Page 39 of A Captive Situation

Holy shit.

They’d looked into my cousin, found his address.

“Is my cousin in danger?”

“He’s probably being monitored to see if you show up again. And if you do, I’ve no doubt that you’ll be snatched to try to lure me out.”

He’d been right to kidnap me.

I deflated.

“I put in some calls and confirmed the contract on my head, but your pictures were added. You need to stay away from your family, for their safety, at this point.”

“Even my mom? My aunts?”

“You have to proceed with caution. Don’t contact them.”

Aunt Clara and Bess would not be happy about that. Or my mom. “Um, that might backfire.”

His jaw clenched. “Sawyer.”

I unfolded and leaned forward. He had to hear this. “You don’t understand. My mom and my aunts, they’re not normal.”

He was gripping his bowl so hard.

I shook my head. I had to get through to him. “My mom is old-fashioned. She’s a little like the Montana version of a Stepford wife, but my aunts are not. They’re so the opposite, but the one thing those three have in common is the lengths they’ll go to for me. My aunts didn’t have kids. I am their kid. You’re not getting one mom. You’re getting three. If I don’t contact them, they will come here to look for me. They will raise hell until I’m found. Trust me.”

He was quiet for a moment. “What’d they think of your ex?”

I almost laughed because I hadn’t heard him correctly. “What?”

He was serious.

Oh. I coughed, clearing my throat. “Slight detour there. Uh. About my ex?”

He was waiting, his face all serious.

I shook my head, shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t know. My aunts hated him at first sight. They always hated him, but I’m ride-or-die. Unfortunately.” I bulged my eyes out at him. “Never wanted to do that literally, but here we are. But, uh. Yeah. My aunts stopped saying things when they realized I wasn’t going to leave him. They never asked about marriage. I think they were hoping what happened would happen. My mom ... I think my mom hoped for me because she thought I loved him.”

“You didn’t?”

Didn’t I?

I loved Beck . . .

Of course I loved him, but being in love with him—I couldn’t think about that. Not now. I shook my head. “Can we not ... do this?” I motioned between us. “I don’t open up to you anymore. Remember? You kidnapped me.”

But, right. My family.

I began chewing on the inside of my cheek. “Are they in danger? My family? My cousin?”

“They’ll be monitored and watched, and as long as you stay away, they’ll be safe.” He was warning me, his gaze hard on me.

I gritted my teeth.

This whole thing sucked majorly. “I don’t like this.”

His mouth was so tight. “I’m aware.”

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