Sometimes, you look at a woman and think she’s like an open book. A hooker wears fishnets. A librarian, turtleneck sweaters. A rich heiress, you think will be easy to fool, easier to bed, gullible, helpless, and most of all, clueless.

Stereotypes.

First impressions were everything, and the very first time I laid eyes on Callista Rayner, I thought she was a brat. Three years ago, at Rayner’s party, the very same one where I’d reunited with Thomas, Nica, and Ori, I saw Cally from across the room. A goddess in a midnight blue gown. Ravishing. Sexy. Bewitching.

When she spoke to her father, she had this light in her eyes. Such reverence. A fellow guest noticed me noticing her and told me that she was a feisty bitch. That she acted like she was better than everyone else. Like no one was good enough to be with her.

He told me to stay away from her because she was a daddy’s girl, and Paul Rayner would kill anyone who looked at his daughter the wrong way. That Rayner loved his daughter more than anyone and anything else. I wasn’t surprised when, later, Rayner introduced me to everyone but his daughter. When I casually mentioned that I had yet to meet his little princess, his face darkened and he replied, “Stay away from my baby girl, are we clear?” Of course, back then, I clung onto Paul’s every word and wouldn’t dare to disobey him. If Cally was off-limits, then she’d stay off-limits. There were plenty of women who’d readily spread their legs for me. I didn’t need to fuck my boss’s daughter just to prove something. Yet, there was a part of me that always craved a challenge. After all, I was the type of guy that hated being told no. But I wasn’t stupid, either. If Paul said he’d kill for his daughter, he probably meant it. So I waited. I figured one day, if I was still single, and I earned Paul’s respect, maybe I could get to know her…

Now Cally and I were working together. If Paul found out, he’d probably want to kill me even more. He’d think I turned his daughter against him. The target on my back grew every second I spent with Cally, but I didn’t give a fuck. Because despite telling myself I was doing this for payback, I also knew that a part of me was falling for her feisty personality. Her hypnotic voice. Her determination. She was the one I could never have. The one I wasn’t supposed to ever have. Yet, there she sat, right beside me, less than an arm’s length away. My heart rate spiked every time I heard her speak, and it took so much damn self-control not to reach over and touch her cheek. I wanted her so badly that for one desperate moment, I’d give it all up just to spend a normal day with her. For the first time in twenty-two years, I didn’t want to run away anymore. I was so sick of bottling up my emotions. So sick of neglect and betrayal and sick of the hatred I harbored in every cell of my body.

If I could have her, maybe I didn’t need vindication. If I could be with Cally, maybe I could start over. Be the new man I always wanted to be. A better man.

Flames, flames, flames. I was going down in flames for this woman. She was setting me on fire and I didn’t even care. I wanted to burn for her, and she didn’t even know.

If I kissed her, what would she say? How would she react? If I told her I was falling for her, would she ridicule and reject me? Probably. She’d already rejected me twice before. How could I let myself fall for this woman?

Once this was all over, would we become strangers again? Were we ever anything more than strangers to begin with?

“I normally hate bran,” Cally said, taking a bite of her bran muffin. “But I guess this isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me in the last twenty-four hours. I mean—” she lowered her voice, “—I had to piss in a bucket.”

I slurped down some of the ice water and nearly choked. “Think we can survive off four muffins over the next two days?”

“You left my purse in the car,” Cally groaned. “It’s going to get stolen for sure.”

“Not a lot of bad seeds in Glen County,” I said. “I parked it off Peach Street, by a school. It should be fine.”

“Only takes one.”

“We’re blackmailing your dad and all you can think about is your purse getting stolen?” I scoffed. “Priorities, lady, priorities.”

“You sure your burner is even turned on? That it has batteries?”

“Yes, for the third time.” I emptied my cup and stood to refill it. Walking in the heat left me thirstier than a withered cactus.

Cally drummed her fingers on the laminate countertop. “I feel like bees are making a hive inside me. If this plan comes crashing down, I’m going to get the shit stung out of me.”

“It’ll be all over soon. And stay optimistic,” I reassured her, pressing the grey button on the drink dispenser. More water shot into my plastic cup. “Do you want me to refill your cup too?”

“I’ll do it myself.” Cally brushed past me and began filling her cup. As she did so, she shot me a venomous glare.

“What did I do now?” I sighed.

Cally scrunched up her nose. “You reek.”

“Walking fifty miles in the sun, not showering, and sleeping in a junkyard does that to a person,” I retorted. “And newsflash, princess, you don’t smell too peachy yourself.”

Cally discreetly lifted up her collar and sniffed. Her disgusted expression spoke volumes. “I can’t believe you convinced me to sleep at The Turning Place.”

I didn’t convince so much as forced her to stay there, but I didn’t press the point. Last thing I wanted was to draw attention to ourselves at a local McDonald’s.

“I’m going to go, uh…freshen up,” Cally said, nodding to the restroom. “Guard my muffin till I come back.”

I nodded, trying to contain a smirk. “Aye-aye, captain.”

While Cally was in the bathroom, probably wiping down her sweaty body, my burner began vibrating in my pocket. Great.

I took it out, popped it open, and pressed the green ‘talk’ button. I didn’t speak; neither did the other party. For half a second, I considered hanging up, but then the speaker crackled to life. “Congratulations! You’ve won a luxury cruise to the Bahamas…” I hung up immediately, rolling my eyes. How the hell these companies got this number was beyond me. Now my heart rate was spiked for nothing.

Cally popped up behind me. “Did he call?”

I shook my head. “But apparently I won a luxury cruise to the Bahamas. Want to come with?”

Cally rolled her eyes. “Enough with the jokes, Ryder. I’m freaking out as it is, and your casual attitude isn’t making me feel any better.”

I wanted so badly to tell her I was freaking out a little too, but I remained calm. “Nothing I say or do will make you feel better. Only you can change the way you feel.”

After a moment, Cally conceded, “Yeah, you’re right.” She dug into her muffin with her index finger and clawed at the dry crumbs. “So we just hang around until Dad calls?”

“Pretty much. Unless you’ve got a brighter idea. Mickey D’s has A/C and free water on an eighty-five degree day. Can’t get better than that.”

“Wish I had my phone.”

“Sorry you can’t play Candy Crush Saga while we wait for your dad to ransom you.”

“Do you have to be so sarcastic?”

“Do you have to be so uptight? Just relax, all right?”

Cally’s cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, and she looked like she was about to say something, but then thought better of it. She tried again, parting her lips, but the words died in her throat. Resigned, she hopped off her stool and walked over to the grimy windowpane. “Just breathe,” I heard her mutter to herself. Her eyes shifted back and forth, like a panicked deer. Knowing her, she was probably picturing the worst-case scenario and then multiplying that by ten. I could practically see the stress radiating off her tense body.

I walked over and rested a hand on each of her hunched shoulders. I kneaded the taut muscles there. “Cally, just relax.”

Instead of relaxing her muscles, Cally nearly jumped. “Don’t touch me, Ryder. Don’t make me warn you again.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “Chill.” I nodded down at her hands. “Half-bitten nails don’t really suit you.”

She tucked the ragged evidence of her anxiety behind her back. “I just wasn’t expecting this.”

“What? You thought it’d be just like in the movies, where all the waiting and monotony gets skipped over and all you get are the car chases, explosions, and gory bits?”

“Not exactly…but not this, either.”

“Do you want to head back to Turning?”

“No way. It’s disgusting there.”

“We may have to stay there another night.”

Cally grimaced. “I’d rather sleep in a park.”

“Thought you said that was illegal?”

“It is. But so is sleeping in a junkyard. It’s technically private property and we’re trespassing.”

“Can’t ever win with you, can I?”

“No, you can’t.”

Our conversation became stilted again, and Cally chose to chew her bottom lip instead of exchanging any more words with me.

An hour and two muffins later, I grew a bit stir-crazy inside the restaurant, so I told Cally I’d go for a quick walk around the block. There was nothing else around except for a gas station, bank, and a coffee shop, but I needed to stretch my legs. Cally didn’t offer to accompany me, citing that she didn’t want to get heatstroke out there, and I couldn’t just leave her alone in a restaurant full of people, so I decided not to leave after all. I didn’t want to risk having her borrow a phone and call Daddy and ruin our entire plan because she was getting jumpy.

Another two hours passed, and some doubts were filtering into my mind as well. Paul had definitely received the package by now. His lack of initiative or action made me uneasy. He was probably in a meeting with his PR people and lawyers to decide the next logical step. But the longer he waited, the more likely our plan would fail. Its odds were already looking bleak, and a tiny part of me wanted to do as Kieran said, just drop it all and get the hell out of here.

At quarter past four, a tall, ponytail-clad woman and her beefy friend entered the restaurant, and something about the way they made eye contact with me from across the room made me want to run. She wore a leather jacket and combat boots, while her partner was clad in a too-tight t-shirt and jeans. She removed her shades, walked up to the counter, and began ordering something while her partner surveyed the room. I turned my back to them and tried to find Cally, but realized that a minute ago she’d said she was going to the bathroom. She’d drank too much water in an attempt to quell her anxiety. Now it was going right through her. I began walking towards the ladies’ room, as casually as possible, praying that my instincts were wrong. All that waiting probably made me stir-crazy. I had no reason to believe those two meant me any harm.

But when I turned around to look for them again, I found them standing right behind me.

“Ryder Williams?”

I shook my head and rubbed my nose. “No, sorry. I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”

Ponytail lady showed me a printout of my mugshot and I groaned. “Spittin’ image, I’d say. What do you think, Brian?”

Her partner, Brian, nodded. Then, as if to reassure me, he added, “We’re not here to arrest you.”

I didn’t believe a single word that came out of his mouth. “I’m telling you, that’s not me. You’ve got the wrong guy.”

“Ryder, we didn’t come here to arrest you, but if you keep lying, we might have to.”

“On what grounds? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“There’s a warrant out for your arrest. Your handsome mug is plastered across every screen in the state right now. Still want to deny it? The manager at McDonald’s noticed you loitering here and called the cops. They’ll be here any minute.”

She was bluffing. She had to be.

Just then, Cally pulled open the restroom door and looked at me, then at the couple blocking our way. “Ryder?”

“Stay inside the bathroom,” I instructed.

“What’s going on? Who are those people?”

“Just stay inside.”

Brian pulled out a golden badge that looked like the real deal. But these days, anyone could probably buy one just like it off of eBay. “FBI Agent Brian Matthews,” Brian whispered. “And if I were you two, I’d come with us, right now.”

Cally’s eyes widened. “Did my dad put you up to this?”

“No, but we’re here because we want to talk to you about your dad.”

“How did you find us?”

“We got an anonymous tip. Now please come with us. We’re parked out front.”

I looked at Cally, and her confused and terrified face resembled my own. “I guess we don’t really have a choice, do we?”

“Not unless you want to cause a scene,” Ponytail confirmed.

“Cally, let’s go.” I grabbed her hand, found it clammy, and gave it a squeeze. We had nowhere to run. We were on the side of the interstate surrounded by flat farmland for as far as the eye could see. The road was stretched long and straight behind and in front of us. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to go, least of all on foot. “Let’s just hear what they have to say.”

Cally remained rooted to the spot, putting up a show of resistance. Her jaw clenched. “We—”

“Move, bitch,” Ponytail grunted, prodding Cally in the back with two fingers.

“Excuse me?” Cally cried, her voice growing louder.

“Don’t cause a scene, Cally,” I murmured, gripping her shoulder. “Let’s just take this outside, okay?”

“Ryder, they could be—”

“If they are, they won’t hurt you. If they aren’t, they still have no reason to hurt you. They want me. You’re just collateral.”

Cally looked like she was about to throw up as she followed the FBI agents outside. I felt even more nervous. If these two were really FBI agents, I was fucked already.