When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t surprised to see that Ryder was gone. With wrists and ankles bound, though, it would’ve taken him quite a while to wiggle any amount of distance, and even if he’d done it all night—how far did he get?

“Looking for me?” Ryder held up a cup of coffee and a muffin. Cranberry, my favorite.

My jaw dropped. “What the—”

“If you can do it, so can I,” Ryder said.

“But I—”

“I did too.”

“Were you just watching me sleep?” I gasped.

Ryder nodded. “Pretty much. For about an hour now.”

“I don’t understand. How did you—”

Ryder glanced down at his shoes. “Paracord shoelaces. Ever heard of a friction saw?”

I shook my head. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is the only reason I let you subdue me was I figured you deserved to vent your rage. But I wasn’t about to let myself stay tied up all night just to make you feel better.”

“You—” I ogled the coffee. It smelled amazing, even though it was just the cheap crap from McDonald’s. My stomach grumbled loudly at the sight of the cranberry muffin. It was fresh, I could tell.

“I jogged to McDonald’s this morning,” Ryder said. “I’ve got hash browns and a sandwich over there.” He nodded over at the makeshift table he’d set up using four cinder blocks and an old chessboard. On top of it sat another coffee and two brown bags.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I had no idea how to feel or what to even think about this. Us. “This is—what the hell are we doing, Ryder?”

Ryder put down the coffee and sat next to me on the sofa. For a moment, he buried his head between his knees and remained silent, as if he was struggling with some inner turmoil. Then, he looked up at me, his hooded eyes softer. He wrapped a finger around a tendril of my hair and hooked it behind my ears. “I have no fucking idea, Cally. But it’s too late now. That ransom note will reach your dad sometime today. I mailed it express.”

“Maybe we can still—”

“It’s happening, Cally. And need I remind you, it was your plan all along?”

My lungs deflated like a popped balloon. “I hadn’t really thought it through.”

“Should we at least call a truce between the two of us? No more zip straps and no more lies? I think it’s clear that neither of those things will get us what we want. Trust?” Ryder held out his hand.

“I wouldn’t say ‘trust,’” I grumbled, slipping my hand into his for a handshake. How could I trust someone like him?

Ryder suddenly pulled me towards him until I was flush against his chest, and I could hear his stampeding heartbeat. His heat seeped through his shirt, warming my skin. If I was sleepy minutes ago, I wasn’t anymore. All of a sudden, a new sensation animated what had been dormant, and I felt an unwanted tightening between my legs. Ryder’s chest rose and fell in short, ragged bursts. I could feel his stubble against my neck, an infuriating sensation that somehow made my nipples tighten. My body was betraying me in the worst way, and I groaned.

“Cally, no matter what happens…I just…I want to thank you, for helping me.”

I tried to pull back, but he held me tight, his arm tucked under my chin. He hugged me as if his life depended on it, as if he wanted to tell me a million different things, but didn’t know how to voice them. I shook my head and denied my feelings, hating the explosion of butterflies that crowded my belly. “Let me go now,” I croaked.

“Just…can I just hold you for a minute? Can we forget about reality for one blissful minute?”

“You’re freaking me out, Ryder.”

Ryder’s thumb brushed against my cheek. “Once we do this…there’s no turning back. I know I’m going to lose you.”

“You never had me to begin with.”

Ryder rested his cheek against the top of my head. I could feel his breath against my ear. “In this moment, you are mine. Give me my moment in the sun, Cally.”

“You’re…I—” I stopped talking and relaxed my body against his embrace. I should’ve felt trapped in his arms, but for some reason, I felt secure. “Okay. Just for a little while.” Maybe, for just a minute, I’d pretend with him. Pretend that we weren’t doomed from the start. Pretend that I could forgive his lies. Pretend we could combine our dysfunctional selves into a functional relationship.

When we woke up a few hours later, it was almost noon. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep against his chest, but I’d been so exhausted. I yawned and stretched my stiff arms.

“What now?” I asked, peeling myself off Ryder’s chest. I didn’t want to talk about the nap we’d just taken together, and he didn’t bring it up either.

Ryder flashed me a sleepy smile and ran a hand through his hair. “Other than wait?”

“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes and surveyed the dump. “This place is gross and depressing. A good hideout, but I’m bored to tears.”

Ryder shot me a wicked grin. “I can think of a few things. Do you want me to tie you up so you can experience the thrill of escaping again?”

“Not funny, Ryder.”

“Just an idea.”

“There’s nothing around here for miles. We have no vehicle. Pretty much no food. Very little cash, I’m guessing.”

Ryder dug through his jeans and pulled out a wadded fiver and a handful of coins. “I’ve got…seven dollars and eighty cents. Enough for a burger. We could share it.”

“You didn’t really think things through, did you?”

“I went to prison for sexual assault, not kidnapping,” Ryder deadpanned.

“Sexual assault is no joke.”

“Trust me, I know. The idea’s been ingrained into me for the past three years.” Ryder thought for a moment, then suggested, “How about we walk to the McDonald’s down the street? If we’re fast, it’ll only take forty minutes.”

“In Prada heels?” I asked, gesturing to my three-inch stilettos.

“Well, you should’ve been better prepared. You knew you were going to get kidnapped. You should’ve worn more comfy shoes.”

I stifled a smirk. I took off my shoes and rubbed my dry, chafed heels. Then, I seized the heels and snapped them off. “This’ll work.”

Ryder let out a low whistle. “Remind me never to piss you off again.”

“Lead the way.”

“You haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.”

“Oh. Right.” I went over the McDonald’s bags, dove inside them, and took out a soggy Egg McMuffin. The fact that Ryder was considerate enough to buy breakfast after I’d tied him up last night did not go unnoticed by me. Instead of being angry that I’d humiliated him, he was actually empathetic enough to realize that my actions had been justified. I took a big bite out of the Egg McMuffin and asked, “So what do we do when we’re out of food? Rob the Mickey Dee?”

“Why do you always resort to crime as an answer to all your problems?” Ryder teased.

“Need I remind you that you kidnapped me yesterday?” I said. “You’re the criminal.”

“Who you’re aiding and abetting,” he pointed out with another snicker. “That means you’re just as bad as me.”

“I have a good reason for doing all of this.”

“So do I,” Ryder countered, shoving the rest of his hash brown into his mouth. He used so much ketchup it oozed out of the corners of his lips. He looked like a sloppy child with no table manners. Oddly and disturbingly enough, I found it endearing. Was I suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? Why was I attracted to a man hell-bent on destroying my family? I shouldn’t have felt any sympathy for him or his past, but I did. Most disturbing of all, I was willing to hurt my father just to help Ryder, a stranger I’d met a couple weeks ago. A stranger who’d been lying to me.

“I know why I want to find out the truth, but why do you, Cally? Wouldn’t it be better if you just continued to live in ignorance?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Thing is, Ryder, Orielle and I were best friends as children. Her family moved away while I was in middle school, that’s why I didn’t remember her at first. When I saw that photo in my dad’s drawer, and when you told me what had happened to her, I was physically disgusted. I couldn’t sleep, could hardly eat, knowing that my friend—that someone did those things to her.”

“Why work with me though? I hate your dad, and I’ve pretty much pegged him as a guilty, black-hearted bastard for almost four years. A killer. I’m clearly biased and the last person you should work with. How do you even know I’m innocent?”

I glared at Ryder. “I thought you wanted us to work together? Or have you changed your mind? Because with or without you, I’ll still find out the truth.”

Ryder reached over and squeezed my hand. “I…I had a terrible relationship with my father. You seem happy with yours. You have something that I will never know. It’s hard to imagine that the same man who put such light in your eyes is the one who destroyed me and my family three years ago.”

“Would you ever consider that my dad was innocent?” I asked.

“No,” Ryder replied without hesitation. “I did his dirty work. No way in hell he’s innocent. Question is whether or not he played a role in my arrest and imprisonment.”

“What if he didn’t?”

Ryder had no answer for that. Instead, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and took a bite of his sandwich. “Just eat. I want to get to McD’s soon. It’s going to be hot today, we need to stay hydrated. Seven bucks can buy us like five muffins, and it’ll do for now. Assuming your dad gets the note soon, he will call my burner and we’ll get this whole thing resolved maybe as soon as tomorrow.”

“Something tells me things won’t be so simple. He won’t go down without a fight.”

“Neither will we.”