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What do you know?
She did.
It’s only a matter of steps back to my SUV. For the first couple, she freezes, rigid as a board in my arms. Then she seems to realize I’m carrying her like a rescue animal and kicks at my shins. One of her heels makes contact.
“Not bad, but I’m not letting go.”
She makes a furious noise into my palm. I left the back door of the SUV open for convenience. Lily Hayes, granddaughter of Beaufort, kicks harder when I turn her around and put her in. Full-bodied screams melt into my hand. This wouldn’t be the best neighborhood to get caught kidnapping a woman in, so I keep my focus on getting out of here and not on the screaming.
Lily’s bag, an expensive-as-hell looking thing, falls off her shoulder and slides to the floor of the SUV. She ignores it, and I’m impressed. Some people would reach automatically for the bag, but she doesn’t.
She tries to claw me instead. Her nails rake down the exposed skin on the back of my hand. “Jesus fuck.” I laugh out loud, and Lily stops screaming, her eyes going wide. “I know. What would I have to laugh about? We can talk about it later.”
I use her second of disorientation to push her gently into the car. At the very last moment, I pluck her phone out of her hand.
“I hate—” she shouts, and I close the door in her face.
Both her palms slap against the window, and then she scrambles at the handle. I swing myself into the driver’s seat as she lunges to the opposite side. The handle is almost silent. The door doesn’t open.
Time to go.
I leave the parking lot—hedges, classy—as another white SUV turns in. Lily punches at the windows. “Help,” she screams. The noise rattles through my ears and down into my jaw. “Help me! Oh, Jesus.”
The driver of the other SUV doesn’t see Lily being kidnapped.
Or am I taking her hostage?
I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.
Lily slumps down a little in her seat, her head swiveling. She’s searching for somebody to save her. I’m going to bet she won’t. Not at this hour of the night. Not in a rich neighborhood like Cobble Hill. Rich people sleep at night. They don’t go for walks at eleven, and theydon’tstick their necks out for anything other than money.
We leave Judge Beaufort Hayes’s street behind. I make the fastest series of turns to get to the highway, pushing my luck with the speed limit. It takes three blocks to settle down enough to keep it to five over. I steer the SUV over a bump merging onto the highway. Lily lets out a startled gasp.
“I could stop real quick and tie you up, if it would make things easier.”
She glares at me in the rearview mirror, bands of light going over her face as we pass the overheads. Why does she seem so damn familiar?Is her hair throwing me off? It’s red, in gorgeous, shiny waves over her shoulders.
“What the hell are youdoing?” Lily sounds astonished. Can’t blame her. Surprises do strange things to the brain. “Are youkidnappingme?”
“I’m not abducting you. Does that help?”
“Yes, thank you, I knew you weren’tabducting mebecause I’m not a child, so custodial interference doesn’t come into play.God. What the hell?”
“Nope.” Can’t argue with that. I like her voice, which is not why I did this. I can’t help enjoying the sound, even though she’s royally pissed. “No custodial interference here.”
“Oh, just kidnapping a grown woman off the street.”
“Looks like that’s what I did, yeah.” I merge into the left lane, pass a slow cargo truck with appropriate haste, and merge back.
“Is this about the Immersive Scholars program? Because I don’t care. You can have my spot.” Lily almost makes this offer believable.
“What Immersive Scholars program?” Another car passesme. I don’t go after it. I might’ve been too cavalier about the cops back in Cobble Hill, but I won’t fuck it up this early. I’m slightly taken aback that the adrenaline rush has been manageable. This is by far the biggest crime I’ve ever committed, but it feels right. Taking his granddaughter is proportional to losing my parents.
“The—at Columbia.” Her brow furrows. “Are you a lawyer?”
“No, but I’m well-versed in various aspects of the law.”
“And you’re stillkidnapping me?What did I ever do to you?”
