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“What did I just say?” Sky shoots back and firmly grips my knee to stop it from jittering. I’m anxious. Furious. Disappointed. Terrified. Sickened. This can’t be real. “Ariana, this is the truth. You now see it for yourself. Don’t think for a second that Henry isn’t aware of the Black Hand’s operations. I’m not saying he sanctioned the hit they probably put out on you, but he’s not backing away from them, either.”
“No, clearly not. They’re ordering lunch,” I mumble.
Tears sting my eyes. That’s my father. He loved and cherished me, raised me, protected me. Sure, my dad and I never got along in certain aspects of my life, but a father’s love should be endless and fierce.
What is he doing at that table?
You know what he’s doing, Ariana. He’s proving Sky, Kendric, and Raylan right.
I really am safer with my kidnappers than I am with my father. I can’t believe this.
“How are you feeling?” Kendric asks me while snapping more photos, then hands the camera over to Raylan. “Here, you take over.”
“I don’t know how I feel. Sick, to be honest,” I sigh.
“What are you doing?” Raylan asks Kendric as he opens the truck door.
“I’m taking Ariana somewhere. You two stay here and keep an eye on those three,” he says.
I look at all of them in confusion while Kendric pushes the door open and steps out.
“Wait, where are you taking me?”
“There’s someone you need to meet,” he replies.
I give Sky a curious look, but he responds with a single, decisive nod. “Go.”
19
Ariana
Kendric and I keep our ballcaps on and pulled low as we walk down the crowded midtown street. There are so many people and so many cars. It’s the middle of rush hour, and nobody cares who we are or where we’re going.
“Will Sky and Raylan be okay back there?” I ask.
We’ve been quiet for the past twenty minutes, focusing mostly on moving fast but not fast enough to draw unwanted attention, sticking to the shadows and the pedestrian traffic while crossing through a whole neighborhood.
Ahead, a throng of apartment buildings rise. We’re on the east side now, home to a significant portion of Everton’s lower middle-class and blue-collar population.
“Yeah, as long as they don’t get out of the truck,” Kendric says. “We’ll need that surveillance footage. Hell, we need all the evidence we can get. Someday soon, we will have to testify in court against them. Provided we survive.”
A chill runs down my spine. “Right.”
“You might have to testify against your father, Ariana. I hope you’re becoming aware of that.”
“Yeah.”
He takes my hand and gives it a soft, reassuring squeeze. “You’re going to be okay. We won’t let anything happen to you. That I can promise.”
“I don’t think I’m scared of dying,” I sigh. “I think I’m scared of everything else that comes before it and what will be left behind.”
“Sounding mighty philosophical at this hour.”
“I’m trying to keep myself from spiraling out of control,” I reply. “None of this is easy on me, Kendric. The world as I know it is falling apart, crumbling right before my eyes.”
“That’s just the façade. The world was always like this. I’m just sorry you’re having to find out this way.”
I glance around, still worried we might be discovered. The paranoia runs deep, and for good reason. The more I think about it, the more anxious I get. “Where are we going again?”
