Page 165 of Exposé

His hand wrapped around my upper arm, and he hauled me to my feet. "Petulant child," he grunted.

I stumbled. "If being a child means that I'm not going to allow you to cart me off to my death without issue, then fine. I'll be that brat you think I am."

He steered me toward the door, his fingertips digging into my tender flesh as he opened the motel door. "If you cause a scene, I won't hesitate to eliminate anyone who comes to your aid. Keep that in mind."

His eyes darted around the parking lot, always on the lookout.

"Where are we going?"

Nate led me towards my car, his lips pursed, his jaw ticking as we stepped off the curb and rounded the front of the car. He opened my passenger door and dropped me inside.

"We’ll need to ditch this."

"Oh, and what? Steal another?" I adjusted my numb fingers behind me as he leaned in and buckled me. "How very noble of you."

He shot me a look and then slammed the door shut, leaving me caged in the suffocating quiet of my own thoughts.

Nate stood by the door, his head tipped toward the dark, star-riddled sky.

32

Ava

My mind whirled with unspeakable chaos as he moved around the front, climbed into the driver’s side, and turned the key.

The engine roared as he gripped the wheel.

My car, under his command.

My decisions stripped away.

"What am I going to do with you, Ava?" He glanced around before pulling away from the parking lot and making his way down the street.

"Let me go?"

He let out a dry, skeptical huff, shooting me a side-eye before merging onto the freeway. "If I let you go, then you're as good as dead."

I rolled my eyes. "You're going to kill me, anyway."

"Who said that?"

"So you're not taking me to a remote location to kill me and dump my body?"

He raised a brow and huffed. "You have quite the imagination, my little recluse."

Recluse?

"So, how did you find my apartment? Assuming that was you who left my door wide open."

“I’m not telling you a damn thing.” I yanked my hands apart with a sharp jolt, my shoulders jarring up and down like a see-saw. Pain shot through my wrists, white-hot and blinding, tearing a cry from my throat.

He reached over and placed his bloody hand over my thigh with a gentleness that caught my breath in my throat. "You seem to have an affinity for trying to hurt yourself, so let me save you the trouble of trying. Those are military-grade cable ties, and the only thing taking them off is a knife or a really sharp pair of scissors."

"Take them off." I moved my leg away from him. "If you aren't going to hurt me, then take them off."

"No."

"Then tell me where we’re going?"

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