Page 46 of Fighting With Light

“Who the hell is this, Aelia?”

She grins and looks up at me.

“He’s mine and that’s all you need to know,” she says brightly.

My heart stalls in my chest, my stomach does a weird flip thing, and my limbs feel heavy. Her confidence overrides my fear, and I have no idea what to do other than grab her neck and haul her to my lips. I kiss her, keeping my eyes open with my gun still pointed at Ben. She nips at me, then wipes the corner of my mouth. Her eyes are an inferno, burning like a jungle on fire.

Ben makes a disgusted sound and I hit him with the butt of the gun.

“Do it again, Ben, I’m begging you.”

He sighs. “Can you just put me somewhere so I can contemplate my life choices?”

“Happy to.” I grin.

I push him towards the bathroom and unlock his hands, keeping the barrel on his head. “Go ahead, do your business.”

Ben looks at me over his shoulder. “Can I have a minute?”

I take a step back, out of sight, keeping the bathroom door open. Aelia comes back from backing the SUV out of the garage and leans against the wall right outside the door, dragging her eyes down my body and I can feel every inch.

The toilet flushes and I lift the gun again. “Good?” I ask Ben.

He shrugs.

“Great, you’re going to help me redecorate a little.”

He looks at me funny and I hand the gun to Aelia.

She points it at Ben while I move over to a buffet against the wall and open the doors to pull out the shelves. I set them all to the side and then stand on one end. “Okay, lift your side. We’re going to put this in the garage.”

Ben’s confused expression doesn’t change and we walk down the hall and into the garage.

I stop until the furniture is sitting in the center of the garage. There is nothing he can get reach to free himself. I open the doors and gesture towards them. Ben’s eyes widen and he glances at Aelia.

“You cannot be serious,” Ben says.

“Oh, I am. It’s either this or I create some kind of questionable rigging to hang you off the side of the cliff. I have some climbing rope and carabiners, so I guess wecouldtry that.”

“No, this is fine,” Ben says quickly.

“Great, we’re both in agreement, then.” I hold the handcuffs up and he lifts his wrists. He takes a deep breath and looks at Aelia one more time before he squats down and inches himself into the cabinet. It’s barely big enough to fit his body and he’ll have a hard time turning around. Once his feet are in, I close the cabinet doors and grab the climbing rope purchased for Aelia and me to go rock climbing. I tie it around the cabinet, centering it across the cabinet doors and knot it in the back where he doesn’t have access to untie it. I tie it in a couple of climbing knots designed to hold people and tap the top.

“Goodnight, Ben,” I say in a sing-song voice.

“Asshole!” he yells. Aelia walks back into the house and I follow behind, locking the door.

“I’m sure you’re tired,” Aelia says.

“Yeah, it’s been a night. He should be good until tomorrow. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says.

I take a deep breath and run my hand through my hair again. “I’m going to get a quick shower I have to be up in…” I look down at my watch to check the time. “Five hours.”

“Okay,” she says quietly. I grab her elbow, press a kiss to her temple, and go back to my room. I know there’s video footage to watch, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

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