Page 48 of The Chosen
Two men held a third on his knees while another pointed a gun at him.
My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach.
“Was that...” The words caught in my throat. “Was that Henry?”
Blake’s eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet, hobbling toward me. “Oh, god. No.” He ran his hands down my arms, attempting to reassure me.
“Then who was it?”
His expression flickered with worry for a beat before he offered me a small, reassuring smile. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
His words taunted me, making my frustration with this entire situation grow.
“Nothing for me to worry about?” I repeated somewhat incredulously. “Well, I am fucking worried, Blake.” I pushed out of his hold. “Henry…” My voice wavered on his name. “He isn’t home.”
“You know Henry.” His tone was deliberately casual. “He probably got held up.”
I didn’t know Blake all that well, but over the past few weeks, I’d spent some time with him. Gotten to know his tells. And right now, something about his demeanor made me think he was keeping something from me.
“Did he tell you where he was going?” I pressed.
He shrugged. “I have no idea where he is right now, Ariana. I swear to you.”
“That’s not what I asked.” I narrowed my gaze on him as I placed my hands on my hips. “Did Henry tell you where he was going? What he was doing?”
Blake parted his lips, but no response came.
This was the only confirmation I needed that Blake knew exactly what he was doing and was probably instructed not to tell me.
“Fine.” I spun around. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll figure it out myself.”
I slammed the door before stalking back toward the main house. The entire walk, I heard Blake limping close behind me, but ignored him.
Once inside, I headed straight for the console table where Henry kept the spare keys, finding the fob for one of the SUVs.
I stormed toward the garage, but stopped short when Blake stood directly in front of the door.
“Move,” I seethed, my blood bubbling with anger.
“Where are you going?”
“I told you. Since you won’t tell me where Henry is, I’m going to figure it out myself.”
“I can’t let you do that.” His expression darkened.
I barked out a laugh. “I don’t need your permission.”
“Ariana…,” he soothed, attempting to placate me.
“No.” I stepped toward him. “The only person who gets to tell me what I can and can’t do is me.”
“You’re still technically missing. You can’t just suddenly reappear. It’s too dangerous.”
“The only threat to my life is dead.”
“We don’t know that for sure. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
