Page 118 of Red Retaliation

Before anybody reacts, my phone dings with a notification. I scramble to open the text following the one giving us an hour:

[Unknown number]

17 Nov 07:28

Only joking!

I smash my fist into the wall. It doesn’t hurt. Nothing fucking hurts me, apart from Arianna not being here. “There’s no bomb!” I snarl. “It’s a wind-up! The cunts have tricked us, and we fell for it!” I glance at my watch.Yep! Two minutes over the allotted cut-off time.

I shake my head in rage, as well as relief. At least Arianna is safe. “Someone tell the rest of the men to stand down.”

“Fuck’s sake!” Liam spits. “All that time and wasted resources. Shit!”

I can’t quite believe the Bristonis, or whoever’s behind this, have pulled this off so well. I’m furious beyond words. However, the upside is that Arianna can now return. I pull up my contact list and scroll to Cal’s number. I’ll give him a call and tell him to turn the motor around.

“Where is she?”

Spinning around, I stare at the last man I expected to see. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I bark at Cal, my relief fading rapidly. “If Arianna’s not with you, then where is she?”

“I texted her the code and said the car was ready, but she didn’t show. She still hasn’t. I thought she must still be with you.”

My blood curdles and pools somewhere deep inside my feet. I swing to Del, my eyes like burning pits. “Well?”

“She received the code!” Del gasps. “I saw it myself! She showed me the fucking text! It said ‘4292. Back door now.’ I walked her to the car! I...”

“But that wasn’t what I messaged!” Cal’s rugged face is as disturbed as mine.

I face Del. “Who. Was. In. The. Car?”

Oscar tugs my arm. “Red...”

“I said, Who. Was. In. The. Car? Whose fucking car did Arianna get in?”

Del blinks, hesitating. “A blacked-out, armored car like you requested. I didn’t... I didn’t check who was in it. I just opened the door. Who elsecould turn up and send that code? It doesn’t make sense. I...”

I pull at my hair. If Cal is here, but Arianna isn’t, then...

My fist connects with the wall for the second time, but my urge to smash the place to ruins is interrupted by my phone dinging with yet another notification.

[Unknown number]

17 Nov 07:30.

... You lost ...

The dull ringing in my head gets louder until it clamors at a deafening volume. I stare numbly at my mobile for a further few seconds.

The room is deathly silent. Everyone knows something is very wrong.

But it’s worse than that.

Looking up, I focus my gaze on the men around me. “They’ve got her. The Bristonis have Arianna.”

CHAPTER

86

Arianna