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I get in and strap my belt on, then give him a curious look. “You weren’t out there all the time, were you?”
“No, my colleagues and I took turns in eight-hour shifts, but even then, we couldn’t guarantee that we’d know everything going on inside that clubhouse,” he says. “Not without government-sanctioned surveillance, anyway. And that requires warrants.”
“Right. Yeah, that makes sense.” I just hope he’s not aware that I’m only asking so I know what lies to tell when I do get interviewed over this entire incident.
“For what it’s worth, I didn’t see anyone moving in and around the clubhouse after you escaped. All the lights remained off,” Masterson says. “Chances are, they won’t realize you’re gone until the morning.”
All I can do is nod slowly as he turns the key in the ignition and drives off into the night. I should feel relieved, dammit, so why don’t I? Why am I still worried and anxious, like I’m sitting on a razor’s edge? It should be over. I should feel truly safe, yet I don’t. I’m looking over my shoulder, searching for the tiniest light somewhere behind us. What am I hoping for?
As the minutes roll by in silence, Masterson keeps his eyes on the road. Every once in a while, he gives me a brief glance, probably just to check whether I’m asleep or not. Gradually, I get more comfortable in my seat. There is mellow soul music playing at a low volume. It helps soothe my nerves.
He hasn’t asked me any questions yet. I’m guessing he is biding his time, having realized that I’m still in some sort of fight-or-flight state that might trigger unpleasant reactions. I’m quiet because I’m trying to figure out how to make the authorities understand that I was never in any real danger with the Steel Knights. It sounds weird, though, no matter how I put it.
“Did they give you water?” Masterson finally asks.
“Yes, food, too. They were actually quite kind and courteous,” I tell him. “They never planned on hurting me.”
“How did they take you?”
I lower my gaze, face burning hot. “With a gun pointed at my head. They broke into my apartment.”
“But they never planned on hurting you,” he says with an edge of sarcasm.
“Listen, Agent Masterson, the truth is, whatever beef they have, it’s with my dad. They were just trying to get his attention.”
“Yet they made no claim whatsoever. No ransom request, either. They sent a photo of you. Where was that taken?”
Heat spreads through my chest. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember.”
“The metadata suggests it’s recent. You were supposed to be a captive, but you weren’t tied up nor indoors in that photograph,” Masterson replies. His tone is calm, but even so, I can smell his suspicions from a mile away. I may not be able to dampen the impact here, no matter how I spin the story. I might as well just give him as much of the truth as possible but keep the more intimate details out. “So where was it taken, Ariana?”
“They took me out of the clubhouse a few times,” I concede with a heavy sigh. “They wanted to show me around Everton, to show me parts of it that I don’t normally see. Not on TV, not on the news. They wanted me to see for myself that my father hasn’t been doing what he promised in his role as mayor.”
“And they had to kidnap you for this?”
I can’t blame him for sounding so incredulous. Hell, I’d laugh in my face if I were in his shoes. But he doesn’t know the details. He cannot possibly understand what’s going on in my heart, how I feel when I’m with Sky, Kendric and Raylan.
He wasn’t there, he never sat down and had an honest and open conversation with them about anything. As far as Masterson is concerned, the Steel Knights are simply criminals who kidnapped the mayor’s daughter, and he’s the one who plucked me from the side of the road.
By all possible measures, he’s the hero, and they’re the bad guys.
“They never told me the whole plan,” I say after a heavy pause. “Only that they needed me as leverage to get him to do what he knew he had to do.”
“And what’s that?” Masterson asks.
I admire his profile for a moment. His features are intensely masculine and chiseled. He looks like one of the guys you’d see in a J. Crew catalog. Good looking, charming, well-dressed, clean-shaven. The kind of man you bring home to meet your parents.
“The right thing,” I reply. “That’s all they ever said. That my father needs to do the right thing.”
“Didn’t you wonder what that meant?”
“Of course. But I also know about the task force that my father is putting together to go after the Steel Knights. I guess that it involves that, among other things. Agent Masterson, I’m telling you, the situation is a lot more complicated and more nuanced than you might think.”
“That is for the DA to untangle, Ariana. To me, the situation seems pretty simple, regardless of their motive,” Masterson says. “They kidnapped you at gunpoint. They took you out of your home and kept you in that clubhouse against your will. That is a crime, and it is severely punishable. I don’t care what their intentions were.”
I give him a weary look, growing increasingly worried about what will happen to the guys once we’re back in the city. “Have you ever heard about the Black Hand?” I ask Masterson.
“What’s that?” he replies, dark eyes on the road, always on the road.
