Bishop's Endgame Read online

  “Believe me, I’m glad you don’t like the thought of hurting me or even the appearance of hurting me. Are you going to wear a mask?” She half turned, looking at the clothing he’d tossed into the back of the car.

  “I don’t want him to know it’s me just yet. And he’ll be able to pull feeds from this airport.” Which was why they were leaving from it. He wanted Vitaly to see the recordings, wanted to see him forcing Arianna onto the plane against her will. He didn’t want there to be any hint that she had done any of this willingly. She needed to be a victim if she was going to avoid her stepfather’s wrath. “I need to figure out who else might be working with him other than my former boss. But we’ll find out in the next twenty-four hours, I’m sure.”

  She simply nodded because they’d gone over those details too. Though he hadn’t told her exactly how he was going to find out. Because once she got to that part of the operation, he knew she was going to be annoyed with him. And he’d decided to hold off as long as possible because of that. She didn’t hate him anymore and he found that mattered to him far too much.

  “Is anyone else flying back with us?”

  “Other than the pilot, no. And he’s been paid very handsomely to do this.”

  She nodded. “What if my stepfather figures out who the pilot is though? He’ll know this guy flew us and saw you holding a gun on me.”

  “We’ve already thought of that. As soon as he lands in Miami, he’s going to be taking a vacation until all this is settled.”

  She let out a breath and leaned back against her seat. “Good. I don’t want anyone’s blood on my hands.”

  He liked that she was worried about other people, a man she didn’t even know. Which lined up with what he’d learned about the real Arianna. “So teacher of the year, huh?” he asked, wanting to talk about anything other than what they were currently doing.

  “What?” She shifted against the seat and crossed her legs toward him.

  He forced himself not to look at her sleek, bronze-toned calves—tried not to imagine what it would feel like to have them thrown over his shoulders or wrapped around his hips. “When I was researching you, I found out that you were teacher of the year last year. That’s pretty impressive.”

  She lifted a shoulder, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. “Just at my school. It’s not like it was a national award or anything.”

  “Still impressive,” he murmured. Everything about her was.

  Chapter 11

  “You look creepy,” Arianna said as they walked across the tarmac. She knew that somehow Ellis had cleared out this area of the private airport. Or whoever he was working with had taken care of it.

  Which just drove home the point that if he wanted, he really could disappear forever. He had wealthy friends, clearly, and his family was loaded too. But he wanted Vitaly to pay for murdering his friend and that said a lot about who Ellis was as a man.

  “I know,” he muttered. He had on one of those creepy white Halloween masks and was wearing a mechanic-type jumpsuit that covered everything except his gloved hands.

  She was still in her dress and wearing the uncomfortable but gorgeous heels, which were probably slowing them down.

  “We’re coming up on the camera. Keep looking down,” he said. “Look afraid.”

  She kept her gaze on the asphalt as they strode forward. Gripping her upper arm, he dragged her forward and moved the unloaded gun away from her back, likely so that wherever the camera was got a good glimpse of it.

  She stumbled a few times, which probably looked great for the security feeds. Once they were inside the plane, Ellis stripped off his mask and she stepped out of her shoes, stretching her toes. Anxiety still settled in her gut, but being in the private plane alone with Ellis eased some of it. They’d gotten one huge step out of the way and she was trying really hard not to think about what would happen once they got back to Miami.

  One step at a time.

  Ellis started stripping out of the jumpsuit as the pilot joined them in the cabin. As the two men spoke in low tones, Arianna grabbed a plush robe from the bathroom and put it on over her dress before moving to the minibar and pouring herself a glass of sparkling water. The dress was super tight, and while it was gorgeous, she felt weird wearing something so revealing and uncomfortable. Something about the robe made her feel like she had “armor” against the rest of the world. Also, it was comfortable and felt like she had a big blanket wrapped around her. It gave her a strange sort of comfort.

  “We’re about to head out,” Ellis said as he sat across from her. “Nice robe.”

  She half-smiled, even as nerves still danced in her belly. And not the good kind. “Is everything good with the pilot?”

  “Yeah. There’s going to be a vehicle waiting for us when we land and we’ll be disembarking inside a warehouse with no cameras. And he’s going to be leaving directly from there, heading to I don’t want to know where.”

  “Good.”

  “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? You’ve had a stressful, long day.”

  Yeah, she had. Being in the bank, dealing with all of that by herself had been…weird. She’d kept expecting them to call her out on being a liar and get security. And she knew that her troubles were just beginning because very soon her stepfather would know his money was gone. Or she assumed he would. “I don’t think I can sleep. I’m too wired.”

  “I get it. You mind if I make some calls?” He was watching her carefully and being oh so polite. Probably because he felt guilty about holding a gun on her and dragging her along the tarmac.

  “Do whatever you need to do.” She knew things weren’t over now that she’d closed the account.

  No, they were just beginning.

  Even though she said she couldn’t sleep, she closed her eyes as the engine rumbled and the pilot started announcing that they needed to strap in, blah, blah, blah. “I’m keeping this robe too,” she murmured. It would be a souvenir of the weirdest day she’d ever had. And also a reminder of Ellis, the sexiest man she’d ever known.

  Ellis just chuckled. “That’s fine.”

  As they took off, she leaned her seat back and closed her eyes. With Ellis next to her, talking in low tones, she let sleep pull her under.

  * * *

  “I know we’ve been over this, but I just want to remind you that it won’t be real.” Ellis’s deep voice cut through Arianna’s thoughts and the interior of the nondescript truck. She had no idea who the vehicle belonged to, but just as he’d said, it had been waiting for them at the airport. It had darkly tinted windows and was maybe a decade old, but the paint job was nice. It smelled like the April spring air freshener hanging on the rearview mirror, and it had clearly been taken care of.

  She still couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep for most of the plane ride to Miami. Although maybe she shouldn’t be surprised, because when she was asleep she didn’t have to think about the ramifications of what she’d done—what she was taking part in. Or the fact that she now had a check in her purse for a few million dollars. She wondered if her stepfather or whoever had set up the account knew it had been closed. The bank employee who’d helped her close the account had not been happy with her, but he hadn’t been able to argue with her since her name and signature were on file and no one else’s.

  Now she and Ellis were driving toward an unknown destination, though she knew what was going to happen when they got there. She just hoped that pilot really did skip town for a while.

  “I know,” she said. “We’ve been over it.” It wasn’t like she was looking forward to him taking a picture that made it look like she was being held hostage, but it was the only way her stepfather wouldn’t think she was willingly involved. And hopefully it would bring Ellis that much closer to his goal of getting his life back.

  Internally Arianna was still battling the knowledge that her stepfather had almost a hundred percent been behind opening this and other accounts in her name. He had all her personal information and he
r signature on file from various paperwork she’d signed after her mother’s death. It was definitely in the realm of possibility. And Ellis swore that Vitaly had killed his partner—and she believed him. Which was a very weird knowledge to have.

  “I can send a message to him without a picture of you.” Ellis put the truck into park as he stopped outside a big warehouse with bright orange and green graffiti on the outside.

  “No. This will work better with the picture and you know it.” Instead of looking at him, she scanned their surroundings. The parking lot stretched out in both directions and the warehouse itself looked quiet, almost abandoned. She supposed there could be people inside, but there was a thick padlock on the only door she could see from the vehicle.

  Without waiting for him to respond, she opened the door and slid out. The air smelled of salt, thicker than normal, so she knew they must be close to the water.

  She didn’t like being restrained again, as she knew she’d have to be for the picture, but it was only going to be for a few minutes. Ellis was going to send Vitaly a nasty message along with a picture of her gagged and tied up to drive home the point that he wasn’t fucking around.

  “You just better make sure the gag isn’t dirty,” she muttered, finally looking at Ellis as they met in front of the truck.

  Holding on to a small duffel bag, he let out a startled laugh and she found that she liked his laughter way too much. He’d only laughed a couple times since their very unusual “meeting” and she felt all warm inside when he did. She shouldn’t have any feelings whatsoever for this man, but apparently her head and heart were dumbasses.

  “Should we tear my dress a little bit? Maybe mess up my hair?” That way it would make it look good. “Just don’t ruin my shoes. Like I said, I’m keeping them.”

  He stared at her in surprise and maybe a little horror as he unlocked the padlock.

  “What? You want to sell this, don’t you?”

  “I do. I just…I don’t like any of this.” He pushed the door open, his frown deepening.

  “Ellis, this was your idea. You’re the one taking the pictures!”

  “I know. I still don’t have to like it,” he growled.

  Actually growled. And for some reason it sounded sexy. Uh oh. No, no, no. Not sexy. She followed him inside, fighting a shiver as he shut the door behind them.

  For a brief moment blackness reigned until he flipped on a light to reveal… Nothing. A faint whining sound of the fluorescent lights filled the air as they flipped on, one by one, illuminating the empty warehouse. It was a fairly small one but there weren’t any boxes or anything anyone could hide behind. “What is this place?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Someone is letting me use it.” Ellis looked around too, inspecting what little there was to see.

  “Your mysterious yacht owner?” she asked, beyond curious who owned that boat. And the private plane, for that matter.

  “No. Someone else.”

  “You really could just disappear and start over in another country, couldn’t you?” She phrased it as a question even though she knew the answer.

  “Yeah, but I’m not going to. I’m going to clear my name.” His words were a vow.

  “What happens if you can’t?” She was a realist and knew that things didn’t always end up the way they should. The good guys didn’t always win, unfortunately. All you had to do was turn on the news to know that. She thought of all the corrupt politicians who got away with so much all the time. Lies stacked upon lies. It was like an avalanche of crap coming at you every day.

  “I’ll cross that bridge if I get to it.” He tightened his jaw and looked down at her. “Ripping your dress was a good idea. So maybe you want to…” He trailed off and looked away again.

  She looked down at the pretty dress and tried to figure out where exactly to rip it. Finally she just grabbed onto the scoop neck and tugged… And all she managed was stretching it out awkwardly. “Pretty sure you’re going to have to do this for me. And for the record, I’m sad about this dress. Really, really sad, because it’s gorgeous.”

  He frowned down at her, his pale eyes darkening.

  “I’m sorry I have spaghetti noodle arms and no muscles,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re gonna have to do it.”

  His mouth quirked up. “You don’t have spaghetti noodle arms.” His eyes flared with the barest hint of heat before he cleared his throat. “Fine,” he muttered before he carefully reached for the front of her dress. In one quick action, he tore the front, pulling it apart as if it was made of paper. It exposed her bra all the way down to her belly button.

  Which just made her feel that much weaker. Also, his display of strength? Totally not sexy. Nope. Not at all. “Wow, I really do need to start going back to the gym.” Her instinct was to cover herself, but that wouldn’t work for the picture so she just pretended that her bra wasn’t showing. The thing covered more than most bikinis so it really wasn’t that big of a deal—at least that was what she tried to tell herself.

  He simply shook his head, very studiously avoiding looking at her exposed bra. “If you want to do something to your hair, go for it. I’m going to set things up.”

  She nodded and flipped her head over and started finger combing her hair and teasing it, making it as wild as possible. She needed to look like a mistreated captive, one who’d been forced to close a bank account, then do God only knew what else at gunpoint.

  When she flipped her head back up, she saw that he was setting up a chair and a black tarp behind it. Whoever owned this warehouse must have left it for him. The tarp made sense—there would be nothing in the background of the picture. Just her. And he’d told her that he planned to strip all the metadata from the image so Vitaly wouldn’t be able to figure out where it had been taken. Though she guessed it really wouldn’t matter at this point because they weren’t staying here afterward.

  “I’m ready when you are.” Ellis’s voice echoed in the vast emptiness of the warehouse.

  She was still wearing the gorgeous heels, and her shoes clicked across the concrete as she made her way toward him. Then she sat in the chair and waited as he tied down her wrists. For a brief moment she tensed at the sensation of being tied up, but this was Ellis. She trusted him. He took one of her shoes when he was done.

  “Hey!”

  “It’s just temporary. It’ll look better if you only have one shoe.” His lips curved up in a sort of smile as he looked up at her from his crouched position.

  And seriously the man was so damn sexy right now. Which made her feel all kinds of screwed up in the head for noticing.

  But spending time with him, being around the completely driven man, had somehow opened up something sensual and hungry inside her she thought was long dead. It was…disturbing.

  His blue eyes dilated slightly as he looked at her, and when his gaze fell to her mouth, her belly tightened. She was pretty sure he liked what he saw when he looked at her.

  She wondered what it would feel like to have his full mouth on hers. Would he be gentle or would he just take what he wanted, stealing her breath? She didn’t know which one she would like better. Both.

  Ellis looked away before she could contemplate more, snagging his camera. “Look angry. Look like you did when I…” He trailed off but she knew what he’d been about to say.

  “When you kidnapped me and I was fantasizing about stabbing you in the head?”

  His lips twitched. “Yes, exactly.”

  “Wait, what about the gag?”

  “I think it works better without it.”

  Okay, then. It felt weird but she did what he said, glaring at the camera in pure defiance as he snapped a few pictures.

  It was done so quickly. A few snaps, then he released her restraints. Though she’d known it was temporary, a weird frisson of relief slid through her to be free. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable, unable to defend herself from anything.

  To her surprise, Ellis gently took her calf as he slid her s
hoe back onto her foot. She sucked in a very slight breath at the feel of his big, callused hand on her bare skin. It was hard not to wonder what it would feel like to have that big hand sliding over other places…cupping her, teasing her, stroking her.

  She nearly jolted back at the erotic thought. She really had thought that part of her was dead. But now her former kidnapper was turning her on. Something must be wrong with her. Maybe Stockholm syndrome, she thought, but she wasn’t a prisoner anymore, so she didn’t even have that as an excuse.

  She just really, really liked him.

  “Once I press send, there’s no turning back.” Ellis held the burner phone in his hand as they stood outside the warehouse.

  She took the phone from his hands and looked at the pictures he’d attached to the draft text message. She looked truly pissed off, her dark hair wild and tangled, and with her dress ripped and missing a shoe—he’d definitely been right about the shoe—this looked real. She pressed send.

  “Well then, I guess there’s no turning back.”

  She simply handed him the phone and he typed in a message.

  “‘I’ve got your daughter and your money,’” Ellis said. “That should about cover it.”

  Yep, that did. Stomach tight with anxiety, she pulled open the passenger side of the truck as he smashed the phone underneath his boot.

  “Now we head back to a safe house,” he said.

  Chapter 12

  Nearly twenty minutes later they were back at the safe house he’d originally taken her to, and this time Arianna had been allowed to see where they were going—though she’d stayed in the back seat in case her stepfather was running any sort of facial recognition software programs. Ellis said that since he had a beard and was wearing a ball cap that covered his ears, nothing should pick him up. He was more worried about the FBI finding him than Vitaly anyway.

  “You need to get better food here,” she said as they settled into the makeshift office he’d set up. He’d given her a shirt to put on over her ripped dress and she liked that it smelled like Ellis. “Hey,” she said before he could respond, staring at the camera feed that very clearly showed four different angles of the exterior of her home. “Is that my house?”