Page 75 of Carnival
“I tried asking a lot of questions,’’ I start explaining. “Mainly, what were his plans with you? He wouldn’t give me a straight answer, but I did gather that he is pissed.’’
A scoff leaves Aria’s mouth, and she barely suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. “Yeah, he’s pissed I got him banished from New York, isn’t he?”
“Not quite.’’
Aria gets the second knot undone, then pauses momentarily. “Go on.’’
“He’s pissed you moved on.’’
Aria’s eyes close, and she pinches the bridge of her nose. The anger she’s been trying to suppress slowly starts to resurface, and I know that once she gets the chance, she’ll let the anger consume her and kill the bastard.
“That’s his main issue? Cove?”
I nod. “And it’s like… really creepy, too.’’
“Elaborate, please.’’
“He chose me because he thinks I know the most about you. He asked a lot of questions about your sex life with Cove.’’
Aria’s brow raises up to her hairline, a mix of shock and disgust on her face. She blinks a few times, digesting the information, then nods, signaling for me to continue.
“He wanted to know about your current kinks. He needed to know what you were into these days so he could, uh… satisfy you.’’
“As if I’d let the motherfucker touch me again. It’s bad enough that he was my first.’’
I look away. “I know. But, Aria, I don’t think he cares about your consent here. He’s delusional; he thinks he can whisk you away, and you’ll be his all over again.’’
“Is that what all of the fuss is about? He wants me back?”
“I don’t think he wants you back because he loves you,’’ I snap my eyes back to Aria’s. “He just hates that someone else has you. That’s all. And I think that obsessive thought makes him far more dangerous than we thought. So, please, don’t tell me you came here alone.’’
Aria looks away, focusing on undoing my ropes. She tugs on them, then bites the inside of her cheek. I roll my eyes, resigned, then shake my head disapprovingly, a small chuckle slipping.
“That was very stupid of you.’’
“Don’t worry.’’ She tugs on one knot, and it comes undone. “I’m chipped.’’
“What?”
She nods. “I have a tracker in my necklace, my thigh, and my neck. Don’t worry, they’ll find us soon.’’
“You did that voluntarily?”
“The trackers in my body? Yeah. It helped me feel a lot safer after Wyatt left New York. And the necklace was a gift from Mom for Christmas last year.’’
“Jesus Christ,’’ I mumble.
“Remind me to have you chipped, too.’’
“No, thanks.’’
“I wasn’t asking.’’
I lift a brow as the final knot comes undone. I tug them off my body and stand up, stumbling a little. Aria catches me before I can fall face first, and I can’t help but lean on her for support, regaining control of my feet. I take a few steps forward and stretch, my back snapping, and so does my neck.
“Do you plan on having me kidnapped again?”
A wave of guilt threatens to spill from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Rose. It never occurred to me that he’d come for you. I’m really sorry for putting you through this.’’
