Chapter 18

Ezra POV

"Do it," Clarissa motioned for Ezra to type in the message on his phone. He looked down at the keypad and gently tapped the tips of his thumbs on the keys. He sighed. He looked up at Clarissa once again for confirmation. Clarissa nodded her head. He looked down and began typing.

This is Ezra Fitz. Do you know where Aria is?

-Ezra

He flipped his phone closed and laid it down on the desk. He stared the phone down impatiently waiting for a response. The seconds seemed like hours as they passed. Finally, a beep signaled there was a response. Ezra snatched the phone up and read the message.

Haven't seen her. Why?

Ezra clenched his jaw in anger. Lie. He looked up at Clarissa. "What do you want me to say?" Clarissa looked up at the ceiling with her hands on her hips in thought. She brought her gaze back to Ezra.

"Ask to meet. Say something along the lines that it's important and can't be discussed over the phone." Ezra nodded and replied. It didn't take long for a response to come in.

Sure. Where?

Aria's house?

-Ezra

After getting a response, Ezra flipped the phone closed and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Clarissa took the phone from him and nodded. Ezra placed his hands on his hips and looked down. After a few breaths he looked over at the mute Montgomery's.

"Ella, Byron I'm going to need a key to your place. I don't want you two to get involved. Clarissa and I will go. I'm going to need you to stay here with Zane," Ezra whispered. Ella simply nodded.

"I want to be there," Byron stood up to take his stand. Ezra shook his head. "I'm her father!" Ezra held up his hands and was about to calm him down when Clarissa interrupted.

"Mr. Montgomery, you're too close to this. I've seen the reaction of people in your position. If you go there you won't be able to control your actions. If you go, we'll never be able to get your daughters location." Byron looked over at her and slowly began to calm down. He clenched his jaw but nodded in defeat.

Ezra and Clarissa both threw on a long black trench coat. Clarissa grabbed her keys and peered over at Ezra. "I'm driving." The only response she got was an eye roll from Ezra.

Aria POV

Aria screamed out in agony as the whip came crashing down against her bare skin. The man with the dark hair was standing over her with a grin upon his face. He had removed every piece of her clothing except for her matching bra and panties. His sick eyes roamed over her body after each smack made against her skin. Tears flowed down her face and mixed with the blood from where he had slapped her a few times across the face.

"Why are you doing this?" she cried out. The man continued to stare down at her silently. He tilted his head in admiration. He leaned down and kissed her torso. Aria flopped around as much as the rope tied around her wrists and ankles would allow. That only seemed to arouse the man even more. He laughed out loud as he kissed his way up in between her breasts. He licked her neck a few times. Aria craned her neck away from him but all that did was give him more access to her neck. She was giving him exactly what he wanted.

Lightly, he ran his thumb over her lips and bit his own. Aria watched as his eyes clouded over. His breath was sickly sweet against her skin. She closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable. She opened her eyes slowly when she no longer felt his breath along her cheek. He swiftly walked to the edge of the bed. She heard the sharpening of knives and began to panic. Her breath quickened and she looked around frantically. She had to get out of there. With a pocket knife in hand, he walked back to her slowly. As he walked back to her, he ran the knife up her shin and over to her inner thigh. He lightly ran it over her center and licked his lips. He stopped momentarily but soon proceeded up her body. He ran it up the middle of her torso, in between her breast and then stopped. He bent down to her lips and was about to kiss her when she roughly threw her head forward.

He bounced back with a loud grunt and slammed his hand against his forehead where she had head butted him. Aria closed her eyes at the pain but did her best to keep a straight face. She heard his angry breathing and saw the fire spark in his dark blue eyes. He stalked back to Aria and roughly grabbed her chin. She fought against him with all her might but was no match. He swiftly brought his hand up and slapped her across the face. Her face stung. He took the opportunity to lean down and shove his tongue down her throat. She thought about biting him again but decided against it. It would only make matters worse.

"Keep fighting me," he stated roughly, "It does nothing but turn me on, sweetheart." His laugh sent chills down her spine. She wanted to puke. Luckily, the door swung open and he halted. Aria took in a ragged breath.

Maria was standing in the doorway. All she did was stare at them. The man must have understood what she meant because he stood up from Aria, looked down at her, flared his nostrils, and then walked past Maria and out the door. Maria took one last glance at Aria before following the man. She closed the door behind her. Aria's head fell back on the bed and she let the tears fall.

Why were they doing this to her? What did she ever do to them? She closed her eyes and prayed to God that Ezra knew something was wrong. The camera man had taken two pictures of her that she knew of. Why was he taking pictures? Was he sending them to someone? Ezra? Her parents? Someone she hadn't even thought of yet?

Ezra POV

Ezra sat in the Montgomery's living room. He was biting his nails and tapping his foot furiously. "Are you going to be able to handle this Ezra?" Clarissa asked from behind him. Ezra looked to his right a little and gave a curt nod. "You sure? You're not going to do anything irrational are you?" Ezra took in a deep breath.

"I'd be lying if I wasn't considering it. The bastard deserves what's coming," Ezra stated. Clarissa didn't respond.

"Ezra," she rounded the couch and sat next to him, "please don't do anything stupid. The last thing we need is for this to go south. You do something wrong and it could get Aria killed," she whispered.

Ezra looked over at her angrily. "You think I don't know that?" he asked harshly. Clarissa's eyes softened. "I hear where you're coming from. I won't do anything irrational. I promise," he added in a whisper. His head snapped to the door when the doorbell rang. Clarissa put a hand on his shoulder and then quickly made her way to the kitchen and out of sight. Ezra swallowed a large lump in his throat and then stood. Walking to the door, he swung it open and gave a soft smile. "Come in," he stated surprisingly calmly.

Ezra closed the door softly. He turned around and stared at the back of the man's head. "Have you heard from Aria yet?" the man asked as he turned. Ezra shook his head. "Why did you call me here?" Ezra stepped forward. He stopped mere inches from his face.

Ezra simply stared into his eyes. The man shook his head in wonder. "Where is she?" Ezra whispered angrily.

"Excuse me?"

Ezra stepped even closer and gripped him by the collar. He shoved him into the wall behind him. "Where is she, Clark?" Ezra shouted.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Clark shouted back. "I haven't seen Aria since we broke up…because of you." Clark clenched his jaw. Ezra narrowed his eyes.

Clarissa stepped out from the kitchen. "You're lying, Mr. Riley." She held up a photo in front of his face. "This is you, correct?" Clark looked at the picture and visibly paled.

Ezra laughed harshly. "You're not too bright are you, Clark? Apparently, you didn't think the mirror behind the bed would catch your ugly face in the picture, huh?" Clarissa walked away from them. She leaned against the door behind Ezra and watched him take over.

Clark's whole demeanor changed. "Look, I had nothing to do with it." Ezra let out a full blown laugh. "No, I'm serious! This wasn't my idea. All I was supposed to do was kidnap her and then take the pictures. Maria paid me…"

"Maria?" Ezra questioned incredulously. Clark nodded.

"Your girlfriend."

Ezra shook his head. "I don't believe you." Clark sighed.

Clark thought for a moment and then his eyes lit up. "My phone."

Ezra furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry?"

"My phone. It's in my pocket. Check the messages and recent call list. Her number should be on there and a message confirming the deal." Ezra looked over his shoulder at Clarissa. She stepped forward and dug into his pocket. Clark looked at her and grinned. Clarissa rolled her eyes in annoyance. She scanned through his phone.

"Maria's number is in my phone. It's in my back pocket." Clarissa reached into Ezra's back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. She compared the two numbers. She looked at Ezra and nodded.

Ezra bit his lip and looked over at Clark. "Why did Maria pay you to kidnap Aria?"

Clark shook his head. "She didn't tell me. This other guy that's with her is calling the shots. Well, sort of. Maria is making sure he doesn't do something drastic too soon."

"Other guy?" Clarissa asked as she stepped forward. "Who?"

"I don't know his name."

"Can you describe him to a sketch artist?" Clarissa interrogated.

"I didn't get a good look at him. Look, I've told you all I know." Clark looked between the two.

Ezra lifted his collar a little more. "Not quite," Ezra grinded out furiously, "Where is she?"

Clark looked between the two. He shook his head. "I'm not saying anything else. You can't do anything to me or I'll tell the cops." Clark showed them a wide smirk.

Clarissa returned the smirk before holding her badge in front of his face. His smirk died in an instant. He looked up at her face and then at Ezra. He cleared his throat before saying, "In that case, I want my lawyer." Ezra clenched his jaw. He looked over at Clarissa. She looked deep in thought. Ezra let go of him and stepped away with his back to them.

Clark let out an arrogant snort. Next thing Ezra knew, Clarissa had her forearm shoved under Clark's neck and was pushing him against the wall. She got in his face. "If you don't tell me where she is, I'll make sure you get the longest sentence possible in the worst facility possible. You sure that's what you want?" Clark swallowed and his face paled. He licked his lips nervously. He remained quiet. Clarissa pushed a little harder.

Clark cringed and ground out the address. She let go of him and forced him around. She pulled out her handcuffs and placed them on his wrists. She read him his rights and then leaned in close to his ear, "You better not be lying to us." Clark looked to his right and nodded. She led him out. Clarissa had called Rosewood PD before they got to the Montgomery's and informed them of their plan. She handed him off to a local officer before turning to Ezra.

"Go back to your apartment. I'll call you when we've got her." Clarissa mumbled.

Ezra's jaw dropped. "Not a chance in hell. I want to be there." Clarissa looked him in the eyes and saw nothing but determination. Finally, she nodded her head. Ezra smiled softly at her. "Thanks, Clarissa," he whispered. She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow.

"Same rules apply as in there," she stated pointing to the house. Ezra nodded once. Clarissa narrowed her eyes at him. He held up his hands in surrender. She turned to walk away from him. He smiled at her back and followed closely behind her.