Chapter 27

Ariana

27

It's like a nightmare that never ends.

With every step that I take closer to freedom, I'm equally closer to death. It's a sick game of whack-a-mole, and my arms are getting tired. Adrenaline is the only thing that keeps me upright at this point. My breath is ragged. My heart is broken a million times over. For a moment, I felt safe again.

As soon as I saw Sky, Spike, Raylan, and the other MC members climbing up, their guns ready to blast these bastards out of this life, I dared hope we might survive this after all.

It only took a few seconds for fate to show me that it was anything but over.

The nightmare persists, and I am still in the middle of it. My unborn child and I, helpless and paralyzed, wrapped in Kendric's strong arms, wondering if we were going to make it. I can't move. I can only watch as the cabal's army rises from the shadows—heavily armed black ops specialists, from what I can tell.

They move like panthers while the Steel Knights reluctantly put their weapons down. I'm not sure it was the right call, but then again, there are more of the Black Hand than there are Steel Knights. Sky is just trying to buy some time and hopefully secure the survival of at least some of us. But the stench of death and turmoil hangs heavily in the air tonight. I can't see a way out anymore.

Somewhere beyond these tombstones, the city of Everton sleeps, tossing and turning and worrying about what tomorrow might bring. I'm not sure there is a tomorrow left for us, however.

"Masterson is dead," one of the henchmen declares upon reaching the mausoleum. "We were the kill-switch."

"Well, I'm glad you're here," the first gunman mutters, giving me a side-eye that's brimming with contempt. "And so is our target."

"What can we give you in exchange for letting Ariana go?" Sky asks, calmly holding his hands up while his eyes follow the first gunman like a hawk.

"Troy, just kill her and get it over with," the second henchman says.

Troy rolls his eyes and lets a frustrated sigh leave his chest. "I am so fucking tired of this," he mutters. "Had Masterson not been such an entitled asshole, none of us would be here tonight."

"Let her live," Sky insists. "We'll give you whatever you want, including what we got out of Henry David's safe. I'm sure there's evidence there that your bosses would want to see disappear."

Troy stills just as he begins to head my way. I know Kendric won't let go of me, but that will only get the both of us killed. "Hold on, you got into his safe?" Troy asks, unable to hide his piqued interest.

"All three of them," Sky replies.

"That sleazy son of a bitch," Troy chuckles. "What have you got?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet; we haven't been able to verify anything," Sky says. "But we do know that Henry's been keeping dirt on your bosses, just like they've been keeping dirt on him. That's how the Black Hand operates, isn't it?"

"I need to see it," Troy says.

"He's bluffing," one of the new arrivals snickers.

"We're not bluffing," Sky replies. "That was the whole point of tonight."

"I need to see it!" Troy snaps. They're running out of time, and it's easy to tell. He keeps checking his watch, his gaze constantly and nervously darting around. They caused a ruckus throughout the city, and people might begin to get suspicious. "Now!"

"Let her go first," Raylan demands. "Let Ariana go, and we'll give you everything we found."

Kendric growls with frustration. "Don't give them shit. They're just going to kill us, anyway, and then they'll kill her, too."

"I'm sure we can work out an agreeable arrangement," Sky says. "The Black Hand wants something we've got, and we just want to get Ariana out of here, safe and alive. They kill us now, and they'll never get what Henry's been keeping in his safes."

Troy curses under his breath, but he still hesitates. Ultimately, he decides we're not worth the hassle and points his weapon at me. "Nah, not going to risk it."

My heart stops. I'm about to scream as Kendric holds me tighter, covering my body with his own, bracing himself for what is likely to be a hailstorm of bullets. They're going to shoot him until they get to me.

"No, you don't have to do this!" Sky shouts.

I close my eyes.

Just then, a blinding white light hits the hilltop. It's cold and unforgiving, its intensity growing along with the sound of a helicopter. A gust of wind hits us, and a voice booms through a bullhorn.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS! PUT YOUR HANDS UP! DROP THEM, NOW!"

I manage to look up and recognize the Everton PD logo on the side of the chopper. The noise is almost too much to bear, but the voice keeps shouting, ordering everyone to drop their weapons. I never knew I could experience such relief. It surges through me and removes every degree of tension in my body. I'm limp like a cooked piece of spaghetti, hidden in Kendric's arms, yet I am able to observe the consternation and the confusion shadowing everybody's faces, the cabal's men in particular.

"Son of a bitch," Troy manages. He has no choice but to put his weapon down and follow orders.

Dozens of SWAT officers come up the hill from every angle, all of them prepared to shoot anyone on sight. I catch a glimpse of Sky smiling as he gets down on his knees and puts his hands up behind his head. Raylan does the same.

"What's going on?" I ask, my voice trembling.

Heat and chills travel through me in confusing waves, but relief continues to dominate my senses as I realize that I am not dying tonight after all. I'm not sure what will happen next, but Troy and his colleagues are already face-down in the grass as the SWAT officers surround us.

"Don't say a word," Kendric tells me. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

I'm about to ask him what he means when one of the cops pulls him away from me. I cry out, but Kendric doesn't object. I'm left sitting on my ass and shaking like a leaf, watching as the SWAT crew slaps cuffs on everybody—the Black Hand and Steel Knights alike. My eyes are tired and stinging wet, my whole body shuddering under the sudden relief of pressure, while the chopper keeps circling overhead, its light making everyone squint.

It's over.

Minutes pass, and I'm still sitting, my legs too weak to hold me. I look around as the Steel Knights calmly cooperate, allowing the SWAT crew to cuff and unceremoniously drag them back down the hill and across the cemetery, back to their squad cars and black vans.

The henchmen seem more abrasive, and some even resist arrest, but they all end up the same way, regardless of their resistance: under arrest and on their way to county jail.

My father is nowhere to be found. I'm confused, tears rolling down my cheeks. Sky and Raylan give me one last smile before they're taken along with Kendric. They're trying to reassure me, but I'm in a thickening haze, and I can't seem to form a single, coherent thought.

"Ariana," a familiar voice has me looking up.

"Detective Amstaff," I manage. "What do I do now?"

"You're going to be all right," he says, then helps me stand. My balance is still off so I hold on to him for a little while. "It's over. It's going to be fine."

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

Amstaff gives Sky one last nod before they disappear beyond the hill base, then looks at me with kind eyes. "We arranged the whole thing," he says. "We knew the Black Hand would be prepared for any possible scenario, so we went ahead and organized for any possible scenario plus one. I'm just glad we got here in time. As soon as Raylan sent everything over to us, I had enough evidence to get Judge Ross to sign the warrant, and off we went."

"But wait, what did Raylan send you?"

"Every single piece of digital information they collected from your father's safes," he says. "I guess he did it on the way over from the mayor's residence. That was the arrangement. They'd send everything they could as soon as they had it, and I would pass it on to Judge Ross in exchange for a signed warrant. We've been working on this for days."

"Can we really trust him?"

"Ross and I go way back, and he's one of the few clean judges I could trust with this," he says. "Besides, the cabal doesn't have every cop in Everton on their payroll, as you can see," he adds, motioning around us. "And whomever they do have on their payroll are likely crapping their pants right about now because more than half of the special unit present here tonight were sent from Quantico directly. The Feds, reputable ones, are getting involved."

"Masterson was a Fed," I reply, sharing legitimate doubts on the matter.

"Field office. Cabal goon," Amstaff shoots back. "Quantico is something else entirely. The Black Hand hasn't reached that far, and they certainly won't now or anytime in the future because there's already an ongoing investigation."

I glance back at the mausoleum. "What's going to happen next?"

"We don't want to alert the Black Hand's higher-ups just yet, so we're going to keep this whole thing on the down-low for a few more hours," Amstaff says. "We've got a lid on the whole area, and my FBI counterparts are already getting what they need from the gunmen to make sure we're properly set up for the morning raids."

"Morning raids?"

"Yes, every single higher-up is getting snagged in the morning, pending a couple more warrants from Judge Ross. We had to do this by the book in order to make sure that no defense attorney can object when it goes to court."

"What about Sky, Raylan, and Kendric? Spike?"

Amstaff shakes his head slowly. "They'll be staying in jail until the storm clears. I'm sorry, but it's the only way to end this. They knew that going in, and they're fine with it. Most importantly, they know that you're going to be okay."

It hurts to know they'll be in jail, but at least they're alive. There is so much pain gathering in my chest that it's getting increasingly hard to breathe. This speck of life developing in my womb needs me, though, so I struggle and take deep breaths until the earth stops spinning and I'm able to stand on my own.

"And my father?" I ask Amstaff, welcoming the quiet comfort that his presence gives me.

"He thinks he got away with it," he says. "Last time I checked, he was walking into his mayoral residence, sullen but calm."

"He also thinks he left me here to die. His own daughter."

"Well, he won't be sleeping tonight, of that I'm sure. But first thing tomorrow, he's got a press conference scheduled. He needs to think that he's going ahead with it, that everything went according to plan, and that he's definitely a favorite for that state senate seat. We'll need a few more days to proceed with his arrest warrant, but I promise you, Ariana, it's coming. He's going down for this."

Amstaff wants my father to almost taste that bitter victory before he takes him down. And honestly, after everything we've been through, I'll admit, I want my father to suffer; I want him to be within inches of his much-desired success—the success he built upon my mother's bones, nearly upon my bones. I want him to believe he has it before it's taken away from him before he learns the hard way that it was never his to begin with.