Page 55 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

I’ll stroll in once they’ve overpowered his men, and place the cuffs on Luca’s wrists myself. The anticipation of this has me smiling genuinely as I heed Luca’s insistence and make my way down to the kitchen to meet with Clara.

As soon as I meet the cook, she begins showing me around. She probably has instructions from her boss to keep me occupied while he goes out to meet his buyers. I feign interest in the pantry, making Clara believe I’m paying attention to the different pasta shapes while I watch Luca leave. Through the windows, I watch him enter the toolshed in the backyard and wait for my team to arrive.

Anticipation builds in my chest when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spot someone in the backyard who shouldn’t be there. In human form, Stryder is out in the open just as a blacked-out SUV pulls into the driveway.

“Oh, no…” I murmur, feeling the first traces of panic rise like bile in my throat. I was so sure everything was going as planned. I didn’t think Stryder would show up at the wrong time.

I have no idea what he’s doing here – not when I haven’t seen him in two days. I thought I made it clear enough that he shouldn’t interfere like he did before.

But then again, he seems to have forgotten all about that, firmly believing that Luca is my boyfriend and that I’m once again just a vulnerable pawn in a game of men.

“Excuse me, Clara,” I tell the cook, heading to the back door.

“Miss!” she calls out after me. “We’re not done!”

“We are for now!” I shout back before shutting the door behind me. I have no idea what I’m doing; I just need to stop Stryder before he ruins our bust.

I steal toward the side of the shed, inwardly praying that the cook doesn’t inform Luca that ran out before the team can make their bust. Nimbly tiptoeing around, I watch as Hawks and the other agents enter the shed, then spot Stryder just behind the door.

“Psst! Stryder!” I call out, low enough so my voice isn’t caught by Luca and his men inside the shed. He hears me, turns, and sets glowing, fiery green eyes on me. Those glowing eyes appear blank for a few seconds, as if he’s a million miles away, lost in a mind link of sorts. What startles me is how different the look in his eyes is right now. It’s not like anything I’ve seen before.

“Stryder…?” I call out in surprise when his eyes turn jetted, and he marches toward me. I can hear Hawks speaking in his forged Russian accent inside the toolshed, pretending to be the buyer.

“You’re in danger,” Stryder says matter-of-factly as he swiftly scoops me into his arms and bursts into dragon form. The wind is knocked out of me with how quick he is to lift us into the air. With no prior warning, just as he did before.

“Stryder! Let me go!” I demand as he flies us up to the clouds. I fight against the strength of his scaled arm to get his attention.

It’s enough to get him to slow down above a mountain near the villa. Once he sets me down, my anger and frustration boil to the surface, and I yell at him while he shifts into human form.

“Why the hell did you do that?! I needed to be there!”

“What for, Olivia?” he bites back with equal might as he grabs me by the shoulders, glaring into my eyes. “Do you wish to protect that man?”

“No, Stryder, goddamnit!” I huff in frustration. “I was gonna arrest him!”

“Arrest him?” Stryder frowns, releasing my shoulders and stepping back in confusion.

“Yes,” I sigh, going on to explain what I was doing there all along – from the moment Stryder first suspected I was in danger and whisked me out of a fake kidnapping situation.

“Wait…” he frowns when I’m done explaining things to him. “So you’re telling me that he’s not your boyfriend?”

I roll my eyes and rush to the edge of the cliff. From up here, I’m able to squint and see the villa, trying to get a better view of the toolshed in the backyard. I step closer in my attempt to figure out what’s going on when my foot slips, and I squeal.

“Olivia!” Stryder yelps as his strong arms catch me, and he spins me over into his firm embrace. “You’re gonna get yourself killed!”

The way he glares at me with distinct reproval glinting in his eyes has me calming down. It’s the very same look I saw in his eyes when he caught me from the mountaintop on Aurora Island. The look of a man determined to protect me at all costs.

“I–I don’t want to die,” I admit tersely with a gulp.

“Then why do you insist on getting yourself into situations where your life is in danger?” he angrily grouches, steadying me on my feet. He doesn’t let go of my arms, staring at my face intently.

“Because…” I pause, realizing at that moment that this is precisely what I wanted. I needed to know that he truly cares for me, and perhaps that’s why I chose to put myself back in a position of danger. “... Because I know you’ll be there to protect me,” I admit at last.

A moment of silence passes as we stare into each other’s eyes deeply. The tension between us is ripe, and Stryder is the one who breaks the silence first.

“Is whatever that’s happening down there really important to you?” he asks.

I nod nervously. In truth, it’s not as important as what’s happening between us right now. Still, I can’t imagine what would happen if those weapons fell into the wrong hands or if Luca Mancini continued his dealings and contributed to the world’s unrest.

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