Page 15 of Little Bunny

“Matias!”

Silence hung between them, then Percy chuckled. “Wanting to keep you in bed is not kidnapping, pumpkin. It just means he wants—”

“We didn’t have sex,” Elijah ground out. “He said I was some kind of target and that I wasn’t leaving.”

Elijah wished it was because of sex. That would at least make sense. But he pushed the thought away when he began to imagine them in bed, naked, Matias destroying him in the best way possible.

If Matias tried to seduce Elijah again, he would kick the guy square in his jewels. He would never forgive the guy for this. Ever.

“Are you serious?” Percy sounded confused, like he couldn’t wrap his mind around Matias highjacking Elijah.

“Dead serious. Apparently, there’re rooms attached to the back half of the tavern. He locked me in one of them.”

“But…” Percy paused. “He’s too gorgeous to be crazy, Elijah. That makes no sense.”

Closing his eyes, Elijah counted to ten.

Then twenty.

He loved Percy to pieces, but sometimes the guy was too naïve for his own good. Which was why he kept dating the wrong men. Guys who saw the innocence in him and took advantage of it.

“Honey, listen carefully.” Elijah breathed in deeply then let it out slowly. “Gorgeous men are the nuttiest of them all. Remember Carter?”

Percy huffed. “You don’t have to remind me of that mistake.”

“I’m not saying it to shame you, okay? I’m just pointing out that Carter was fine looking and nearly wiped out your bank account. So, yes. Gorgeous men are insane.” Elijah could not believe he was even having this conversation. “I’ve been kidnapped” should been enough for his best friend to drop everything and come running.

“Okay, I get your point,” Percy said. “Let me shower, get dressed, and drop off my mom’s dry cleaning. Then I’ll rescue you.”

Elijah palmed his face. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. “Can you forego the shower and dry cleaning and come get my ass out of here…please.”

“Right!” Percy said. “Shower, dressed, then rescue. My mom’s needs will just have to wait!”

The guy sounded proud that he’d compromised. What the hell?

“And be discreet. Just sneak back here and get me out of this room.”

“I’ll get you out, sweetie.”

Elijah plopped on the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in, unsure if he wanted to laugh or cry. His life couldn’t be this disastrous. First Trent, now this? What god of chaos had he pissed off?

Since he wasn’t religious, Elijah had no idea. “And Percy?”

“Yes, pumpkin?”

“Hurry the hell up!” Elijah hung up and tossed the phone aside. Unreal. Percy was scheduling Elijah’s rescue like it was an inconvenient side quest. He never thought he’d have to convince his best friend to prioritize his kidnapping. Jesus.

He flopped backward on the bed, wondering why on earth he wasn’t calling the cops.

Because you know how corrupt they are. If they showed up, Matias could pay them off and then, “What kidnapping call?”

He recalled a few times when either Percy or his mom called the police when Jacob was harassing them. Deputy Gilmore had shown up, talked to Jacob for five stinking minutes, then tried to blame the disturbance on Percy.

Some kind of macho bro shit or something. Santiago moving in next door had been a damn blessing.

An hour and a half later—because Percy had been on fire to rescue Elijah—he heard his best friend’s loud mouth through the door.

“If you don’t let him go, I will bring down so much hell on this place!” he shouted. “No one kidnaps my best friend and gets away with it, bitches!”

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