AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was crazed enough that, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t solely focused on the job at hand; I was acting totally out of character. I took a hostage… fucking kidnapped her, because of one reason.
I wanted her.
Wilder slowed, and I knew we were coming up to the house we all once grew up. But once we’d grown up, Frankie and Wilder had moved out right after Cullen had. They’d wanted me to sell the house, but maybe it was sentiment, or hell, investment that had made me keep it. Although we’d had shitty memories with our father growing up here, I also had some pretty incredible ones with my brothers.
I knew the rest of my brothers were in another van behind us, and I knew I’d get a hell of a lot of shit for bringing her back here, more than I’d gotten from Cullen back at the jewelry store.
“Blindfold her,” Wilder said, and it wasn’t a question. It was a demand.
I snapped my attention to him and growled low, wanting to head in his direction, to put him in his fucking place. But I knew he was right. Although I had no intention of letting her go, she didn’t need to see any more than I had already shown her.
I wasn’t just talking about the drive up here either. She’d seen a side of me not even my brothers had seen. And that was dangerous. She made me even more dangerous and unstable.
There was a scrap of material on the floor of the van and I picked it up, moving closer to her. She stiffened and pressed her back against the van, her eyes wide. I smelled her fear like I was some kind of animal, this potent aroma that had every protective instinct in me rising. It also turned me on.
I wanted to tell her not to be worried, that I wouldn’t let anything hurt her. But instead, I kept my mouth shut, narrowed my eyes, and put that hard, cold exterior in place. I couldn’t let anyone know she made me weak, made me feel these things. I’d already shown more emotion than I ever had in my fucking life, and I didn’t even know who she was, didn’t know her name, how old she was… didn’t fucking know a goddamn thing about her.
All I knew was that for the first time in my life, since that first moment I saw her, I wanted her like no other. I’d do anything to have her. And that meant attacking my brother on the job.
“It’s for your own protection. It’s for the best,” I said gruffly, our eyes locked. A second passed, but then I saw the moment she gave in, submitted. It wasn’t like she had a choice.
I wrapped the strip of material around her eyes, and I don’t even try to hide the fact that I let the silky strands of her dark-red hair play across my fingers. I also didn’t fucking stop myself from leaning in an inch and closing my eyes as I inhaled deeply, taking in the floral scent that clung to the strands.
She stiffened. “What are you doing?” she asked softly, so low only I heard. I didn’t move, my face so close, my mouth a couple inches from hers.
Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. Instead, I finished tying the material and pulled back, clearing my throat and glancing at Wilder. He watched me from the rearview mirror again, his brows pulled low. I knew he’d seen the interaction, but I didn’t fucking care.
I didn’t care about anything or anyone in this moment but her.
Chapter Five
Amelia
I felt the vehicle stop, heard car doors opening and closing. Then there was silence except for my frantic breathing. He’d blindfolded me. That had to be a good sign, right? That had to mean he wouldn’t kill me? Surely if he kept me in the literal dark, where I couldn’t identify anything, that was a good sign, right?
Or maybe I was just hoping for too much. Maybe I was praying this wouldn’t end up with me being buried in an unmarked grave out in the middle of nowhere.
Although he’d placed the material over my eyes, I remembered what he looked like without the mask. His image would forever be ingrained in my mind.
His features were masculine, his jaw square, his lips full. His nose was straight but not harsh. The dark slashes of his eyebrows accented his bright blue eyes. God, he was just as beautiful as he was dangerous.
The sound of the back door to the van opening pulled me out of my thoughts, and my entire body went ramrod straight. I felt lightheaded as I breathed hard and fast, terrified, nervous, feeling like I’d most definitely pass out if I stood.
“Breathe,” I heard him say close to me in his deeply masculine voice. For some reason, it calmed me.
