Page 9 of Hot for Hostage

Vince stared at her blankly for a long beat before walking out the door—after dutifully turning the sign on the door to sayClosed—without another word.

The girl nibbled on her lip again. “I hope he got the message. This could turn messy if the police get involved.”

“I’m sure he got it. Maybe we should move away from the window, though?” I suggested without moving my eyes from her. “I imagine we wouldn’t want someone seeing a weapon and calling the police themselves.”

Her nervous gaze darted from my face to the window, and she nodded haltingly. The gun lowered a few inches before she raised it back to my chest. “Yeah. Good idea. We definitely wouldn’t want that. So… get your butt over on that stool! Right now!”

She waved the weapon again, and I hid a wince. She’s obviously never held one before, and the last thing I needed today was to get accidentally shot by a scared little bunny. My father would never let me live it down.

Conscious of the importance of keeping her at ease, I stepped slowly toward the two stools Bruno kept at his counter. Then I made myself comfortable on one of the too small seats—Bruno may be on to something with wanting enough room for tables—and waited to see what the little bunny would do next.

But she was busy staring at the gun like it was a ghost. “I never wanted it to go this far.”

I stifled a grin.

“Might as well fill me in now.” I glanced at the door to make sure no one was approaching before I gave her my full attention. “I’m listening.”

A small pink tongue darted out to lick her lips as she gathered herself, and my gaze zoned in on the innocent yet undeniably appealing act. The answering pang below my belt didn’t surprise me.

But the one in my chest did.

“I’m sorry about the extreme measures,” she said, actually sounding pretty torn up about it, “but I have to take you hostage for a little while.”

My brows shot up. “Hostage?”

She winced and glanced over her shoulder at the door. The gun wavered in her grip. “Just until this is taken care of. Once you do what I say, you’ll be free to go.”

This was getting better and better.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t hostages usually taken when the abductor needs someoneother thanthe hostage to complete a task? Or when there’s a ransom?” I asked slowly. “The hostage is held as a security measure, but they don’t do the task themselves.”

Her frown deepened. “This really isn’t the time for semantics, Mr. Reed. I’m the one with the gun, so if I say you’re my hostage, then you’re my hostage. Got it?”

Oh, I got it.

“Of course. My apologies. I’m your hostage,” I said, no longer hiding my grin.

And to think I’d thought today would be boring.

not your sweetheart

. . .

Sadie

Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-Taking, Tip #4: Don’t let your hostage’s good looks distract you from your mission.

Well, I was in quite the pickle now.

The good news was I finally had Davian Reed’s attention. He was right where I wanted him—with me pointing a gun at his face.

The bad news was I couldn’t seem to remember Gladys going into the details of what to do after this part. Just ask him to promise to make the hooligans return Bear and leave Happy Tails Haven alone?

It couldn’t be that easy.

The even worse news was Davian was incredibly handsome, and I found it more than a little difficult to concentrate with his piercing gaze on me.

And now he probably thought I was a crazy psycho about to shoot him.

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