I count in my head as I drag breaths in through my nose. Every muscle in my body is wound tight with tension. If I bide my time, I’ll have another chance to catch this guy by surprise.
I just have to wait.
The car isn’t in motion for long before the makeshift blindfold is whipped off. I blink at the dim boxy interior of a Jeep. It’s an older model. It’s nice, restored to perfection to look like new. We’ve left school, the hills of town rolling by the window.
My bound hands sit in my lap, the plastic digging into my skin a little.
Gathering my courage, I tip my head far enough to the side to face my kidnapper. Once I do, my insides go from icy cold to boiling hot fury in a matter of seconds.
Lucas. Fucking. Saint.
I suck in a slow inhale, the rage building in my chest. The fear I felt with his hands all over me—up my skirt, incapacitating me, tying me up—turns into a brittle wrath, cracking as it overflows from my whole body.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Lucas!”
My shout makes him draw in a surprised breath, but he recovers quickly and tosses me a smug look.
“That’s a good look on you, sweetheart.”
“What, fucking pissed?”
“No. Tied up. Helpless.” With one eye on the road and one on me, he leans over and hisses in my ear. “At my mercy.”
“You kidnapped me, you psycho!”
His pompous smirk stretches. “I’m stealing you for a joyride.”
“My parents like me home by a certain time,” I lie.
Lucas snorts.
“They won’t be expecting you. Alec gave me the passcode to your phone for fifty bucks and a girl’s number I know. It was a steal.” He holds it up, wiggling it. “You just texted your mom to not worry about you. You’re hanging out with a friend.” He tucks it in his pocket and tips a sly look at me. “She said have fun. She seems sweet.”
My stomach sinks.
“Were you also the one who let the air out of my tires?”
He lifts a brow, but doesn’t answer.
I fall back against the seat, unclasping my legs and stretching out the stiffness from holding my entire body ready for attack at a moment’s notice. A small sound gets caught in the back of my throat as I stretch. Lucas watches me, shifting into a more relaxed position with one hand on the wheel. He rubs his fingers over his mouth as his gaze flicks over me, then back on the road.
“Fuck, you really do look good like that. It’s getting me hard.”
“You’re sick and insane.”
He snorts and drops his hand on my thigh, squeezing it. I try to kick him off and scoot closer to the window. The searing rage rises again.
“I can’t believe you! You don’t even think, you just keep doing whatever you want like there are no consequences to face! I could file assault charges against you for this!”
Lucas reaches for my thigh again, easily capturing it when I only have so far to go. He traces a circle on the inside of my knee. My effort to throw him off is fruitless.
Lucas lets out a sinister, pleased laugh and spreads his hand over my bare skin, always taking and taking and taking.
“It won’t stick. My dad’s a lawyer and this town loves me.”
“Loves you? How could they! You’re fucking crazy—you go around kidnapping and tying up girls for your own messed up amusement!” A ragged sound leaves me and tears fall from my lashes. “I need to file a damn restraining order against you so you stay the hell away from me once and for all.”
He mulls that over for a few minutes, his jaw working. I sniffle and bring my restricted hands up to awkwardly wipe my face. I make sure he’s paying attention when I smear the snot on his center console. His lip curls.