“Sure?”
“Very. Where are you taking the painting?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Will you leave me here when you go?”
“That’s up to Tom, and he hasn’t decided yet. Personally, I’d be happy to have you come along.”
“I’d rather stay.” She far preferred her chances here, tied to a pipe, than on an airplane with them.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re our hostage.” He rose and left, closing her back inside her solitary box.
Moisture pressed hard against her eyes. Fiasco.
Do not cry, Britt. Do not.
She prided herself on the fact that she never cried. Right now, tears seemed less useful and more destructive than ever.
Closing her lids, she concentrated on sliding air deeply in and out of her lungs while she carefully constructed a meticulous picture of Zander in her mind.
Zander’s decision to cut her out when he’d unlocked Frank’s phone and his subsequent lie to her about his location had hurt her. Those actions still hurt. But a crisis had a way of stripping away shallow hurts to reveal the much larger emotion beneath. At the moment, her hurt was made almost insignificant by the magnitude of the primary thing she felt for Zander.
Love.
Her throat constricted. Why hadn’t she told him she loved him? He’d been brave enough to tell her how he felt. Why hadn’t she had the guts to do the same?
Maybe because she hadn’t known for sure that she loved him until now. Maybe because she’d been more than content with how things had been, just as they were, since Nora’s wedding. Maybe because commitment had never come easy for her. Maybe because she’d been smug in the belief that she had time... that she could always sort through her feelings and articulate them at some future point.
The sound of a distant airplane engine punctuated the indistinguishable murmur of the men’s voices on the far side of the wall. The metal pipe bled cold against the back of her skull.
She loved Zander.
Of course she did.
They could read each other’s minds. They could communicate with a look. She knew the minutiae of his personality. He was honorable and loyal. Complex and brilliant. Wary and wry.
She’d harbored a piercing compassion for the despondent, betrayed kid who’d needed a home. Now she loved the man he’dbecome, even though her love for him was not a revelation that comforted her.
For one thing, it had come at a ridiculous time.Too little, too latehad never been more accurate.
For another, the idea of loving him brought a cape full of fears billowing behind it. This circumstance was scary enough. Love for Zander couldn’t fortify her at this point. It could only weaken her.
And so ... no.
Love? Just no.
This was not the time for love. Considering her predicament, there might never be a time for it.
The truth of that wrenched through her, causing physical pain.
If she was going to survive this, then she needed to place a partition between herself and thoughts of Zander.
And so she did.
The barrier put distance between them in a way that allowed her heart to continue pumping and her bravery to stabilize.
“Will SWAT be able to pinpoint Britt’s location within the warehouses based on the Mercedes?”
