Page 10 of Captured Heart

“Alexander?” She plays with the name, testing it on her tongue. Her fingers move up to the silver chain around her neck, and she toys with the heart-shaped locket as she thinks about it. “Alexander. Hm? Now, why does that suit you better than John? You look like an Alex.”

She’s teasing, but the weight of those words sinks into the deepest part of me.Alex.I can’t remember the last time I heardsomeone call me that. Even the prison guards always addressed me by my last name. Hearing it throws me off a bit, and the way she looks at me makes me feel exposed. Like she can see through me, into me, like she’s the only one in this room who can see therealme.

“I do.” I say it as a confirmation, but she interprets it as a question.

“You do.” Her focus moves back to Corey. “Well, it’s leg day, so I’d better get started.”

I clock the key and keychain dangling from her hand as she adjusts her gym bag on her shoulder. It’s for a car I know all too well, a car I could use very effectively in this not-so-solid-just-gonna-wing-it plan of mine.

“It was nice meeting you, Alex.”

Again, it takes me a moment to recover from that. “Likewise.”

“See you tomorrow, Corey.”

She waves before making her way to the locker rooms. She emerges a few minutes later and walks past the boxing ring to the leg machines on the other side of the gym. After slipping her EarPods in, she stretches her arms, then her legs.

My eyes stay on her, completely fixated, because I still can’t get over how different she looks. She looked kind of skinny in the photo, but those clothes do nothing to hide her shape. Her five-foot-four frame is petite, but I can see the outline of her lean legs, her toned stomach.

It's a contradiction to the rest of her. Her tits are full and supple. Her ass is thick and plump. It’s the kind of body that can bring a grown man to his knees. She’s built for...endurance. Strong enough to take the force, soft enough to cushion the blow.

I feel a twitch in my gym shorts and drag my eyes up to her face. Doesn’t make much of a difference, though. Looking at her face is not as sexual, but just as alluring. This chick is stunning, prettier than I ever expected. She’s absolutely—

“If you stare any harder, you’re gonna burn a hole straight through her.”

Corey’s voice snaps me back to the moment. I didn’t even realize I was staring until he spoke.

“You look like you’ve never seen a girl before,” Zayn adds.

In my defense, I haven’t seen one in years, and I’veneverseen one who looks...like that.

“Her stance isn’t quite right,” I reply. “I was just checking out her form.”

“Oh, her form?” Corey nods. “It wasn’t her ass he was checking out, Zayn. It was herform.”

Zayn nods along as well. “I was also mistaken because his eyes were laser-focused on that particular area, but I guess we were both wrong.” He shrugs. “Thanks for clearing that up, John. For a moment there, we couldn’t decide if you were a perv or a love-struck puppy, but now we know. You’re just a guy...staring at a girl...silently asking to be her personal trainer.”

“Did you just adapt Notting Hill?” Corey chuckles. “Classic!”

They high-five each other, then smile at me like the dorks they are. All they get in response is an unimpressed glare.

“And after all that effort to introduce the two of you,” Corey adds, “you didn’t even flirt with her.”

“Flirt?” Zayn slaps the back of his hand against my chest like a disappointed coach urging me to do better. “He barely eventalkedto her. Dude, you froze up like a lake in Alaska.”

“Gimme a break, will ya? I haven’t spoken to a girl in ages.”

“Well, it shows.” Corey moves to lie down on the bench again. “And if guys like us feel like we have more game than you...something is clearly wrong.”

“Whatever.” I don’t have time to bicker over bullshit. I have a job to do. “Listen, I need to take a leak. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I sneak outside and scan the parking lot for Katelyn’s car. It’s easy enough to spot because there aren’t many cars, andher sedan stands out like a sore thumb amongst the expensive luxury brands.

She has an older model from the early 2000s, silver but faded to a dull gray. It’s seen better days. I recognize the type immediately. I’ve broken into cars like this too many times before. No fancy alarms, no GPS trackers. Just basic locks and a simple ignition. Easy to mess with if you know what you’re doing.

I look around before I walk toward it, careful to stay out of sight. It’s almost dark, which makes it harder for someone to see me. When I reach the car, I crouch beside the driver’s side wheel and pop the hood latch with a swift flick of my wrist. It’s an older mechanism, and the hood lifts with a faint creak.

The engine is simple and just needs a few tweaks. I scan the wires and locate the ignition coil. A quick disconnect of one of the primary leads will prevent the engine from starting, but it’s an easy fix, one I can undo in seconds.

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