Chapter 15

Ariana

15

"You don't have to kill me," I tell Masterson. "Just let me out. Right here. I'll go back to the clubhouse. I won't tell anybody."

"I can't let you go back to the clubhouse. Didn't I just say that?"

He sounds way too calm for what he's about to do, and that screams psychopath. The road narrows. The car rumbles over dirt and gravel as he pulls over. It's completely dark, and there isn't a single soul in sight. The sky above is black. My heart is pounding.

"Please, don't do this," I say.

He takes the keys out of the ignition and gets out of the car.

Instantly, I try to open the door again. Still locked. It's rigged. "This mother—" I curse under my breath as I jump into the driver's seat instead. That side is open, and I practically fly out of the car. I fail to notice him waiting for me, gun in hand, pointed right at my head.

"You don't have to kill me. Just let me go. I'll disappear. You'll never hear from me again."

"We both know that's a lie," he says. "I'm not lying to you, Ariana; why are you lying to me?"

"Because I really don't want to die tonight."

That's definitely not a lie. I am fucking paralyzed, snippets of my life flashing before my eyes as I think of how it's going to end. In the middle of nowhere. I think about how they'll find my body. Or worse, my remains. It's sheer wilderness out here.

"Ariana, for what it's worth, I'm not happy about this," Masterson sighs deeply. "But I can't risk you drawing focus to the Black Hand. The whole success of this operation is based on discretion and on discrediting those who speak about it. Why do you think the Steel Knights are portrayed as the bad guys? Why is your father so eager to bring them down, huh?"

"Because they spoke against the Black Hand," I mumble.

"Worse. They took action against them," he says. "There's a reason why they have Everton cops on their payroll. And the Knights butting in with their tip line alone has caused some discomfort for some of the Black Hand's higher-ranking members. At least we'll know how to handle this going forward. Your death will not have been in vain. Maybe knowing that can give you some comfort."

"There's no comfort in dying on the side of a fucking road in the middle of nowhere!" I scream, losing my nerve and my wit altogether.

I can't fight a man with a gun. I can't run away from him, either. I keep looking around, trying to figure another way out of this, but each passing second brings me closer to my demise, and all I can think about is the unfinished business I'm leaving behind. I had so much more to say and do. I wish I could at least tell Sky, Kendric, and Raylan how I feel about them.

"Oh, God, you're going to blame this on them," I blurt out as Masterson removes the safety on his gun and aims it at my head.

"Obviously. Two birds, one bullet."

"Please, there has to be another way."

A familiar rumbling grows louder in the darkness. It's enough to distract Masterson for a split second. I bolt away and hide behind the car just as the rumbling spills into a veritable raucousness.

Three Harleys roll in. I duck and cover my mouth as gunshots ring out.

My eyes are shut tight. I hear boots scraping across the gravel and the wailing of heavy iron as one of the motorcycles slides and crashes into the back of the car. I yelp as the impact nudges me off to the side, and I fall onto the tall grass, scared out of my mind and flailing like one of those inflatable dummies.

POP! Another gunshot.

Masterson manages to get into the car and drive off.

My head pokes out of the grass. My eyes are so wide they could burst.

As soon as I understand what just happened, the adrenaline instantly leaves my body, and I start crying like a baby while Raylan, Kendric, and Sky cautiously approach me, each with a gun in their hand.

"Ariana!" Sky reaches me first.

He is scared, and I see it written all over his face. The horror soon dissolves into a pool of relief, but I'm still crying, still sobbing and shuddering, unable to control myself. He puts the gun away. I hear the wheels of Masterson's car screeching somewhere in the distance. Sky falls to his knees and takes me in his arms.

"Baby, we're here," he says and holds me close.

I hide my face in his jacket and let everything out. "I'm so sorry. I was so stupid. So stupid. I thought I was … oh, God, I was so stupid," the words roll and roll, but they don't make much sense.

"It's okay, baby, I know," Sky says.

Kendric and Raylan join us, and I look up to see them, thankful that I am still alive and able to see them and be with them. "I'm so sorry," I manage.

"Don't," Kendric replies. "You did what any other woman would do, especially given your circumstances. It's okay, Ariana, we understand."

"I had no idea. I thought he was saving me."

"Who was that?" Raylan asks, short of breath as he leans closer to get a better look at me. "And most importantly, are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm okay. You got here just in time. How'd you know?"

The guys exchange the most awkward set of glances before they look at me. Sky exhales sharply. "We heard you climbing down the lattice," he says.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

Slowly, my pulse and my breathing return to normal. The lightheadedness persists, however, and I doubt that I'll be able to stand anytime soon. They don't seem to be in a rush to get me up, either. All I can do is stay down in Sky's arms while Raylan and Kendric get closer, their fingers brushing the hair from my face. I'm covered in dirt and sweat from my tumble and near-death experience.

"We wanted to see how far you'd get," Sky says. "Honestly, we kept hoping you'd change your mind and turn around."

"But then we saw that guy pick you up, and we had to find out where that would lead," Raylan chimes in. "We didn't recognize the vehicle. It wasn't one of the usual civilian-disguised squad cars."

"He's a federal agent, apparently. Eric Masterson," I tell them. "He showed me his badge. I trusted him. He said he'd been watching the clubhouse from afar, keeping an eye on the place without interfering with the local authorities. He said my dad reached out to the Feds."

Kendric frowns. "He was about to kill you."

"He's working with the Black Hand," I exhale sharply. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. I didn't think it was as bad as you made it out to be."

"Ariana, everything we did, we did in order to protect you," Kendric says.

"I see that now. I just wanted to get away, to be free again."

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Sky says.

I give him a terrified look. "They know you took me. Masterson has confirmation that the Steel Knights took me. We can't go back to the clubhouse." I hold on and let him pull me up, but my head starts spinning as the greater implications of the night's events begin to sink in. "Oh, God, they're going to raid the place. They're going to come after you, all of you!"

"She doesn't look too good," Kendric mutters, his eyes constantly searching my face in the darkness of an increasingly colder night.

"I don't feel too good," I mumble.

My mouth feels numb, as do my hands. It's as if the lights are flickering on and off. I feel myself falling. They catch me, but my consciousness is in and out, and it feels as if the night may swallow me whole.