she spent the past ten years trapped in a prison, silently screaming for someone to finally realize what was going on, the last thing I wanted to do was take away her voice. And that was what this felt like.
Like I was depriving her of the one thing she fought so hard to regain.
“It’s okay,” she assured me yet again.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I placed the rag over her open mouth and tied it behind her head, the sound of the fabric being knotted seeming to reverberate around me. I stepped back to make sure she was okay, struggling to keep it together when I looked at her like this.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her tied up and gagged. Hell, this was how she looked when I’d rescued her from that dingy warehouse all those weeks ago.
But that was different. So much had changed since then. And seeing her like this now tore at a part of me I didn’t think existed anymore.
“Okay?” I asked, especially when I noticed her chest rising and falling in an increasing rhythm. “Ariana, are you okay?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, her breathing became ragged, as if struggling to capture any air.
I ripped the gag off her, tossing it onto the floor as I yanked my knife out of my pocket.
“It’s too much,” I declared vehemently. “We’re not doing this. You’re not doing this.”
I brought my knife up to her zipties, about to cut her free, but before I could, she spun around, preventing me from doing so. “I’m fine.”
“No, Ariana. You’re not. You—”
“I said I’m fine,” she hissed. “I’m doing this. Put it back on.”
“I’m not doing it, Ariana. Not when you—”
“Henry,” she interjected. “Either you do it or Blake will. And what did you just say? If anyone’s going to bind and gag me, it’s you? So get on with it. Every second we wait could be the difference between life and death.”
“Please, Ariana…,” I choked out, a boulder weighing down my chest. “We don’t have to do this. You don’t have to do this.”
“I know I don’t have to. But I want to. I choose to. It’s my choice. Don’t deprive me of my choice.”
God, I hated everything about this. Hated being torn between my need to keep her safe and the promise I made to never deprive her of her choice.
“Henry…,” she cautioned when I didn’t make any move to put it back on her. “Please. I want to do this. For you. For Sarah. And for myself. But I need to know you support me. That you’ll be there when I need you.”
“Of course I will. This is just… It’s really fucking hard for me, Ariana.”
“I know. But I need you to trust me. I’m fine.”
I pushed out a long sigh, searching my brain for anything I could say to persuade her not to do this. But I knew Ariana. Once she made up her mind, nothing anyone did or said could convince her otherwise. The best thing I could do was give her my unwavering love, support, and protection.
“If I see even the faintest hint of a panic attack, I’m taking it off,” I admonished.
“Don’t you dare,” she shot back. “If I panic, let me. It’ll make it look more authentic.”
I swallowed hard, my body fighting me as I returned the gag to her mouth.
“You are so fucking stubborn,” I mumbled, tying the material in a knot at the back of her head. Then I cupped her cheeks, forcing her gaze to mine. “But so fucking strong.”
This time, her breathing remained even, her eyes locked on mine, as if drawing strength from everything she saw in them. My trust. My strength. And my love.
I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her as I pressed a soft kiss to her temple, wanting her to feel how much I admired her for doing this, even if I hated it.
Then I led her to the corner of the garage and helped her to the ground, arranging her body so she lay on her side. Her hair fell in front of her face, and I pushed it back so this asshole could see who it was.
“You okay?” I asked.
She met my eyes and gave me a soft nod.
I rose to my full height and stepped out of the way, remaining close by in case she started panicking. A voice in my head reminded me I wouldn’t be around if she had a panic attack once we left her at the drop location, but I quickly silenced it. I couldn’t think about that.
If I did, I doubted I’d be able to go through with this.
Blake grabbed Victor’s phone and began snapping photos of Ariana from various angles, each heartbeat testing my patience and resolve.
It was probably only a matter of seconds, but it felt like an eternity when all I wanted to do was go to Ariana, pull her into my arms, and convince her she didn’t need to do this.
“There should be something usable in this batch,” Blake finally said, cutting through the heavy silence.
I didn’t hesitate. I rushed toward Ariana and helped her to a sitting position, slicing my knife through the zipties while yanking the gag off her head. She sucked in a deep breath and then my mouth was on hers, giving her my breath as I took hers.
“Easy there,” she giggled when I broke my lips from hers. “If you keep kissing me like that, I might want you to put those zipties back on.” She waggled her brows.
I didn’t say anything right away. Just stared at her. At this strong, surprising, beautiful woman who I once despised with everything I had.
Then laughter rumbled from my chest, filling the space.
“I think that can be arranged,” I growled, touching my lips back to hers.
After helping her to her feet, I took her wrist and pressed a kiss to the inside where the zipties had cut into the skin, leaving red marks.
And I hated I’d done that to her.
I had to remind myself there was a reason for it.
“What’s next?” Ariana asked Blake.
He finished typing on Victor’s phone and held it out in front of us to see the message he’d just sent with a photo of Ariana attached.
“Now, we wait.”