“By who?” I answer in a more hushed tone to appease him.
“I don’t know, but I need your help,” he explains in terror. “Bernadette is missing.”
“What do you mean she’s missing?” I respond with a bored and dismissive sigh. “She’s probably just hiding out somewhere. She doesn’t have her precious Elite gang to back her up anymore and she can’t stand to be on her own.”
“No, she hasn’t been home,” he insists frantically. “I’m worried someone’s taken her.”
“Who!? Who’s taken her?” I put my hands to his shoulders trying to calm him down. But I quickly stop myself from getting roped in. “Why are you coming to me with this? I told you I don’t want to see you, and I definitely don’t want to get dragged into another mess like before.”
His muscular arms are tense beneath my touch. I realize this is the first time I’ve seen him in at least a week. It catches me off-guard instantly. Erasing all the work I’ve done to run him away. To sweat him out of my system.
Strands of his dark wavy hair hangs in his eyes, damp with sweat. His magnetic gray eyes burn into me, pulling me back into my undeniable attraction for him. I bite my lip, wishing it would go away. I thought I was past this.
Thankfully, his mind is nowhere near any of that. He is completely lost in panic, saving me from my desires.
“You’re the only one I can trust,” he heaves. “Will you please come with me? Can we go back to your place? I’ll explain everything.”
I look into his eyes, paralyzed with uncertainty. I don’t know if I should believe he really needs my help or if this is some kind of trick. It’s funny that he thinks I’m the only one he can trust, while he is the last person on earth I feel like I can trust.
“Okay,” I sigh, against my better judgment. “You can come with me to my house, but my mom and Brendan are home, and they’re not going to be so easily charmed by you after what happened last time. You try anything and they’ll kick you out.”
He nods urgently, desperate to agree to whatever I ask if it means he finds some kind of sanctuary. He clings to my hand as we walk. He’s afraid in a way I’ve never seen before, and I’m terrified to hear about what has him so shaken.
* * *