A Captive Situation (Kings of New York)

I didn’t like this. Any of it.

Every cell in my body was protesting the thought that he was going to drop me off at Graham’s and I’d never see him again. That was bullshit.

I studied him as he drove.

He was too cool. Too smooth.

There was a tic in his jawline, and his hand tightened on the wheel. He wasn’t as unaffected as he was playing it off.

“Are you sure you heard my cousin right? He said you could bring me to his place? He’s never met me. Maybe a sit-down somewhere else would be more ideal?”

“No. He said to bring you to his place. Apparently some of your aunts had been calling him?”

My aunts? Bess and Clara. As soon as he said it, of course that made sense. They were going to intervene no matter what.

I folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t like this.”

He threw me a look. “This is why you came here. To see your cousin.”

“No. I meant—” I clamped my mouth shut because what? What was I going to say? The total weirdness I got when I was around him? How I felt like I already knew him when it’d not even been a full day?

I wasn’t counting the subway meet because he’d been a dick.

“You meant what?” He was pulling over. Letting the engine run, he moved to face me. His voice went low, as if he knew what I was going to bring up. Which, if he did, then so be it. He felt it too. I’d watched him enough to know he wasn’t as cold to me as he was acting.

I ducked my head, because could I really say that? I’d sound like a lunatic.

“You are a lunatic.”

I whirled on him. “Excuse me?” Had I said that out loud?

I paled. What else had I said out loud?

He smirked, but his eyes were blazing. “A lot of stuff has happened to you in the last month. Your ex. Whatever else that’s attached to that, because I don’t feel like you’re telling me everything. You were losing your marbles outside of your cousin’s place of work, and a cop took you to the station. That’s not normal for a lot of people. Plus, dealing with my cousin. That’s a shitload of stress that you’re handling.” He quieted, his jaw clenched again. “You saw a man get shot, right in front of you. You are allowed to have some moments of lunacy right now.”

Oh. Well. I sniffed at him. “That doesn’t give you a right to call me a lunatic.”

“You left with two strangers to take one of them to rehab. You went along for the ride. You are a lunatic,” he deadpanned.

I scowled at him. “Words hurt.”

He laughed softly, relaxing. I almost did a double take because was that the first time I saw him relax?

“All I’m saying is that it makes sense if you’re not totally with it right now. Plus, this whole project.” He motioned out the door. “You need to feel in control of something.”

The corner of my mouth turned down. “You’re saying I’m a control freak?”

He snorted, quietly. “No, but you do come off as someone who likes to feel in control—”

“Isn’t that everyone?”

“—and like I said, a whole bunch of things happened that were out of your control.”

I had to confess, “I do like feeling in control.”

Another slight snort from him. “Glad our minds just came together.”

Our gazes collided, and held.

And still held.

The air in the truck grew thick.

My body heated, and I couldn’t stop the image of other parts of us coming together.

I was lonely. I tried to tell myself that. I was hurt because Beck rejected me, and there was this new guy who turned up a second time and hadn’t left and I was attracted to him. That’s all this was. It wasn’t anything more.

And I was completely lying to myself.

But at least I could admit that I was lying to myself, because every cell in my body was protesting the idea that he was just a guy. He wasn’t. He was more. I just didn’t know what he was yet.

I bit down on my lip, needing to shove that image and that feeling down.

“Stop that,” he said, roughly.

“What?” I let go of my lip, confused.

His eyes were staring at my mouth. Hard.noveldrama

I chewed on my bottom lip again.

He groaned, his eyes darkening.

My mouth fell open again, surprised.

New hope jumped to my chest, and held there. It was suspended because . . . I didn’t know, but what did that mean?

He continued staring, no, glaring at my mouth. That sensation of being pulled toward him was filling me again. An invisible rope that had wound itself around me, and it was tugging me toward him. My eyes grew heavy, my eyelids were starting to fall, but I began to lean toward him—

“We’re here.”

His gaze was solely trained on my mouth as he said that, his voice raspy and hoarse.

I blinked, realizing he was so close to me.

I didn’t care. That thought hit me hard, making me blink a few times, trying to right myself, but it was true. I didn’t care what I was about to do because I had to see. I had to know. So with that thought, I began to reach for him.

Suddenly, Jake stiffened.

His eyes snapped to the rearview mirror, and as soon as he did, he exploded into action. “Down!” He wrapped his arms over me, throwing himself on top of me. At the same time, he twisted around, his arm rising.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The window shattered.

I screamed as the glass fell over us, but Jake was still shielding me.

Someone or something was going past the window, and fast.

Jake jerked upright, aimed, and he shot.

It happened so quickly. A few seconds.

Then he was gone, out the door, and running after something or someone.

I sat upright, my heart in my throat. A part of me didn’t want to run after him. I didn’t want to see further violence happening in front of me, but that was just a brief thought. The next thought, that came immediately after, was to get out and help.

I hurried out of the truck, choosing to go through his already opened door. Once I stepped down, my knees gave way. I clung to the door, keeping myself upright, but I was transfixed by what I was seeing happening a few yards in front of me.

Jake was wrestling with another man. They were both in dark clothing. The other man was wearing a ski mask, and he had more bulk on him, looking like he outweighed Jake by twenty pounds. Not that it seemed to matter. Jake kicked out the guy’s knee, and when he would’ve screamed, Jake shoved his gun in the guy’s mouth.

And—bang!

I stumbled backward.

My hand let go of the door handle in shock.

He—killed him. Just like that.

I mean, of course like that.

That guy shot at us first. It made sense Jake would shoot him, but in the mouth . . .

I think I was in shock.

I drew in a breath, wanting to cry. Wanting to scream. I didn’t, though. The pop sounds from the other guy’s gun. They’d been like soft pops. My vast knowledge accumulated from movies told me that he had used a silencer.

I groaned, my knees buckling, and this time I couldn’t hold myself up.

I slid to the ground. My legs splayed out underneath me.

Who would shoot at us with a silencer?

Two men. Two men just shot at us.

I . . . I was trying to have that make sense, but no plausible explanation was coming to me.

Jake knelt down over the guy and looked around. Who was he looking for? His gaze skimmed over me, hardening for a second, before continuing his scan.

There was no one else on the street.

Was that odd? I didn’t know. It’d been late when we left the diner. I had no clue what time it was.

Jake rolled him over and pulled off the ski mask.

Then he cursed. It was a fierce whisper, but I heard it and he looked back at me. His eyes were stark.

I started shaking, because I don’t know. A bodily reaction? Something else I could control?

I might be verging on some hysterical thinking again.

Jake got up, holstering his gun as he came to me. “Get up.” He touched my arm.

I didn’t. I kept shaking, hugging my legs to my chest as hard as I could. I did that instead.

Jake bit out a curse, kneeling in front of me. “The game just changed. I need you to come with me.”

I shook my head. Nope. I was just fine where I was. If I stayed here, maybe no one would try shooting at me for a third time. I changed my mind about Jake too. I was good. I didn’t need any of whatever that was between us.

“I’m good here.”

“No,” he clipped out, now cold again.

Twice.

We’d been shot at twice.

I glared at him. “Who are you?”

I almost died today. Two times.

I kept shaking.

Jake cursed again, standing up. He moved, and he moved fast, so fast I didn’t have time to react. He scooped me up and had me in his truck before I could fight him.

“Wha—no!” I tried kicking at him.

He dodged my feet, and I heard a click click as something plastic wrapped around my wrists.

Horrified, I looked down. He’d zip-tied my wrists, and as I was processing that, he bent down at my feet.

Zip-zip.

“What? What are you doing?” I tried kicking him. I couldn’t because they were also zip-tied. “Whatareyoudoing?” I had officially lost it. “You’re not a cop. You can’t arrest me. Or detain me. This is illega—arghmph.”

I belted out a scream, but it was muffled as he wrapped a shirt around me, stuffing it into my mouth. He tightened it again so I couldn’t spit it out.

“Yeah, sweetheart. That’s the point.” He straightened up, checked me over and pushed me so I was lying down. I was struggling by now, squirming around, trying to kick him.

Nothing. All to no avail because as I was doing that, he wrapped seat belts around me, basically hog-tying me in place.

I couldn’t move one bit.

He shut the door, disappearing.

A few minutes later, he returned, opened the back, and something was tossed into it.

Something heavy.

My eyes bulged out, and I tried screaming again.

I only needed one guess to figure out what that was. A dead body.

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

I was panicking.

I was starting to hyperventilate.

Everything was all . . . ugh. I had no idea, but as Jake got behind the wheel, started the engine, and drove away, I knew one thing.

He was kidnapping me!