Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Wesley tapped the screen, rewinding it a few seconds before pausing it on the woman’s face. “That’s her,” he snarled angrily. “That’s Caitlyn Branch.”
“What now?” I demanded.
Pete took his phone back and replied with too much calmness, “Our guys are already using traffic cameras to follow the car.”
“Fuck!” Wesley spat in a fury. “I will fucking destroy this bitch if she hurts my girl!” His gaze seared through Pete. “You might want to find her before I do.”
Or before I did. I felt almost numb with fear as I reassured him, “We’ll get her back. She’ll be okay.”
Because there wasn’t another option.
If anything happened to Aria, I’d never get over it.
Walker gave me a stoic nod before he turned to Pete. “I’m Walker Ironside, private security.”
Pete nodded. “I’ve heard of you, Mr. Ironside.”
“I take it you have officers out there, following the information analysts are sending them from the traffic cameras?”
The detective nodded.
“Me and Wesley’s team are going out there, and I want you to patch us in.”
“Our officers are on it.”
“No offense, but your officers are not military trained. We are.” Walker gestured to the security guys at his back. “We’re going to be the ones who recover Aria Howard.”
Frank opened his mouth to protest, but Walker cut him off. “If the LAPD fucks up this rescue, you’ll be dragged over the coals for it.”
Pete sighed and nodded.
Walker looked back at Wesley. “I’ll get her back safe and sound,” he vowed.
“I’m coming,” I insisted.
“You’re not trained.”
Fury filled me, my accent thickening with it. “Ah’ve just spent the last six months training with men who have elite military background. Ah ken ye think Ah’m just a stupid fuckin’ actor, but I ken how tae handle maself.”
“You’re also emotionally involved,” Walker stated with annoying calm. “If you get in the way, this could go tits up.”
“And you’re no’ emotionally involved? This is Aria, for fuck’s sake.”
“It’s different. I can compartmentalize.”
“Aye, and if you come home with another bullet wound, Sloane will have ma arse. So I’m coming.”
“Let him go,” Wesley said wearily. “Please … just … just get out there and find my damn daughter.”
Walker glowered at me for a few seconds, then bit out, “Fine. But if you get in my way, I will knock you out for your own good.”
Heart pounding with anticipation and adrenaline, I nodded. “That’s fair.”
Forty-One
ARIA
There was no way in hell I could sleep. I’d been afraid to drink any of the water or eat any of the food Caitlyn had supplied in case it was drugged. Instead, I’d sat curled up on the bed for hours until the pressure on my bladder was too much, and I had to use the Porta Potti.
The storage facility was cold, so I’d drawn the blankets around me and stared at the garage door, my mind whirring with a plan. As soon as I heard her approaching the next day, I’d brace myself at that garage door and lunge at her before she had a chance to draw her weapon.
It was a stupid plan, but it was the only one I had.
I attempted not to think about North and my family, about how worried they were. If it was North or Allegra or my parents who had gone missing, I’d be losing my goddamn mind.
There was no way to know what time it was when I heard the slam of a door and the footsteps out in the corridor. Caitlyn had brought me here around noon, and if I were to guess by the gnawing hunger in my stomach, I’d say more than twenty-four hours had passed since then.
“It’s me!” Caitlyn called, her steps slowing.
I pushed off the bed and hurried over to the door, bending my knees ever so slightly, bracing to tackle her.
My pulse raced at the sound of her inputting numbers on the keypad outside, and then the garage door shuddered to life. It was heavy. No wonder I hadn’t been able to budge it. My eyes darted to the ground, searching for Caitlyn’s feet.
But nothing.
Tense, I waited as the door lifted to halfway. Still no sign of her.
Finally, when it got to chest height, I saw she was on the other side of the corridor, her back to another storage door. Gun in hand, pointed at me.
The door cleared into the ceiling, and I stared balefully at her.
She smirked. “I thought you might be a bit testy after your night in a new place, so I thought it prudent to put a little distance between us.” Caitlyn waved the gun. “Back up, sit on the bed.”
I’d never felt truly violent toward anyone before. But at that moment, I didn’t care if she needed help. I wanted to rip off her face.
Backing up until I hit the bed, I sat down, spine rigid.
Caitlyn sauntered in and threw a white paper bag toward me. “Croissant from your favorite patisserie.”