I push Erika out of the way. “Run!”
Without thinking, I throw myself into their way so she has more time to get away. She’s the famous one, so they’re coming for her, right? One of them grabs me by the arm and slaps a piece of tape over my mouth. My nostrils flare as I try to draw breath. I don’t even get a chance to try to free myself before he tosses a sack over my head and pulls it tight around my neck with a cord.
He’s strong. I struggle for all I’m worth, but once he yanks me off balance it’s easy for him to drag me towards the van while I’m just doing my best to drag my feet and buy time.
I scream from behind the tape until I run out of air, kicking, squirming and trying to get loose. My heel connects with his shin. He doesn’t drop me, but he swears and his grip slips. It gives me just a little bit of time to push away. I almost fall, but stumble myself into a run. I frantically dig at the cord aroundmy neck, hoping I’m headed towards help and not straight to the van or into the river.
Erika screams, and I hear an angry male grunt. I hope she’s giving them hell, but I’d rather she get away.
“Fucking bitch!” There’s a scream and a splash off to my left.
I dash the other way, but an arm slams into my chest, nearly knocking the air out of my lungs. My knees slam into the paving bricks, sending sparks of pain radiating up my thighs. I only just catch myself on my hands, determined to not let them get me into the van.
“Hey, let her go!” a guy shouts. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Mind your own fucking business! Get her in the back.”
I’m yanked off the ground, carried bodily and thrown. The metallic clunk of my landing echoes around me. The van. I’m inside it. Why is this even happening? I’m just a temporarily interesting nobody.
The door creaks as it slides shut and the van rocks like it was just put into gear. Then we start rolling. “Help!” I scream but it just comes out as a muffled moan.
The van veers suddenly, throwing me sideways into the wall. Someone swears loudly.
A loud crack—a gunshot?—cuts through the air, close enough that I feel it through my whole body, and there’s a dull thump next to me. One of the attackers? An innocent person trying to help? I need to see!
Just as the van starts moving again, a hand wraps around my ankle. I kick, but with a feral snarl, someone hauls me violently out of the back. Arms wrap around me like a protective cage as we hit the ground and roll. My screams are silenced by the tape.
As soon as we stop, my back on the grass, the sack is ripped off and I find myself looking up at a still shirtless Sinner, but this isn’t the version he’s shown me until now. There’s not a hint of flirtiness in his furious face, and his eyes are so icy cold I’m surprised I don’t see my own breath.
“Stay the fuck down,” he growls.
One of the masked men jumps out of the back after us. I try to yell a warning but it just comes out as muffled grunting.
The guy manages to grab Sinner from behind, getting an arm around his neck. Sinner slams his elbow into the guy’s face, breaking it with a wet crunch that makes me wince.
There’s no time to be precious about it. I grab the edge of the tape over my mouth and pull. The tearing pain is enough to make my eyes water, but at least I can use my mouth again. I draw a deep breath, finally able to breathe freely again.
The kidnapper is still, against all odds, clinging to Sinner’s back.
“Let him go!” I kick the would-be kidnapper in the side, but maybe I shouldn’t have bothered. For all my practice with play fighting for the show, I’m not Desdemona. We were trained in how to make a fightlookauthentic, not actually hurt someone.
Bystanders are finally starting to wake up. A man throws himself into the fight, which seems to be enough for the masked attacker to finally decide the odds are too far out of his favor and scramble into the waiting vehicle. Several people try to block theway, but the driver doesn’t seem to care, and they’re forced to the side as the van takes off, side door still partly open with a boot hanging out.
There’s a commotion by the river.
“Erika!” I rush to the edge of the water.
It’s about a three foot drop and she’s struggling to get hold of something so she can stay close to the side where the current isn’t as strong. A woman runs over with a lifesaver and a coil of rope from a nearby emergency rescue point. Between the two of us we get her back up onto dry land. Erika is shaken and soaking wet, but safe.
“Are you okay?”
She blinks, taking a moment to take stock, before she nods. “Yeah. You?”
“I think so.” I look around for Sinner.
He’s on his feet, scanning the area. He looks like he’s out of an action movie, and the crowd can’t quite seem to decide if he’s a hero or one of the bad guys. His clear blue gaze finally lands on me, freezing me in place. The tension in his stance eases a little. He comes stomping my way.
“Come on. We’re going.”
