different our lives are, and I thought it’d be better for us to go our s eparate ways now . You know , before things got messy .” All right, so she was nervous and maybe a little scared. I could work with that. “T ell me more about this wakeup call.” The frantic blaring of a car horn mixed with some colorful cursing made Sadie raise her voice. “Well, Vince explained how things work in your world,” she said. “I know I’m just a distraction for you and you couldn’ t be with someone like me seriously .” I cut a glare at Vince, whose head jerked back. “What?” he mouthed, totally clueless. “You’re not a distraction,” I told Sadie, raising my voice so Vince got the message, too. His face twisted in a grimace. “Now, turn the damn van around.” She sucked in a breath. “How do you know I’m in a van?” “I’ll tell you as soon as you get back here.” It was worth a shot. “I can’t do that. I’m nobody’ s mistress, Dav,” Sadie said, her voice growing stronger . “I won’ t be a mistress.” I was going to strangle my father for lying to her. “Good thing I’m not fucking engaged, then.” There was another pause on Sadie’s end of the call, and I could just picture her biting that full lower lip of hers. “... You’re not?” “My old man lied. There’s no engagement. No wedding. I’ve never even touched Daniella.” “... But what about the line of mafia princesses waiting for you to choose one of them?” she asked, still sounding suspicious. Of all the things I’d expected her to say... “What the hell are you talking about? What princesses?” Vince made a choking sound, like he was coughing up a hairball. “Vince told me you have a dozen of them willing to marry you to strengthen... alliance stuff or something like that,” Sadie said, stumbling over the words. “Y ou know . Mafia things.” My former best friend conveniently avoided my glare, and my fingers flexed against the countertop. Turned out, I was going to kill my father and my right-hand man all in one day .
“If there’s any hope for alliances, it’s one-sided. I’m not interested in any,” I told Sadie. “You’re the only one I’m in volved with. The only one I want to be in volved with.” “Oh.” Her voice brightened considerably . “Well, that’ s good news.” “Glad we cleared it up. Now, come back here so we can talk the rest of this out.” Her answering silence lasted long enough I thought the call might’ve dropped. “Sadie?” I asked, turning my back to Vince and lowering my voice. I was willing to beg if that was what it took, but it wasn’t something I needed him overhearing. “Come back.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she whispere d before clearing her throat. “These feelings we have for each other were so sudden, and the way we met was very... unique. But it doesn’t mean we should entertain this. I mean, how do we know we didn’t just get whisked away by the unexpected passion of a hostage situation?” My jaw threatened to crack with how tightly I clenched it. “Whisked?” “Yeah, whisked. Like... Like we’re a bowl of egg whites trying to be meringue, you know?” No, apparently , I didn’ t know. Sadie sighed quietly. “It’s a lovely thought, but we’re not egg whites, Dav. And we’ll never be meringue.” I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it—wondering if I’d had a stroke—before putting it back. “Say that again in English.” “Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “The last couple days have been like a fairy tale—well, one in volving an alarming amount of blood. And instead of a princess in a tower, there was a man locked in a shed. But some time apart will give us a better perspective. For all we know, our feelings are the result of Stockholm and reverse Stockholm syndrome.” I closed my eyes. This girl would be the death of me. “I don’t care about syndromes or whatever the hell meringue is. I’m not playing around,” I said, fighting to ke ep my voice even. “I need you back here, where you’ll be safe. The Skulls’ friends know about the shelter and your apartment. Let me take care of them, then you can go wherever you want.” I’d send Shane or Malcolm with her for security , but technically she could go anywhere.
“It’s so sweet of you to care, but I’ll be fine,” she said softly, before her voice strengthened. “Despite what Vince thinks, I can protect myself.” Her determination to prove herself made me scowl. What the hell did Vince say to her? Sadie cleared her throat again. “By the way, you didn’t happen to put a tracking app on my phone, did you?” “No, but I should’ve.” “Davian!” I grunted. “Will you at least go to the shelter so my guys can ke ep you safe?” Another pause. “That d epends. Will they take me back to your compound if I do that?” I hadn’t not considered that option, so I couldn’ t lie to her. “This is the safest place for you right now .” She heaved another sigh—heavier than the last one. “That’s what I thought,” she whispered. “No, I’m not going to the shelter.” I leaned over the counter , not recognizing my own voice when it dropped to a rasp. “Y ou’re killing me here, sweetheart.” Yelling sounded on her end of the call, and Sadie’s voice turned muffled. “I’m sorry, Dav, but I can’t be your sweetheart right now. I need to go.” “Don’t hang —” Click . A string of curses flew from my mouth, and I had half a mind to launch my phone at the wall. But I couldn’ t risk Sadie not being able to reach me. Which left me standing in the middle of the kitchen, glaring at my phone like an idiot. Vince was doing a piss-poor job of hiding a smirk as his shoulders shook, and I sneered at him. “What are you laughing at?” He coughed into his fist and kicked off the wall. “Nothing. I just feel like I’m witness ing history. Never thought I’d see the day you lose your cool over a woman.” I shook my head, but I couldn’ t argue. It was true. “I told you to stay out of my sight.” His smirk only widened. “I won’t apologize for looking out for you, because that girl will only bring you trouble. But I’m here to make things
right. What’s the plan?” “Get word to our team at the shelter in case she goes there anyway .” I pocketed my phone and headed for the garage. “Any word from Malcolm and Shane?” “They’re on the road but haven’t found the van yet,” he said, following me. “Where are you going?” I pulled out my gun and checked the clip. “T o get Sadie.” For once, Vince held his tongue and didn’ t try to stop me. Smart man. He followed me to the mudroom, where I k ept an extra pair of shoes for quick d epartures. Exc ept I paused in the doorway , because my shoes weren’t here. Instead, a brown stick covered in chew marks sat in their place. A flicker of rage sparked in my chest as my eyes fell shut, and I took a de ep breath. That fucking hellhound .
S a d i e Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-T aking Being T aken Hostage Forming a Partnership with Y our Hostage Embracing the Hostage Lifestyle Not Freaking Out Es caping, T ip #28: Choose your es cape vehicle wisely . Bulky vans that max out at 42 mph and lack pr oper safety harnesses might not be the ideal choice for quick getaways. Well, that could’ve gone better . I set my phone on the van floor with shaking fingers and patted Bear’s chest, wishing I could erase that embarrassing phone call from my memory . “What was that about a man locked in a shed?” Gladys asked from the front. She’d slowed down considerably while I’d taken Davian’ s call— especially after a taco truck had cut her of f. I winced. “It’ s a long story .” “I want to know more about the meringue metaphor ,” Ryan said. “What were you smoking when you came up with that?” I rubbed my eyes with a sigh. “I don’ t know. It made sense in my head.” The following silence as we drove grew way too awkward before Gladys finally broke it. “You weren’t kidding about that bastard being sweet on you, were you?” To my embarras sment, tears welled in my eyes, and I fought to blink them back. “It doesn’ t matter now .”