The Cruel Game ✓

Chapter Twenty One

MARIA 

I sat in the back seat of the car, my eyes fixed on the back of Kingston's head as he drove. Ares sat beside him in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

As we drove, I could feel the tension between Kingston and me, even though we hadn't said a word to each other since we got in the car. Every now and then, I caught his eye in the rearview mirror, and we exchanged small, fleeting looks that were filled with emotion.

I could feel the weight of our unspoken feelings hanging heavy in the air between us, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Did he feel the same way I did? Was he struggling with the same conflicting emotions that I was?

"When we reach the airport, and arrive in Italy-we'll check in at the hotel and go through the plan. You have the hard drive?" Ares asks me.

"I do." I respond.

"There can't be any distractions, not a single one. From either of you."

Kingston rests his elbow on the windowsill and grazes his face, he hasn't said a single word since we watched ares and Alex say 'I love you.'

"Why are you helping us? I only asked for you to find my brother."

"And I am completing that favour, your brother is in Italy." My gaze shoots right back at Ares.

"This is going to hurt." He warns me.

 Ares turned around in his seat and handed me an iPad. Confused, I looked down at the device in my hands, not sure what to expect. As I began to scroll through the images on the screen, my heart sank.

The photos were of my brother, bound and gagged, lying on a dirty mattress in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - this nightmare had become all too real.

Tears streamed down my face as I tried to process the images in front of me. How could someone be so cruel? I thought to myself. My heart ached with the knowledge that my brother was going through such an ordeal, and I felt helpless to do anything to help him.

"How did you get these?" I asked Ares, my voice shaking with emotion.

"My brother helped me."

As soon as I saw the images of my kidnapped brother on the iPad, I couldn't bear to stay in the car any longer. I asked Kingston to stop the car, and as soon as it came to a halt, I stumbled out of the vehicle and ran to the trees at the side of the road.

My body was wracked with sobs as I heaved and retched into the bushes. I felt Kingston's gentle hand on my back, and I was grateful for his presence. He rubbed my back soothingly and whispered comforting words as I struggled to catch my breath.

After a few moments, the nausea passed, but I felt utterly drained. I collapsed onto the ground, my body shaking with sobs.

As Kingston sat down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, I felt a sudden wave of anger and pushed him away. "What are you doing?" I whispered out, my voice trembling with rage. "Don't touch me."

Kingston raised his hands in surrender, clearly taken aback by my outburst. I wiped my tears angrily and continued, "This is all your fault. If you had never stopped me from trying to find him, he wouldn't be like that!"

Kingston's expression turned to one of confusion. "My fault?"

I nodded, my voice shaking with emotion. "If you had just let me go, I could have found him before it was too late. But you stopped me, and now my brother is suffering because of it."