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Xander and I were already sinking into the shadows. Before anyone could reach us, I hastily wiped my hands with a wipe that would remove any traces of residue and make it as if I had never fired a gun, then tossed that on top of her limp body. I closed the cabinet door. We’d retrieve her later.
As security came running, Xander and I pretended that we had just run up here first. At least I looked like I’d been rushing given the fight she’d put me through.
Down below, I caught a glimpse of Aiden. He was all pale faced and stoic, as if he hadn’t wanted to take that bullet.
CHAPTER3
Selena
I woke up slowly,with the sense that things had gone very, very wrong even before I opened my eyes.
I was lying on a bed. It was soft and comfortable. The blankets had been stripped off, allowing me to see the leather straps that bound my wrists and ankles to either side. I wanted desperately to pull and see if I could get free. The sense of being trapped pressed in at my chest, reminding me of all the times I’d panicked before.
Instead, I stayed still and waited, listening. I let my eyes drift shut again so that it would seem as if I were still asleep if there was someone else in the room.
The air felt still.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was someone in the room with me, someone watching.
Then I heard them rise from a chair, from the sounds of it. As they moved toward me, a deep male voice asked, “Do you really want to play that you’re still asleep?”
His hand found my calf. His skin was warm to the touch, and he carried his own scent, not the expensive scent that Aiden had but something that was muskier with a hint of leather.
“It was very naughty to try to kill Gavin Crude.” He sounded amused. Those warm fingers kept stroking up my calf, up my knee, sending electric tingles across my skin. He reached the place on my thigh where my gown had tangled around my legs and slowly edged it higher. “Shall I wake you, Sleeping Beauty? Perhaps with a little more than a kiss?”
As his hand swept up my thigh, there was no hiding the way my body clenched at his touch. My eyes flew open to take in the tall, blonde haired man who grinned down at me. He was built like a linebacker. His shirt sleeves were rolled up over corded forearms even though he’d obviously been wearing a tux earlier, the dark ends of his tie still dangling around his powerful chest.
It took me a second to process him, and then I remembered the flash I’d seen of the face as I was fighting for my life. I’d seen his face in a blur. He was the one who had taken me.
Despite being a criminal scumbag, he had the face of an angel, all hard angles and soft pink lips.
“I can’t stop you from touching me now,” I admitted, yanking at the restraints to test them. “But I can kill you later.”
His lips curled up in a smile that softened the harsh, beautiful angles of his face. “I wasn’t trying to offend you. I was trying to be your Prince Charming.”
“Prince Charming was an asshole, kissing her without her consent,” I said. “But still probably more of a gentleman than you.”
“Perhaps he and Sleeping Beauty had an arrangement. After all, he was saving her.” He tilted his head to one side. “You can add all the feminist retconning that you want, but in the end, she only woke up because he helped her.”
“Well, I don’t want your help.” I squeezed my thighs together.
He chuckled darkly as his fingers drifted down my leg, and I gritted my teeth against the electric rise of sensation, the way it pooled in my gut. He reached my ankle and caressed the skin just above the cuff. “You are a little less powerful than you usually are, at the moment, aren’t you? You look as if you need some help.”
Man would expect me to check in. We often went days without talking, but we always texted a check in every day to update him about our progress.
Sooner or later, I knew the girls would come for me.
The only question was iflaterwould be too late to matter.
I had to stall my captors as much as I could. I had a pretty good idea of what would come next. If they took their time, as terrible as that would be, at least there was a chance that rescue would reach me.
I just hoped they wouldn’t fuck up my face. It was such an important part of my career.
“What do you want?” I demanded. My legs were parted as if I were waiting for them, with each ankle tethered to opposite sides of the bed. I tried to clench my thighs, but I couldn’t bring my legs together. My arms were staked out similarly, although I had a little play in the bonds. If I could entice him a little closer, I might be able to hook my hand around his throat and drag him down. But after that, it was questionable how successful I would be, so I set that tentative plan aside. For now.
I’d choke this bastard sooner or later.
I needed to convince them to free me. Maybe I could appeal to his baser instincts. After all, he hadn’t been caressing my thigh because he was a Boy Scout.
