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“I won’t talk you out of it, but let’s devise a plan,” Lev suggests, and that’s precisely what we do before hopping into my truck.
We’re nearly at the spot Samantha demanded I meet her when my phone buzzes for the millionth time, but I ignore it. I know it’s either Ariah or the guys, and I need to keep the heroics down to a minimum.
“Remember the plan. We’ll get you back,” Lev declares as I step out of the car onto the road.
Samantha’s exactly where she said she’d be. I glance at Lev and nod. “Once they’re safe, Lev—only when they’re safe,” I order, then walk toward the waiting vehicle with my hands raised.
The window rolls down as I draw near. Samantha’s pointing a gun at me when she instructs, “Stop. Turn around and empty your pockets.”
I do as I’m told, ignoring the other dead waiter, and spin, showing her I’m not armed.
“Good. Now get in the car.”
Once again, I do as instructed and slowly open the door to the car. I stare down at my son and daughter tied together on the floor of the passenger side. Tears flow down Zoey’s and Aidan’s red faces, and I can see bruises forming on their skin, but they look otherwise unharmed.
Samantha begins to point the barrel of the gun at them. “I’m here,” I grit through clenched teeth. “Let them go.”
“Drop the little shits out the door,” she demands, training the gun on me as I pick them up. I begin to untie them. “No, just like they are, Wesley.”
“Okay,” I reply, looking over my kids for what I hope won’t be the last time. Bending, I kiss both their foreheads and reassure them everything will be fine.
“Right now, Wesley,” Samantha orders.
I give them one last hug, place them gently on the pavement outside, and close the door before the tires screech as Samantha speeds off.
My cell rings again. “Answer it. I know it’s that bitch. Answer it and put it on speakerphone.”
Nodding, I accept the call, and Ariah’s voice fills the car. “Wes. . . Wes. Where the fuck did you go?”
“My forever girl,” I breathe, pain lancing my chest that I so quickly have to keep a promise I made the night I told her I’d sacrifice myself for them without hesitation. I just wanted more time.
“Where he always belonged, you grubby man-stealing whore. He’s where he should be,” Samantha shouts over me.
The line is silent. “You don’t listen very well, Samantha, do you?” Ariah’s voice is subarctic. “I warned you on the first day of school. Do you remember?”
Samantha’s face drains of all color before she snatches my cell phone, but before she throws it out the window, Ariah’s lethal tone slices through the air. “I’m coming for you.”
77
ARIAH
“We need to get Wes back now,” I mutter, pulling up my cargo pants because fuck them if they think they can leave me behind.
“He’s coming home, Ry,” Shay says, trying to comfort me as I yank my black thermal over my head.
Pausing, I glance at her before I bend to zip up my boots. “He has no choice. Any other outcome, and I’ll kill him.” Then, I throw my hair into a bun.
When Lev walked in here with Zoey and Aidan, part of my heart started beating again. However, a large piece is still missing, and I intend to get him back. I wanted to kiss him and punch him. But the truth is, if it were me, I would’ve done the very same.
How do you fault someone for protecting their family?
“You can’t,” I grumble to myself as I stomp down the stairs. “Stupid idiot, going off half-cocked, trying to be heroic.”
Tonight was supposed to go differently. Guliana finally gave me the green light to set up the meeting with the guys. I was planning on telling them everything tonight.
“We already know where he is,” Lev announces as I walk into the room. Now that Zoey and Aidan are safely tucked in their beds with more guards than the President, and my grandmother is downstairs being treated, I get to kill a thirsty bitch.
I clench my fists at the reminder that my grandmother is downstairs fighting for her life, and my kids are upstairs with scrapes and bruises because of the cunt rag with a plastic face.
