Page 81 of Hot for Hostage

But I was afraid.

Afraid of seeing his father again.

Afraid of Davian saying hewasengaged. That Iwasthe other woman.

Or maybe I was afraid he wasn’t engaged, because then I’d be forced to face how my feelings for him had grown stronger than I’d thought.

To my mortification, tears welled in my eyes, and I swiped them away. I wouldnotcry.

Not yet.

But what I’d told Davian out by the pool was the truth. I wasn’t just hot for my hostage.

Icaredabout him.

Stupid, foolish feelings.

Why couldn’t I have fallen for Bruno and spent my days hanging out in his ice cream shop? Or I could’ve asked Mr. Sanders to be my sugar daddy—despite him being woefully sugarless and only attracted to men.

Instead, I had to fall for my hostage and make things a bazillion times more complicated.

“Bear?” I called into the forest when I reached the tree line. The woods stretched further than I could see, seemingly endless from this angle. Just how many acres did Davian live on? “Come here, boy!”

Only a few chirping birds answered, and I glanced over my shoulder at the empty grounds. Despite the warm summer day, it was spooky all alone out here.

I took a deep breath and ventured into the woods.

With a canopy of trees blocking the sun from beating down on me, the temperature cooled quickly as I trekked through the forest. I crossed my arms against the chill and kept calling Bear’s name.

I’d been walking for a few minutes before I heard a response, but it sounded nothing like my furry friend’s bark. I turned inthe direction of the noise, listening closely and walking toward it. “Bear?”

Another muffled sound answered, and I rushed forward—forcing my way through the brush and some plant with pointy little thorns before stumbling into a clearing.

In front of me, an old wooden shed sat in a small grove of trees. It was surrounded by overgrown brush and looked too sturdy to be abandoned, but the middle of the woods seemed like an odd place to keep a shed.

“Hello?” I called, slowing as I approached it. “Is anyone here?”

A faint voice came from inside. “Help me, please…”

I sucked in a breath. It was a man’s voice—hoarse and threadbare. He must’ve been yelling for help for a long time.

I ran over to the shed, heart thundering against my rib cage.

“Sir?” I called through the door, grasping the handle. “Are you stuck in there?”

The door didn’t move when I pulled, which made sense when I spotted a large silver padlock keeping it shut. My heart stuttered a few beats. The door getting jammed and trapping him inside would be one thing, but there was no way this man had accidentally locked himself inside with a padlock.

Someone had put him there.

“Yes, please let me out!” he cried, making me flinch. I could feel his desperation through the door. “Or he’ll kill me.”

My jaw dropped. “Someone’s going tokillyou?”

Not on my watch. That decided it, and I went into panicked fixing mode.

“Hold on, sir,” I told him, grasping the padlock with both hands and trying to jiggle it free. It didn’t budge. “I’ll get you out!”

A broken sob echoed from inside.

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