Page 48 of The Truth Between

I waited until I heard their footsteps retreating, wishing that I could get near Soren’s office to hear what they were talking about. I heard Franklin talking to someone, and then things went silent. After waiting a few seconds, I walked toward the stairs and my mouth dropped open in shock.

Aria stood alone in the foyer. She was someone I’d hung out with on occasion and who lived in the same dormitory as me on Westwick University’s campus. Why was she here?

Then again, that wasn’t the question I should be asking.

I crept down the stairs until Aria spotted me, and she and I shared mirroring expressions.

“I’m so happy to see you,” I said before lowering the volume of my voice. “We don’t have much time, but you have to help me.”

It took Aria a second to respond. “What are you doing here?”

“I was kidnapped by Soren.”

Aria did a double take. “You were what?”

“Yes, and I need your help in getting me out of here before they get back.”

Aria hesitated, her gaze dropping to the floor. I could see the wheels in her head turning as she weighed her options. The longer she stayed quiet, the more my hopes of getting away vanished.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aria spoke up. “I don’t know if I can do this,” she said slowly. “There are some things you don’t know about Soren and my brother, and getting on their bad side could be detrimental to both of us.”

I bit my lip and ran my hands through my hair, trying to think of something that would convince Aria to help me. I knew how dangerous Soren was, and if he found out that Aria had helped me escape, all hell would break loose. But she was my only hope.

“Please,” I begged, my voice barely above a whisper. “I know you’re scared, but so am I. You’re the only one who knows I’m here, and if you don’t help me, then there’s no hope for me.” Tears grew in the corner of my eyes as desperation took over. When she didn’t answer right away, I decided to come clean.

“I was looking for something related to the Chevaliers, and Soren didn’t want me to find it, so he brought me here.”

“The Chevaliers?” Aria asked and I nodded quickly. “Parker is their leader.”

I could have sworn right then and there that my soul left my body. Aria’s brother was Parker, the leader of the Chevaliers, the organization that was the reason I’d been kidnapped.

And that’s when it dawned on me why Soren wanted me to hide. It was because he didn’t want Parker to see me.

I was convinced that there was no way she was going to help me now.

Aria’s gaze shifted from me to the hallway Soren and Parker had walked down. I could tell she was torn between helping me and going against her brother.

I knew if I didn’t come up with a way to convince her, Aria would turn away and leave me here to fend for myself or tell her brother what I’d told her.

I took a deep breath and tried to think of something that would make her help me.

“Aria, I’m begging you,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “Please help me. What I could find if I’m out of here could shake the world, and being here any longer than necessary is threatening my life.”

I hadn’t felt that way around Soren in a while, but if it was a way to get me out of here, I was willing to take it.

I took a deep breath before continuing. “You’re my only hope right now.”

My words hung in the air as Aria looked at me with an expression filled with uncertainty. After a few moments, she finally spoke up again.

“Okay,” she said quietly but firmly. “I’ll help you but know you are putting me in danger if this ever gets back to Parker. No one should be held against their will.”

Both relief and surprise flooded through me. After being rejected before, I was shocked she’d agreed. I couldn’t stop the tears that fell from my eyes. Part of me wanted to question it because I wasn’t sure I believed it, but I didn’t want her to change her mind.

“Thank you,” I said just before I swallowed hard.

Aria gave me a small smile and nodded her head. “But we need to make sure that we have a way to communicate.”

I watched as she dug into her pocket and produced a smartphone that looked to be only a couple of months old.

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