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“You know what I mean.” Leah crossed her arms, her expression turning somber, and said in a low, growly tone, “No, Leah, you can’t go to Seattle. No, Leah, we won’t go dancing in a vampire club.” When Olivia burst out laughing, Leah dropped the act and grinned. “With you here, I can always say Olivia is doing it, too. You’ll back me up, won’t you?”
“Are we back in high school now?”
“Exactly! It’s us against our mates! No one else will take my side, but you’re Marek’s mate. You don’t have to fear Julian.”
“We’ll see.”
They finished their drinks as Leah listed out the things Julian had forbidden her from doing.
“Ready for round two?” Leah asked and giggled when Olivia made a face.
“I should head back. It’s almost sunset. Marek might wake up soon.”
“Fine.” Leah sighed. “Tell him to thank me when he sees you in the dress.”
Olivia laughed. “Sure. I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll meet you back here.”
How would Marek react to the dress? Would he slowly peel it off her, inch by inch, while kissing his way down her body? Or would he lose control at the mere sight of it? Maybe she’d do a little strip tease for him and drive him crazy. Her skin heated up at the image of him devouring her with his smoldering gaze, his features raw with unadulterated lust, while she teased him.
On her way back to Leah, Olivia’s pleasant bubble burst when she felt something hard pressed into her back.
She froze.
“Keep walking. Don’t make a sound and smile,” a woman hissed in her ear. “Act like we’re friends.”
Olivia’s pulse jacked up. A buzz sounded in her ears as panic exploded like a bomb. Her lips curved up, and she turned to look at the woman. She was a head shorter, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt. Her brown, mousy hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. When their gazes met, she shot Olivia a pleasant smile, like they were two friends enjoying a stroll in the mall.
“What do you want?” Olivia asked without dropping her facade. “You can have my wallet.”
“I don’t want your money,” the woman said, steering them to the nearest staircase exit.
Her pulse racing, Olivia considered shouting for help. There weren’t many people around. Two teenagers. A mom and her child. A guy with his girlfriend. Three shopkeepers.
Would Leah hear her? Probably not. The restroom was two halls away from the coffee shop.
Did the woman have a gun or a knife to her back? It didn’t feel sharp, so maybe a gun? The last thing Olivia wanted was for her kidnapper to panic and shoot a kid. So, she did nothing and went through the exit door. The second it closed behind them, the woman dropped her friendly act. Coldness suffused her features, and her voice dropped an octave. “Hurry up. Down the stairs.”
You’d think, considering this was the third time someone had tried to kidnap her, she’d be better at thinking on her feet, which was not her strong suit. When she got out of this mess, she promised herself to be better prepared for the next time. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a next time, but at the way things were going, she’d bet an arm and a leg it would happen again.
The woman followed her with quiet steps. Olivia glanced back and gulped. It was a gun. Pointed directly at her back.
“Don’t even think about it,” the woman said. “I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
Her appearance might be harmless, but her emotionless voice said this wasn’t her first rodeo.
How to get out of this? “My friend’s waiting for me,” Olivia finally said, pushing past the paralyzing panic. “She’ll be suspicious when I don’t come back.”
“We’ll be long gone by then.”
One more floor until the ground level exit.Think, Olivia, think!She was better than this, better than this mess of nerves. But she was a scientist, used to analyzing every detail in the quiet and comfort of her lab, not creating solutions under a time limit in life-threatening situations.
Her bracelet! Duh! It was magicked to protect her. She was definitely in danger now. Olivia tried to remember her magic lessons with Andrea past the pounding of blood in her ears. Her lessons had been focused on being calm and collected while summoning magic. None of this racing pulse and sweaty palms.
They reached the halfway landing between the floors.
Come on.Olivia tugged at the place within, where she went during her training.I can do this.Exactly what, she wasn’t sure. Maybe her magic combined with the bracelet’s protection spell would be enough. Her wrist heated. Olivia snuck a glance and caught the tiniest hint of green light at the edge of her vision.
“Open the door,” her kidnapper ordered when they reached the exit.
