Page 82 of Beastly Armory
A triple knock, followed by two, then one sounds through the solid wood door to the hall. One of the security guards who greeted us when we first came tothe Strauss mansion enters in a hurry. “Sir, there’s a woman here to see you.”
“Why the fuck would I care about a woman coming to see me? I’m a little busy.” Strauss nods to my husband.
The man enters the room as Max stumbles backward, almost falling over, dropping his weapon. Out of his holster, the guard pulls a gun and points it at Max’s slumped body.
“This one says she’s Arianna Freidenberg.”
I feel the smile that creeps onto Vlad’s face, pressed firmly next to my own. The nefarious grin can be heard in his voice when he says, “Oh? Well, this is someone I definitely want to see. Bring her down. And tell her to hurry. I get impatient sometimes and may kill these two for their insubordination.”
Max lifts his head. “Baby, I won’t let him touch you. He’ll lose his hands if he does.”
Strauss tightens his grip on me, and I try to hold in my scared cry, but I can’t. My tears fall freely as Max continues to gaze into my eyes. It feels like years before there’s shuffling outside the door and the guard returns. Behind him are Arianna and Jakob. And then three more of Strauss’s guards enter, each holding a gun toward Max, Jakob, and me.
Small fasciculations in Strauss’s muscles make his hold relax slightly when he sees the beautiful Ari. Innocence radiates off her, dressed in a white frilly dress, accentuated with dewy makeup and soft curls in her hair. If he slips again, I could twist out of his grasp.
“Max!” She runs to her brother first, after surveyingthe situation. Kneeling in front of him, she strokes a hand against his face while he tries to hide his body from her. Jakob takes off his coat and throws it over him, but Max grimaces from the pain on his back. “Please, sir. Please, let them go,” Ari cries, lifting her head toward the man still holding my life in his hands.
“Miss Arianna… It is such a pleasure. These were not the circumstances I had planned for our first meeting. But your brother and Miss Von Dovish have disobeyed my orders. The businesses were to be kept clean. Neither asked for my blessing for their clandestine marriage, either. So… my beautiful darling. I need you to choose which one will live and which one will die.”
“No! Please, don’t hurt them.” Large droplets fall from her big brown eyes as she pleads with Strauss. Her fingers reach out to touch him, as if to stop him from hurting us.
“What would you have me do, my pure-hearted darling? They deserve punishment.”
Sucking in a thick bottom lip, she swallows, then slowly answers. “I’ll marry you.”
“No!” Max yells, the volume causing a screwdriver to fall off the table nearby.
I gasp, and my blood freezes in my veins. My tears stop flowing.
She knows.
Arianna knows.
She must have read the will, about our parents’ wishes. She’s not nearly as innocent as Max thinks…
Briefly, I sort out if she has spoken with Ace yetor not. He would only agree to marry her if he wants revenge on Max for killing his sister, for us killing his necro.
Arianna is choosing the lesser of two evils. It’s not ideal, but we will have a much easier time controlling Ace than the bull. Now, if I can just get Max to calm down, we can get out of here without Strauss getting suspicious.
“Lion—” I yelp as Strauss tightens his grip on me. “Lion. I think she’s right. This is the only way.”
Arianna bends to brush her brother’s face with a gentle palm, then walks over to us. Her fingers glide over Strauss hand, and I feel his heart rapidly accelerate through his ribs pressed into my side.
“Please, sir. I will marry you. Is-is that what you want?” With a slight flutter of her eyelashes, she produces a pink flush to her cheeks as she asks. Damn, she’s good.
Max’s eyes squint with agony, but I catch his attention and give him a sly wink, hoping the gunmen don’t catch on.Remember the plan,I try to say to him with my mind. His face falters for a moment, but I sense a change in him. He understands me.
“Yes, my darling. I have such glorious plans for our future.”
“Then, please, Mr. Strauss, let my brother and sister-in-law go.”
Strauss’s grip loosens. As I contemplate darting away, I stop myself; he could still hurt me if I make too suddenof a move. His men are still aiming their guns at each of us.
“Get the minister and the certificates.”
Arianna slides closer to Vlad, grasping his hand off my arms. He allows her to take him in her grasp, and I feel his body tremble, as if her touch was what he was waiting for all along. As she inches her way next to his body, I move out of his reach and toward my husband. Two steps and I kneel to hold him in my arms.
His sweat and woody scent envelop me as I wrap around him. A hiss clips out of his mouth as I accidentally rub against a wound, but I can’t not touch him. Instead, I run my fingers through his hair and let his head drop to my shoulder.