Chapter 46. Ariel - Bad news
Chapter 46. Ariel - Bad news
A nightmare wakes me up, but as my eyes open, the images that shook me to the core slip out of my mind.
I lay in bed, trying to calm my racing heart. Even if I don’t remember the dream, it unsettles me deeply.
After a couple of minutes, my heartbeat slows. I squint at the room around me. While I can barely see around me, this place is unfamiliar, and I wonder how I got here. Slowly, the memories from last night return.
My mates found me. Relief floods me, and I almost weep with joy. I’m no longer on that ship, forced to serve drinks and fight men off me. I no longer have to worry about Ivan, and he will try to push me to do next only to punish Mindy when I don’t comply with his orders.
But then it hits me—Mindy and Rheon are still there. I jerk upright, panic surging, and pain shoots through my right side. I yelp loudly and collapse back onto the pillows.
Heavy footsteps echo in the hall, drawing closer. The door opens, and he enters.
Damn it. I need my glasses to see who it is.
“Ariel,” he says.
Killian. My sweet Killian. So many emotions hit me at once, overwhelming me, making it impossible for me to speak.
He walks up to me and collapses beside the bed. Up close, I can see his face, his eyes shining with tears.
“Ariel,” he repeats, this time hoarse. A moment passes, then—“You… you do remember who I am, right? I am—”
“Killian,” I say before he can.
He exhales loudly, almost in relief. “You remember.”
“Of course I do,” I say softly. How can he think that I’d forget him after he’s been inside me while whispering sweet words to me?
He lies down beside me, on my left side, and buries his face in my hair. His body trembles next to mine.
Could it be that he missed me just as much as I missed him? I place my palm on his arm and gently caress his skin.
“It’s alright,” I whisper, trying to calm him. “I’m here now.”
His arm carefully wraps around me as he inhales deeply. “I was so scared. So scared that I’d never see you again,” he admits. “We searched for you, but we couldn’t find you. It was as if the earth swallowed you whole. I still can’t believe you’re here—safe, in my arms.”
His lips trail over my neck, pressing soft kisses there.
“Ariel. My Ariel,” he murmurs. “You are everything to me.”
Love, pure and overwhelming, floods my heart. I love this man so much it makes my chest ache.
“Killian—” I begin, but stop as the memory of what I overheard after being saved claws into me.
One of my mates doesn’t want me.
But who? It can’t be Killian. He seems so happy to see me. But what if it’s just an act? What if he’s only pretending?
Without thinking, I push him away.
He lifts his head, and hurt flashes in his blue eyes. It stabs me to know I caused that pain, but doubt twists inside me. I don’t know if I can trust him with my heart. Not until I know the truth.
I need to know which of them doesn’t want me.
And then… what? Be with the other three?
Why not?
Before Killian can speak, I ask, “Are we still in Chicago?”
“Yes,” he replies.
Thank God.
My next question: “Where are the others?”
“Asher’s down in the gym. Khai and Elijah went grocery shopping, but they should be back soon.”
I nod. “Good. I… I need to talk to all of you.”
A worried look crosses Killian’s face, puzzling me. He swallows hard before asking, “Is it about the place you’ve been all this time?”
I nod, and he pales, confusing me even more.
“Can you adjust the pillows for me?” I ask. “I’d do it myself, but… it hurts.”
Killian gently lifts my head, fluffs the pillows, and settles me back against them. “The doctor said you were lucky the bullet didn’t hit any major organ and that you will make a full recovery.”
“Glad to hear that. Who saved me last night?” I wonder.
Killian lets out a low chuckle. “Last night? No. It wasn’t last night. Elijah saved you three days ago.”
I jerk forward. “What?” I ask before collapsing back on the pillows as the pain steals my breath away.
“You need to rest,” Killian says. “It will take a couple more days until the pain lessens.”
Ignoring him, I say, “We need to go back to the ship and get Mindy and Rheon out. Who knows what’s happened to them in the past three days? And Rheon… he was shot in the neck, because of me. Because I couldn’t wait.”
Panic claws up my chest. What if he’s dead? What if Ivan did something unspeakable to Mindy as punishment for my escape? My lungs burn like fire, each breath shorter than the last—until no more air comes at all.
Killian cups my face between his palms, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Breathe!”
My body obeys him, and air rushes back into my lungs.
“Good girl,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to my forehead. “The only thing you need to do right now is focus on getting better.”
“How can you ask me that when my friends are in danger?” I hiss, trying to push myself out of the bed, consequences be damned.
Killian stops me, holding me down gently but firmly. “Elijah has been trying to track the ship these past three days…”
His voice trails off, and impatience claws at me. “And?”
“It’s not on Lake Michigan anymore.”
Sorry for the delay, as I mentioned before, I am trying to finish another book (not that much left) and then, this one will be the focus of my attention.