Page 120 of Beautiful Beast

Erik holds the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. “Ok. Where are you?”

“I’m at one of my apartments. It’s not safe to say over the phone. I’ll text you the address.” Then he hangs up.

“I can’t believe my father kidnapped a girl!”

“I’ll handle this. I’m taking you home. It’s not safe for you to be out right now. I’m not sure if Dante knows Aria is missing, but he’ll find out soon enough, and if Sergei is correct, Dante will be pissed she was taken. After I get you to safety, I’ll deal with your father. Don’t argue with me, Anya. You know I’m right. The safer you are, the better I can think.”

I want to object. I want to scream and fight. Even though Aria is a Mafia daughter, she’s only twelve and doesn’t deserve to be kidnapped.

But Erik is right. There’s nothing I can do to save the day. Erik can help her. Erik can stop Dante. He’s the one who can put an end to this fighting so no more girls are kidnapped.

“Ok,” I say.

“Thank you.”

Erik is silent as he takes me home, but the moment we’re through the front door, he tells me not to leave. “Make sure everything is locked. Jerry will protect the gate out front. I’m going to send over a few more guards in case Dante shows up. Sergei doing this is asking Dante to go on a rampage, and I can’t risk that.”

I grab Erik’s hand before he leaves. “Just … stay safe. Don’t almost get killed again.”

“Would you miss me?”

“Yes,” I answer honestly.

Erik grabs my face and kisses me before leaving. I hate feeling powerless and helpless, but this isn’t my fight.

This is up to Erik, and I have to trust him to put an end to it.

ERIK

I speed over to the address Sergei gave me. It’s a high-end apartment that looks like any other high-end apartment in Manhattan.

But what’s unusual is the girl tied up to a chair in his living room. She’s tiny. Skinny. Clearly twelve from how young and innocent she looks.

And yet there’s a defiant look in her eye. An upturn of her nose.

“You’re going to regret hurting me,” she says, glaring at Sergei as he paces the room.

“Oh, shut up,” he hisses.

To my surprise, Aria sticks her tongue out at Sergei, not looking afraid at all. He backhands her across the face.

I storm across the room and grab Sergei, pushing him away from the girl. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? You should’ve jumped at this chance. This girl will draw Dante out, and we can finally kill him.”

“You’ll never get to him,” Aria seethes. It’s impressive for someone so tiny.

“Are you ok?” I ask her.

She scoffs. “Like you care.”

“I do, actually. Unlike my colleague here, I don’t go around hitting twelve-year-old girls. So, are you in pain?”

“No.” It’s an obvious lie. I can see by how she clenches her jaw. A red welt is already appearing on her face. There’s no way she’s not in pain, but she doesn’t want me to know it. It’s funny. This little girl reminds me a lot of Anya. Feisty, spirited, brave. Doesn’t want anyone to see her fear.

“Good, then,” I respond. Getting Aria to admit she’s hurt won’t happen, so I’m not going to waste my breath. “Sergei, you have to let the girl go.”

“Why should I? I have her now, so don’t bitch about it. We can use her. Let’s draw Dante out. I left a message for her father, telling Dante to meet me down by the docks if he wants her back unharmed. I told him to meet me at nightfall. In a few hours, he’ll be dead. It will be perfect.”

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