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“Hey, Alex?” I asked him, letting myself wonder aloud. “What are you going to do after this all ends? After the show, I mean?”
Alex waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I’m going to try and find myself a Sadie, I think. You guys are really making me want someone special for myself.”
“Oh yeah? Are you serious?” Sadie grumbled sleepily beside me and I quieted down to let her go back to sleep. “I’m sorry it didn’t work with you and Sadie.”
Alex crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, laughing ruefully. “Nah, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not,” I admitted, rolling my shoulder, and looking out of the window.
Hours later, we were at the station in the city, yawning and grabbing our luggage from the holding bins. Sadie dumped the rest of her cold coffee and slumped down sleepily on one of the uncomfortable benches inside the station. Alex waved his goodbye to us and headed off in the direction of the parking garage, his shoulders slumped with his camera still pointed toward us. I grabbed Sadie’s hand and kissed the warm skin there. She stared at me and even with all of the people moving around us, bustling quickly through the station, it felt as if we were the only ones there. I sat down beside her and leaned my head against hers as we waited for Nora to arrive in the parking garage. The darkness was spreading over the city and outside of the station, street lamps began to flicker to life, illuminating the streets beyond. I was ready to get home and into bed… into bed with Sadie. I assumed we would be sleeping together from now on and it made me feel warm inside to think of her asleep in my bed next to me. Everything was looking up and some part of me wanted to imagine a real future with Sadie, no matter how far-fetched or ridiculous it might be. I’d had enough of maybes in my life, and I didn’t want her to be another one. I was certain of my feelings for her and now I was sure of her love for me.
“There she is,” Sadie said suddenly, standing from the bench and pointing to the waiting car.
I stood up and grabbed our luggage, putting a hand on the small of her back as we made our way into the dim parking garage where a sleek, black car was waiting. Nora let the window down, opening her mouth to say hello—and there was a shout.
We froze halfway to the car as a man in a black hood stepped out from behind a pillar and moved toward us. Nora let up the window quickly before he could notice, and I hoped that she was calling the cops. There was a gun in the man’s hand, shaking in his grip. I heard Sadie gasp quietly beside me, shrinking into my side. This couldn’t be happening.
“Get down on your knees,” the man’s voice trembled, and his wiry limbs twitched. His dark eyes were red and wide, blinking rapidly. His brown hair was receding, and his skin was a sickly, sallow, pale color.
“We can work this out,” I put my hands up, still holding the luggage and subtly shielding Sadie, pushing her behind me a little so that I was between her and the man.
“You can have whatever you want, just let us go,” Sadie cried, pushing around me. “You don’t want to do this.”
“Shut up!” The man shouted shrilly and leveled his gun at Sadie, finger on the trigger.
My stomach lurched with an earth-shattering fear I had never felt before in my life, and I threw myself in front of her, throwing my hands out wide. “No, no! Please, just let her go and I’ll give you anything.”
“Connor…” Sadie sobbed, wrapping her arms around my waist to try and pull me away from danger.
“Both of you, shut up!” The man seemed to grit his jaw, looking back and forth before his eyes landed on me with their wild gaze. “You. You’re Elias Lennox’s son. I was supposed to— You’re rich.”
My heart seemed to fill with lead at his exclamation. My father, of course. That’s what this was about. We were in this situation because of Elias Lennox, because I had his name. This guy must have been waiting for someone to steal from and because he recognized that I was the son of a billionaire, that made me the perfect target. Because of me, Sadie was in danger as well. The thought of Sadie hurt was like a punch to the gut. I realized then that I would rather be shot than watch it happen to her. Sadie had very quickly become the most important person in my life, and I would be damned if I was going to watch someone hurt her. This nightmare would end with my death or his, but it would be Sadie that got away if it came down to it. I would make sure of that.
