Her teeth ground against each other in her mouth as she slapped my hand away, ready to fight me again. “You can’t make me go anywhere with you. This is kidnapping.”
I had only smiled, daring her to do something about it, “You’re a grown woman. So technically, this is an abduction. Or a hostage situation.” The fury blazing in her eyes glowed brighter, setting my blood on fire. “Look, sweetheart, I’m not arguing with you any longer. You can kick and scream and cry, but at the end of the day, you’re gonna get in the car, you’re gonna get on the plane, and then you’re gonna get on the boat.”
“Boat? Where are we going that requires a boat?” she asked, fear diluting some of her rage.
“I’m not telling you that. Yet.”
She scoffed, pacing in circles, “So you expect me to follow you, not even knowing where I’m going?”
I watched her infuriatingly tempting body cross the carpet, folding my arms in front of me, “Oh, Iexpectyou to make me drag you all the way there, but that doesn’t matter. One way or another, you’ll go. Even if it means draining you of blood until you pass out and carrying you.”
That had stopped her in her tracks, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” I goaded her a bit further, itching for the fight, “Little Hunter.”
And now here we are, me with an unsatiated bloodthirst and her pretending to be fully cooperative.
“How much longer?” she whines, tapping her fingers against her thumbs one by one.
“We have another four hours until we land on St. Paul,” I tell her. We are well out of reach of the trio of idiots, and I have her phone, so there’s no harm in telling her.
“Minnesota?” She asks, incredulous. “Why would you have your compound in Minnesota?”
The four cocktails I allowed her in Anchorage were a terrible idea. The five thus far on the flight an even worse one. But they made her much more pliable, I guess.
“Does it look like we’re in Minnesota?” I lean over her, practically ripping the window cover off so she can look at the nothing but ocean and air around us.
She mumbles under her breath, “You look like Minnesota,” before snickering to herself.
Jesus Christ, this woman.
“Then wherearewe going, smartass?” she shoots me another fiery glare.
“St. Paul is a little island in Alaska.”
“Alaska?” she scoffs, “You live in Alaska?”
“Oh,no,Little Hunter,” I push, “Welive in Alaska now.” I know that if there weren’t witnesses, she’d be climbing on me and trying with all her little might to kill me now. I’m tempted to allow it, if just for an excuse to feel her rubbing against me as she tries to choke the life out of me.
Through gritted teeth, she speaks, “Ilive in California.”
“Not anymore, you don’t. As of….” I look down at my watch, “17 minutes ago, you are officially an Alaskan resident. By the time we arrive athome, your new ID, passport and everything should be prepared.”
Defeat threatens to pull her under for just a second until it’s gone, and she’s all fire once again. “And what about my job?”
I let a smirk twist my lips, “How fortunate for you that you can work from anywhere.”
Eyes narrowed, she prods, “You didn’t pack any of my things.”
“Yes, I have a team for that. The only thing I need to worry about getting there isyou.”
“So, St. Paul, Alaska, then we go to your like… compound thing?” she sits back in her chair, closing her eyes to fight off the nausea she must be feeling after all the booze. “Wait, you said something about a boat.”
“Right,” I agree, “From St. Paul, we have roughly a 24-hour boat ride to our real destination.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
With a laugh, I tell her, “I’m fucking not.”
