“I’m on my way, Wildcat. Stay right where you are, okay?” His words are even, but there’s a familiar edge to them. He’s scared.
“I can’t.” I shake my head. “He’s here. He’s going to take me.”
“No, he’s fucking not, Lexi. Stay right where you are. If someone approaches you, scream.”
He’s putting a lot of faith in the strangers sitting around me, but I know better than to trust anyone but myself and my immediate circle.
I reach into my purse and breathe a sigh of relief when I find my taser at the bottom. A gift from Colten when I went off to college, and one I wish I had with me when I was taken by my father’s enemies.
As calmly as I can manage, I pack away my laptop and headphones before dropping some cash on the table, but before I get a chance to stand, a man approaches the table. His face is covered with a cap and big sunglasses, hiding his identity from any cameras in the area.
“Hang up the phone,” he says, calmly lifting the corner of his sweater to show the gun holstered there.
Fuck.
Taser versus gun is always going to have me coming out the loser.
“I’m a few minutes away, Lexi. Scream.”
“Gun,” I whisper so softly I don’t even hear the word as it slips from my parted lips.
The café has a soft hum, which I hope prevented the man from hearing it, but all that matters is that Colten did.
There’s a series of loud noises on the other end of the line, Colten hitting his steering wheel, I realize, but I keep the phone pressed to my ear.
“Hand me the phone.” He holds out his hand, and I hesitantly pass it over, my entire body trembling with fear and adrenaline.
He presses it to his ear and says two words that will forever haunt my nightmares.
“She’s mine.”
THIRTY
COLTEN
Ishould have known she was going to sneak out.
The writing was on the wall after our fight this morning, but the question is, how did she get past Ken?
He’s been sitting in the lobby of my apartment building during the hours I’m not there, and although Lexi is known to have slipped her security over the years, I truly thought she would stick close after the break-in.
That was my first mistake.
My second was leaving the apartment at all.
As badly as I want answers about who is after her, her safety and happiness should be my number one priority, and once again I’ve let her down.
There’s a reason I never thought I was good enough for her.
How could I be when all I do is fuck things up?
I’m pretty sure I know where she is even before I pull up her tracker while I use my laptop to tap into her phone.
She’s at her favorite café a few blocks from my apartment, meaning I’ll be able to get to her quickly, but when her messages load, my stomach bottoms out.
Fuck.
He’s watching her.
