LITMIR.BIZ

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slapped the cuffs around one wrist and then the other. “I’m not going to leave you free to bushwhack me.”

      “But I—”

      He put the rough pad of his thumb against her lips. “One more word and I cuff those pretty little hands of yours behind your back.”

      She swallowed and remained silent.

      His gaze stayed on her face as he dragged his thumb across the seam of her lips before lowering it. “Get back in the car.”

      She hesitated, wanting to ask where they were going and who he represented, but the warning gleam in his eyes stopped her cold. Instead, she went back to the car and climbed into the backseat. When her skirt rode up high on her thigh, his blatant gaze followed the hem until she tugged it down.

      A mocking smile curved his mouth. “Don’t worry, Sydney, your virtue isn’t what I’m after.”

      “What is it? What do you want?”

      “For you to keep your mouth shut.” He grabbed her purse, then slammed the door and got back behind the wheel.

      Sydney’s angry glare seared the back of his head. It didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He steered them back toward the highway, eyed her in the mirror while he waited for a group of cars to pass, and then eased in behind a truck.

      She thought about trying to flag someone down, but the windows were heavily tinted and she figured she’d just end up ticking him off. She could only hope he wasn’t stupid enough to harm her. If a ransom was what he was after, he’d have to keep her alive. At least for a while.

      She shuddered at the thought of what could happen once he got the money. Oh, God, she didn’t want to die. She wanted to get married, have children, her own home. She wanted to go to a PTA meeting. Hell, she couldn’t die without ever having had great sex.

      Forcing herself to calm down, she took several deep breaths. She had to clear her head. Negative thinking wasn’t going to help her find a means of escape.

      From the self-defense course she’d taken, she recalled the instructor advising the class to humanize the situation. Force the attacker to view you as a human being and not an object. It was worth a shot.

      She cleared her throat. “What’s your name?”

      His eyes appeared in the rear view mirror. “Why?”

      “I’ve got to call you something.”

      “I’m sure you’ve come up with several names by now.”

      “At least.”

      Again, the skin around his eyes crinkled. So, he had a sense of humor. “Luke.”

      “Short for Lucas?”

      “No.”

      Sydney sank back, thinking of what else she should ask or say. She wasn’t going to get anywhere fast if he kept giving her single word answers. “Can you tell me who you work for?”

      “No.”

      “I didn’t think so,” she muttered. “How about where we’re going?”

      “You’ll see soon enough.”

      Personal. She needed to get personal so he’d see her as a person. “How old are you?”

      In the rearview mirror, she saw his dark brows draw together. “Why?”

      She shrugged. “I was just curious. I’ll be twenty-five next month. It’s kind of a milestone, don’t you think?”

      He shook his head and stared at the road.

      Let him think she was a nut. At least he’d be thinking of her as a person. “My godfather is planning this big party he doesn’t think I know about. I hate those things. I’m seriously thinking about escaping to San Francisco or New York for the weekend. Knowing that crowd, they won’t even miss me.”

      He darted a glance at her and then returned his attention to the road as he veered off an exit ramp. Unfamiliar with the area, she squinted to see where they were going, but it was too late. She’d missed the name of the exit.

      Dammit. She should be paying attention. If she had the opportunity to use a phone, she’d have to be able to give information. She looked out helplessly as the landscape became more and more dense with trees. Not a single car had passed since they left the freeway.

      “Are you from Dallas?” she asked, annoyed that her teeth chattered. “You have a little bit of an accent.”

      The warning look he gave her with those steely blue eyes made her pause. Okay, maybe that was too personal. Obviously, he wouldn’t give her that kind of information about himself. “How much ransom are you going to ask for?”

      The car jerked when he pulled it over to the shoulder. Unprepared, she fell roughly against the door. There’d be one heck of a bruise on her arm.

      He got out before she righted herself, opened the door and leaned in, bringing his face close to hers. He gripped her upper arm and yanked her even closer. “Do I have to gag you?”

      She had to tilt her head back to avoid smashing her nose into his chin. His breath, warm and sweet-smelling, trespassed on her skin. She swallowed and shook her head.

      His eyes bore into hers. “I didn’t hear you.”

      She swallowed again. “No.”

      His grip on her arm loosened and he rubbed his thumb idly just beneath her sleeve hem. Irritation simmered in his eyes, and then he abruptly let her go. “Keep your mouth shut. Got it?”

      She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

      He drew back, and then hesitated. He leaned in again and she jumped. “Look,” he said, keeping a little more distance this time, his husky voice soft, soothing. “You’re not going to get hurt. Just keep quiet.”

      She nodded again, hating the fear that clawed at her, robbing her of speech and rational thought. Never would she have guessed she’d react this way. All the times Willard had warned her of something like this happening, she’d balked, telling herself exactly how she’d handle the situation. Reality was nothing like her best intentions.

      Relief eased her when he finally turned to get back behind the wheel, except he reached in for something and returned.

      She tried not to cower and sat perfectly still.

      “Here.” He held out a bottle of Evian.

      She stared at it a moment before lifting her bound hands to take it. “Thank you.”

      It was obvious she wouldn’t be able to unscrew the cap, but she wouldn’t ask him to do it. She just wanted him to get back in the front seat, away from her.

      He grunted something that sounded like a curse and grabbed the water. After he freed the cap, he passed the bottle back to her. “We’ll be at the cabin soon.”

      Cabin? She stared off into the woods, all hope of attracting someone’s attention fading as quickly as the late afternoon sun.

      He got back in and started to drive, his attention to the speed limit somewhat lax. Half the water she tried to drink missed her mouth and ended up down the front of her favorite peach silk blouse. No doubt it was ruined. But of course, that was the least of her worries.

      She tried to pay attention to her surroundings, but it didn’t help. Nothing but woods stretched in every direction. She didn’t have a clue where they were. She glanced at her watch. They were already almost an hour outside of Dallas.

      Twenty minutes later, he pulled off onto a dirt road with enough dips and ruts to make her stomach roll. She swallowed hard against the nausea, and then took another sip of water. When a cabin appeared in a small clearing, she didn’t know if she were more relieved or nervous.

      He stopped the car a few feet from the tiny

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