Page 83 of The Burdens We Share
Aria shakes her head, “We don’t split up.”
Calvin enters the room just then and I swallow, “Three go in, three come out. We split up and run for our fucking lives. He won’t chase you, he’ll chase me. You guys find the guys and come find me.”
They both hesitate but know I’m right. Brody dips her chin, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I answer.
“I love you both always,” Aria adds, her eyes glassy.
“Go!” I shout and the three of us break off into separate directions.
Chapter 25
Dallas
Harvey is driving, speeding,and running through lights like a bat out of hell. I’m in the passenger, loading bullets into two guns just in case. Harvey and I have been through the military together, and now this. We went through wars with much bigger guns, but this is the most important war of all and I’m not willing to take any risks when it comes to Ivory’s life and I know Harvey won’t take any on Brody’s either.
Slater is seated in the back beside Selene who looks green in the face. I tried to tell her to stay back, but Selene Stone isn’t the kind of woman who gets told to do something. She’s the woman who tellsothersto do things. I respect her all the more for it.
Harvey pulls into the gated drive and Selene reaches forward to hand him the keycard to the movie set. It scans green and the gates swing open. Harvey pulls in and immediately parks. Slater, Harvey, and I rush out and Selene opens her door, but I close it, shaking my head. Her window lowers and she glares at me, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Keeping you alive. Stay in the car,” I command, leaving no room for question.
She frowns, never the one to not be in control of something. Harvey adds, “Selene, just take an order this once.”
Selene scrunches her nose, “Fine. But if those three don’t come out alive I will personally see to it that the three of you sufferimmensely.”
The thought of any of those girls, especially Ivory, not coming out alive causes bile to creep up my throat. No. I refuse to acceptthat possibility. I shove the thought back down as I nod, turning and racing towards the set. Slater and Harvey walk on either side of me. I hand Harvey his gun and he takes it, tucking it into his waistband. I turn and look at Slater, “Remember when you called me all those months ago and asked me to track Aria down and I found her at the hotel where Rogan took her?”
Slater raises a brow as if not seeing where I’m going with this, “Yes. Why?”
My nostrils flare, “Because when I helped you, we made a deal. Remember?”
I watch as the memory comes back to him. “I remember. I promised you a favor.”
I nod, pleased with his memory. “Good. Now I’m calling in that favor.”
Slater is all business, “Anything.”
“If something goes wrong and I get compromised somehow, you get Ivory the fuck out of there,” I demand.
Slater raises his chin at me, “You wouldn’t have to call a favor in for that. I would never leave Ivory or Brody in danger.”
Harvey adds, “Aria and Ivory may not have been my favorite people in the past, but they’ve grown on me the way a wart would. If something happens, and you two aren’t around, I’m gettingallthe girls out.”
I focus back on the set in front of us, “I’ll make the same promise for Aria and Brody.”
Slater asks, “Do you still have that SWAT team on the way?”
“Yes,” I respond.
Harvey cocks his gun, “Good. Now let’s go get our girls back.”
Ivory
I SWING THE DOORin front of me open, the one that Brody and Aria didn’t run through, and dart inside the mystery room. Calvin is hot on my trail and I take only a second to assess mysurroundings. The only way out is the door I just came through. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I’m so fucked.
