GRIFFIN
I'm scared.
Her voice echoes throughout my brain while the phone line provides nothing but shuffling. I pace my office, my muscles tensing at the helpless fucking feeling.
"Ariel, talk to me baby. Where are you?" I desperately say into the phone while Aaron barks orders at someone on another phone.
I hear more shuffling then the sound of a door creaking.
"Uncle Marco?" Her sweet voice makes me slump in relief. But I tense back up at that name. That's who fucking took her?
"Hello, principessa." His filthy voice rings over the phone, muffled. My jaw clenches in anger.
"U-uncle Marco. What are you doing." She questions.
"I needed something from you sweetheart, and since you aren't so compliant, and you don't answer when I call, I had to turn to more drastic measures." The smug bastard says.
"N-no. No you wouldn't do this, I'm your neice!" Ariel shouts.
"Do not scream." He grits, a loud smack is heard and her whimper follows.
My vision bleeds red, every muscle in body coils in immeasurable rage.
That motherfucker will beg me for death, nothing on earth can save him from me now.
"Okay, please just tell me what it is you want." She cries.
"See? Isn't it nice when you aren't acting like a brat?" He mocks. "I didn't want to hit you, sweetheart, I want what's best for you. And Griffin Moretti is bad news. He is a self serving narcissist!" Marco growls. "You would be better off with that Hale boy." My jaw clenches.
"Griffin is twice the man you ever will be." Ariel seethes. "Don't ever act like you think about anyone but yourself. If you wanted the best for me, you never would have poisoned me in his eyes. The eyes of the man that I. Loved." Her crying is louder now, her voice broken.
My heart stops for a second. Love. Loved.
"And you would tell him the truth now, because I am already engaged to him and it hurts." Her voice becomes rough. "Everyday, living under the same roof as someone who hates you. Really. Hurts." She cries. My chest burns, as do my eyes.
"I will do no such thing. I need him to think you fucked him over, not that you're a lovesick loyal puppy." He spits.
My ears ring. No.
She didn't lie. She never told him anything. What about the recording?
It doesn't fucking matter, he tricked the both of us. Fuck.
"I don't have time for your melodramatics. I need information. Anything to take Griffin down. Ruin his life like he has ruined mine." The lunatic says.
Aaron gestures to me that Alessandro can't get a signal on her ring. 'What about her phone.' I gesture, composing myself from the initial shock of being so devastatingly wrong.
"No." Ariel says, bringing my attention back to her. "I won't aid in you hurting him anymore than you already have." She grits.
"Don't be difficult, I have ways of getting you to comply, don't make me use them." He threatens. My anger burns hotter every time he fucking speaks.
"Do your worst, Marco." She spits.
"Fine. Bring in the spiders." He calls.
"Spiders?" Ariel whimpers. My chest stings at the fear lacing her small voice.
"I won't be using conventional methods today, sweetheart. You are still my neice, can't really hit you." He pauses. "Again. So I'll use less incriminating methods." His sadistic tone makes me clench my jaw.
"No! Please no! No no no no." Ariel cries, then a gut wrenching scream from her makes my squeeze my eyes shut, my heart squeezes in on itself.
"Fuck." I grunt.
A clatter is heard, then, "What the fuck? Is that her phone?" He screams.
Aaron snatches the phone from me and hangs up.
"What the fuck are you doing." I shout at him.
"We can't risk letting him find out we know anything okay? Comeon, we have a location."
_________________
The location ping on Ariel's phone disappeared minutes after we hung up. The phone had been destroyed. Every moment I spent in this car, every moment I spent without knowing how she was, wound me tight till my muscles felt taut to the point of breaking.
I jump out of my car when we stop at the location, and I tell my men to spread out and look for her. I run around like my life depends on it. The truth is, my life doesn't just depend on it, she is it. Finding her and holding her, feeling her safe in my arms, apologizing for every fuckef up thing I have done is my sole purpose right now.
"There, that's them getting in the car!" Carlos shouts and my pulse quickens, pounding in my ears while my eyes jump around to spot them.
I see a glimpse of that shiny, light brown hair glinting in the sunlight and I swear I can smell that comforting and familiar scent of rain, before a man roughly shoves her head in, making my blood boil.
I don't waste any time, jumping in my car and racing after the vehicle with my life in it.
I chase the car on the highest speed I can go, but the driver skillfully maneuvers unexpected turns, making it harder for me to keep up.
"Fuck, fuck." I spit, switching lanes, hitting the floor with the gas pedal, so close to catching up to him--
The driver suddenly turns into a street, my speed prevents my turn and I pass it, a loud string of curses falling from my lips.
I brake, my tires screeching to a halt, before a loud crash sounds from somewhere. I look around, thinking I had crashed into something, but it wasn't my car.
Cold, icy dread douses my entire body, my skin prickles. I screech the car around, racing back to the turn and take it, the sight of a wrecked car, crashed into a tree, smoke emerging from it makes my throat knot.
"No." I hear my voice crack, throwing my door open, I run to the car my heart in my mouth and a loud screamed curse echoes when the car breaks out into flames. It takes me a second to process it came from me, but I don't have time to pay attention to that.
I run to the aflame car, my hands fruitlessly knock the passenger side door.
"No no no no. Fuck. Ariel!" I shout for her, scream for her. Yearn for her.
I try to look closer into the heavily tinted window but the heat from the fire prevents me getting too close.
My heart is beating loudly in my ears and all I want is to see her face, her beautiful eyes, so desperately. So I do the only thing I can think of, I punch the passenger window repeatedly, trying to break the glass.
My knuckles make a sickening cracking sound against the glass at every punch, pain sears through my arm but I can barely feel it over the adrenaline. I punch, making a crack in the window, the heat from the fire inches closer and closer but I don't fucking care.
I want my wife.
