Page 61 of Oh No, My Kidnapper Is Hot!

“For a kidnapper, you’re awfully unwilling to deal with the consequences of kidnapping someone,” I point out.

“I’m not unwilling,” he answers. I raise my eyebrows at my pasta. If it could, it would raise its back. “I’m not,” he repeats. “I’d sleep in that cot for a thousand years if that’s what it took to keep you by my side.”

Okay, Mister Dramatic.

“You’re kind of a drama queen, you know that?” I’m not joking, but he bursts into a huge, booming belly laugh. It lasts six minutes according to the clock on the stove. I am unimpressed.

“I’m being serious,” I tell him. He makes a valiant effort of sobering and gives me big, exaggerated nods.

“Yeah, sweetheart.I’mthe drama queen.” He chuckles as he returns to his, hopefully cold, food. I narrow my eyes.

“You’re not implying thatI’mthe drama queen?” I ask.

“I would never,” he says. Uh huh.

I push my empty plate back and cross my arms.

“Keep poutin’, darlin’. It makes me want to kiss you.”

“Where’s your gun?” I ask. He laughs – not the booming one from before but not a gentle one either.Again,I am not joking.

“You’re hilarious,” he says, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

“Two days!” I snap, swatting him away. His smile is predatory.

“One now,” he tells me.

“What?! The day isn’t even over!”

“Two days. Forty-eight hours, and it started yesterday night. Been twenty-four hours since then, sweetheart. You got twenty-four left.”

I glare at him, then at the clock. It’s 7:00 pm. Leave it to Stryker to know the exact time he made his stupid promise.

I take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. Stryker’s deadline doesn’t even matter because Archie’s plan will have me at the Pacific by 7:00 pm tomorrow. I just have to trust Archie... the lunatic who carves people up in his basement for fun.

Yep. Totally going to be okay.

Chapter Twenty-One

Thirty minutes past midnight, I jolt upright in bed at the sound of gunshots.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Stryker reacts quickly, striding across the room gun in hand. He moves with an intimidating grace, blending into the darkness as if it were an extension of himself. My heart races at the sight. He’s just so… confident. Capable.

I let myself admire him for a moment, as a silent goodbye of sorts.

He pauses at the door and turns to me.

“Stay here. Lock yourself in the bathroom. Do not come out until you hear me or Baz.”

Without waiting for a response, he leaves, trusting me to follow his instructions.

That’s his mistake.

I throw off the covers and dash to my dresser. Fast, fast, fast – I dress. I aim only for warmth, knowing I’ll have time to worry about fashion later. What matters now is speed.

I pull on a pair of boots, then turn to the windows and open the nearest one. I push on the bars outside of it, and they swing away from the cabin’s siding, making a gap just wide enough for me to slide through. It’s exactly like Archie said it would be. I let out a sigh of relief. It’s working!

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