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“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Antonio’s jaw tics, and he looks over to Jeffrey, the way he does when he needs to be calmed down.

“Don’t play games,” Jeffrey says. His voice is exactly as level and calm as it always is when he’s rationalizing with me. “We’re being incredibly fair, Sasha.”

“Did you give it to your friend with a death wish?” Antonio asks.

I groan, letting my eyes fall closed briefly. Their words are hard to follow, and I have no idea what they’ve done to me, but I’m in a bad way. The panic tries to strangle me. “I don’t have any friends.”

“You definitely won’t once we’re through with him.” Antonio crouches in front of me. “Do you know that he threatened me?”

“Sounds like him.”

“Do you know what I do to people who threaten me?” I don’t answer, because I can sense a rhetorical question when I hear one. He pulls out his gun, holding it lightly in his grip and tilting it toward the floor so I can get a good look at it.

“I have my little friend pay them a visit.”

I almost respond that I’ve seen it for myself, but my brain catches me in time. The best thing I can do is continue to deny having anything to do with anything, but it’s tricky when my brain won’t keep up.

“What did you do to me?”

“Just a whiff of chloroform.” He ruffles my hair. “I forgot how good you feel in my arms.”

The rough tone makes my gut turn. That’s something I regret, especially now I know the difference between what good and bad touch feels like. All this time, I assumed I was making the same mistakes with Lynx as I made with Antonio, but there’s one key difference: Lynx isn’t Antonio. He proves it every time we’re together. There’s no show of power, no need to try and control me. Everything that happens between us is what we’ve decided together, and I really fucking like that. Maybe he originally started as me making the same mistakes, but I’m learning the difference. Lynx is making me into a better person.

Which is why I absolutely cannot let this happen.

There’s no way in hell Lynx can go through losing someone again. I know he cares about me, and maybe it’s not as strongly as I care about him, but it doesn’t matter. I’m confident he’s never opened himself up to someone before me, and I’m determined to prove that isn’t a mistake.

I just have to get out of here.

I force myself to concentrate on the room, noting the furniture and the wooden walls and the layout … I think we’re in Hobby Straight. It doesn’t look like the exact cabin I was in, but there are enough similarities that there’s a high chance.

“How did you find me?”

“Your friend told us where you were. We’ve been hanging out here and exploring for at least a week, and tonight, we happened to notice a lot of commotion going on. Being the smart guys that we are, we looked into it, saw some kind of event, and figured if you were here, you probably were a part of it. So we waited. And who did we find walking down the path on his lonesome?”

Well, shit. They must have seen Peril. That many people all in one location would have been suspicious, and I can’t believe I didn’t stop for a second and make sure it was safe.

Lynx didn’t even consider that the event could draw Antonio in, which isn’t like him at all.

And even though I know it’s another rhetorical question, I answer him anyway. “The ghost of Dolly Parton?”

“No, sweetheart. Someone much prettier.”

“Don’t disrespect the queen like that.” I’m trying to distract, but it’s not coming easily. From where I’m lying, this situation is fucking bad. There’s only so long I can keep them talking, and then what? They’re going to demand that I hand over the USB, but if I do that, I know they’ll kill me. If I don’t, they’ll probably fuck me up a bit until I inevitably talk, and then they’ll kill me.

I need to get away—no fucking duh—but my hands are tied, and the both of them have guns.

I should have listened to Lynx.

The entire time that I’ve known him, all he’s ever done is push me to protect myself, and I couldn’t even do that. I’ve run around under the illusion that words and coyness are enough, but I’ve never been in this position before, and I can’t figure out how the hell any of my usual tactics will get me out of this.

But I have to try.

Because I refuse to let this break Lynx.

“You’ve been looking around the town, then.”