Chapter 126 Chapter One hundred and twenty-five
ARA
My hands shook as I redialed the number. The line rang. And rang. And rang. But there was no answer.
My whole body shuddered.
“Thayne!”
I yelled his name, before I even realized I’d opened my mouth.
He came rushing out of the private room adjoining the bedroom, shirt half-buttoned, a pistol already in his hand.
“What is it? Are you okay?” He searched my y body from head to toe, then scanned the whole room.
I held up the phone like it was evidence.
“Thayne, I think Emily is with my sisters.”
His entire body went still.
He crossed the room in three strides, took the phone from my trembling fingers, and looked at the call log.
“Play it back,” he said.
I shook my head. “It was right at the end. The line cut off. But I heard her voice. Asking who they were talking to. It was her, Thayne. I’m sure of it.”
He stared at me for one long second, searching, weighing, then nodded once.
“Okay,” he said. “We’re moving. Now.”
He turned toward the door, already reaching for his comms unit clipped to his belt.
“Team, priority alert. Possible compromise at secondary location. Sisters’ position may be blown. Emily Carter is suspected on site. Full extraction protocol. Wheels up in ten.”
Voices crackled back, affirmatives, coordinates, ETA.
Thayne turned back to me. “We’re leaving now, love. We’re going to get them ourselves.”
I stood on shaking legs.
“Thayne—if she’s there—if she’s hurt them—”
He cupped my face with both hands. “We won’t let her get away, I promise. Believe me this time.”
His thumbs brushed my cheekbones before he kissed me briefly, just a press of lips that carried more weight than words could.
Then he pulled me into a hug, arms locking around me tight enough to squeeze the fear out of my lungs.
I buried my face in his neck, breathing him in. When he let go, he took my hand and led me to the bathroom.
He bathed me himself. The tub was wide, deep, the water already steaming when he guided me in.
He knelt beside it, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and washed me gently, his large hands careful over every inch of skin, like I was something fragile he was afraid of breaking.
He shampooed my hair with slow, practiced fingers, massaging my scalp until my eyes drifted closed and the tension in my shoulders finally unraveled.
I nearly fell asleep right there, my head tipped back against the porcelain, the warmth of the water and his touch pulling me under.
Twenty minutes later we were exiting the hotel.
Thayne’s new personal bodyguard waited by the private elevator. His name was Stuart, and he was tall, broad, and with a face carved from granite
He looked like a military version of Thayne: same sharp eyes, same coiled readiness, but with a buzz cut and a scar running through one eyebrow that Thayne didn’t have.
He saluted Thayne and gave me a curt nod as we approached.
“I suggest Mrs. Slade be the first to arrive,” Stuart said, his voice low and matter-of-fact. “To lower suspicions. We don’t want our target calling for feedback beforehand. We want her unsuspecting, with her guards down.”
Thayne stopped walking. The air around him changed, sharpening, like a blade being drawn.
“Stuart,” he bit out, “I’m not sending my wife first into danger. She’s not a goddamn bait.”
Stuart didn’t flinch. “Sir, with respect, she’s the only person Emily will let get close without alerting. We’ve gotten a profiler to give us details about her: she’s paranoid, but she’s obsessed with nailing down Ara. If Mrs. Slade shows up alone, Emily will drop her guard. We’ll have a clear shot. The rest of the team will be in position—”
“No.” Thayne’s word was final, leaving no room for argument. “Find another way.”
Stuart opened his mouth again, refusing to give up.
Thayne stepped closer, close enough that Stuart had to tilt his head up slightly to meet his eyes.
“I said no,” Thayne repeated, each syllable quiet but weighted with steel. “You want to use my pregnant wife as live bait? Over my dead body. And if you suggest it again, you’ll be looking for a new job. Understood?”
Stuart’s jaw flexed, but he gave one sharp nod.
“Understood, sir.”
Thayne turned to me, softening instantly. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, thumb lingering on my cheek.
“You okay? Do you want to sit?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, even though my heart was still racing from the casual way Stuart had suggested putting me in the line of fire.
“I’m okay,” I said. “But he’s right about one thing.”
Thayne’s brow furrowed.
“Emily will let me get close,” I continued. “She wants me there. She wants to see me hurt. If I show up, she’ll be too busy gloating to notice the team moving in.”
Thayne’s expression hardened. He hated the idea because of how badly it'd turned out in the past.
“I’m not risking you.”
“You’re not risking me alone,” I countered.
“You’ll be there. Your men will be there. I won’t be bait, I’ll be the distraction. The second she focuses on me, you take her down.”
He stared at me for a long moment, weighing every possible outcome, every risk.
Finally he exhaled, his shoulders dropping a fraction.
“If we do this,” he said slowly, “you are going to wear a vest. And we're going to have a standby medical team. We can't afford a repeat of the warehouse.”
“I don't–”
He didn’t let me finish. “You stay behind cover. You will not fight. You are three months and two weeks pregnant. It's a fragile stage right now. You will let me handle her. And the second anything feels off, you get out. No playing heroine, Ara. Don't try to save me.”
I nodded, even though I would never do the last part. Don't save him? Bullshit.
“Promise me,” he pressed.
“I promise.”
He studied me another second, then pulled me into his arms for a brief, fierce hug.
“Okay,” he said against my hair. “Don’t make me regret this, Ara. I'd rather we spend forever fighting our fathers than lose you just for some stupid victory.”
I pressed my face into his chest. “I know.”
He kissed the top of my head, then stepped back.
“Let’s go get your sisters,” he said.
"Let's put the cat in the bag." He muttered to Stuart as we headed for the cars Stuart had arranged for our emergency departure.
I would not fail in this. Not this time.