“I might.”
“No, you won’t.”
Desperate tears filled her eyes. “I might!”
And I knew at that moment that she wouldn’t. “Caitlyn—”
“It’s Ariella!”
“No, you’re Caitlyn. That little girl who has fought through so much to still be here deserves to be acknowledged. Don’t abandon her.”
I knew almost immediately I’d pushed too far, and my heart lurched in my throat as she pushed off the bed, pointing the gun in my face. “You don’t know shit! You’re trying to confuse me with lies! But we’re the same! We’re the same!” Tears streaked down her face, and I was terrified. Terrified she’d pull that trigger.
“Please,” I whispered. I hated her for making me beg.
My plea seemed to calm her. In fact, her face smoothed into a surreal mask that alarmed the hell out of me.
“Good. Good. This has been a great start,” she said, as if we were finishing work for the day and not that she was holding me hostage. “But I need some air. I think I’ll drive around for a while. We wouldn’t want your rental sitting out there for someone to find. I’ll be back in the morning.” She waved to the bedside cabinet. “There’s some food and water in there.”
“Don’t.” I stood, and she immediately trained the gun on me again. “Don’t you dare leave me here.”
“Oh, Ari …” She cocked her head as if I was the sweetest thing. “Don’t you get it? We’re never leaving each other again.”
But two seconds later, she stepped out of the storage room, gun aimed at me as she punched the code on the keypad and waited for the garage door to close.
Tightness crawled across my chest as panic set in.
This wasn’t happening.
How could this be happening?
North. North would find me. I nodded, shaking so badly my teeth rattled. North would be looking for me right now.
She couldn’t do this.
She couldn’t get away with this.
Calm down, I commanded myself.Stop panicking. I inhaled slowly and exhaled. Over and over, until my shaking decreased. Then I searched the rolling metal door, looking for weakness. I hammered against it. I tugged on it. Time passed—I didn’t know how much, but I dripped with sweat from my attempts to get the damn door open. For a while, I yelled in the hopes that someone would show up and hear me.
Voice hoarse, I sat down on the bed and gazed around the room, letting my rational mind take over. I was Wesley Howard’s daughter, and I was North Hunter’s one and only.
Between the two of them, they’d find me.
And if they didn’t and I had to face Caitlyn tomorrow, I had to come up with a plan to disarm her so I could save my damn self.
Forty
NORTH
Aria’s phone had been abandoned somewhere on the Santa Monica Freeway. I was done waiting around after discovering that. I called the rental car company to track her rental while Wesley called the police.
The company had just called to tell us the car was found, abandoned in Glendale.
Standing in the hotel suite we’d commandeered, I stared hard at Wesley, Walker, and Wesley’s private security team, trying like hell not to succumb to that splintering feeling in my head and chest.
Aria had been missing for twenty-four hours.
The first few hours I’d tried not to panic.
