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There’s only one way to find out. “Keep your face tucked close to my back!” I shout, as if that will help if another explosive device tears our asses apart. I take a deep breath, brace myself, then fling open the back door and burst outside.

There is nothing to compare with the relief of the fresh night air hitting my face, leaving the fire behind.

The girl bouncing on my shoulder hasn’t stopped babbling. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening, oh my God.”

Then she screams. “It’s coming down!”

Sure enough, we haven’t gotten more than twenty feet from the building when it collapses in on itself thanks to the fire that’s now completely destroyed it. There are close calls, and then there’s what just went down.

For better or worse, I saved her life.

I just hope I don’t end up regretting it.

Chapter Five

June

“This can’t be happening. All of this has to be a nightmare I’m stuck in. Who actually gets kidnapped and rescued from a burning house just to get kidnapped again? All on the same day! No one!” I ramble on, looking at Adrian’s firm butt while he carries me who knows where. I’m used to dealing with anxiety, but right now I’m so high-strung I don’t know how to process.

“Who says I’m kidnapping you?” he asks, humor in his voice.

“Well, for one, I’m still tied up. Two, I’m slung across your shoulder instead of walking. Three, you haven’t called the police, and something tells me you are not going to either. So I’m concluding you are not a good guy.”

He suddenly stops walking. Leaning forward, he lets me slide off his shoulder and gently sets me on my feet. He reaches for something inside his jacket, pulling out a knife a moment later. I freeze at the sight of the shiny blade, fear gripping hold of me, making it hard to breathe.

“That’s it. He is going to kill me.”

“Why would I come all the way out here to save your ass just to stab you right after?” he argues before reaching for my hands and cutting the zip ties in one swift move. The knife slices through the plastic with ease, my restraints fall away, and I groan with relief. Shaking my hands, I force blood to rush back into my fingers.

“I don’t know! None of this makes any sense to me. Who are you? Who was that other guy and why is he after you? Most importantly, is he going to keep coming after me?” I voice 5 percent of the questions swirling around in my head. “Oh my God! He totally is going to come after me again! You came, which only solidified his ridiculous theory about us being a couple . . . Wait. Why did you come?” Then I remember my captor threatening to hurt Emily. “My sister! He knew about her and said he was going to hurt her.”

I’m in full-on panic mode now. My heart is racing in my chest, my breathing becomes shallow, and my knees feel like they are about to give out.

“Hey, just calm down,” he says, as if calming down simply hasn’t occurred to me. If anything, it makes me freak out more, because he hasn’t answered any of my questions or denied my accusations, which means I’m probably right. I’m in so much fucking trouble, and there is a high chance that my sister or I or both of us are getting hurt.

My lungs ache with the lack of oxygen as I really struggle to suck in air now. My vision goes blurry, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to pass out when a set of big strong hands wraps around my upper arms to steady me.

“Breathe,” Adrian orders in a stern but kind of gentle tone.

Staring up at his blurry face, I suck in the smallest amount of air, barely enough to keep me from blacking out. I close my eyes and concentrate on filling my lungs and not dying.

Just when I’m about to give up all hope, something so crazy happens, I’m certain I actually died and this is my welcome committee into heaven.

Adrian kisses me. He kisses me. On the lips!

His grip on my arms tightens as he pulls me closer to his body. My breasts press up against his firm chest, my nipples so hard they must be poking him through our clothes.

I take in a deep breath through my nose, and my whole body relaxes against him.

As quick as the kiss began, it ends even faster. One second his warm lips are pressed against mine, the next I’m smooching nothing but the cool air.

Blinking my eyes open, I find Adrian staring at me suspiciously. He is still very close, and half of my front is pressed against him. I’m not used to having someone in my personal space like that. I’ve never even kissed anyone. Unless you count Tim from second grade, which I really don’t. At least, not now that I know firsthand what a real kiss feels like.

“You good?” Adrian asks, peeling himself away from me carefully.

Only now do I notice that his kiss snapped me out of my panic attack. I’m breathing fine, my heart rate has returned to normal, and the crippling anxiety has simmered down by a lot.

“Yeah, I think so.” As soon as I confirm the situation is under control, Adrian releases me and takes a step back.