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I blink several times, not sure what the fu—
“Wait… Cary? Are you Cary Mack?” No way has this guy kidnapped me because I wouldn’t give him something he didn’t pay for.No way.
Except I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened.
“Yeah,” he says, confirming my hunch. “I’ve been texting and emailing for years, and you’re ignoring me. You can’t ignore me now. I need my puzzle.”
“You didn’t pay for the puzzle,” I point out. “So it’s not yours.” I don’t tell him that it actually belongs to a dragon now. He wouldn’t believe me if I did.
“That’s not how it works,” he snaps, and I give up all hope of reasoning with him. Because that is, in fact, how it works, and if he won’t even admit that, logic isn’t going to work.
“What time is it?” I ask. He looks confused by the sudden change in subject, but glances at his watch.
“Two-fifteen.”
Micah will be back by now and know I’m missing. That’s good. I just need to keep this idiot from hurting me until I’m rescued. Hopefully, that’ll be soon.
Except… I don’t want to be rescued. Why do I always need other people to rescue me? Fuck that noise.
Slowly, trying not to make my head hurt more than it does already, I get off the couch and stand straight. Ouch.
“I’m leaving now,” I announce.
Cary’s jaw drops. “What? No!” he sputters. “You can’t leave! You need to make my puzzle.”
“I really don’t. I’m tired of being stepped on by spoiled, entitled fools who think they have the right to anything from me. You had the chance to own one of my puzzles, and you tried to steal it from me. Worse, you tried to damage my business reputation while you were at it. That’s not okay, and I’m not putting up with it anymore.” I take two shaky steps toward the door.
With a wordless shriek, he produces the knife from somewhere and races toward me. I sigh. “Stop that now,” I say, unleashing my enthrallment ability. It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever used itagainstsomeone, instead of as a mutually agreed-upon sex toy. Power flows through me, rolling into my voice, and Cary stumbles to a halt.
Whoa. It’s never been that effective before. Maybe because Cary is human?
Whatever. This is my chance to leave. “Put the knife on that table,” I suggest, gesturing, and he does, keeping his eyes on me, eager to do anything I want. I feel sick, knowing how easy this kind of power would be to pervert. “Now sit on the couch, there. Make yourself comfortable and stay there until someone comes to get you.” I put a bit of extra emphasis behind that one. The power of my suggestions will start to wear off when I leave, and it would be great if he was still here when I send Enforcement to find him. I’m not sure what the exact process is when one enthralls a human, but I’m guessing they’ll want to make sure he doesn’t remember any of it. And I definitely want the stalking to stop. No more kidnappings, please.
He settles onto the couch and pulls his legs up, and I back slowly toward the door. He stays put, though his pleading gaze follows me until I turn away and can’t see it anymore.
In the hallway, I make the decision not to go out the front door. Instead, I go in search of a phone. I need to call for a ride… and backup. But if Cary has a phone, it’s on him, and I don’t want to deal with him anymore. Instead, I go through the door off the laundry room into the garage. There’s a car parked there with the back door still open—I guess that’s how he got me here. I peer inside and grin. It’s also how I’m going to leave.
I slam the back door, then get into the driver seat, where Cary has so thoughtfully left the key in the ignition. The car even has an in-dash GPS, which is going to make getting home nice and easy. And then Micah will find me, and I can collapse into his arms and let him take care of the rest. Poor Micah. He must be so worried about me by now.
I start the car, program in my destination, and find out I’m only ten minutes from home. Creepy. I’m pretty sure that when Cary originally placed his order, the shipping address wasn’t this close—I usually remember when they’re in my neck of the woods. Did he move here to be closer to me?
A chill runs down my spine. Definitely time to leave.
I find the garage door opener behind the sun visor and press the button. The door ponderously rises, and I tap the steering wheel impatiently. I’m tired, my head is killing me, and I miss my demon. I don’t have time to wait.
Finally the door is open enough for the car to get through, and I put it in gear and ease my foot onto the accelerator.
I’m halfway down the short driveway when a hellhound bounds into my path and growls. I hit the brakes, jolting against the seat belt, and joyful relief floods me as I recognize him.
Turning off the car, I scramble out. Alistair’s on me before I’m clear of the door, jumping up to lick my face. He won’t shift back out in the open like this, where he might be seen, but just knowi—
“Cam!”
The shout has me spinning—and then my head continues to spin, but I ignore it and stumble down the driveway toward Micah. He closes the distance between us in a few huge strides, then closes me into his arms.
And finally, everything’s okay.
I rest my head on his chest and let all my worries go. Micah’s here, and he’ll fix everything. Tears of relief rise, but I blink them away.
