“I’m sorry.What?!” I shouted.
But the door was already closing.
Miles pushed off the wall and moseyed toward me. “No need to shout. I can hear you just fine. Besides, the room is soundproof. Keller hates when the screams sully his afternoon tea. I figured this was the most private place we could have this little chat. No one will hear a thing.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” I mumbled under my breath. “I thought you were a bodyguard. Not a mercenary.”
“Private security,” he clarified. “We solve rather unsavory problems with creative solutions. Sometimes those problems require a chair in a soundproof room that can be disinfected if needed.”
I tried to look behind me, but I couldn’t quite turn all the way with the wrist restraints. “Is Jack here?”Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.Jack was the reasonable one.
“Nah. He’s keeping an eye on my superstar and the superstar she’s growing.”
Whitney was with Jack? Why wasn’t Whitney here? Had Whitney gone to Wander and Jack’s house? If Whitney and Wander were together, that meant Willow was probably with them too.
As soon as I got out of here, I was going to book the first flight to North Carolina.
“Aha. I know that look. You just put two and two together to figure out where Willow is,” Miles said with a grin as he circled the chair menacingly. “Which tells me you still care about her.Excellent.I can work with that.”
“Are Whitney and Wander with her?” I asked.
To my surprise, he nodded. That was the most information I had gotten out of anyone.
Granted, he still had me handcuffed to a chair. But it was something.
“Is she safe?”
“She’s with people who will take care of her,” Miles said as he cracked his knuckles. “Granted, I’m not there. But I think it’s time for Jack to stretch his wings into author protection territory. It’s less about warding off bad guys and more about making sure they remember to eat and gently telling them that coffee doesn’t count as food.” He moved to stand in front of me and crossed his arms. “We divided and conquered. Jack is taking care of the ladies, and I’m taking care of you.”
“Please tell me that you meanhelping me, and not beating me to death in this chair.”
“Nah. Beating people up isn’t my style. Not unless I’m getting paid for it. And I’m off the clock right now, so you’re safe.”
As much as bantering with Miles was usually enjoyable, I wanted to get to the point, get out of here, and get to her.
“I need to talk to Willow,” I said.
Miles reached into his back pocket and grabbed that fucking rubber chicken, giving me a warning wheeze. “Wrong.”
“How am I supposed to get her back if she won’t let me talk to her? I’ve tried calling her. I’ve tried texting her. I’ve emailed. I’ve DMed her. I was going to start sending letters to every known address, but then you kidnapped me.”
Miles circled my chair, flexing and curling his hands menacingly. “Let me ask you something. What was your master plan?”
“My what?”
“Your plan. You dared her to give you twelve weeks so you could prove your program.”
“Yeah?”
“Then what?” he asked. “What were you going to do when the twelve weeks were up? Which is”—he paused and pulled his phone and showed me the calendar on his screen—“today. It’s been exactly three months since you two went at it during the Rom-Con panel. What was your master plan to make it stick?”
“I was gonna tell her how much I love her,” I admitted. “I wanted to make it special. We were supposed to be in the city together. I wanted to take her to this pierogi spot we like. I wanted to make it memorable for her.”
“Bingo.” Miles pointed a finger a centimeter away from my nose. “And that’s where you went wrong.”
“Do tell since you’re the relationship expert,” I grumbled sarcastically. “And can you uncuff me?”
Miles tossed his head back and laughed. “Absolutely not. The chair is half of the fun. It builds character.” He propped his hands on his hips. “And it gives me your undivided attention. Now. Here’s where you went wrong, Casanova. Moments are temporary. You forget the flowers. You forget the candles. You forget what you ate. But you remember how someone made you feel. You should have just told her instead of waiting. Which is also where I’m guessing you went wrong with the ‘who’s your daddy’ reveal.”
