whispered.
“Giving your boss a show. He’s watching us from the door, right now.”
“He’s not.”
“He is. You planted this seed, babe. I’m just helping it grow.”
His hands found my waist without even fumbling. He exerted a soft pressure on my hips that made me gasp. I wanted to fight against the heat pooling in my belly. Or at least I wanted to want to fight. But all I really wanted was to give in. And I had an excuse. I needed my boss to believe the lie I’d told him.
Jayme. As backwards as it seems, you need to do this for him.
My captor leaned down, and I tilted up my head and closed my eyes. When he brought his fingers up to cup my face, the instinct to yield took over. I snaked my arms more tightly around his neck. His mouth came down on mine, tugging apart my lips with his teeth and pulling on the sensitive skin there. His tongue followed the searing trail left by his teeth before he pulled away. When he let me go, I had to suck in a much needed breath.
“I think that’s good enough,” he said into my hair.
Then he slid away from me to open the car door. He grabbed my arm and fixed me with an intense stare.
“If you’re not the person Cohen’s after, tell me now, and direct me to the real Jayme Duncan.”
I inhaled sharply and tried to compose myself. “He’s looking for me. But I’d prefer if you called me Polly.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Pin-up Polly?”
“That’s me.”
He gave me a sharp nod. “Fine. Have it your way, Polly. Get in.”
I picked up my suitcase and climbed in. By the time I buckled my seat belt, he was already behind the wheel and gazing at me coolly. He grabbed the suitcase from my lap, unzipped it and began rifling through it. He gave me a triumphant wink as he pulled out a cell phone and a thick wad of cash.
I tried to cover my dismay. I’d been saving that money for almost a year, careful to keep it out of the bank so Jayme and I could run at a moment’s notice. And now this man was tucking it into his black messenger bag, and even if— no , when, I corrected myself—I got away, I doubted I would ever see it again.
He slipped the key into the ignition, pulled to the edge of the parking lot, rolled down the window, and tossed the phone into the bushes before peeling out.
“Can’t have you using this to contact that nice boy you mentioned you have waiting at home for you. But I’ll hold on to this money for Cohen.”
“Great,” I muttered. “You’re a thief and a kidnapper.”
“Buckle up,” was all he replied.
He didn’t even glance my way as he pulled onto the road, travelling in the opposite direction I longed to be going.
I used the time to get control of my thoughts.
Cohen Blue.
The man’s cold, calculating stare threatened to fill my mind and I shoved it aside.
No.
For six long years I’d been preparing for the eventuality of getting caught. Now that it had actually happened, I couldn’t fall to pieces. I needed to focus on getting home to Jayme, and to maintaining calmness.
I took inventory of the things that worked in my favour. I was supposed to be working for several more hours. So it would be at least that long before Jayme would start to worry, and if I was really lucky, he’d be sleeping late and not even notice I was missing until well into the morning. And I had Misty on my side. Any other place, any other time, I would’ve had no one.
Stupid, stupid.
I’d definitely stayed too long in Trent Falls, lulled into a false sense of security because the town was small and the people were friendly. I should have known—no, I did know—that Cohen’s reach extended too far for me to escape so easily. If I’d been quicker and smarter, if I’d stuck to my plan of staying nowhere longer than six months, I would be safe at home at that moment. Albeit a different home, but a home nonetheless. Cohen’s enforcer admitted that he’d spent a lot of time searching for me.
I dug my own hole.
I looked over at the man while
“Giving your boss a show. He’s watching us from the door, right now.”
“He’s not.”
“He is. You planted this seed, babe. I’m just helping it grow.”
His hands found my waist without even fumbling. He exerted a soft pressure on my hips that made me gasp. I wanted to fight against the heat pooling in my belly. Or at least I wanted to want to fight. But all I really wanted was to give in. And I had an excuse. I needed my boss to believe the lie I’d told him.
Jayme. As backwards as it seems, you need to do this for him.
My captor leaned down, and I tilted up my head and closed my eyes. When he brought his fingers up to cup my face, the instinct to yield took over. I snaked my arms more tightly around his neck. His mouth came down on mine, tugging apart my lips with his teeth and pulling on the sensitive skin there. His tongue followed the searing trail left by his teeth before he pulled away. When he let me go, I had to suck in a much needed breath.
“I think that’s good enough,” he said into my hair.
Then he slid away from me to open the car door. He grabbed my arm and fixed me with an intense stare.
“If you’re not the person Cohen’s after, tell me now, and direct me to the real Jayme Duncan.”
I inhaled sharply and tried to compose myself. “He’s looking for me. But I’d prefer if you called me Polly.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Pin-up Polly?”
“That’s me.”
He gave me a sharp nod. “Fine. Have it your way, Polly. Get in.”
I picked up my suitcase and climbed in. By the time I buckled my seat belt, he was already behind the wheel and gazing at me coolly. He grabbed the suitcase from my lap, unzipped it and began rifling through it. He gave me a triumphant wink as he pulled out a cell phone and a thick wad of cash.
I tried to cover my dismay. I’d been saving that money for almost a year, careful to keep it out of the bank so Jayme and I could run at a moment’s notice. And now this man was tucking it into his black messenger bag, and even if— no , when, I corrected myself—I got away, I doubted I would ever see it again.
He slipped the key into the ignition, pulled to the edge of the parking lot, rolled down the window, and tossed the phone into the bushes before peeling out.
“Can’t have you using this to contact that nice boy you mentioned you have waiting at home for you. But I’ll hold on to this money for Cohen.”
“Great,” I muttered. “You’re a thief and a kidnapper.”
“Buckle up,” was all he replied.
He didn’t even glance my way as he pulled onto the road, travelling in the opposite direction I longed to be going.
I used the time to get control of my thoughts.
Cohen Blue.
The man’s cold, calculating stare threatened to fill my mind and I shoved it aside.
No.
For six long years I’d been preparing for the eventuality of getting caught. Now that it had actually happened, I couldn’t fall to pieces. I needed to focus on getting home to Jayme, and to maintaining calmness.
I took inventory of the things that worked in my favour. I was supposed to be working for several more hours. So it would be at least that long before Jayme would start to worry, and if I was really lucky, he’d be sleeping late and not even notice I was missing until well into the morning. And I had Misty on my side. Any other place, any other time, I would’ve had no one.
Stupid, stupid.
I’d definitely stayed too long in Trent Falls, lulled into a false sense of security because the town was small and the people were friendly. I should have known—no, I did know—that Cohen’s reach extended too far for me to escape so easily. If I’d been quicker and smarter, if I’d stuck to my plan of staying nowhere longer than six months, I would be safe at home at that moment. Albeit a different home, but a home nonetheless. Cohen’s enforcer admitted that he’d spent a lot of time searching for me.
I dug my own hole.
I looked over at the man while
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