Page 133 of Hot for Hostage

At least, that’s how I explained finding myself pressed up against an SUV with Davian Reed’s tongue down my throat.

I couldn’t recall why I’d ever thought this was a bad idea.

I was even two seconds away from unbuttoning the suit jacket I’d borrowed from him, when Davian broke the kiss without any warning.

It was just in time for a giant furball to come flying in our direction—only to be stopped by Davian grabbing him by the scruff of his neck.

“Not this time, hellhound,” Davian grumbled, surprisingly hostile considering he was talking to a dog.

But I was thrilled.

“Bear!” I beamed. The poor boy looked so confused, standing frozen on his hind legs where Davian still held him. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you.”

I threw my arms around him with a laugh. Bear’s tail was putting in overtime with how fast it wagged, and he fought against Davian’s hold in his efforts to lick every inch of my face. I couldn’t stop giggling as I gave him a healthy rubdown. “I love you, too, buddy.”

And he wasn’t alone.

Over Bear’s shoulder, the Dog-Mobile raced toward us. Relief made my knees wobble.

My friends were here, and they were okay.

“Good boy,” I cooed to Bear, blinking back tears. Davian finally loosened his hold enough to let Bear paw at me excitedly.

The Dog-Mobile screeched to a stop in front of us, with both Ryan and Gladys popping out seconds later.

“Sadie Marie Morris!” my elderly friend belted, marching up to us with a scowl. “I should call your mother on you, youfoolishgirl.”

“Gladys, you’re okay!” I urged Bear down and pulled her into a hug before giving Ryan one, too. Bear whined, so I crouched and wrapped him in another hug, which he gladly accepted. “I was so worried about you three.”

“Youwere worried? We weren’t the ones who got abducted.” Her scowl deepened, and she wiggled a boney finger in my face. “Don’t youeversacrifice yourself like that again. You hear me?”

A throat cleared, and I froze with my arms around Bear before risking a peek at Davian.

With his hands in the pockets of his slacks, he raised a dark brow at me. “This is news to me. What does she mean you sacrificed yourself?”

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I shrugged and patted Bear’s head. “Well, Zain threatened to hurt Bear, and no waycould I let that happen. So, I went with them. But it wasn’t a sacrifice! I knew you would help me.”

“Of course I would.” The look he gave me said we would be talking about this later. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he sent a flat look at Gladys and Ryan. “You were supposed to wait around the corner on the next street until we came to get you.”

Gladys blinked innocently. “We were just making sure you didn’t bungle getting Sadie back.”

Uh-oh.

I forced out a nervous laugh at Gladys’s sudden bravery. What had happened to the woman who was shaking in her boots when she saw Davian? I almost missed her.

“She doesn’t mean that,” I told Davian.

“Of course I do,” Gladys snapped, frowning at him. “And can you blame us? After you missed me and Ryan busting Sadie out of your dark lair, we had some doubts about your reputation.”

“Gladys,” I hissed when a scary look crossed Davian’s face. “Please stop baiting him. There’s no need for that.”

This was turning into a nightmare. Why couldn’t my friends and Davian just get along?

Gladys rounded on me instead. “You’re right. I should be checking on you. What happened? What’d that dirty scoundrel do to you? Should we take you to the hospital?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Nothing a nice bubble bath and baking marathon won’t fix,” I assured her. But Davian was quiet behind me, and I could feel a heavy, uncomfortable tension that hadn’t been there earlier. The need to break it was overwhelming, and I tried to think of anything funny to share. “And it wasn’t all bad. I even learned something new about myself today—I don’t hold up very well under torture.”

I laughed, but it quickly trailed off when no one else joined in.

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