The office is pitch black, but knowing that Hunter has saved me and is still protecting me, the darkness doesn’t even scare me.

I keep trying to spit out the metallic taste of that asshole’s blood in my mouth. I was really careful not to swallow any. As gross as it is, it felt fucking good to bite that asshole. And if I hadn’t, I might be dead. If Hunter hadn’t found me and come to my rescue, I would most definitely be dead. I’d already heard the three guys talking about how they were going to kill me as soon as Mom did what they wanted.

The door opens. It’s Hunter.

And he’s holding a fucking pizza. “You hungry?”

“No. I don’t want to stay here a moment longer than I need to,” I say.

Hunter nods. “Tiger! We gotta’ roll!”

“I’m still eating,” Tiger shouts back from the main area of the warehouse. “But if we leave, we shouldn’t go through the door. If he has someone watching it, we don’t want him to see Elise walking outside.”

Hunter takes me by the hand. “Out through the piss hole.”

I scrunch up my nose. “Do I really want to know what ‘out through the piss hole’ means?”

“This way,” Hunter says, guiding me deeper down the hallway. Tiger catches up to us from behind.

We reach a wall through which some sunlight is leaking through.

“Tiger,” Hunter says. “You go out first, make sure it’s clear.”

He nods and crawls through the opening.

“Clear,” he says, sticking his head back through the hole.

“You go out now,” I tell Elise, squeezing her waist. “I’ll be right out behind you. And cover your nose. It smells awful.”

“I already smell it,” I say. “Too late.”

I duck down and jump through into the daylight.

Tiger is crouched down behind a wooden crate. I follow his lead.

Tiger peeks out from around the box. “Van is coming.”

Hunter takes out his phone. “Stop at the hole we cut in the fence.”

The van swerves around the corner and races toward the fence.

“Alright,” Hunter says. “Move toward the fence, I’m staying right behind you. Go as fast as you safely can. It’s probably clear, but I’m not taking any chances.”

I nod, and he nudges me forward.

I start to run toward the fence, my adrenaline surging. I can see the cut chain-link, and the van pulls right up to it and stops before I reach the hole.

Hunter is only one step behind me the entire way, and he pulls the cut fence back to help me through.

I duck down and step through, then Hunter and Tiger come through after me.

The back doors of the van open up, and Hunter tells me to get in.

I jump inside, and I see Dash. My eyes widen, and I scream.

I turn around, and I see Hunter and Tiger jumping into the back of the van. Tiger shuts the doors. The van starts to move.

“Hunter,” I say, stammering, holding tight to his arm and hiding behind him. “Your friend…” I whisper into his ear. “He’s the one who took me.”

“I know,” Hunter says, glaring at Dash. “We captured him. That’s how we found you.”

“What the fuck kind of friend are you!” I shout at Dash. “How can you betray someone like that?”

Dash rolls his eyes. “I was never Hunt’s friend, come the fuck on. Guys like Hunt, with that much money, they don’t have friends.”

“You got your I.D., Dash?”

“Yeah, why?” he asks.

The guy driving the van turns around and nods to Hunter. “He’s all sorted, ready to go.”

“We’ve got Elise,” Hunter says. “So you’re free to go.”

“Wait,” he says. “Can you guys take me to the airport?”

The van stops.

Tiger opens the back of the van again. “If you catch a fish and it smells bad, you throw it back.”

Hunter grabs Dash by the shoulders and shoves him toward the doors. Dash clings to the doorframe, and Hunter kicks him on the ass with his boot. He falls down onto the pavement, and Tiger pulls the doors shut and the van speeds off again.

The guy driving the van laughs.

* * *

Hunter and I stand silently in the elevator of my mom’s apartment.

“We could just drop it,” I say.

“We could,” he says. “And then Gideon would get away with everything.”

I think about that. “Alright, yeah, fuck that. I’m just...afraid.”

“Don’t be,” I say. “You did nothing wrong.”

The doors open, and we go down the hallway toward my mom’s apartment.

Hunter knocks on the door.

I wait, my heart pounding. The door opens, and as soon as she sees me, my mom grabs hold of me, squeezing me so tight it hurts. I hear her sobbing.

“Celia!” she says. “God, you’re safe. I didn’t think...thank you, Hunt.”

She hugs me for way too long. I realize I almost died, but Mom has never really hugged me, so having the first time she does it last for more than a full minute is really awkward.

“You’re not hurt?” she says, finally letting go of me.

“Well,” I say. “You almost smothered me, but other than that I’m fine.”

“What happened?” Nadine asks, looking up at us.

“Hunter saved me,” I say. “Him and his friends.”

“Did...did you…” Mom says, trailing off before finishing her question.

“Gideon is still untouched,” Hunter says. “I’ve still got the recording. We can take him down, but you need my help.”

Hunter wraps an arm around me and pulls me against his body. “I’ll protect Elise, Nadine, she means everything to me. But you’ve gotta’ accept that. You’ve gotta’ accept us.”

Mom takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Come on, Mom,” I say. “You don’t get to micromanage my life anymore. You missed that boat.”

“I know,” she says. “I can tell Hunt really does care about you...it’s just…”

“Just nothing,” I say. “What’s more important than that? We care about each other. We love each other. He’ll protect me, and I’ll support him.”

Mom waves a hand. “Fine. It’s not like I could stop you.”

Hunter grins. “So, are you gonna’ let me loose on Gideon?”

“How can I get you back in as co-CEO?” Nadine asks.

“You don’t have to,” Hunter says. “Just bring me in as a hired consultant. I don’t need to be CEO to finish this.”