Page 45 of Fighting With Light

“You understand I will need more information, right?” Emerson says.

I groan into the phone because I wasn’t ready to tell them what was going on. I figured it would be better to ask for forgiveness later instead of asking for permission now.

“Yes, I do. But I don’t have all the information to give at the moment. Can you please trust me? I need your help.”

“Fine,” he grunts. “It’s going to take me a couple of hours to get it scheduled. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”

“Thank you, Emerson.”

He grunts in response and hangs up.

“Okay, well, that’s settled. We just have to keep your friend occupied until Em comes to take care of him for us.” Ben shifts on the ground and I know he’s listening, but it doesn’t matter.

“He’s not my friend,” Aelia says, lifting off the hood.

“Fine, whatever, I’ll get him into the trunk. Can you drive the Porsche back to the house?”

“Hell yeah I can,” she says excitedly.

“Great, I’ll get Ben.”

After I load Ben into the trunk of the SUV, I let Aelia lead the way back to the house and barely keep up with her. It’s quiet on the roads, so she’s going way too fast, but I don’t blame her. That car makes your blood pump a little faster.

We drive down the long driveway to the house and Aelia hits the brakes hard, and hops out of the Porsche. I pull the SUV into the garage and turn it off.

Leaving Ben in the trunk, I pull her to the side so he can’t hear us. “How strict do we need to be with him? Willhe try to leave?”

“Well, based on the situation, I’m thinking he is more likely to try to contact Dad or one of my brothers.”

I run my hand through my hair that’s no longer styled in place. “Maybe I’ll tie him up and put him in the room with just a bed.”

“If only we had a basement or a room with no windows,” she says, looking out at the garden.

I stare at her, and this is not the time to smile, but I can’t help myself as I bite my lip, trying to hide it. We are two peas in a pod, as ridiculous as it sounds.

She looks back at me. “What?” she says.

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Nothing, princess,” I murmur, and she lifts her head, leaning in to kiss me and I dodge her, kissing her on the cheek. Our similarities are starting to scare me. Her lips pout, but she brushes it off.

“We’re going to keep him in the garage. There’s nothing in here and I think I can rig something to him that would make it very difficult for him to leave.”

She gives me a funny look and I wink at her.

When I put Ben in the trunk, I found his bag with a rope and another pair of handcuffs. It appears he was going to hog-tie her and try to take her home. I don’t appreciate that at all.

I open the trunk and Ben is glaring at me. But his lips stay shut.

“For the record, you made this a lot harder on yourself, you know,” Aelia says from behind me.

“Whatever,” he grumbles.

“Look, I can make this super uncomfortable or you can cooperate. Your choice.”

“I need to take a piss,” he says.

Pulling the gun from my waistband, I hold it up to him while Aelia unties him.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again. I have no qualms about pushing your body over the edge of the cliffs. Don’t piss me off or I’ll just put a bullet in your head. Say one wrong thing to Aelia, I will make it hurt. Do you understand?”