Page 11 of Accidentally Kidnapping the Groom

Until now. Now I’ve committed a felony.

Jay tries to move, but the zip ties around his wrists keep him pinned to the chair. The sound of plastic grating against wood fills the room as he struggles against his bonds.

I found the zip ties in the back of the van.

After I found Jay, covered in food, and passed out. It was a pain to drag him into this cabin. Who knew someone in such great shape could weight that much?

“April,” he growls, his voice thick with anger and confusion. “What the fuck is this?”

I flinch, my pulse thudding in my ears. I take a step back, my boot scraping against the floor.

“Jay, please,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Just…just calm down.”

His body jerks as he pulls harder against the zip ties. “I’m tied to a fucking chair, April! Untie me. Right now.”

“I can’t.” The words taste bitter coming out.

His nostrils flare, his jaw tightening until I swear I hear his teeth grind. “You did this,” he spits. “What the hell is wrong with you? Who are you working with?”

Guilt claws at my ribs. I shake my head. “I’m not working with anyone, but had to tie you up.”

“You had to?” He lets out a short, humorless laugh, but there’s nothing funny about the fury burning in his eyes. “Let me the fuck go.”

If only it were that simple. I swallow hard, scanning the inside of the cabin. I lit the logs in the fireplace when I first got here. We’re up in the mountains, in a remote area, and a winter storm is coming through. Luckily, the cabin is well stocked with food and firewood. This is my neighbors’ vacation home. They told me where the key was, in case I got here before them. WhichI did. But judging from how heavily the snow falls outside the window right now, I don’t think they’ll be making the drive until the storm passes.

“I need you to listen to me,” I say, voice lower now, urgent. “I’ve put you in danger, but I didn’t know you were in the back of the car.”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “I don’t give a shit about your games, April. I don’t know what this is, but you need to?—”

“My dad stole something from the Russian mob,” I blurt out. The words taste like gasoline on my tongue. “And they think I know where it is, so they’re chasing me. They’ve been chasing me for six years. And now, because of me, they’ll be after you, too.”

His face goes blank for half a second before his expression hardens again. “What the fuck?”

I swallow back the rising panic clawing at my throat. “I know it sounds bonkers, but it’s the truth.”

His chest rises and falls with deep, measured breaths. “You should’ve told me,” he says finally, voice still edged with anger. “I thought we were friends.”

“Friends.” The laughter bubbling up inside me is laced with hysteria. “I have had no real friends for six years. You are my boss and we fucked once, that’s all.”

His eyes lock onto mine, sharp as broken glass. “If that’s all, why did you sneak out and avoid me for days?”

I suck in a breath. “I panicked.” Sex with Jay unsettled me. I’m still processing the emotions it brought up. Okay, fine, I’ve suppressed all the emotions it brought up and am in denial about feeling anything for Jay. “I had bigger problems,” I say weakly.

He sighs. “April, just untie me. I have to call my brother and I have to call Charlotte. I was supposed to get married today.”

An icepick stabs my chest. “Married,” I whisper. “You fucked me silly on the desk in your office a few days before your wedding to another woman?”

Jay flinches. “When you say it like that, it sounds bad. But I can explain?—"

I lift my hand and shake my head. “Shut the fuck up.” The betrayal is so sharp, I lose my breath for a moment. I thought Jay was one of the good guys. I stagger to the couch across from the chair where I tied him up and sink into it.

Jay exhales slowly, shaking his head again. “Untie me, April.”

“I can’t,” I say, and this time my voice cracks. “Not yet.” I have to figure out what to do first, but his marriage news has blocked my brain.

“Goddamn it, April.” He yanks at the zip ties again, veins straining in his forearms. He looks like he’s about to break the damn chair.

“Who are you marrying?” I ask. “Why hasn’t anyone at Lola’s met your fiancée?” I’m pretty sure Liam or Iris would have told me if they knew Jay was about to get married. The two of them love gossip and are the opposite of discrete when they have tea to spill.

---