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I turn around, giving her my back, and she starts working the rough ropes loose. I can feel her hands shaking, her fingers still somewhat numb and she can’t work on the knots as efficiently. But Riley doesn’t give up.
“That was your father, right?” she asks quietly.
I knew that question was coming. Of course she wants to know about the man who attacked and kidnapped us. And Riley deserves answers.
She deserved them a long time ago.
“Yes,” I confess morosely.
“I remember you said you were trying to protect me.” Riley pauses, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Were you trying to protect me from him?”
I peek back at her over my shoulder. Our eyes catch and hold. There’s a heartbeat of heavy silence before I respond. “Staying with me would have put your life in danger. This situation is exactly what I had been trying to protect you from. Your life was at risk because of my father and my job. So I did the only thing that felt right to me at that moment. I pushed you away.”
She swallows, her gray eyes glassy. “So your father is the reason we broke up?”
“I had to, Riley. He’s a dangerous man.”
“How dangerous? I need to know.” She lowers her gaze, breaking eye contact and going back to the ropes. I can feel the knots loosening, slowly. Little by little.
“Harrison has done devastating, horrible things. Drug and illegal firearm deals. Human, organ and sex trafficking. He’s got a whole network and too many connections with even more dangerous men across the country.”
In fact, his network runs all the way to Russia, China, Japan, Italy, and probably other countries.
“Detective Mallik has been shadowing him for almost five years, but Harrison is good at going off the grid. Because of how solid his connections are, he can disappear easily. And he’s fucking good at hiding. When my father approached me for the first time, Detective Mallik realized that I’m the key to breaking Harrison’s network. I just needed to gain his trust, to get in and find out who he’s working with. The last time we were with each other, Harrison was there. In my apartment. He was watching us, while we were together.”
“He saw us…? You mean, while we were intimate—”
My chest rattles with a miserable exhale. I know my answer is going to cause Riley more distress. “Yes.”
She sucks in a shaky breath, and her fingers pause on the ropes. “What happened then?”
“That was the day Harrison trusted me enough to deliver cargo for him. And do you know what that cargo was, Riley? Bodies. Seven young girls and two boys. None of whom were older than fifteen. They were alive and I had been tasked with delivering them to their buyers.”
“Oh God,” she whispers with sickening outrage. “Grayson, that’s terrible. Please tell me you didn’t.”
The ropes come undone. And I rub my wrists, trying to get some feeling back into them. “I had to,” I tell her quietly, before turning around to see the absolute horror in her expression.
“Grayson—”
I shake my head. “But Detective Mallik knew about the delivery and was able to get his team on it. As a result of me being a plant, they were able to get to the location and catch the buyers. Other details are classified, so I can’t tell you more than this. But Harrison started getting suspicious after three of my deliveries were successfully intercepted by the FBI.”
“Did he catch on?”
“Not until a year later. When I thought I finally had him, he had already figured out that I had never been on his side in the first place. So he went off the grid before we could do anything. Harrison disappeared as if he never existed.” I take Riley’s hands in mine. Her fingers look like they have been scratched raw. Red and chafed. Some of her nails are chipped and bleeding from her efforts to untie me. “And he’s been underground for almost two years. Until now. How’s your legs? Still numb?”
Riley moves slowly, testing out her limbs. “I can feel them now, but I don’t think I can run.”
“We’ll make it out of here, I promise you.” I bring my hand up, hesitantly. When she doesn’t pull away from me, I cup her tear-stained cheek. Her skin is cold and clammy.
Her chin wobbles, almost like my touch has somehow given her the strength to break down. She sniffles back a sob and fresh tears fill her eyes, but she doesn’t let them spill. Her fingers wrap around my wrist. “I’m so scared, Grayson.”
Jesus Christ, I’m never going to forgive myself for this.
“I should have fucking stayed away, but I didn’t. And now you have to pay the price. I put you at risk—”
The sound of a metal door creaking open makes me pause. Riley’s breath catches in her throat, and her eyes widen with terror. Her grip on my wrist tightens, desperately holding on.
“Grayson.” She whimpers as heavy footsteps approach us.
